½ cup of the fat into a large
saucepan over medium heat
(remove remaining fat from the
drippings and discard). If you
don’t have a separator, spoon
the fat from the drippings.
Alternately, melt butter or
margarine in the same sauce-
pan if you have very little drip-
pings.
Add the flour and whisk well
for about 3 minutes. Add the
drippings to the pan and whisk
well.
Slowly whisk in the broth
until the gravy is thickened (but
not too thick). Add salt and
pepper to taste. Keep warm or
reheat before serving. Makes 4
cups of gravy.

CHERRY, CRANBERRY AND
APRICOT CHUTNEY

A tasty addition or alternative to
traditional cranberry sauce. It’s
made with dried cherries, dried
cranberries and apricot pre-
serves — and it tastes great the
next day on turkey sandwiches.

1 cup dried cherries
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup apricot preserves or jam
1 cup chopped onions
1 bell pepper, any color, chopped
1 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger (use
fresh only)
1 Tbsp. grated orange zest or
peel

Combine all ingredients,
except orange zest, in a sauce-
pan over medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and
simmer, stirring constantly for
30 minutes. Add the grated zest
and cook for 5 minutes more.
Let cool and chill before serv-
ing. Serve at room temperature.
Makes 20 servings. This recipe
may be made up to one week
ahead.

APPLE-PECAN
ARUGULA SALAD

Salad:
10 ounces baby arugula
1 apple, your favorite variety, cut
into thin wedges
1 cup thin-sliced fennel bulb

1 cup lightly toasted pecans
Vinaigrette:
¼ cup red-wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
½ cup olive oil

Combine all salad ingredi-
ents in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk
together all dressing ingredi-
ents except oil. Slowly whisk in
olive oil.
Add about half the dressing
to the salad and toss well. Add
more dressing to taste. Makes
6-8 servings.

stir well to combine. Add the
fresh chives, adjust the sea-
sonings and serve. You may
keep the potatoes warm in a
275ºF oven for about 2 hours.
Potatoes may be made 1 day
ahead and chilled, covered and
reheated, adding more olive
oil if they are too dry or hard.
Makes 8-10 servings.

PECAN-CRUSTED CARAMEL-
TOPPED CHOCOLATE-CHIP
CHEESECAKE

WILD MUSHROOM AND CHIVE
MASHED POTATOES

1 cup dried wild mushrooms,
any variety
3 cups boiling water
4 pounds russet or other baking
potatoes, scrubbed well but left
unpeeled
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup minced fresh chives

Place wild mushrooms in a
small bowl. Pour boiling water
over them and allow them to
soak for about 30 minutes.
Drain well and slice the mush-
rooms into small pieces.
Meanwhile, cut the potatoes
into large chunks and place
them in a large pot. Cover the
potatoes with cold water and
1 tsp. salt. Place the pot over
high heat and bring the water
to a boil. Reduce heat to a low
boil and allow the potatoes to
cook about 30 minutes until
very tender. Drain potatoes
well, but do not rinse. Mash or
whip the potatoes while they’re
still hot.
While the potatoes are cook-
ing, heat olive oil in a large
skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the onions and cook until
the onions are softened, 4-5
minutes. Add the mushrooms,
salt and pepper and cook, stir-
ring occasionally with a wood-
en spoon, another 5 minutes.
Add the mushroom mixture
to the mashed potatoes and

back of the bird and roast the
turkey, using your favorite turkey
recipe. Alternately, bake in a cas-
serole dish, buttered or sprayed
with nonstick cooking spray and
covered with buttered or sprayed
foil for 1 hour and uncovered
for 30 minutes until browned on
top. Makes 12 servings.

PEAR-HERB BREAD STUFFING

12 cups ½-inch cubed white
bread (crusts removed), lightly
toasted
½ cup (1 stick) butter or
margarine
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery,
including some leaves
5 medium pears, peeled, cored
and cut into ½-inch cubes
5 large eggs
1½ tsp. salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tsp. chopped fresh sage or ¼
tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or ¼
tsp. dried thyme
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp. dried ground ginger
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup fresh chopped chives,
garnish

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Lightly oil large glass or ceram-
ic baking dish. Set aside.
Heat butter or margarine in a
large skillet over medium-high
heat. Add onions, celery and
pears to the pan, and sauté until
onions are translucent, about 10
minutes. Remove from heat and
cool for 5 minutes.
Combine sautéed mixture plus
all remaining ingredients in a
large bowl. Stuff the main cav-
ity of the turkey loosely with the
stuffing as well as the area at the

Crust:
1 cup lightly toasted pecans
¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup (½ stick) butter
Filling:
2 pounds cream cheese, soft-
ened
½ cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. salt
2 cups mini semi-sweet choco-
late chips
Topping:
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
(not whipped)
1 cup mini semi-sweet choco-
late chips

Make crust: Preheat oven to
325°F. Combine crust ingredients
in the bowl of a food processor
and pulse until fine and crumbly.
Press the crust into the bottom
of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake
for 15 minutes. Remove from
oven to cool while making the
filling.
Make filling: Using an electric
mixer, beat cream cheese and
sour cream until light. Add the
brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. at a time,
beating well after each addition.
Beat in remaining ingredients,
one at a time until the filling is
uniform. Transfer the filling to
the prepared pan.
Bake for 1 hour, turn off heat
and allow to cool in the oven for
30 minutes more. Remove from
oven and cool completely.
Make topping: In a small
saucepan over medium heat,
cook sugar, stirring constantly,
until it is a light golden color (it
will clump then melt). Remove

jn

LET’S TALK
TURKEY

Turkey: It is the defining
food of Thanksgiving.
I like to cook a turkey
on a rack in a roasting pan
when possible. When a rack
is not available, I cook the
turkey, skin-side-up, for
about an hour. Then I put on
my thick rubber dishwash-
ing gloves and turn the
turkey over in the pan and
cook it for 45 minutes more
before turning the bird over
right-side-up to finish cook-
ing — that way the skin is
golden all around. Last, I
tie the drumsticks together
with string or ribbon just
before serving. I like the
look of a whole bird carved
at the table, so often I make
an extra breast to carve
ahead of time.
A quick turkey-cooking
rule is to cook the turkey
for about 15 minutes per
pound. Check on the bird
every 30 minutes or so and
keep it from drying out by
basting it with the juices
from the bottom of the pan.
Don’t be tempted to
overcook the turkey — it
continues to cook for up to
an hour after taking the bird
out of the oven. •

from heat and slowly add the
cream. Place the pan back on the
heat and stir until the mixture is
smooth, shiny and thickened.
Run a knife around the inside
perimeter of the springform
pan before removing the collar.
Spread or drizzle the caramel
over the cheesecake and sprinkle
with remaining chocolate chips.
Chill until ready to serve and cut
into thin wedges with a very thin
sharp knife or using dental floss
held tight with two hands to slice
the cake in half then into wedges.
Makes 12-16 or more servings. •

November 16 • 2017

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