Thanksgiving Countdown

Ahhhhh.....the holidays are upon us.  I love this time of year, but I am always confounded by the way that it sneaks up on me.  Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday of November.  So why am I always surprised?  It seems that every year, time passes faster and faster.  Boy, the first few months of school seemed to take forever to pass before Christmas break when I was a kid.  Now, with all three kids in school, it seems like only a couple of weeks ago that the school year started.  It's funny how the days can drag on and on, but the months and years can pass in a flash.

Okay, enough Deep Thoughts for today.  The fact is, ready or not, this Thursday is Thanksgiving.  I jokingly refer to this week as the Cooking Olympics.  It's the time of great celebration, and cooks look forward to preparing their best on this day, more than any other of the year.

The question is, what is the best?  Do you like experimenting and throwing out new creations?  Or do you like to do what's expected, only better than expected?

Me, I'm a traditionalist, through and through.  Not only is Turkey required on Thanksgiving (I bristle at the suggestion of serving roast beef because turkey is "so boring"---suck it up, people!  It's Turkey Day!), but I am also feeling a little ill about the live show the Food Network broadcast yesterday.  They brought all of their stars together to answer questions via Facebook, Skype, email and phone.  And it was almost ALL about being new and different.  Hey, I can see the attraction to quicker cooking turkey, but cutting it up before cooking is just wrong. There must be a whole, beautiful, bronze, glistening turkey, sitting on the biggest platter you own, on the Thanksgiving table.  And what's all this nonsense about basmati rice stuffing?  Don't you know that stuffing requires dried bread, sage, celery and onions?  And flan for dessert? Fried ice cream?  Bah!  Pie!  It's not hard, folks!

Yeah, for me, Thanksgiving is not the time for gourmet food or pulling new tricks out of the hat.  It's about the basics, well done.  Roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade stuffing, orange jello, cottage cheese and Cool Whip salad, rolls, and pie.  Yes, I said Cool Whip.  It's the only time you'll ever that item mentioned here.  But there are some things that you just don't mess with.

On the other hand, how many days do you get to just cook for people?  No work, no school....just family and friends sitting around, waiting to eat what you cook them.  It's a little hard not to take advantage of that.

So here's what I do to get the most out of the Event:  Go traditional on the above absolute necessities.  And then I play with the rest of the meal.

I have, in the last few years, played with the dessert.  I'm past that.  It's not that I am against it.  I like the idea of pumpkin bread pudding with whiskey creme anglais.  The pumpkin cheesecake I made a couple of years ago was, indeed, outstanding.  Here's the problem: we're not big dessert people.  I was underwhelmed by the bread pudding, and while we loved the cheesecake, we also threw away its molding remains (over half of the cake) a couple of weeks later.  So if I want to experiment on desserts, I have to save it for when I am feeding large crowds, like parties and potlucks.  Then I am less likely to watch a day (or more) worth of work decompose over the following days and weeks.  For Thanksgiving, I am sticking to the tried and true.  This year, that means pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and apple pie (though I may throw some cranberries in with the apples).

So what's left?  Well, you may have noticed that I didn't mention vegetables.  I am not attached to the infamous green bean casserole.  I can throw it together, since lots of people do like it, but if it's just my family, I would be fine to leave it out.  So what then?  Well, there's a corn casserole that I remember liking years ago.  I looked up recipes, and there are scads of them.  I guess my best bet is to take elements of several that I think might work, and see what happens.  Also, butternut squash is so perfect for Thanksgiving.  Funny story:  I once had several butternut squash from our garden.  I had no idea they were so hardy.  I had never tasted the stuff, but I felt that I should use them up. So I found a recipe for butternut squash casserole.  Let me tell you, it's more dessert than veggie side dish, but really tasty.  Well, I took it to a family Thanksgiving, and it was well-received.  Except by one brother, who is generally not too fond of veggies.  Eventually, he was talked into trying it.  A month or so later, I got a call from this brother, asking if I would bring the casserole to the Christmas get-together, because he had been craving it.  Yup.  It's that good.

However, as I said, it's pretty dessert-like.  I want to serve an actual vegetable.  So I think that this year, I am going to roast cubes of butternut squash, lightly coated with oil and thyme, at a high heat.  Somehow, I am going to use a maple syrup glaze near the end.  I haven't figured that out yet, but it sounds good.

And how about cranberry sauce?  I'll admit, I am not a fan.  I haven't often given it much thought, and truly, I am fine with buying the can and slicing it up--just to say it was on the table.  However, it is easy enough to make from scratch.  I thought it might be good with oranges and bits of candied ginger.  As further proof of my belief that there is nothing new under the sun, I found lots of recipes by googling those ingredients.  Again, I will probably pull an idea here, another idea there, and hope it turns out.  If not, who cares?  It's cranberry sauce!

And finally, the completely unnecessary appetizers.  Seriously, who needs appetizers when there is such a big meal coming?  Well, considering my complete inability to put dinner on the table within an hour of my target, appetizers are a pretty good idea to hold everyone over.  Plus, they're fun!  I love appetizers.  This year, I am trying a new spin on something that I tried (with only marginal success) a few years ago.  I'm using phyllo dough to make little cups (using a mini-muffin tin), and baking them with a cube of brie, a bit of minced dried cranberries, and a maple-brown sugar glazed walnut.

