Thanksgiving Beyond the Bird 2010

Roasted Maple Brussels Sprouts With Pancetta

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Today’s Diet & Nutrition

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or me, Thanksgiving is all about the side dishes. Sure, I take a slice of turkey when it’s passed around and even like cooking the large bird. There is something irresistible about that crisp copper-colored skin that comes from my conscientious basting and the aroma that tempts during the many roasting hours. But the turkey doesn’t make my heart skip a beat on Thanksgiving.

Instead, I get giddy looking at all those lovely, vibrantly colored side dishes. The spectrum of deep green, red, and orange—squash, pumpkin, chestnuts, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, apples, collard greens, and all those root vegetables—carrots, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips, rutabaga, potatoes—makes me want to grab a plate and start eating.

Contrary to popular wisdom, the Thanksgiving feast really can be a built-in healthful meal and a vegetarian’s (and veggie lover’s) delight.

It’s an excellent opportunity to try all sorts of vegetables in new or triedand-true ways. The key is to watch your portions and be careful about

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Beyond the Bird added ingredients. I think we’ve come a long way from believing that every side dish needs to be drenched in butter and cream. I love roasting root vegetables with herbs and olive oil until they are tender and caramelized. I tuck chopped chestnuts and celery into wild rice, brown rice, and barley stuffing. Every year I try a different version of cranberry sauce, always on the tart side, to focus the flavors of the other side dishes.

And don’t forget the Brussels sprouts. They’re a must-have at my Thanksgiving table, sautéed or roasted with pancetta and chestnuts until tender and sweet. A drizzle of maple syrup tames their cabbage-y nature, and I’ve converted a number of self-proclaimed Brussels sprouts haters with just one spoonful.

Because I’m no dietary saint, I do like a mouthful or two of lighter-than-air mashed potatoes, but I prefer the mashed potato-rutabaga-turnip gratin always offered at my Thanksgiving table.

Some special nutritional characteristics that many autumn harvest vegetables share include healthy doses of vitamins A, C, and folate—those deep-colored veggies never let you down! The pungent and delicious crucifers of the mustard family, which include cabbages, cauliflower, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, rutabaga, and turnips, also offer a variety of sulfur-containing substances called glucosinolates. When broken down in the body, different vegetables containing diverse glucosinolates form specific isothiocyanates. These compounds help eliminate potential carcinogens and enhance tumor-suppressor proteins. But it just tastes good to me.

Vegetables even show up in desserts like pumpkin pie or shortbread pumpkin bars, but honestly, by then I’m usually too full to partake. I might take a tiny taste and be satisfied. After all, the next morning I’ll be the first one up with a mug of steaming coffee in hand to get a Gigi Pumpkin Bar, which makes me smile for the rest of the day.

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Today’s Diet & Nutrition

Spinach Goat Cheese Dip

Butternut, Sausage, and Sage Lasagna

Gigi Pumpkin Bars This deliciously light and creamy pumpkin custard can be baked as bars in a 9- X 13-inch metal pan or as a pie/tart in a 9-inch springform pan or 10-inch round ceramic dish. Instead of buying the spices separately, you can substitute pumpkin pie spice for the same amount. Enhance the filling flavor and spices by combining the ingredients a day ahead, keeping it chilled and covered and then proceeding with the recipe.

Makes 12 to 16 servings

To make the filling, while crust is baking, whisk the filling ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Pour the mixture on top of the crust and bake in middle of the oven until the filling is just set, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into bars with a serrated knife.

Serving suggestion: Top with whipped cream

flavored with pure vanilla extract and a pinch of powdered sugar and cinnamon. Also consider adding a shot of brandy or rum to the whipped cream.

TD&N Nutrient Analysis (based on 16 servings): Calories: 219; Total Fat: 10 g; Saturated Fat: 5 g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g;

For the crust ⁄2 cup oatmeal such as

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Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g; Cholesterol: 101 mg; Sodium: 128 mg; Carbohydrates: 29 g; Fiber: 2 g; Protein: 6 g

Quaker Quick Cooking Oats 1 cup all-purpose flour ⁄2 cup packed light brown sugar

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⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

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Pinch salt

LAURA PENSIERO, RD, owner of Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck, New York, and Gigi Market in nearby Red Hook, and founder of Chef4Life (www.chef4life.com), is author of Hudson Valley Mediterranean: The Gigi Good Food Cookbook.

