One Side from One Sister: Potato, Fennel Gratin

My sisters and my brother all love to cook and at gatherings, and especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas, many, many good dishes are made. I featured Christine and Cathy's dishes from Thanksgiving in a previous post (Thanksgiving 2011: Three Sides from Two Sisters) and now it's Sara's turn.

 For our Christmas Eve dinner, Sara made a potato, fennel gratin based on a recipe by Ina Garten, from "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook", and it's a very good recipe, but Sara's tweaks made it better still.

Slight caramelization of the onions and fennel, a little nutmeg plus a combination of Gruyère and Fontina (also doubling the amount) cheeses elevate the dish.

RECIPE: POTATO-FENNEL GRATIN
Adapted from Ina Garten, "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook"
Serves: 10 to 12 or more

Equipment: 10 cup baking dish with high sides (approximately 2"). If your baking pan has lower sides, check the potatoes earlier.


Ingredients

• 2 small fennel bulbs
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter + more to grease the baking dish
• 2 pounds russet potatoes
• 2 cups + 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 pounds grated Gruyère cheese, divided
• 1/2 pound grated Fontina cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350F, rack in the middle.


Thoroughly butter the inside of your baking dish.

Remove the stalks from the fennel and cut the bulbs in half lengthwise. Remove the cores and cut the remainder of the fennel in a medium dice and set aside. Dice (medium) the onions and combine with the fennel. Heat a skillet on medium heat for a few minutes and add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan. When the butter stops foaming, add the onions and fennel and sauté on medium heat until the onion and fennel is soft and the edges are slightly caramelized. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Peel the potatoes, cut each on into quarters lengthwise and slice each quarter thinly (1/8th OR 1/4 inch) and place in a large bowl. Mix the sliced potatoes with 2 cups of cream. Reserve 1/2 cup each of the Gruyère  and the Fontina and add the remainder to the potato and cream mixture, mixing thoroughly.


Pour the potatoes into the baking dish. Press the mixture down to smooth the top. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream with the reserved Gruyère and Fontina and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours until the potatoes are fully tender and the top is browned and bubbly. If it is browning too fast before the potatoes are tender. cover the top with a piece of foil. Remove from the oven and allow the gratin to set for 10 minutes before serving.

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Thanksgiving 2011: Three Side Dishes from Two Sisters

It's not that I haven't cooked, or taken pictures while cooking, and I have a backlog of half-started un-posted articles (virtually) stacked higher than a cord of wood.

In the words of someone from long ago, "There are reasons, but no excuses." so no long winded explanation of why it has been so long between posts.

My goal is to post as many of these as possible before the end of the year - or by Monday the 2nd. 

I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday - and not just for the food.

It is the time for family (your bio family or the family you've chosen) to get together without the ugly and crazed season - now starting in September - that has taken over Christmas, like a face-hugging alien (see the video below). My family has dialed-down the gift madness in that, within the siblings, we give each other small or hand-made gifts.



So, because this post was the closest to completion, I'm going to feature two of my sisters' side dishes from our bio-family Thanksgiving. For the past decade (longer?) I have spent Thanksgiving Thursday in San Francisco and then flown north to spend Thanksgiving Saturday with my bio-family. It was very kind of them to make the change and it allows me to spend time with both my bio- and non-bio families as well as double my turkey deconstruction pleasure. I LOVE turkey deconstruction! I could give lessons or compete professionally -- if there was such a contest.
 
From my sister Chris: (first picture left) Sally's Dressing and (first picture right) Chris' Curried Onions and from Cathy, who blogs over at Lo-Carb World (Second Picture): Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes with Herbs and Pancetta.

Sally's Dressing and Chris' Curried Onions (recipes after the jump, below)

Cathy's Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes with Herbs and Pancetta over at her blog, "Lo-Carb World" is linked, below.

 RECIPES
 - Sally's Dressing;
 - Chris' Curried Onions; and
- Cathy's Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes with Herbs and Pancetta (Over at her Lo-Carb World blog)


SALLY'S THANKSGIVING DRESSING -------------------------------------------------------------------
(Nancy's Note: How stupid was I not to have written down my mom's recipe for making dressing? Fortunately Chris has worked it out, adding a few twists of her own.)