So that's my plan.  I like to keep it very seasonal.  As much as I love lemon and lime, they just don't fit into my Thanksgiving plan.  I'm all about onions, celery, apples, cranberries, cinnamon and other warm spices....basically, anything homey and warm.  Of course, that's just me--an ultratraditionalist.

Now, how does it all get done?

Remember, there are lots of things that can be done ahead of time, even days in advance.  I put together a basic plan last night.  Here's what it looks like:

Monday--Clean the fridge and get the kitchen ready for a cooking marathon.  This may not be
                necessary for people with better organizational skillz than I possess.
                Shop for all Thanksgiving and day after food and supplies.
                Make pie crust and store it, shaped into ready-to-roll disks, wrapped in plastic wrap AND in
                a Ziploc bag.
                Dry bread in a low oven, break into small pieces, cool and store in bread bags.
                Start moulding butter in little leaf-shaped silicone candy moulds.  Corny?  Yes.  Awesome?
                Also yes.

Tuesday--Clean the rest of the house and decorate.  See above.
                Make candied ginger and candied orange peel (for cranberry sauce and brine)
               
Wednesday--Cook and cool brine for turkey.
                Make cranberry sauce and refrigerate.
                Assemble vegetable casseroles.
                Chop onions and celery for stuffing.
                Clean and prep larger pieces of onion, celery and carrot for turkey stock.
                Make all pies.
                Put turkey in brine just before going to bed.

Thursday--Make 1st batch of stuffing.  This is a Banks tradition for breakfast.  Those who marry in
                don't seem to get it.  Whatev.
                Peel and cube potatoes, cover with water.
                Get turkey in the oven.
                Make second batch of stuffing--the one that will bake and actually be served with the turkey.
                Make appetizers.
                Cook potatoes, drain, mash and add gobs of good/bad stuff to them.
                Put stuffing in oven, in a casserole dish (I don't cook it in the turkey).
                Peel and cube squash, prep for oven.
                Take turkey out when done, rest while preparing veggies.
                Turn oven up to 450, roast squash.
                Once squash is done (it shouldn't take long), heat up casseroles and rolls in lower oven.
                Make gravy from pan drippings.
                Hopefully, the veggies and gravy will be done within 30-45 minutes, which is about how
                long the turkey should rest, so dinner is served.  Will it happen this year?  Stay tuned.
                After dinner, remove most of the meat from the turkey and make turkey stock from the frame
                for tomorrow's turkey-rice soup.
                Eat pie and crash.

So that's the philosophy and game plan.  As I am able, I will post some pictures and recipes as I go.  I am already behind today, so we'll see how it goes!

If anything that I have mentioned sounds interesting, let me know, and I will put that recipe at the top of the list to document!

And please, share your philosophy on Thanksgiving dinner.  Do you like to experiment, or are you stodgy, like me?

Easy Weeknight Spaghetti

Printable Recipe

Spaghetti.  Is there a meal that is more likely to be agreed upon by all members of the family than this?  Whether they call it "spaghetti" or "pasketti", everyone seems to like it.

Except the pesky husbands.  Something about "not enough meat."

I have several versions of spaghetti, and they are all good.  It just depends on how much time I have, what mood I am in, what ingredients I have on hand, and how much money I want to spend on dinner.

My very favorite spaghetti, in fact, my very favorite meal, is spaghetti caprese (kuh-pray-zay).  It is a pleasure to both cook and eat.  I start with fresh tomatoes, peel, seed, and chop them, and make them into a quick sauce with lots of garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes and fresh basil.  Finally, I add some chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese and toss it all together.  It's so good.  And so time-consuming.  Better to save for weekends.

Of course, you've heard of the all-day spaghetti sauce.  The one that starts with whole tomatoes and a bunch of other ingredients, and simmers for hours on the stovetop.  Italian grandmas are famous for it.  It's often kind of chunky.  Not my favorite (I absolutely hated cooked tomatoes as a kid, and though I now love them, I can't quite get over the idea that chunks of tomatoes simply don't belong in a spaghetti sauce), but it's a fun process and sometimes worth it, especially if I have the time to make some meatballs to simmer along with the sauce. But still so time-consuming.

It's a common misconception that people who love to cook and stay away from convenience foods, spend hours cooking each meal.  Not true. I wish!  Alas, there is still laundry, dusting, decluttering, and  taxi-ing to be done.  The sad fact is, unless I have the forethought and time to cook in the morning or early afternoon, I need to cook quick meals just as much as the ladies who work outside the home.  Our kids go to a charter school about 15 minutes from our house, so there is no bussing.  I have to pick them up each afternoon, and by the time we get home, it is at least 4:00, or later if there were errands to run.  Then it's time to get the kids on-task.  There are chores to be done, homework to be finished, music to be practiced, and arguments to be broken up.  Burying myself in the kitchen to make a gourmet dinner simply isn't an option most of the time.  And even if I had the time, I still don't have the money.