For the filling One 16-ounce can pumpkin purée One 12-ounce can evaporated milk 6 large eggs ⁄4 cup sugar

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⁄2 teaspoon salt

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1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger

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⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves

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⁄8 teaspoon ground allspice

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Preheat oven to 350˚F. To make the crust, stir the crust ingredients together in a medium bowl and press into the bottom of a 9- X 13-inch baking pan.

Bake in the middle of the oven until pale golden and crust is set, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly.

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Fricassee Acadienne, recipe on page 30

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t’s easy to encourage a collective holiday spirit when your Thanksgiving gathering includes both omnivores and vegetarians. A little extra attention to your menu and serving style can make all the difference.

Perhaps you’ve never prepared meals—let alone holiday feasts—for vegetarians, and you’re a little concerned. Should you forego turkey altogether and risk upsetting traditionalists who look forward to the bird?

“We live in a nonvegetarian world, meaning the USA,” says Paul Rozin, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. “Vegetarians, whether the moral or health variety, recognize their minority status. Even highly principled vegans, in my experience, rarely are upset that others consume meat in their presence.”

The appearance of certain foods on the table, such as rare red meat or fish served whole, may make some vegetarians uncomfortable, he notes, but a turkey is not likely to upset many.

Creating a peaceful atmosphere is simply a matter of consideration. Of course, Rozin says, vegetarians should be offered a meat substitute. And sensitivity in presentation goes a long way. “I would not carve the turkey at the table,” he advises, adding that “the less the meat looks like a turkey, the better.”

“Vegetarians and meat eaters have more in common than they have differences,” says Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, LDN, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and author of The Flexitarian Diet. Obviously there will be a difference of opinion about the turkey, but with planning, she says, “all traditional side dishes such as mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and roasted veggies can be enjoyed by everyone.” To honor vegetarians, she suggests, use vegetable stock and make stuffing without bacon or turkey drippings. And you can offer traditional turkey gravy and also have mushroom gravy available for those who avoid all products with meat.

When it comes to the turkey, says Blatner, go for quality. “Consider getting an organic heritage turkey. They’re raised on organic food and, by definition, have to mate naturally, have long productive outdoor lives, and grow at a slow natural rate,” she explains.

A new cookbook, Double Take: One Fabulous Recipe, Two Finished Dishes, Feeding Vegetarians and Omnivores Together by A. J. Rathbun and Jeremy Holt, helps cooks please everyone.

“The book isn’t supposed to be a manifesto of any sort—in fact, quite the opposite,” says Holt, who conceived the idea. “A lot of die-hard vegetarians and carnivores are really entrenched in their beliefs and will be very hard to reach, regardless of how awesome or funny your cookbook is. The point was to help create an environment where people didn’t drive themselves crazy trying to get their charming and conversational vegetarian and omnivorous friends together, preferably discussing almost anything else besides their dietary choices.”

Rathbun, his wife, and his sister are vegetarians.

He says having a “culinarily mixed family” (which includes Holt, not only his coauthor but a long-time family friend and staunch omnivore who enjoys eating animals from stem to stern) made meal planning difficult, often requiring completely different dishes for different people.

“This seemed more like dinner as division than dinner as community, and so my sister, Jeremy, and I started experimenting with dishes that could be eaten by everyone, that were tasty, and had versions both vegetarians and meat eaters would enjoy,” Rathbun explains.

Thanksgiving is about bringing people together, Rathbun says. “Increasingly it’s about having a table that goes beyond just what’s considered traditional to encompass a variety of backgrounds and tastes. Like the majority of recipes in our book, this fantastic fricassee [see recipe on next page] includes a veggie and a meat version, too, leading to a whole November 2010

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I Say Turkey, You Say Tofu new set of traditions to blend with the old. It also has a touch of spice, which helps to balance some of the holiday’s more even-tempered offerings.”

