Thanksgiving Confessions: Part II

1. I never did master that tofu cheesecake, which went missing from Thanksgiving. (Obviously.)

2. I had to take my sourdough dressing out of the oven, transfer it to a bowl, add a missing ingredient and return it to the oven. Twice. The first time I forgot the roasted mushrooms; the second time, eggs.

3. We didn't have meatloaf as planned because Laird ate it before Thanksgiving.

4. Bobby Flay's Pumpkin Bread Pudding is to die. My Vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise curdled and I messed up the Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce, but it was still dessert perfection. If nothing else, make the pumpkin bread. I've been trying to perfect the recipe for years, and Bobby Flay nailed it. (Thank you, Bobby. I can get some sleep now.)

5. I've lost count of the knife cuts on my hands, and the gash on my right thumb is cramping my iPhone skills.

Thanksgiving Dishes

Have I mentioned Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday? We cooked and ate our little hearts out at our beach-themed table. Below are highlights; I'll post recipes and details in a few.*

*Hopefully before Christmas.

We noshed on goat cheese and triple cream Brie with fig jam, pecans and walnuts.

I made crackers with extra pie dough, a trick I learned from my mom. After cutting the scraps into cracker shapes, I brushed them with egg wash, pricked them with a fork and sprinkled them with coarse sea salt.

Later we feasted on roast chicken (Laird doesn't have a taste for turkey, which generally isn't available in South Africa), roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon cider vinaigrette, mashed potatoes, gravy, sourdough dressing, cranberry sauce, Georgene's Fluffy Rolls, and spinach salad with goat cheese, pomegranate seeds, walnuts and shallot-walnut vinaigrette.

We made a toast to our friends and family here and abroad, for whom we are so thankful.

I made three desserts: Flour Bakery's Super Pumpkiny Pumpkin Pie, Mile High Apple Pie and Bobby Flay's Pumpkin Bread Pudding. (Because I'm cutting back on sugar, remember?) Laird's Applejack brandy featured prominently in all three, which I love because a) my grandfather always served "Apple Jack Surprise" cocktails at holidays and celebrations; and b) Laird. (Don't ask me what an Apple Jack Surprise is. I have no idea.)

Speaking of Laird & Company:

Gemma looks a bit concerned about what The Headless Hound might be whispering in his ear, don't you think?

How was your Thanksgiving? Any kitchen disasters? I made a mess of my sourdough dressing. More about that later.

Thanksgiving Wishes

Here's hoping your Thanksgiving was filled with love, laughter and good food.

Clockwise from left: Great Aunt Flora, Great Uncle Ben, Great Aunt Lillian,
Papa, Mama, Mom, Great Granddad and Great Granny.

Thanksgiving Confessions: Part I

1. I refused to try pumpkin pie until I was in my twenties. It's now a favorite.

2. I'm not a fan of gravy.

3. Sourdough dressing is my favorite Thanksgiving dish, followed by mashed potatoes (sans gravy, of course). I could forgo everything else, even turkey and dessert.

4. Sweet potato and green bean casseroles weren't served at our family's Thanksgivings, but my grandmother (Mama) always made creamed pearl onions.

5. When I was 14 my mom and I tackled Thanksgiving without Mama's expert guidance, as she had recently passed. Everything was going swimmingly until we opened the oven to baste the turkey halfway through cooking. We had forgotten to turn on the oven.

What are your Thanksgiving confessions?

Georgene's Fluffy Rolls

Most Thanksgivings I make a batch of Georgene's Fluffy Rolls from one of my favorite cookbooks, Saveur Cooks Authentic American. (You can find the recipe online here.)

Essentially Parker House rolls, they're buttery and sweet; the sort of bread I don't eat but once or twice a year. Which is a good thing because I can't get enough of their pillowy goodness slathered in salty butter. And as I write this, it occurs to me that you could knead in dried fruit, orange zest and nutmeg for a Panettone-like holiday treat. Mmmmmm.

The rolls are quite easy to make by hand, but start them early as they require about 7 hours start to finish. If you're making them for lunch or afternoon supper, start them the night before -- make them up to the second rise, store them in the refrigerator overnight, and  finish them in the morning. My notes are in italics below.

Georgene's Fluffy Rolls

Adapted from Saveur Cooks Authentic American

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen

1 1/4 cups milk (I recommend whole milk but have used 1% to good result.)

1/4 cup vegetable shortening (I used butter this time.)

3/4 cup sugar (Honestly, this is a lot of sugar. I prefer to make them with 1/2 cup.)
1 teaspoon salt

1 7-gram packet active dry yeast (Or 2 1/4 teaspoons if using yeast from a jar.)