So some meals are better than others for weeknights.  My weeknight spaghetti has a meat sauce (a little more husband-friendly) that is quick, easy, and cheap to throw together.  You can pretty much put the big pot of water on to boil before even starting the sauce.  By the time the water boils and the pasta cooks, the sauce will be ready.  So let's get started.  First, put a big pot of water on the stove.  It will take a while to boil, and you can start the sauce while you wait.  You might also want to preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  

Start by chopping an onion.  It seems like I start a lot of recipes this way.  Almost all of them.  But then, Ina Garten jokes that most of hers start with a stick of butter, so I guess that's okay.  A medium dice will be just fine for this sauce.

Now mince some garlic.  I like about 3 cloves, but you can start with less and add more next time if you want bigger flavor.  

That's it!  That's all the chopping it takes!  This makes me happy.

Now we need to brown some hamburger.  Whatever you want to use is fine, but I use ground chuck almost all of the time.  Ground sirloin only if I found a really good sale.  I stay away from ground round.

Browning hamburger is something that pretty much everyone has done, right?  But are you getting all the flavor out of your hamburger that you can?  Did you know that you can caramelize hamburger to add more flavor to your sauce?  You may have heard of pan searing.  It's usually done to larger pieces of meat, like steaks or roasts.  It sears the outside of the meat, sealing in the juices for the rest of the cooking process, while also leaving behind browned bits (fond) in the pan.  Those browned bits are full of flavor and can then be used to flavor a sauce.  Well, ground meat can be "seared" as well.  The same basic steps apply.

1.  Get your pan really hot, then add a bit of canola oil.  Don't use teflon here.  Stainless, anodized, or cast iron work well.

2.  Slap your meat right into the hot pan.  If you don't hear a hard sizzle, the pan isn't hot enough.

3.  Don't crowd the pan too much.  This is easier with ground meat, but still be mindful.  If there is too much meat in the pan, it will steam instead of sear.

4.  Step away from the pan.  You have to let the meat get a good brown layer on it.  That's where the flavor comes from.  Don't stir the meat!  

5. Once you see some brown around the edges, check to see if the meat has released from the pan by nudging a spatula under a piece of meat.  If the meat is still sticking, then it hasn't seared, and it isn't ready to turn.  It really will release like magic once it is set.  So be patient.

There!  See that?  See how it's really dark brown, not beige?  Well, you would see that better if I knew anything about taking decent pictures, but trust me.  You want to see some really brown-brown.  You will also see some brown on the skillet....unless you are like me and use cast iron.  It's not quite so obvious on black.  But I like using cast iron, especially with tomato sauces, because the acidity causes some of the iron to leach into the sauce.  I can use all the iron I can get.

So once the meat has released from the pan and turns easily, flip sections of it.  At this point, drain most of the fat.  Just tip the pan to one side so that the fat flows to the lower edge.  Push the meat away from it with your spatula, and then use a spoon to scoop out the fat.  Don't throw it down your sink drain!  It's not good for the pipes and will cause you headaches later.  I keep a pint-size canning jar by the stove. Once it is full, I let it cool and harden, then scoop it out into a trash bag that is about to go outside.  That's it.  You don't have to go crazy getting every last drop of fat out of the pan.  If there is a teaspoon left, try and remember that it is a teaspoon that is going to be spread throughout an entire family-sized meal plus leftovers.  And as unpopular as it is to say, fat brings flavor.  Why do you think gravy tastes so good?  The only other ingredients are flour and water.  But I digress....

Now you can season your meat. Don't be shy.  You'll need at least a teaspoon of coarse salt (less if you are using table salt), plus lots of pepper and garlic powder (not garlic salt).

If I was making a normal batch of spaghetti, I would just push the meat to the cooler side of the pan at this point.  But I made a double batch of sauce, so there wasn't enough room.  I just scooped out the browned meat to a bowl and set it aside.  Now it's a little easier to see the bits of flavor that the meat left behind.  That's going to make the sauce taste better.

Now, just add a little bit of olive oil (the heat won't be quite as high as when you browned the meat, so a lower smoke-point oil is okay, and we want the flavor of the olive oil in the sauce) to the still hot pan, and add the onion that you diced earlier.  Stir it around to coat with the oil, while also scraping the pan to loosen the browned bits.  You will see the onion begin to take on a golden color almost immediately.  Turn the heat down just a little and let the onions soften.  

Once the onion is soft and a bit translucent, clear a small space in the pan.  If the pan seems dry (more likely with cast iron), add just a small drop of olive oil.  Then add the minced garlic and a dash or two of red pepper flakes (if you like a little heat).  Stir these around gently, just to moisten in the oil and keep them from sticking.  In about 20-30 seconds, you'll smell the glorious aroma of garlic and olive oil. Immediately stir the garlic and onions together to keep the garlic from browning.  Then add the meat back into the pan and stir it all together.

That's how I brown ground beef.  All the time.  It doesn't matter what the ultimate dish is--tacos, stroganoff, casseroles--I always use salt, pepper and garlic powder, and add in sauteed onions and garlic.  Even if the recipe I am using doesn't call for it, I brown hamburger this way.  I can make adjustments to the rest of the seasonings later, but in my opinion, the meat has to be well-browned and well-seasoned first.

