Brown Sugar and Tangerine Baked Apples

On the first day of Hanukkah:

16 yellow bananas

10 golden pears

9 assorted apples

8 oranges and tangerines

6 ripe mangoes

4 quarts of strawberries

4 jewel-green kiwi

2 bunches of grapes

2 pecks of apples

1 large pineapple

is what I had in my house when the family came for the Thanksgiving-Hanukkah long weekend.

No partridge in a pear tree. But there was also a carton of kumquats for cooking not for eating out of hand.

Here’s what was left: 4 Cortland apples.

Here’s what I did with them: Brown Sugar and Tangerine Baked Apples.

Okay, I confess there was also one banana and a few grapes left.

Brown Sugar and Tangerine Baked Apples

4 large baking apples

half a lemon

3 tablespoons raisins

3 tablespoons dried cranberries

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 cup tangerine juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the apples and remove the core with an apple corer or small knife, leaving about 1/2” of the core on the bottom. Peel the apples halfway down from the top and rub the peeled surfaces with the cut side of the lemon. Put the apples in a baking dish.  Mix the raisins, cranberries, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stuff this mixture into the apple hollows. Dot the tops of the apples with the coconut oil. Pour the juice in the pan around the apples. Bake for about 45 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices, or until the apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings

Three Ingredient Sweet Potato Casserole

Need a last minute Thanksgiving or Thanksgivvukah dish? Try this sweet potato recipe. It has three ingredients (plus salt if you wish). Its other virtue is that it is barely sweetened, because I think sweet potatoes are so naturally sugary they don’t need much more.

You can make this ahead and reheat it. Even put marshmallows on top (a few minutes before serving, and after the casserole is already hot).

I use Sarabeth’s Orange-Apricot Marmalade. But you can use either plain orange marmalade or apricot jam (or mix the two).

Three Ingredient Sweet Potato Casserole

• 4 medium sweet potatoes

• 3 tablespoons orange-apricot marmalade

• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Spread, margarine or butter

• salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the sweet potatoes, prick them with the tip of a sharp knife and roast them for about one hour or until tender. When cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh into a bowl (discard the skin or eat separately). Add the marmalade and Earth Balance and mash until smooth. Season to taste with salt.

Makes 4-6 servings 

Dairy-free Pumpkin Pie

Every family has its own particular cast of characters. You know, the people comedians joke about when they say “wow, can you imagine what it’s like at their Thanksgiving dinner?” 

Well, we have ours too, although not along the lines the jokes are about. Our family loves getting together, we enjoy each other’s company, mostly think along the same lines socially and politically, think its okay for a few of us to go into a different room to watch football and generally consider it a very good, festive day.

Our cast of characters has to do with the food. There are kosher, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarians and nut-free among us.

That could make planning dinner a challenge for some, but I love figuring out solutions to all of these culinary matters.

Here’s my answer to the dairy-free thing: Coconut Milk Pumpkin Pie. The crust is not gluten free, but if you need one, try this. 

Dairy-free Pumpkin Pie

1-3/4 cups mashed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) (one 15 ounce can)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1-1/2 cups coconut milk

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 9-inch unbaked dairy-free pie crust

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Beat the pumpkin, sugar and brown sugar with a whisk or electric beater set at medium for a minute or until well blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the coconut milk until well blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt and beat ingredients for a minute or until well blended. Pour into the pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 45 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Makes one pie serving 8 people

Dairy-free Pie Crust

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

8 tablespoons cold Earth Balance Buttery Spread

4 tablespoons cold shortening

4-5 tablespoons water or juice, approximately          

Combine the flour, salt and lemon peel, if used, in a large bowl. Cut the Spread and shortening into chunks and add to the flour mixture. Work the fat into the flour mixture using your fingers or a pastry blender until the ingredients resemble crumbs. (If using a food processor, give the ingredients several quick, short pulses, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.) Add the liquid, using only enough to gather pastry into a ball of dough. Cut the dough in half and flatten each half to make a disk shape. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it stand at least 30 minutes. Makes enough for a one crust pie or two bottom crust only pies

Gluten Free Cranberry-Orange Noodle Kugel

I’ve been experimenting with gluten-free pasta recently, with mixed results. Some of these pasta products get gummy, some never become tender. If you go gluten-free, I suppose, it’s like anything else — you get used to it NOT being exactly like the product that isn’t gluten-free. Wheat-based pasta doesn’t taste or cook like corn or rice pasta, that’s all there is to it.

