Thanksgiving Dinner in Harrisburg - A Review

**This is a guest entry, written by Aaron Paul and Kristin Russell-Paul, two of my lovely dinner guests. I didn't change anything, or unduly influence them with bribes!**

Menu

Cheddar Cayenne Coins and Pepper Dip
Veggies and Ranch Dip
Arugula, gorgonzola, pears and candied walnut salad
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Roast Duck and Confit
Cranberry Stuffing
Brown Butter Cake

For Thanksgiving this year, our lovely friend and host Jessica invited three of us to her new domain in Harrisburg for dinner. She promised a classy dinner with drunken shenanigans to follow, and who could turn down such an invitation? So we all travelled in on Thanksgiving morning, by train or car, in order to see what our always-talented chef was going to serve up.

The two of us arrived to find preparations well under way, and the kitchen smelling delightful. While the dogs played, the people snacked. First up on the menu were hors d’oeuvres of Cheddar-Cayenne Coins and fresh veggies with two delightful dips. The Cheddar-Cayenne Coins were a huge, huge, huge hit. Like Madonna in the 80s. Jess said she had not made up all of them, because she assumed that 10 per person would be plenty. This was an inaccurate assessment, because our merry group devoured them with as much enthusiasm as 12 year old girls at a Jonas brother concert. These were totally perfect, just a hint of Cayenne and a deliciously creamy cheddar flavor overall. They were also quite pretty, and had a good size and consistency for dipping. It was basically love at first bite, and the poor little things stood no chance. The flavors held up well against both the lighter-bodied red that Jess and Dean had already started in on before we arrived, and the heavier Cab Sauv that we moved on to shortly thereafter.

The sit down portion of the meal began with an arugula, gorgonzola pear, candied walnut, and pancetta salad. The ambitious combination of tart and sweet flavors in this dish resulted in a fantastic blend that allowed the dish to be simultaneously light and heavy. The arugula and pear combination gave the meal a green beginning while the gorgonzola and pork piqued one’s appetite for the impressive flavors to follow. What was amazing about the dish was its ability to remain well balanced while exclusively using big-flavored ingredients.

After finishing our salads the ducks were ready and were served alongside roasted Brussels sprouts and a cranberry stuffing. Probably due to the popularization of freeze dried foods in the 1950s and 60s, Brussels sprouts have earned an undeservedly bad reputation. These were fresh and roasted in olive oil and fresh herbs. A simple combination but one that made you feel like you were doing your arteries a favor while still being hearty enough to fend off the coming cold weather. The difference between fresh and frozen brussels is like the difference between Oscar Meyer cold-cut roast beef and a grass-fed, beef tenderloin cut from your local butcher the morning before you grill it. They’re virtually unrecognizable apart from the incredible fact that they’re from the same species.
The stuffing of cranberries and bread crumbs was a playful complement to the roast duck and, when enjoyed in conjunction with the confit, continued the evening’s successful juxtaposition between tart and sweet flavors. For anyone considering substituting duck for turkey on your favorite November holiday keep it mind two things: first, it’s worth it; second, it’s more work and more greasy than the iconic bird. We split two birds between the four of us and, instead of harvesting them for their meat, simply cut them down the middle with a pair of kitchen shears and allocated a half to everyone. While possible to conduct in a civilized manner, it really pays to use your hands so as to get at all of the delicious morsels of meat that these birds have to offer.

For dessert, Jess did her best to send us firmly into a sugar induced coma for the evening in the most delicious of possible ways. She made a brown-butter, pumpkin spice layer cake that also involved candied pecans, crystallized ginger and totally delicious, cream cheese frosting. We had been looking forward to the cake since she first described it and posted a picture on Facebook, and it was more delicious than it looked. Ample slices were served with a drizzle of pumpkin fudge sauce and we might have gotten instant diabetes, but it would have been worth it. The cake itself was nicely spiced and moistened, with a good crumb. There was a really lovely ratio of cake to frosting and toppings. The combination of flavors really worked well together, and made for a holiday appropriate alternative to the standard pumpkin pie. Jess described this as the Thanksgiving cake of Gloriousness, and we’d say that’s a fair assessment. One of us is not usually a fan of cream cheese frostings, but the frosting on this one was very smooth, with a good balance of flavor. The butter and two types of sugar cut the flavor of the cream cheese so that it wasn’t overwhelming or unpleasant, but rather quite yummy.