One exception:  If you are adding any sort of packaged seasoning, check the salt content.  Taco seasoning isn't a problem, but many others are packed with sodium and will make your meal too salty.

Now it's time to make the sauce.  This is really, really complicated, and it requires some specialty equipment.  Namely, a can opener.  

Yup, open some cans.  You'll need a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce (strongly recommend Hunt's) and a 6 ounce can of tomato paste.  Don't confuse the tomato sauce with spaghetti sauce.  Jarred or canned spaghetti sauce has lots of stuff added to the tomatoes.  It's usually heavily seasoned with herbs like oregano, basil and parsley.  And it's almost alway chunky.  I can't say that I have ever had a jarred spaghetti sauce that I liked much.  Tomato sauce, on the other hand, is a smooth, cooked-down version of pureed tomatoes.  There is a little sugar and oregano added, but neither is really noticeable.  They just seem to smooth out the acidity of the tomatoes.  Tomato paste is basically sauce that has been cooked down even further.  It adds a deep tomato flavor, and serves to thicken the sauce.

You don't want it too thick, though.  And because the tomato sauce and paste were cooked down so much, you'll want to add back some water.  That may seem counter-intuitive.  Why not just use pureed tomatoes?  Well, because the sauce and paste add the long-cooked flavor without having to cook them all day, and because, as I said, the sauce has been smoothed out and won't taste as harsh and acidic as tomato puree will taste straight out of the can.  If I was making the all-day-simmer spaghetti sauce, I would use tomato puree.  But Hunt's does some of the work for me, so I don't have to.

So fill both of the cans about 3/4 of the way with water, swishing a little to get the remains of the sauce loose from the can.  Pour them both into the meat and sauce, and stir.  

Bring the mixture to a simmer, and then turn the heat down to low until the pasta is ready.

By now, your water should be rapidly boiling.  It's surprisingly hard to capture rapidly boiling water in a picture.  At least with a phone, it is.

Make sure you heavily salt the water.  A sprinkle won't do anything for the flavor of your pasta.  A tablespoon will do lots.  A fistful will do more.  And no, it won't taste overly salty.  Also, this only helps before you add the pasta, or right after.  The pasta soaks up the water, so if the salt isn't dissolved in the water, it can't be absorbed into the pasta.

Now add a pound of pasta.  I'm terrible at guessing how much a pound is.  Every once in a while, I get pasta from Meijer on a good sale, and it makes my life so much easier, because it's in 1 lb boxes.  Most of the time, though, I buy it at Aldi, where it comes in 2 lb boxes.  It doesn't seem like that should be so hard....just use half, right?  Only I never guess right.  Fortunately, that can be dealt with later.

I break my spaghetti in half, too.  You don't have to, of course.  I just find that it is easier to both cook and eat.  I don't want to haul out the stock pot to cook spaghetti in, nor use the amount of gas necessary to heat all that water.  But my six quart pot isn't big enough to immerse whole spaghetti in.  Besides that, getting whole strands of spaghetti from plate to mouth can be a messy affair, especially for kids.  Breaking handfuls of spaghetti in half before dropping into the boiling water solves both problems.

Once the pasta is in, give it a good stir.  I like to use tongs for this, because I can both stir and squeeze at the same time.  Squeezing helps to break up clumps.  Clumps of pasta (formed when the starch in the pasta gets wet and acts like glue unless broken up and encouraged to dissolve into the water) can ruin my day.  You'll want to give an enthusiastic stir right away, and every couple of minutes after that.

While the pasta cooks, you can get some garlic bread ready.  Use an Italian loaf from the grocery bakery--or homemade if you were really motivated earlier in the day.  Slice it in half, as evenly as you can, as though making a huge sandwich.

Open it up and spread it with softened butter.  I beg you, don't use margarine.  Margarine is gross.  Use butter.  

Then sprinkle it with garlic powder.  Again, if you want it to be really good, and you had time, you can use garlic oil instead of butter, smooshing the softened garlic into the oil.  Or, use the softened garlic, but save the oil for another use (keep garlic oil in the fridge), and just smoosh the garlic into butter.  Vastly better, but also more time-consuming.  And since this is about weeknight spaghetti, we can be content with garlic powder.  You can also sprinkle on some parmesan cheese if you like, or even shredded mozzarella.  But I didn't.  This time.

Put the bread halves together, and place on a large sheet of foil.  Fold up the ends, like this.....

and then fold the sides up and over the bread.  This will ensure that no melting butter will leak out of the foil wrapping and smoke in your oven. Now just place the loaf into your preheated oven for about 15 minutes.  It should just about be done by the time the spaghetti and salad are ready.

Cooking pasta "al dente" is easy.  It mainly involves following the directions on the box.  Once the water is boiling again, set the timer for the minimum time listed on the box.  When the timer is almost ready to go off, use your tongs to fish out a piece of pasta, and bite into it.  "Al dente" means, literally, "to the tooth."  Basically, it means that you want just a little resistance to your bite.  If your teeth go through it like a hot knife through warm butter, your pasta is overcooked.  If you still feel like it's almost crunchy at the center, you might want to let it cook another minute or so.  However, I like to drain it just at this point--a little underdone.  If it's not quite done, that means that it can still soak up some moisture without becoming soggy.  I want it to soak up some sauce, so I drain it a little early.