But if you’re on a gluten-free diet or you’re cooking for someone who is, you go with the flow, as they say. 

And so, here’s a recipe for gluten-free corn noodle kugel for Hanukkah, a holiday when kugels are on the menu (actually is there ever a time when a kugel would not be welcome?).

I used Sam Mills Pasta D’Oro Gluten Free Lasagne Corte*, which, by the way, is on the relatively inexpensive side for a gluten-free product.

*I did not get paid by this manufacturer nor did I receive a free sample. It’s just a great product, so I am recommending it to you.

Gluten Free Cranberry-Orange Noodle Kugel

1 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup orange juice

8 ounces cream cheese

4 ounces butter

1/3 cup sugar

1-1/2 cups sour cream

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons grated orange rind

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 pound Sam Mills Pasta D’Oro Gluten Free Lasagne Corte

Place cranberries in a bowl, pour the orange juice on top and let soak for at least 30 minutes. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9”x13” baking dish. In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until thoroughly blended and softened. Beat in the sugar until well blended. Add the sour cream and blend thoroughly. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the cinnamon, orange rind and salt. Set the mixture aside. Cook the pasta, drain the noodles and place them in a large bowl. Spoon the cheese mixture over the noodles. Add the cranberries and any remaining juice. Gently mix the ingredients. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Makes 12 servings

Grilled Cheese and Cranberry Sauce Panini

Every year, on Thanksgiving, I make a roasted turkey. 

Every year, on Hanukkah, I make a roasted goose.

This year, Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah are on the same day.

So, what to do? Turkey or goose?

I thought about turducken but that’s a chicken stuffed into a duck stuffed into a turkey. No goose. Even if it included goose, turducken isn’t my thing. Too much work and the chicken and duck inside is steamed, not roasted.

Not for me.

I could make goose the night before, on the first night of Hanukkah, but that’s always the latke fest and to eat potato latkes without sour cream is unthinkable.

So, I’m in a quandary.

If anyone would like to voice an opinion, I’m all ears.

Actually, Hanukkah lasts for 8 days. AND, it’s a holiday featuring food with dairy, especially cheese. AND everyone loves grilled cheese. AND there are always leftovers of everything.

So, during the long holiday weekend when the entire clan is here, we are sure to be eating one of these Grilled Cheese and Cranberry Paninis.

Grilled Cheese and Cranberry Sauce Panini 

2 slices rye bread

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon orange marmalade

1 ounce slices Muenster, cheddar, Manchego or fontina cheese

1/4 cup cranberry sauce

Spread one slice of the bread with a half tablespoon of the butter. Spread the other slice of bread with the marmalade. Place the cheese and cranberry sauce on top of one of the bread slices, then cover the sandwich with the other slice. Melt half the remaining butter in a saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, place the sandwich in the pan. Place another, heavier pan on top. Cook for about 2 minutes. Remove the heavier pan, lift the sandwich with a spatula and add the remaining butter to the pan. When the butter has melted, turn the sandwich on the uncooked side, weight down with the heavier pan and cook for another minute or so or until second side is golden brown. Makes 1 serving

Turkey Breast, Southwest Style

Some things never change. I’m thinking petty political squabbles over nonsense.

Like the one I wrote about last week, about when President Franklin Roosevelt, at the behest of business leaders who wanted more Christmas holiday shopping days to pump up business during the Depression, changed the date Thanksgiving was celebrated from the last Thursday in November, to the 4th Thursday in November. That was in 1939.

What I didn’t mention last week, was that this caused such a squall in Republican circles that for years, in several states, Republican governors refused to comply with a Democratic president’s plan and celebrated Thanksgiving, as had been usual, on the last Thursday.

For years there were two Thanksgivings: Republican and Democrat.

Even after a joint resolution in Congress (in December 1941, the country now at war) setting the official date of Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November, some states refused to comply. For years.