Overall, this was a delightful dinner, and Jess a very gracious host as always. The menu did an excellent job of putting a slight twist on the Thanksgiving standards, and we are very grateful to have been able to share the evening with our friends.

Thanksgiving - Part 1 - So It Begins!

We're T minus 5 days to Tday. I've tried to pick a menu this year that allows me to gradually make things over the next few days. Today's item: Cheddar-Cayenne Coins (or Crackers for, you know, normal people).

Got this recipe from Fine Cooking's 2009 holiday magazine. Seemed like a good appetizer to put out with veggies and dip. This came together very easily, and since you can make the dough up to a month in advance, and actually bake the crackers a week in advance, it allows for a leisurely build up.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 oz sharp cheddar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled
1 large egg yolk
2 tbs water
Kosher salt for sprinkling

Directions:
Combine the flour, cheese, salt, and cayenne in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter, and pulse until coarse crumbs form. Combine the egg yolk and water in a separate bowl, then pour over the mixture. Pulse until the dough begins to form small moist crumbs.

Pile the dough on an unfloured work surface and push and smear it with the heels of your hands. Fold each side over onto the middle, rotate 45 degrees, and smear again. Shape into a 14 inch log (about 1 1/4 inch diameter), wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

Pre-heat the oven to 375, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Cut the log into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange them 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet (these crackers really don't expand). Bake until golden around the edges, about 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with salt immediately after removing from the oven. Let the crackers cool. Serve immediately, or wrap in plastic and store in an airtight container (or freeze them if you need them to last a few days).

Really easy to do. Total amount of time was, maybe, 30 minutes of activity. And they taste delicious!

Get ready Thanksgiving, here I come!

Sweet Potato Pie

I stopped by a local restaurant just before Thanksgiving, and they had sweet potato pie on the menu. Never having had it, I decided to order it and see what all the fuss was about. I was extremely disappointed. The pie was bland, and not sweet enough. But I could tell that with the right balance of spices, and a few tweaks, that pie would have been delicious. So I decided to make my own for Thanksgiving!

I started with this recipe:
www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/sweet-potato-pie-recipe3/index.html

I fully lazied it up, and used a pre-made pie crust. I was in a surly "not making a crust" mood. Plus there was an insane amount of cooking over two days, and pie crust got ranked as the least important. I think I could have improved the pre-made pie crust by brushing it with melted butter and sprinkling a cinnamon sugar mix on it. I'll try that next time.

I followed the recipe pretty much exactly. I used an 8-inch round pan with high sides. I forced the first half of the sweet potatoes through the fine mesh sieve, and then I decided that wasn't really worth it, and pureed the bejesus out of the rest of the sweet potato in my blender. Save yourself time and arm strength. Seriously.

As a finishing touch, to add a little bit of additional sweetness, and give it that good old southern look, I added a brown sugar crumble on the top. I took it from the following recipe: http://southernfood.about.com/od/applepies/r/bl50808a.htm

Made the topping and sprinkled it on before baking. I might recommend baking the pie for a few minutes and then adding the crumble, so that it doesn't sink into the top of the pie as much as mine did.

The toughest part of this was that I made it on Wednesday night, and wouldn't allow myself to eat any until Thanksgiving. SO HARD! But when I finally did get to eat it, it was AWESOME!

Overall, this was easy-peasy deliciousness. I thought it was much better than pumpkin pie, and this may be my new Thanksgiving contribution!