2 eggs, beaten

4 cups flour (Measured with the scoop and sweep method.)

3/4 cup butter, melted (I use only 1/4 cup because I brush the rolls with butter instead of dunking them in it.)

1. Combine milk, shortening, sugar and salt in a saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; set aside to cool. (Make sure you let it cool to warm; adding hot liquid to yeast can kill it.)

2. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water in a large bowl; set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes. (This is called "proofing," and I dissolve 1/2 teaspoon sugar in the warm water to feed the yeast. You'll know within 5 minutes if your yeast is alive or not. When I made my latest batch, my newly-purchased packet of yeast was dead in the water. I started over with a different brand of jarred yeast from my refrigerator and was back in business in no time.)

3. Pour milk mixture into yeast. Stir in eggs and gradually add flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until dough gets stiff, then use your hands (dough will be sticky, so grease your hands with a little butter). Brush a small amount of butter on the inside of a large bowl and on one side of a sheet of waxed paper. Place dough in bowl, cover with buttered wax paper, and lay a damp dishcloth on top. Set aside to rise until doubled in bulk, at least 3 hours. (This dough looks like kinda grits: sticky and lumpy. But you won't need the buttered wax paper unless you're not using a large bowl, in which case the wax paper keeps the dough from sticking to the dish cloth.)

4. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until elastic, then roll out to 1/2 " thickness. Cut dough with a 3" biscuit cutter, dip each round into melted butter, and fold in half. Line up, round edges up, sides touching, on a cookie sheet. Cover as in step 3, and set aside to rise, at least 2 1/2 hours. (At this point you can wrap the baking dish tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, remove them from the refrigerator, remove plastic wrap, cover with a dish towel and allow them to rise for about 3 hours.)

5. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm. (Rolls will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 days or in the freezer for up to a month. Warm in a 350 degree oven before serving.)

Ma! The Meatloaf!

Nobody requests meatloaf quite as convincingly as my husband. I do believe his exact words were, "Ma! The meatloaf!"

So meatloaf he shall have. If you'd like to have meatloaf, too, here's how it's done.

Meatloaf

Makes two loaves (recipe can be halved)

4 slices white bread

1 large onion, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 stalks celery, cut into large chunks

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 cup milk

3 lbs lean ground beef
2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup ketchup, plus more for tops of loaves
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper*

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse bread slices in food processor to form medium crumbs. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside. Pulse the onion, celery, carrot and garlic in the food processor until chopped medium-fine. (Be careful not to over process, or the mixture will become watery.)

2. Add milk to the bread crumbs and stir until moistened. In a large bowl, gently combine the ground beef, eggs, bread crumb mixture, vegetable mixture, ketchup, paprika and salt and pepper. Be careful not to over work the mixture, or it will toughen.

3. Spoon into two ungreased 9-inch loaf pans. Smooth the tops and coat lightly with ketchup. Bake until a meat thermometer inserted in center reads 160 degrees, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

*I don't measure salt unless I'm baking. For this recipe I probably used two teaspoons sea salt and one teaspoon freshly ground pepper.

Serve with mashed potatoes, a sprinkle of parsley and a few too many proclamations of "Ma! The meatloaf!"

Baron: He Had Me At Woof

I'm thrilled and honored that my story about Baron -- the first dog I adopted among the many Weimaraners I've rescued, fostered and adopted over the years -- is featured today on Julie Klam's blog. You can read the story here.

If you haven't yet picked up a copy of Julie's New York Times bestseller, You Had Me At Woof, please do. It's hilarious and sweet and demonstrates how we don't rescue dogs so much as they rescue us.

Oh Baron, I miss you so.

A Baby Shower for Food Lovers

This weekend I managed to sneak away from puppy-rearing duties to attend the most delightful baby shower at Tin Roof Bistro.

The bright decorations were a cheerful contrast to the dreary weather.

Flat Pak collapsible vases held heaps of fresh flowers. Genius.

I was particularly fond of the cheeky monkeys decorating the tables.

And the food? I'll let the images speak for themselves.

Charcuterie

Cheese, glorious cheese.

Tomato Bisque with Pesto Drizzle

Crab Melt with Taboulleh

Chocolate Fondant Mousse with Whipped Cream and Pecan Brittle Topping

We played baby shower Bingo...

And I won the most gorgeous gift: handmade goat's milk soap from the Beekman Boys. Check them out on Planet Green. Brilliant.

It was seriously the best baby shower ever. I'm so happy for my friends and I can't wait to meet their baby!

Speaking of babies, when I got home I snuggled up with Gemma for a nap. Baby showering is tiring.