It wasn’t until 1957 that every state celebrated Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday.

The last holdout was Texas.

Somehow I wasn’t surprised to read that.

Here’s to you America. I am thankful and happy to celebrate Thanksgiving with everyone else on November 28th, the fourth Thursday.

Here’s to you Texas: United we stand! In your honor, here’s a recipe for Southwest style turkey breast for those who don’t want to roast a whole turkey on Thanksgiving or any other time. If you do, double the seasonings and juice.

Turkey Breast, Southwest Style

1 half turkey breast about 3 pounds

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, mashed

2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup apricot or orange juice

salt if desired

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and dry the turkey and place it skin side up in a roasting pan. Combine the olive oil, garlic, oregano, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper and brush the turkey with this mixture. Sprinkle with salt if desired. Place the turkey in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Roast for 20 minutes. Pour the juice over the turkey. Roast for another 40-65 minutes, basting occasionally, or until a meat thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the breast reads 160 degrees. Remove the turkey from the oven and let rest for about 15 minutes before carving. Makes 4 servings.

Jellied Brandy-spiked Cranberry Sauce

Before my mother learned to make her famous Baked Cranberries, our Thanksgiving cranberry sauce always came from a can. There were two kinds at the table: whole berry sauce for the grownups and the shivery, quivery jellied stuff for the kids.

At some point I tried my hand at homemade jellied cranberry sauce and yes, it is still shivery and quivery (but not so much as the canned kind). I made it in a can too, as a joke, so it could have those can-stripe-indentations. 

But no one was fooled after taking a taste. They knew it hadn’t come from a can because I had spiked it with orange brandy.

I’ve made several versions of this recipe by now, sometimes with ginger brandy instead of orange, sometimes using juice or cider plus water instead of all water; sometimes mixing in bits of crystallized ginger to give it some extra texture.

But this is the basic version. I make it in a ring mold because I usually don’t have empty cans in the house.

Jellied Cranberry Sauce

4 cups fresh cranberries (one pound)

1-2/3 cups water, approximately

1-1/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, ginger brandy or other flavored liqueur

1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger, currants, raisins, etc., optional

Wash the berries and remove any stems that remain. Drain the berries and place them in a saucepan. Add the water, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 4-5 minutes until the berries pop open. Crush the berries with a hand blender or in a food processor, then place them in a strainer over a bowl and press down to extract as much liquid as possible. There should be 2-1/4 cups. If not, add some water, juice or cider. Place the liquid in a saucepan, stir in the sugar and bring the liquid to a boil. Cook until the mixture reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer or until it is rich looking and dark and can form a gel when you place a drop in cold water. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the brandy and optional ingredients, if used. Pour into clean cans (best to use #2 cans, about 15-16 ounce size). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. To umold, use the tip of a sharp knife around the edges, invert the can over a plate and shake it out. Makes 8 servings

Bean and Pasta Soup with Harissa

I have a cold, which means I need soup. Hot, thick, comforting soup.

But I don’t feel like going out, especially to a supermarket, to buy the stuff I need for soup.

Fortunately I have a well-stocked cupboard and fridge. I have everything I need to make Bean and Pasta Soup. I am adding Harissa because I want that extra kick of heat to help clear my head.

Here’s some advice to consider: keep certain items in your house so you can always make something delicious to eat when you can’t, or don’t want to shop. Canned or packaged tomatoes, beans, stock, pasta and crisper items such as onions, carrots, celery and lemons are just a few of the staples I stock.

If you don’t have fresh basil, substitute with about a teaspoon of dried oregano; if you don’t have Harissa, add a few drops of Sriracha or Tabasco sauce.

Bean and Pasta Soup with Harissa

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick

2 stalks celery, sliced 1/2 inch thick

1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, including liquid

4 cups vegetable stock

3 tablespoons minced fresh basil

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup elbow macaroni

2 15-ounce cans red kidney beans, with liquid

1 teaspoon Harissa

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots and celery and cook for 2 minutes or until softened slightly. Add the tomatoes, stock, basil, parsley and some salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes. Add the pasta, beans and Harissa and cook for about 12 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Serve the soup sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Sweet Potato Latkes with Cranberries

The words “holiday season” usually conjure up notions of Christmas and Hanukkah, decorated trees and candle-lit menorahs, because these two celebrations usually come at about the same time during December. But this year is different, because for the first time ever — maybe — Hanukkah is on the same day as Thanksgiving. And it won’t happen again until the year 79811 — maybe.