Rathbun also finds that dishes like the duo’s Mushroom Stuffing are not only crowd-pleasers, but show inclusiveness for vegetarian guests. “And holidays, after all, are times when everyone should be able to sit down and eat, laugh, and drink together.”

MICHELE DEPPE is an award-winning freelance writer based in Bothell, Washington.

Recipes From Double Take Fricassee Acadienne Serves 4 to 5 vegetarians and 4 to 5 meat-eaters This recipe is our hybrid homage to the classic French and Cajun styles of fricassee, much like the word fricassee itself is most likely a hybrid of the French verbs frire, meaning “to fry,” and casser, meaning “to break or crack.” The use of cream, butter, and the carrot-onion-mushroom mixture comes from the French, but the use of roux and cayenne is all Cajun.

Serve over fluffy rice or creamy grits.

1 tablespoon olive oil 11⁄2 pounds tofu, drained and cut into 8 pieces 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour 9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter 4 cups vegetable stock or broth, homemade or store-bought 11⁄2 teaspoons salt ⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

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One 21⁄2 -pound chicken, cut into 10 pieces (2 legs, 2 thighs, and 2 drumsticks, with breasts split into 2 pieces each) 12 ounces baby carrots

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Today’s Diet & Nutrition

One 10-ounce bag frozen pearl onions, thawed and drained 8 ounces small cremini or button mushrooms ⁄2 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream

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1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease a baking sheet

with the olive oil. Place the tofu pieces on the oiled sheet and place them in the oven to dry for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

2. To make the roux, combine the flour and 6 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat in a medium-size saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes. For this recipe, we like a medium-dark roux—not as light as peanut butter, or as dark as chocolate, but somewhere in between.

Keep a constant eye on the pan and a spoon handy for when the roux is about to go too dark—it happens fast.

3. When the roux has reached the correct color, increase the heat to high, immediately add the vegetable stock, and whisk, whisk, whisk for a minute or two. When the sauce (called a velouté, if you want to impress your friends) has simmered and come together nicely, remove the pan from the heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt, the pepper, and the cayenne.

Whisk together and set aside.

4. In a heavy skillet just large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat, and add the chicken pieces. Lightly brown the chicken on all sides, turning occasionally.

5. Add about 2 cups of the roux-thickened sauce to the skillet and reduce.

6. While the chicken is having its steamy gravy bath, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat in a skillet large enough to hold the carrots, onions, and mushrooms. Add the carrots to the skillet along with the remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon salt. Add water until the carrots are just barely covered. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions, and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the mushrooms, and cook for 4 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Raise the heat to high to evaporate any remaining liquid,

reducing it until it’s just a glaze over the vegetables.

Set the veggies aside, loosely covered.

7. Reheat the remaining roux-thickened sauce over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Transfer the chicken from its skillet to a plate. Reduce all heats to medium-low. Add 1⁄4 cup of the crème fraîche to the meaty sauce and 1⁄4 cup of the crème fraîche to the vegetarian sauce, and simmer (do not let it boil) for 1 minute, stirring or whisking frequently.

8. Add the prepared tofu to the pot with the vegetarian sauce, and heat through for a minute or two.

9. Add half of the cooked carrots, onions, and mushrooms to each sauce, and stir to incorporate.

10. Add the chicken back to the pan with the meaty sauce and stir through for a minute or two to reheat the chicken. Serve immediately.

Make It All Meat: Omit the tofu, and use 2 chickens,

cut up as described. Use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock, then heat to medium-low. This is the step that defines the dish as a fricassee— simmering the protein in a sauce. Cover the skillet with a lid or aluminum foil, and cook until the internal temperature of the thighs and drumsticks is 160˚F at their thickest parts.

TD&N Nutrient Analysis (based on 4 servings with tofu): Calories: 390; Total Fat: 29 g; Saturated Fat: 13 g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g; Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g; Cholesterol: 54 mg; Sodium: 812 mg; Carbohydrates: 17 g; Fiber: 3 g; Protein: 18 g TD&N Nutrient Analysis (based on 4 servings with chicken): Calories: 576; Total Fat: 29 g; Saturated Fat: 14 g; Polyun-

Make It All Vegetarian: Omit the chicken, and use 3

saturated Fat: 3 g; Monounsaturated Fat: 9 g; Cholesterol:

pounds tofu.