Sweet Potato Gingerbread

Gemma let me alone long enough (read: crashed out in her crate for an hour) for me to make Sweet Potato Gingerbread and hastily snap a few photos of it.

Make this. It's easy and divine.



Sweet Potato Gingerbread

Makes one loaf

Substitute pumpkin if you don't have or want sweet potato. If you don't have whole wheat pastry flour, use an equal amount of all purpose flour. And if gluten is an issue, swap out wheat flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour. Walnuts would be a nice addition to this bread, and can be folded into the batter along with the flour mixture.

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups evaporated cane juice or granulated sugar

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup walnut oil (or vegetable oil of choice)

1/4 cup molasses

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sweet potato puree (from approximately 1 1/2 large sweet potatoes, roasted and cooled, skins removed)

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F and lightly coat a loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until light, creamy and tripled in volume, about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

4. With the mixer on medium-low speed, drizzle the oil into the egg-sugar mixture. Beat until incorporated. Add the molasses, vanilla and sweet potato puree and beat until combined. [Superstar tip: after adding the oil, use the same measuring cup for the molasses. The coating of oil in the cup will ensure all of the molasses makes it out.]

5. Stop the mixer and add the flour mixture, gently folding it into the batter until incorporated. Be careful not to over mix the batter, as doing so activates the gluten in the flour and results in a heavier, denser crumb.

6. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out with a light coating of moist crumbs. Allow to cool before serving. The loaf will keep, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for several days.

Tavern

Tavern is the kind of place where you'll have an impeccable dining experience, but nary a decent photograph to show for it. (Unless, of course, you go there in the daytime, when the larder and atrium dining room are flooded with light so as to showcase the Jeffrey Alan Marks design and decor.)

Photo: Tavern / aackstudio

Photo: Tavern / aackstudio

Go there for dinner, and you'll marvel at the familiar yet surprising comfort of the food. (Seared Albacore over beluga lentils? Of course.) The thoughtful and generous service. (Responsive and perfectly-timed? Yes. Hovering and solicitous? No.) The sumptuous New-York-chic-meets-California-cool surroundings. (A testament to chef/owner Suzanne Goin's signature guest-at-a-dinner-party feel, you wonder, when can I move in?)

Of course, you'll expect nothing less -- Tavern is, after all, the brainchild of Goin and Caroline Styne, of Lucques and A.O.C. -- and you'll know that you won't do it justice with your pedestrian words and wretched photographs. (In my defense, the restaurant is much too dark and my camera flash -- a no-no to begin with -- much too "hot.")

So you'll simply say that your birthday dinner at Tavern marks your best restaurant dining experience in L.A. to date. That you wish Tavern had been Tavern and not Hamburger Hamlet when you lived in Brentwood. That on second thought, maybe not, because you'd be broke. That if you were the kind of person who didn't have to worry about going broke, you'd hire Jeffrey Alan Marks to design and decorate your house. And Suzanne Goin to teach you how to cook, because your Sunday Suppers at Lucques cookbook just isn't the same.

You'll order two disparate appetizers and banter with your husband about which is better. (Hint: it's the one in which you're indulging at that very moment.)

Roasted Peaches with Burrata, Prosciutto and Pine Nuts (Best. Burrata. Ever.)

Seared Albacore with Beluga Lentils, Green Olives and Salsa Verde



You'll pass your shockingly ill-photographed entrees back and forth, marveling at the perfection of the pork shoulder in all its brined-for-72-hours glory, and how its richness is tempered by the avocado salsa that is bright and refreshing and not at all heavy.



Pork Confit with Corn Pudding, Mojo Criollo and Avocado Salsa

You'll implore your husband to rein you in as you dig for caramelized leeks and onions in Goin's riff on Chicken Dijon.

The Devil's Chicken with Braised Leeks, Onions and Mustard Breadcrumbs



You'll have saved room for pastry chef Breanne Varela's famed Snickers Bar dessert, which will be dropped at your table with a complimentary plate of her cookies, adorned with a birthday candle. And you'll breathe a sigh of relief that although Tavern isn't the least bit pretentious, it isn't the sort of  place where the staff sings to you.

Breanne's Cookies


Can we talk about the Snickers Bar for a minute?


Snickers Bar with Salted Peanut Caramel and Vanilla Ice Cream
(Photo: starchefs.com)



It was mind-blowing. Best. Dessert. Ever. It's what the Momofuku Chocolate-Malt Cake wishes it could be. And were Tavern that sort of place, we'd have licked the plate clean.

Do go to Tavern, and do bring a jacket. It's dreadfully over-air conditioned -- its only flaw.