I say maybe because Jewish holidays always begin at sundown the night before, and so Hanukkah actually begins on Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving. 

Also, in 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation changing the the day we celebrate Thanksgiving from the last Thursday to the 4th Thursday. So if you consider that, then Hanukkah and Thanksgiving actually did fall on the same day back in in 1888.

There’s more, much more to this story, including the usual political nonsense that happens when a president of one party says something, does something or is eager to try something and the other party doesn’t like it. In 1939, for example, one Republican (Tom Taggart of Atlantic City) was so incensed by FDR’s proclamation that he referred to Thanksgiving as “Franksgiving.”

Btw, in case you watch Boardwalk Empire, you might like to know that Taggart was a one-time favorite of Enoch L. “Nocky” Johnson, (the GOP party leader on whom Nucky Thompson is based).

But all of this amusing stuff aside, the question for the actual celebration is:

"what do we eat?"

With two holidays overlapping (it’s being called “Thanksgivukkah”), there’s a lot of cooking involved. And a lot depends on when families will be getting together — Wednesday night for Hanukkah and Thursday for Thanksgiving? Only on Thursday?

Because Thanksgiving is a meat meal; Hanukkah is typically dairy and for folks who keep kosher, you don’t mix the two.

Thanksgiving usually involves a roasted turkey, cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes; Hanukkah is potato latke time plus anything fried.

My first thought: sweet potato latkes, stuffed with cranberries. Takes care of two Thanksgiving essentials and delivers it in a form familiar for Hanukkah. Suitable for a meat meal. 

I tried them out to see if this was something we could sink our teeth into this year and the answer was a resounding “yes” so this is one of our “Thanksgivukkuh” recipes this year.

Sweet Potato Latkes/Pancakes with Cranberries

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and finely shredded

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon grated fresh orange peel

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 large eggs

Vegetable oil for frying

Shred the potatoes in a food processor. Squeeze the shreds to remove as much liquid as possible. Place the potatoes in a large bowl. Chop the cranberries into small pieces. Add to the potatoes and toss to distribute the ingredients. Stir in the flour, orange peel, salt, ginger, cinnamon and baking powder and toss to distribute the ingredients evenly. Add the eggs and blend them in thoroughly. Heat about 1/8 inch vegetable oil in a saute pan. Form portions of the mixture into pancakes about 3-inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Fry the pancakes in batches over medium-high heat for 2–3 minutes per side or until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Makes about 20

My Dad’s Special Hot Chocolate

I think Hallowe’en should be in September.

Before you say I’m a crackpot, hear me out.

On Hallowe’en night it’s always cold and usually rainy too (I’ve kept track over the years). That means kids have to put heavy outwear over their costumes so you really can’t see the Batgirls, Ariels, doctors or Ninja Avengers outfits that you spent a fortune for or weeks on to make yourself.

OR your kid refuses to wear outwear and is either cold and irritable or gets a cold and then is irritable. Or you are.

But in September it’s still warm. There are enough pumpkins already harvested that it feels like Hallowe’en already.

Like September 10th or so.

I am past walking door to door with my kids. They’re now doing that with theirs. Back in the day Ed took the kids trick-or-treating. My job was to stay at home making the hot chocolate so they could warm up as soon as they came in the door because they were always cold and irritable. Until they had a sip or two of my Dad’s famous Marshmallow Hot Chocolate and emptied out the trick-or-treat bag to see how much candy they collected.

My Dad’s Special Hot Chocolate

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar

• pinch of salt

• 3 tablespoons boiling water

• 2 cups milk

• 4 marshmallows

• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Add the boiling water and stir to make a smooth mixture. Stir in the milk and add two of the marshmallows. Bring to a near-boil over moderate heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract. Stir, or place liquid in a blender and process until frothy. Pour into two mugs. Top each with one marshmallow.

Makes 2

Any votes for September?