First, though, I scoop out a cup of the pasta cooking water.  It is full of starch and seasoned with salt.  So if I find that I don't have quite enough sauce, or my sauce has thickened too much, I can add a little of this starchy water to loosen the sauce without thinning it too much.

Once the pasta has drained (don't rinse it! you need the starch on the pasta to help the sauce cling to it!), place it back in the pot, or straight into the pan of sauce, if there is room.  Again, I made a double batch of sauce, so I put the pasta into the pot and ladled the sauce over the top.

Stir it together, and add a little pasta water if necessary.  You want the sauce to be a bit loose, since some of it is still going to be sucked up by the pasta.  Dry spaghetti is bad.  Now cover the pot and let the spaghetti sit while you make a salad.

Sigh.  I know the color is awful in this picture.  I had lost all daylight (it is November in Michigan, after all), and had to rely on the overhead kitchen light, which washes all the color out.  The sauce really is red.

That's it!  Serve it with a simple garden salad and a slice of garlic bread.  I forgot to take a picture of the garlic bread.  Hungry kids, you know......

Garlic

This is a head of garlic.

This is a clove of garlic.  I just pulled it off the head.

This is a whole head of garlic, separated into cloves.

Well, that was helpful, wasn't it?

Seriously, this is pretty obvious to a lot of people.  Others, not so much.  I have been surprised at the number of people who don't use garlic, only use it from a jar they found in the refrigerated case of the produce section, or think of it as somehow exotic.

I use garlic all the time.  It's one of my favorite ingredients.  It is prominent in so many different cuisines.  Italian (the obvious), French, middle eastern, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican.....I am sure the list would go on and on.  Off the top of my head, I can't think of any cuisine that doesn't use garlic.  And I am not sure I want to know.

Oh, garlic is so good.  I know the reputation it has.  They say not to eat anything garlicky on a date, because you wouldn't want to smell like garlic.  I have two problems with that advice.  So single ladies, listen up.  First, the notion that garlic smells bad is one of the most confusing bits of conventional wisdom that I have heard.  Okay, so if you chew on a raw garlic clove, your breath is going to smell kind of acrid.  But I haven't seen too many menu offerings with raw garlic as a listed ingredient.  Once you saute or roast garlic, the aroma is absolutely amazing.  In fact, my number one, all-time favorite culinary aroma is garlic and olive oil warming together in a pan.  If you are worried about breath, well, chew on a mint after dinner.  There is no long-lasting effect on your breath after eating garlic.  And it will not seep from your pores.
But more importantly, if you are dating a guy who minds the smell of garlic, you don't want to continue down that path, anyway.  

There is nothing better than fresh garlic.  I do use garlic powder when seasoning beef, but that is always in addition to fresh garlic, not in place of it.  I haven't ever used garlic in a jar.  It's just too expensive, and I have a feeling that it would get much too harsh and bitter, sitting in its juices all that time.  Besides, I use garlic in many ways, not just minced.  Sometimes I just smash the cloves of garlic and put them in a cup or so of olive oil, and warm it all over low heat for quite a while, so that the flavor of the garlic is infused into the oil.  Makes a great pizza crust flavoring, or a quick dressing for pasta or salad.  It works for garlic bread, too.  Plus, your house will smell amazing.  And the cloves don't go to waste.  After all that time in the oil, they are soft and mild, and perfect for smooshing into mashed potatoes or spreading over bread. Or cook until it's just past the spreadable stage and chop it up to sprinkle over pizza or add to sauces.  

If you are using garlic to flavor a sauce, you can make it a little milder by simply slicing the garlic, or stronger by mincing it.  The smaller the pieces, the more it tends to impart its flavor.  Of course, that's only one factor.  If you are cooking the sauce a long time, it won't make much difference.  But for a quick pan sauce with a little garlic flavor, go ahead and use slices.

So for those to whom garlic remains a mystery, let me show you how simple it really is.  

Once again, this is a head of garlic.  And a pretty good one, at that.  When you pick out garlic, look for large heads (they are usually priced by the unit, not by weight, so get the biggest ones you can for the money), firm, filled-out skins, and cloves that seem to be on the large side.  There is nothing wrong with smaller cloves--you can just use 2 or 3 small ones and count them as one for a recipe.  The only problem I have is that each clove has to be peeled, so if you want less work, look for large cloves.  Sometimes the little buggers can be tricky, though.  What looks like one clove bump will turn out to be two or three cloves.  Nothing you can do.  Sigh and start peeling.

The other thing to avoid is any sort of sprouting.  I'm not talking about the dry, hard stem that sometimes sticks straight out of the top.  Usually, that is cut off, but sometimes you will see it still present.  It's not a problem.  You want to avoid the green sprouts.  It means that the garlic is old, and will most likely be dried out a bit, and less pungent.  However, I have often heard that, if your garlic cloves start to sprout after purchase, you should throw them away because they will have become bitter.  Not true.  Simply cut the peeled clove in half, root to tip, and pull the sprout away.  The sprout itself is bitter, so you don't want to just mince it up with the garlic.  But the surrounding garlic won't be affected.  The worst that will happen to it is that it might lose some of it pungency.  No big deal.