Ingredients

• About 10 cups of oven-dried dense white sandwich bread pieces pieces in about 1- 1.5"chunks
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups diced yellow onion
• 2 cups finely diced celery-- the "hearts of the hearts" of 2 bunches including inner leaves
• 1 bunch stemmed, finely chopped kale
• 6 - 9 finely minced medium to large cloves of garlic
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 4 cups low sodium organic chicken broth
• 1 large carrot in 4 pieces
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley plus 2 large stalks, divided
• 6 -8 large finely minced sage leaves plus 2 leaves, divided
• 2 tablespoons thyme leaves plus 2 stalks, divided
• finely minced leaves of 1/4 cup fresh rosemary plus 1/4 whole branch, divided
• turkey drippings

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease or oil 9 x 13" pan.

Gently simmer chicken broth on low in a covered saucepan with carrot pieces, bay leaf and reserved whole herb pieces (parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary) while preparing rest of recipe.

Saute onion, celery and kale over medium to medium low heat with salt and pepper to taste until vegetables are wilted, onions are translucent and soft and the liquid from the vegetables has evaporated.  Make a clear space In the pan and saute minced garlic, stirring constantly, for 1 - 2 min.  Do not let brown.  Stir into onion mixture. Remove saute pan from heat and let mixture cool completely.

Remove broth from heat, uncover, and let cool completely.  Strain carrot and herbs out and discard.

in a very large bowl, add sauteed vegetables to bread cubes and combine thoroughly with hands.    Beat eggs with 3 c. broth, pour over dressing and mix thoroughly with hands.  Taste for seasoning and adjust.  Reserve remaining broth to moisten dressing during or after baking if necessary.

Put dressing in greased or oiled 9 x 13 pan and bake for 45 min or until the top is brown.  Drizzle with 2 T turkey drippings if desired.
 
CHRIS' CURRIED ONIONS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there is a trick to it, it's to make the cheese sauce very thick.  The cooked onions exude a lot of water during baking no matter how well you drain them, so if you begin with a thick sauce, you'll end up with the perfect texture of sauce.

Leftovers reheat well in the microwave if you use one of the lower power settings and stir once every couple of minutes to make sure the sauce doesn't break.  I like leftovers best when they are thinned with chicken broth and gently heated in a saucepan on the stove top--it makes a delicious soup!  You can add diced ham or smoked turkey sausage to make it more hearty.

(Nancy's Note on Leftovers: a seriously delicious soup! You can whiz the stock - chicken or vegetable - and the leftover onions in a blender before heating or use a stick blender to puree.) 

Ingredients

• 4-5 large yellow onions, cut in quarters or eighths
• 4 Tablespoons each flour and butter
• 2 1/2 - 3 cups milk
• 4 cups shredded cheddar.  I usually use half sharp and half medium
• 1-2 tablespoons curry powder. (I like Madras-style curry powder and I use 2 T, but we like curry)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• salt and pepper
• paprika for garnish

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, rack in the middle.  

Steam or boil onions for 10 - 15 minutes until fork tender.  

In a saucepan, make a light-colored roux with the flour and butter.  Stir in curry powder and cayenne.  Cook the roux over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.  Take the saucepan off the heat and slowly whisk in the milk, Worcestershire and mustard.  Add salt and pepper to taste.   Put the saucepan back on medium heat and stir until the white sauce comes to a full boil.  Immediately reduce the heat to low.  Stir in hand fulls of the shredded cheese, one at a time, until the cheese has fully melted.  Do not let the white sauce reach a simmer after you add the cheese.  Take saucepan off heat.  Taste for seasoning.

Put the drained onions into a 9"x 9" buttered or oiled casserole dish.  Spoon the sauce over the onions and then combine the sauce and the onions.  Sprinkle paprika on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min. 

Check to see if casserole has begun to bubble around the edges; if so, remove from oven and serve.

