Full Plates & Football

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable day with family and lots of good food. As usual I made enough food to feed an army! The upside is I won't have to cook for a couple of days! My menu consisted of sauteed wild mushrooms with spinach, stuffing with sausage (veggie sausage and no one suspected a thing!), green bean casserole, turkey and ham for the family carnivores and Tofurkey for me and the kids, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, potatoes gratin, wild rice and last but not least pumpkin & apple pies. My favorite dish was probably the mushrooms and spinach. Most of the recipes I found on Food Network or Epicurious.



Sauteed Wild Mushrooms with Spinach

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups mixed wild mushrooms (any combination of shiitake, porcini, chanterelle, oyster, portobello, and cremini)
• 3 tablespoons dry sherry wine
• 1 1/2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 (10-ounce) bags fresh spinach

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and saute 1 minute. Add mushrooms and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until mushrooms are tender. Add sherry and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Add spinach (add spinach in batches if necessary), and simmer 1 to 2 minutes, until spinach wilts, turning frequently.

Ultimate Potato Gratin

• 1 head savoy cabbage, cored, cleaned, and shredded
• 1 (2-inch) piece slab bacon, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the gratin dish
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 bunch fresh chives, finely chopped to 1/4 cup
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds baking potatoes, unpeeled and thinly sliced (about 1/8-inch), see Cook's note*
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Finely shred the cabbage. Cut the bacon into 1/2-inch chunks. Place a small skillet over medium-low heat and fry the bacon, until crisp. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to bacon fat in frying pan. When it has melted add 1/2 the garlic and give it a quick stir with a wooden spoon to soften. Add the cabbage and coat it with the butter. Slowly let it wilt. Add the bacon. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat and add most of the chives, reserving a little for the garnish.

Generously butter the bottom and sides of an ovenproof casserole dish.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, 1 1/2 cups of cream, 1 cup of Parmesan, and the remaining garlic, Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Using your hands, place a layer of potatoes in the casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan and repeat with 2 more layers. Spoon the cabbage mixture on top and spread it out evenly over the potatoes. Top it off with 2 more layers of potato and Parmesan. Pour the remaining 1cup cream over the dish. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

Cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Leave for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chives.

Wild Rice with Dried Cranberries and Apples

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup wild rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 pound crusty white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (6 cups)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or reserved fat from turkey
• 2 cups diced (1/3 inch) onion
• 2 cups diced (1/3 inch) celery
• 2 cups diced (1/3 inch) apple
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh marjoram or 1/2 teaspoon dried, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried, crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup dried cranberries (5 ounces)
• 1 cup turkey stock or chicken broth

Bring water to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then add rice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender and most grains are split open, 1 to 1 1/4 hours (not all liquid will be absorbed). Drain well in a colander and spread out in a baking pan to cool completely.

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.

Spread bread cubes in a shallow baking pan and bake in upper third of oven until dry, about 20 minutes.

Melt 1 stick butter in a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat, then cook onion and celery, stirring, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add apple and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in herbs, pepper, and remaining teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with rice, bread, and dried cranberries.

Increase oven temperature to 450°F and butter a shallow 3-quart baking dish (13 by 9 inches).

Spread stuffing evenly in baking dish and drizzle with turkey stock and melted butter. Bake, covered tightly with foil, in upper third of oven until heated through, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is browned, 10 to 15 minutes more.

NOTE: I omitted stuffing and added pine nuts. I also used vegetable broth instead of turkey or chicken broth.

I originally thought I was going Black Friday shopping tomorrow but decided instead to surf the internet for deals and start Christmas decorating. 27 days until Christmas! YIKES!

Until next time...
Peace & Love,

Ann