So how do you get the little nuggets of goodness out of all that papery skin?  Here you go:

Lay the garlic clove on your cutting board, on its flattest side.

You need to smash the garlic.  You can use a heavy can, the bottom of a glass, or anything else heavy.  Just smash away.  I use the side of my knife, since it's already out and ready to use for slicing or mincing, anyway.  If you use your chef's knife, just remember the most important safety tip:  angle the blade downward!  To start out, lay the blade over the clove so that the dull side faces you and the sharp side is touching the board.  Eventually, you will get a feel for it, and you won't need to touch the board anymore, but always, always, make sure the sharp side is angled toward the board and away from you.

Now, hold the handle of the knife to keep it steady, and use the heel of your other palm to whack the flat of the knife down onto the garlic.  Is that a common term?  Heel of your palm?  Hmmm....I'm suddenly a little unsure.  If not, I'm talking about the part that is just above your wrist.  For one thing, it's the strongest part of your hand--it's really the strength of your arm at work.  But more importantly, you can still hold your fingers and the rest of your palm up and away from the knife.  Okay, maybe I'm making this sound scarier than it is.  I have never had a single problem using my knife to smash garlic.  But perhaps that is precisely because I am pretty careful about it.  So....use the knife, but be careful.

There it is.  One smashed clove of garlic.  Why smash it?  Well, because it somehow releases the tightly wrapped skin from the clove.  If you have ever tried to peel garlic like you do an onion (guilty), you know that it is a maddening activity.  However, once the clove has been smashed, the skin slips right off, often in one piece, like a jacket.  It's SO much easier.

                                      

See?

Here's a tip:  If you are using lots of cloves of garlic, you might want to get all of them smashed, then peeled, before moving on to the next step.  Garlic is sticky stuff.  If you smash, peel and mince each clove of garlic before moving on to the next, you will find that the papery skin will stick to your knife, your fingers, the board.....it's a mess.  So just smash them all and rinse off the knife, then peel them all, and rinse off your fingers.  Then the peels are out of the way and you can move on to slicing or mincing.

Now you can slice it and use it......

or pile up the slices and run the knife through them a few times, until you have as coarse or fine of a mince as you like.

See?  It's easy.  And once you try it, you'll see how much tastier your food is with fresh garlic.  Plus, it's supposed to be good for you.  Heart health, immunity.....well, okay.....that's not really my thing.  But I hear good things, and it can't hurt, right?

Now what other ingredient can be so versatile, so tasty, and so healthy, all while remaining one of the cheapest items in the grocery store?  Try fresh garlic!

All Beef Meatloaf

 

I think meatloaf gets a bad rap.  I'm not entirely sure why, but I have a feeling that it stems from bad cafeteria meatloaf in our childhood.  Or the stuff that comes frozen in little boxes that bear pictures that only vaguely resemble the contents of the box.  Maybe you tried it in some greasy spoon diner, and found that it was overly spicy, or conversely, terribly bland.  Maybe someone made it for you and tried to "spice it up" by adding roasted red peppers and feta cheese, and it just...didn't....work.

Although, now that I typed it, that combination might be interesting....

That's the other side of meatloaf.  While some people grimace at the very thought of meatloaf, it seems that many others see something worth redeeming about the idea.  Their response has been to conjure up endless  variations on this American classic.  There's pizza meatloaf (mix some pepperoni and green peppers in with the meat and top it with marinara and mozzarella cheese), Mexican meatloaf (add chili powder and chiles to the meat and top it with enchilada sauce and cheese), apple cinnamon turkey meatloaf (sounds weird, but if you think about it, it could work), and even cocoa crispies encrusted meatloaf.  Eww.  I try not to judge before tasting something, but.....ewwww.

Me?  I like meatloaf plain.  It's how I was raised.  Hearing "Meatloaf" in response to the question, "What's for dinner?" is actually a good memory for me.  My mom didn't use the "meatloaf mix" of beef and pork.  I tried it once, and I prefer all beef.  I've tweaked the recipe a little bit, but it's pretty close to the way my mom always made it.  It's comfort food.  Perfect for cool evenings or Sunday afternoons, alongside mashed potatoes and the vegetable of your choice.  I have some in the oven right now, and boy, does it smell good.  Here's how I make it:

 Heat up about 1 tsp of oil and cook a diced onion in it.  You're just trying to get it soft.  I don't like crunchy or even firm onion pieces in meatloaf, and neither does my family.  Yeah, the onion will cook in the oven (mixed into the meatloaf), but not enough for my liking.  So I give it a good head start.
Once the onion is soft and only a little brown, add some minced garlic and toss it around for about 20 seconds.  At this point, you will smell the garlic.  Yummy.  Turn the heat off and continue to stir for a few minutes.  Stirring it will keep the garlic from burning.  Now just set the pan aside to cool for a few minutes.


Now, get a big bowl out.  I have these two stainless steel bowls that I use for mixing all kinds of things.  I always used to use plastic salad bowls, because it was all I had.  You wouldn't believe how excited I was when I saw these stainless bowls on clearance at Meijer.  Yes, stainless steel mixing bowls were a dream come true for me.  What of it?