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It's Fall! Squash, Beans, Chard and Bacon with Cinnamon

Happy post-Hallowe'en! Does anybody spell it that way any more? "Een" at the end of "Hallow" without the apostrophe means nothing. Yes, I know that Hallowe'en is (in turn) a contraction of "All Hallows’ Evening"

Man, I sound like an old grump. Hang on - I have to yell at some kids to get off the lawn. Or, rather, my sister's lawn. I am spending the week surrounding Hallowe'en visiting family in and around Tacoma/Puyallup, WA.

Even though it was a school night, the All Hallows Evening weather was fine and there was a constant stream of kids for a good 2 1/2 hours. My nephew parked himself, and his video game equipment next to the front door. I've had to fight him for the last couple of years to hand out candy. He's just likely saving himself the embarrassment of having his aunt answer the door wearing a t-shirt of zombies riding Segways ("We've Upgradead!).

This dish was so good, I made it two nights in a row on request. It tastes great warmed up for breakfast, with an egg on top. There's quite a bit of cinnamon, but it balances with the bacon and beans in a way that it's just savory and aromatic and not at all sweet, even with the roasted and caramelized butternut squash.

This isn't an original recipe but I cannot remember where I saw it. If I can locate the source, I'll come back and update the post.

Everybody, okay everybody who likes squash (good - more for the squash lovers!), loved this dish.
You can easily substitute smoked paprika for the bacon, or just leave it out. The dish won't suffer.

The first night I just used butternut squash, The second night, I combined the extra butternut squash
from the previous night with a large sweet potato.

Sun - the natural frost defroster, in the backyard.

RECIPE: SQUASH, BEANS, CHARD and BACON with CINNAMON

Serves: 4-6 as a side
This dish can be modified to be vegan by omitting the bacon, and the rendered bacon fat.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb thick cut bacon cut crosswise into 1" lardons
• 1 medium onion (red, yellow or white), medium dice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 cups black beans, cooked, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water or 1 can (approximately 1 1/2 cups), drained.
• 4 - 5 cups butternut squash (or other squash, or sweet potatoes), 1/3" dice (2 1/2 - 3 lbs)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 - 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 4-6 cups of chard or kale, washed stemmed and cut into 1" pieces, loosely packed. If you're using chard, chop the stems (above the woody part) into small dice and use that as well.
• kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400F, rack 1 position below the middle. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Toss the diced butternut squash with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and the ground cinnamon. Toss so that the seasoning is evenly distributed.

Pour the seasoned squash dice onto the baking sheet and roast in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through the cooking time. You want the squash dice to have some browned edges and be tender, but not overly squishy. When it is cooked, remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you're preparing the remainder of the dish.

Cook the bacon lardons until crispy in a large saute pan or a dutch oven (at least 3 quarts or larger). Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Reserve the leftover rendered bacon fat to cook the onions and garlic.Wipe any left over bacon bitlets out of the pan with a paper towel - you don't want them to burn while you're preparing the remainder of the dish.

In a large saute pan, heat it up for a 6 minutes on medium.  Add in 2 tablespoons of the reserved, rendered bacon fat making sure to pour off the top, leaving any solids behind. Add the onion, plus a pinch of salt and saute, adjusting the heat, until the onion dice is golden and some of the edges are golden brown. Add the garlic and saute until it is the color of straw.

Add the drained beans and about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid, or 1/4 cup water and another pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Go easy on the salt if your beans are canned and taste after a few minutes of cooking. Simmer the beans for 5-10 minutes on medium low.

Add the prepared chard to your pan and toss with tongs to combine it with the beans, onions and garlic. Do not cover the pan. Alternately, you can microwave the chard in a microwave-safe bowl for about 2-3 minutes and then add it to the pan and cook on medium for a few minutes. If the pan is too dry, add 1/4 cup of the reserved bean cooking water or plain water.

Add the roasted squash dice that you've set aside to the pan and use a large perforated spoon to combine all of the ingredients. Adjust the heat to medium low and heat. Right before serving, add-in the bacon and combine.

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