253 mg; Sodium: 1,031 mg; Carbohydrates: 12 g; Fiber: 2 g; Protein: 63 g

Mushroom Stuffing

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I Say Turkey, You Say Tofu Delicious Sides by Scott Walton Scott Walton, executive chef at Markethouse, a farm-to-table restaurant in Chicago, created these delicious side dish recipes.

Butternut Squash Soufflé in Acorn Bowl Serves 8 Acorn bowls Eight 1-pound acorn squash 1 tablespoon kosher salt 3 tablespoons olive oil Fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Cut off tops of the squash (stem end). Cut a thin slice off the bottom to create a stable base. Remove seeds and discard.

Brush squash bowls with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast squash top side up for 30 minutes, remove, and let cool.

Butternut squash soufflé 2 pounds butternut squash 2 sprigs fresh thyme 4 cups vegetable stock ⁄2 cup cooked cranberries

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⁄4 cup pure maple syrup

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1 cup heavy whipping cream 3 egg whites 4 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

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Salt and pepper, to taste 1 cup cooked wild rice

Peel squash and seed. Cut into 1-inch dice and cook in vegetable stock with fresh thyme until fork tender. Drain squash, removing all excess liquid, and set aside.

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Place cranberries in pan with maple syrup and cook over low heat until cranberries “pop” and liquid thickens.

In a bowl, whip heavy cream to stiff peaks. In another bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks.

In blender or food processor, purée squash until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, and nutmeg and purée 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Place purée in a bowl and fold in rice and cranberries. Add whipped cream a little at a time, folding gently so as not to deflate the cream. Repeat the process with the egg whites.

Place the soufflé mixture into acorn squash bowls and bake at 350˚F for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown.

TD&N Nutrient Analysis: Calories: 456; Total Fat: 17 g; Saturated Fat: 8 g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g; Monounsaturated Fat: 7 g; Cholesterol: 41 mg; Sodium: 1,299 mg; Carbohydrates: 77 g; Fiber: 10 g; Protein: 8 g

Creamless Creamed Corn 8 servings 15 ears fresh sweet corn 1 Vidalia onion, cut into small dice 10 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped 3 tablespoons olive oil or butter 1 tablespoon truffle peelings

Using a chef’s knife, cut all the kernels off the cobs. Using the back side of the knife, “milk” the cobs to get all the extra juice out and reserve the cobs for stock.

In a sauté pan, heat olive oil or butter and sweat the onions. Add the corn and thyme and cook until just tender; you don’t want any browning. In a blender, blend half of the sautéed corn and truffle peelings with corn stock* until smooth.

In a pot, combine the whole kernels back in with the purée and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Corn stock 15 “milked” corn cobs 3 yellow onions, chopped 10 black peppercorns 1 bay leaf 5 sprigs thyme

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for one hour. *Water can be used in place of corn stock.

TD&N Nutrient Analysis: Calories: 212; Total Fat: 7 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g; Monounsaturated Fat: 4 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 28 mg; Carbohydrates: 37 g; Fiber: 5 g; Protein: 6 g

DRESSING THE HOLIDAY TABLE You’ve spent days planning your special occasion, creating the perfect menu, shopping, and cooking up a storm. But when it comes to making the setting as special as your meal, are you at a complete loss? Get a crash course from entertaining expert Kimberly Schlegel Whitman. The founder of RSVP Soiree, a special events company, she knows how to elevate any event into an occasion to remember. You’ll get hundreds of ideas for decorating your party setting from her new book, Tablescapes: Setting the Table With Style, along with tips for party planning—everything from how to create enticing invitations to tips on the lost art of party etiquette. Many of Whitman’s tablescapes are grand and beyond the average entertainer’s budget, but she demonstrates that it doesn’t have to be costly to dazzle. Apply her creative spark to whatever you have on hand or can afford and your holiday table will shine. www.gibbs-smith.com — KJ

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