Anyway, you're going to throw a bunch of stuff into the big bowl.

 Let's see, about half a sleeve of saltine crackers, crushed up, some ketchup (catsup? ketsup?) a little milk, some salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and the onion/garlic mixture.  Stir it all together and it should look something like this-------------------->
Yummy!  Okay, not really.  And please, no votes on what this looks like.  It's just ketchupy crackers.

Although, it should actually be a little more orangey, since there should be a couple of eggs in there.  I forgot.  Until just before the meatloaf went in the oven.  Bummer.  But all's well that ends well.  I remembered before the point of no return.

Okay, now some people just put the meat in the bowl, then throw everything on top of it and mix it all together.  That's fine.  It works.  But I do think it leads to over-mixing....almost kneading.  And that makes the meatloaf tough.  It also tends to leave pockets of dry saltine, or scrambled egg in the mix.  That's not appetizing.  So I like to mix it all together.  It ensures that the crackers are moistened well, which then helps the meatloaf stay moist, and that the eggs and seasonings are well distributed throughout the loaf.

Now crumble the ground beef over the mixture.  Again, crumbling it rather than just plopping the whole package into the bowl, will allow you to more gently mix everything together, leaving you with a more tender meatloaf.  You can use whichever ground beef you like, but I use either all ground chuck, or if ground sirloin is on sale, I will mix chuck and sirloin evenly.  Now it's time to get your hands in there.  It's a good idea to take off your rings, because gunk can get stuck in the little tines.  That's what I've heard, anyway.

Slide your fingers down along the side of the bowl and pick up the goo with your fingers, and then sort of turn it all over, over and over again.  You want to sort of fold, rather than knead.  A little squeezing is fine and even necessary, but this isn't bread dough.

Once it is well mixed, and you don't see any bits of goo hanging out on the bottom of the bowl, divide the mix in half with the side of your hand.  Did I mention that this is a double recipe?  Well, it is.  I don't think there is any point to making a single meatloaf.  I'm not sure if it's well known or not, but it is a fact that the best part of meatloaf is the leftovers.  Oh, the original meal is good and all.  But the leftovers......mmmm.....

First, you can have hot meatloaf sandwiches.  Just reheat the meatloaf in slices, along with the mashed potatoes and gravy.  Then lay some meatloaf on a piece of bread, put some potatoes next to it, and cover the whole thing with gravy.  No, it's not sophisticated.  Possibly not the healthiest meal ever.  It rather reminds me of "family restaurant" fare.  But then, when was the last time you walked away from a "family restaurant" hungry?  Yep, it's yummy.

But the best part is still to come.  Oh, the wonders of cold meatloaf sandwiches for lunch.  Jeff was very excited about having meatloaf on a Friday, because he drives on Saturday, and he was looking forward to having meatloaf sandwiches to take along with him.  Don't scoff.  You must try it.  And here's how you make it:  Sandwich bread.  Miracle Whip on both sides.  Slices of meatloaf in the middle.  That's it.  And yes, I said Miracle Whip.  I like mayo as much as the next guy, but there are some sandwiches that just need the tangy zip of Miracle Whip, and mayo will not do.  Bologna is one.  Meatloaf is the other.

But I digress.  We must bake the meatloaf, eat it, and sleep a night before discovering the beauty of a meatloaf sandwich.

Okay, so take half of the meatloaf mixture, and get it ready for the oven.  You can do this any way that you like.  I've seen it mashed flat into a baking pan.  I would think that the double batch would fit into a 9"x13" pan.  But I bake meatloaf one of two ways:  In a loaf pan, or free form.  Loaf pans are convenient.  Just mash the mixture down, making sure that there are no air pockets, and bake.  There are two problems with this, though.  First, the meatloaf basically swims in fat.  Once it is cooked, you'll see that it has pulled away from the sides of the pan, and the fat that cooks out has no place else to go, so just surrounds the meatloaf.  Second, it only allows the top to brown.  For me, the best part of the meatloaf is the brown crust.  So I want as much of it as possible.  Therefore, free form is my favorite.

So, take each half of the mixture are form your loaves, just using your hands.  Make sure that the ends are fairly squared off, and that the top doesn't mound up too much.  It should be uniformly thick.  Otherwise, the ends or sides that are skinnier will cook faster and end up dry before the thicker parts are cooked through.

Alright, so I said I like my meatloaf plain.  And that still stands.  However, I make one concession.  Sweet and sour glaze.  It's pretty good, and it doesn't mess with the flavor of the meatloaf too much.  I used to just dip it in ketchup, and this glaze is pretty much ketchup, but with a little zing.

Really, it's ketchup, sugar, and vinegar.

However, I only add the glaze to one meatloaf.  The one for eating tonight.  The other one must remain pure for the meatloaf sandwiches.  There are limits.

Can I just pause here to apologize for my "photography"?  It seems that bloggers are all amazing photographers, as well.  Many of them even sell their prints!  And I can see that.  I would buy some of them.  They would be lovely in my kitchen someday.  But me?  I literally take pictures with my phone. I find it hard to take a picture that isn't hopelessly blurry, just because I can't hold the phone still as I am pressing the little button with my thumb.  I have no idea about lighting, exposure....I can't even think of any other photography terms.  So that's it.  I know my pictures aren't the most appetizing.  Hopefully they are at least helpful in illustrating what I am trying to explain.  That's all.

