Category Archives: Meat CSA
Thanksgiving 2009
It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone. It’s my favorite holiday, so there is always a great deal of anticipation as the day approaches. Plus, we were particularly excited to try our farm-fresh turkey.
This year, we couldn’t get the logistics to work out for travel to parts south. That means we were not going to be celebrating the holiday with family. However, the next best thing to your own family is your “chosen” family of friends. We were fortunate to share our table with some of our favorite friends.
As might be expected, my friends also enjoy cooking, so Laury, April, and I got together to plan the menu and divide up cooking responsibilities. Howard and I were hosts and cooked the core of the meal: turkey, gravy, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. I also snuck in the relish tray that always appears on his family’s Thanksgiving table plus the pink jello mold that always appears on mine. April provided the pre-dinner nibbles: Asti, cheese, hummus, and black olive tapenade. Laury made all the vegetables: roasted beets, baby Brussels sprouts, a roasted vegetable medley with turnips, carrots, and pearl onions, and a fresh salad with her sister Judy’s always-perfect salad dressing. John made cranberry sauce, even though he wasn’t able to join us for dinner. Laury’s mother Edith also treated us to caviar appetizers.
After dinner, we travelled a few blocks away to April’s house for dessert. It was great to have a change of venue as the party continued. There were also a few new faces for company. Again, everyone contributed something. April made lemon squares and an apple caramel upside down cake. I made a pecan tart. Laury’s daughter Isabel made her very first pumpkin pie (and ate two whole pieces!).
The turkey was all we had hoped for. Farmers Kim and Rich of Chestnut Farms raised a very tasty bird. There was some anxiety when the turkey gave off an unexpected amount of liquid during its early hours of roasting. We drained off all the liquid (which I was able to use for the stock in the gravy) and just kept going. The end result was just fine. The meat was moist and full of flavor. It garnered kudos from all the eaters.
Going against the trend (based on the typical preference), our guests favored dark meat over white meat, so there was a lot of dark meat on the platter to see. Most surprising was just how dark the dark meat was. I don’t know whether it has to do with the leg muscles being well exercised as the turkey grazed in the pasture.
A few of the things I am thankful for this year:
- Having good friends living close by
- Seeing family (mine and Howard’s) regularly even though they are far away
- Finding and supporting a growing number of farmers and other local sources for the food we eat, not just on Thanksgiving, but everyday.
Recovering from Autumn Yard Cleanup
Fall in New England means the beautiful foliage in warm autumn colors – shades of yellow, orange, red, brown. It’s an annual treat. Inevitably, those lovely leaves fall to the ground. And, we have to rake them up.
Sunday was the perfect day for the task at hand. It was Indian summer. The sun was shining, and the air was warm. We filled 21 bags with leaves. It was exhausting. As a reward, we went to the town center for pizza slices and beer at Upper Crust. We felt recharged.
I continue to look for inspiration for meals that use ingredients that we already at home. I’ve making good progress through this month’s vegetables (more coming next Saturday) and the meat in the freezer. I found a winner with the recipe for Chicken Bouillabaisse in the latest issue (November/December 2009) of Cook’s Illustrated. Wow! It was a hit. It was even better as leftovers today.
I used a package of chicken from Chestnut Farms, fennel, potatoes, and parsley from Shared Harvest CSA, and leeks from our own garden. All that I had to pick up at the store was an orange and a baguette. And, I got to use my favorite piece of cookware: a large cobalt blue cast-iron Dutch oven from Le Creuset (a gift from my sister Jane).
Chicken Bouillabaisse
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated (Nov/Dec 2009)
- 2-1/2 lbs chicken thighs & legs (or any kind of parts you want), seasoned with salt & pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large leek, halved lengthwise, rinsed, and sliced thin
- 1 small fennel bulb, halved lengthwise, cored, and sliced thin
- ¼ tsp saffron threads
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 4 medium garlic cloves, minced (I used my microplane)
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
- ½ cup dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 3-inch strip orange zest
- ¼ cup Pernod (anise liqueur)
- ¾ lb potatoes, unpeeled, cut into ¾-inch cubes
- ¼ cup chopped parsley leaves
Preheat the oven to 375. Using a large oven-proof pot, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces, skin side down. Cook without moving until well- browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Flip chicken and brown the other side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
Add leek and fennel to the fat in the pot. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften and turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add saffron, cayenne, flour, garlic, and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, wine, broth, orange peel, Pernod, and potatoes. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Nestle chicken pieces into simmering liquid with skin above the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Move pot to the oven. Bake, uncovered, until meat temperature is 160F, about 20 minutes.
Remove pot from the oven and set oven to broil Once heated, return the pot to the oven and broil until chicken skin is crisp, and meat temperatures is 175F, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Rouille & Toasts
- 3 Tbsp water
- ¼ tsp saffron threads
- 1 baguette
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- Yolk from a large egg
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced (again with the microplane)
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup olive oil (plus extra for toasts)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Rouille:
Use a microwave-safe bowl big enough to hold about 2 cups. Microwave water and saffron on high power until water is steaming, 20 seconds. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Cut a 3-inch piece off the baguette. Remove and discard the crust. Tear the bread into 1-inch chunks. Stir bread chunks and lemon juice into saffron-infused water, and let it soak for about 5 minutes. Whisk the mixture until a uniform paste forms. Whisk in mustard, egg yolk, cayenne, and garlic until smooth. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in canola oil in a steady stream until smooth. Then slowly whisk in ½ cup of olive oil in a steady stream until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Toasts:
Slice remaining baguette into ¾-inch slices. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush toasts with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Bake until light golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.
To serve:
Remove chicken pieces from the pot. Stir parsley into the vegetable mixture in the pot. Ladle vegetable mixture and broth into shallow serving bowls. Top with a piece of chicken. Place a few dollops of rouille in each bowl. Spread each toast with a teaspoon of rouille, and float two toasts in each bowl,
A Plateful of Happiness 