So if you are using the glaze, pour or brush half of it over the meatloaf.  The other half will go on later. Pop the pan in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.  This is the time to get your potatoes boiling.

After 45 minutes, brush the rest of the glaze onto the meatloaf, and put it back in the oven for about 15 minutes.

And there you have it.  Nothing fancy.  But so good.

Peasant Soup

Printable Recipe

Sometimes, you just want soup.

There's something about autumn that makes me want to cook again.  I get a little over it during the summer.  I feel like I have to grill all the time, but being a charcoal-loving family, it can be a little bit of a hassle to start the grill up every day.  By mid-July, I just want to eat sandwiches or salads that don't involve cooking, and get on to other activities.  But come late September, when the chill hits the air, my mind turns to roasts, stews, casseroles, baked goods, and most of all soup.

I love soup, and I love making it from scratch.  There's nothing better than chicken soup that started from some kitchen scraps and a whole bird.  It is somehow satisfying, not just to eat, but to make.  It makes your house smell amazing.  And to watch such humble ingredients turn into something so wonderful, so versatile, so useful as stock, is a thing of beauty.  Stock is an all day proposition in my kitchen.  I make a huge stock pot full of it, using two or three chickens.  It takes at least an hour for that pot to come to a boil, and then it simmers for a couple of hours before I remove the birds, separate the meat from the skin and bones, and throw the bones back in for another few hours.  Then there's the straining, the rapid cooling in an ice bath, and the overnight chilling.  The next day, I can pretty much lift the fat off in one or two pieces, and I am left with a slightly gelatinous stock that is richly flavored, unsalted (store-bought stock has loads of sodium, so whenever you buy it, get the low sodium kind and add your own salt as needed!), and satisfying...if for no other reason than that it is cheap.  Usually, I'll use a gallon of it for soup that night.  The rest of it gets poured into freezer containers and stored away in the deep freeze for later use.  Plus, I get all the meat from the birds.  I use some of it for the soup, and put the rest into freezer bags to use in casseroles and such.  I love it.  Maybe that makes me weird.  But I love the process.

However.....

I am not always in the mood for the process.  Maybe things are busy.  Maybe my mind is on other things.  Maybe I am just plain tired.  But I still have to get dinner on the table, and I still just want soup.

Enter Peasant Soup.  This easy, inexpensive, hearty soup really hits the comfort food spot.  That it is reasonably healthy and nutritious is a bonus.  And while you may balk at some of the ingredients, let me assure you that my very picky eldest son asked for seconds last night.  This makes a big batch of soup, but it freezes well.  So freeze the leftovers and you have an extra dinner for an even busier night!  Let's get started:

Brown some ground beef in a dutch oven.  Push the meat to one side, tilt the pot in the other direction, and spoon off most of the fat.  Add a diced onion and cook until softened.  Sprinkle with salt (I use Morton's Kosher salt), pepper and garlic powder (not garlic salt!)  By the way, any time that I use ground beef, I alway cook an onion with it.  And I always season it with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  You might not think it makes such a difference with all the other things that you add to the dish, but it really does!  You should always season your meat, and brown it well, until there are some dark spots on the pan and on the meat.  See the brown stuff around the edges of the pot below?  That's caramelization, and it's going to basically melt into the soup.  That's how you can get great flavor out of something as humble as hamburger.

Once the onion is softened, throw in 2 cups each of diced carrots, celery, and cabbage.

Now pour in a 28 oz can of tomatoes (whole, diced, whatever you have on hand), or a quart of home-canned tomatoes.  Don't worry about the large pieces.  They will get very soft after simmering for a while, and then you can easily crush them by pressing them against the side of the pot with a spoon.

Add a 28 oz can of tomato puree or tomato sauce, or again, a quart of home canned sauce.

 At this point, fill up the tomato cans or jars about 3/4 of the way full with water.  Swish it around and pour it into the pot.  That way you get all the tomato residue, and your cans are ready for the recycle bin.  

Add 8 bouillon cubes.  Yes, that's a lot, but this is about 6 quarts of soup.  However, because bouillon is largely salt, you'll want to hold off on adding any more salt until things have melded and you can see how it tastes.  Now add a teaspoon each of dried thyme and basil.  Stir it all around and bring it up to a bare boil, then turn it down to a simmer and walk away for a while.

 One of the great things about soups is how forgiving they are.  Seriously, if you walk away for an hour, it will be ready.  If you get busy and let it go for a few hours, all you will probably have to do is add a little water now and then to compensate for what has cooked off.  I often get soup going before I go to pick up my kids from school, and let it simmer over low heat on the stove.  That way, dinner is just about done, and I am free to help with homework, nag about chores, or throw together some bread dough!

And that's about it!  Once you are just about ready for dinner, just give the broth a quick taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.  And feel free to play with it a little.  Add any other veggies that you think may taste good.  I sometimes add zucchini, and I tell you, it tastes an awful lot like the peasant soup you can get at Olga's.  

Comfort food doesn't have to be an all day affair.   Enjoy!