Culinary Currents
October 2004

Holiday Favorites and Redeeming Qualities

by Rafe Montello

OK. Here’s the scenario: A short time before one of the winter holidays—doesn’t matter so much which one, they tend to feature some of the same food—you’ve been given the task of bringing a side dish to the communal dinner.

Yikes! I should have signed up for those cooking classes, is the first thought as you put down the phone. Perhaps because all the local restaurants and delivery folks know you by first name, or because you’re still cringing from the charred Duncan Hines brownies you brought to the Fourth of July picnic, an icy chill reminiscent of the Governator’s character in that Batman movie crinkles up your spine.

As you contemplate procrastinating the task by topping off your favorite microbrew with a shot of vodka—at least you can create new drinks like all the trendy bars in town—or getting to it and calling local vendors to see what the professionals have available, the ghost of culinary triumph appears before you.

Rattling his wire whisk, he points a wooden spoon your way and says something like: “Don’t be intimidated. You can do this. Past failures are only stepping-stones to future success. The holidays are about second chances, redemption. Look at Scrooge. Burning brownies is much less serious than making life miserable for underpaid employees.”

As he vanishes, you declare: I’m going to show everyone that I can cook. I will make a side dish that will raise the bar for all holidays into the future. I’m going to be a culinary somebody.

Looking out the window, you watch as leaves from the neighbor’s yard dance across then settle on your perfectly raked lawn. Braggadocio falters. The glaze of blind optimism sinks into the haze of contrite defeat. That microbrew martini renews its attraction.

No you don’t. Not this time. We got your back. You need holiday sides, ones that will impress and redeem? We got sides and not just your average, ordinary sides.

But first, let’s consider the constraints in offering creative interpretations of holiday recipes, in case you feel emboldened next year to try this on your own. Food acquires emotional meaning and its role in maintaining tradition when it is paired with emotionally laden events.

Consider how the holidays reunite us with family and friends, as we snuggle warm inside against the inhospitable cold. We may pass some time by staring hypnotically into a fire, listening to seasonal music, or watching parades and sports. The mandate to count one’s blessings in opposition to the dog-eat-dog rest of the year opens us to the liberating feeling of goodwill towards all.

Couple this emotional panoply with buttery rich, carb heavy, tryptophan laced foods and you have a recipe for Uncle Bill screaming: “What! No mashed potatoes?” should you veer too far from the tried and true.

Pioneering new family traditions may proceed most effectively by varying one ingredient at a time, each iteration producing tasty food while changing the traditional culinary landscape step by delicious step until Uncle Bill has forgotten all about the mashed potatoes.

Fresh Cranberry Relish

Mention cranberry sauce and most folks envision that over-jellied, with or without berries, glop in the can. Reminiscent of health insurance—you have to have it, but must it be so unpalatable—cranberry sauce is the sine qua non of Thanksgiving.

But while you may have to have it, it doesn’t have to be unpalatable. I grew up eating this fusion of fresh fruits and nuts every November and relished every bite. I make a double recipe every Thanksgiving, so I can keep a batch for myself. It seldom lasts more than 24 hours.

The most effective tool for making this recipe is the meat grinder attachment on a Kitchen-Aid mixer. I bought mine just for that reason. One could use a food processor or even a chef’s knife with some persistence and skill, but neither will come close to producing the consistency of size or be as convenient to use.

Try adding 12 ounces of fresh or frozen blueberries for an interesting change. Vegans can use a plant gel like Irish moss or omit the gel altogether if they don’t mind a less stiff relish.

1 medium-large tart apple

• 1 (12-oz) bag fresh or frozen cranberries

• 3/8 cup (2 oz) rough chopped walnuts or pecans

• ¼ cup orange juice concentrate

• 3/8 cup sugar

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1 (3-oz) package orange, strawberry, or cherry gelatin

• 2 T cold water.

• 3/8 cup boiling water.

1. Grind apple, cranberries, and nuts. Add orange juice, sugar, and salt. Mix well.

2. Dissolve gelatin in cold water. Add boiling water and stir well. Add to cranberry-apple blend and mix well. Pour into gelatin mold and refrigerate until set.

3. To serve, dip outside of mold in hot water or rub outside of mold with towel dipped in hot water. Cover with serving plate and invert. Chill. Before serving tuck greens underneath the molded relish for color.

Roasted Garlic and Boursin Mashed Potatoes

This recipe adds both roasted garlic and Boursin to traditional mashed potatoes. Roasting garlic to a light caramel shade tames its sharp tones. The Boursin adds a well-balanced garlicky richness. They work well together, but should your risk-taking profile run to the lower quartile, feel free to leave either of them out. Substitute 1/3 cup of warmed cream for the Boursin.

There are several secrets to making perfect mashed potatoes. As one might guess, the type of potato is important. Without deliberating on the different approaches to mashed potatoes inspired by the different types of potatoes, this recipe uses baking or russet potatoes for their high-starch, less gluey qualities.

Several techniques to improve any mashed potatoes include adding milk to the cooking water, reducing the chunks of cooked potato to a mashable consistency with a ricer, and incorporating the butter before any of the liquids. If you prefer a recipe that calls for milk or cream, make sure it is warm (150º-175º) before adding it.

• 1 medium head of garlic (choose a larger or smaller size depending on preference)

• several tablespoons of olive oil or butter

• 1½ quarts of water mixed with 1 pint of 2% or whole milk

• 4 pounds of russet or baking potatoes

• ¼ cup melted butter

• 1 (5-ounce) package garlic/herbs Boursin cheese cut into small pieces

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon Tabasco or white pepper

1. Cut the top 1/5th off of a head of garlic. Break the head into cloves, discarding any loose peels. Place the cloves on a square of tin foil. Dot with butter or olive oil; bring the edges of the foil together to form a loose packet with tightly sealed edges. Bake at 350º for about 1 hour. Check doneness after 50 minutes. The cloves should be soft throughout when done. Squeeze the sealed end of each clove and work the roasted garlic onto a small holding plate. Mash with a fork to create a fine puree. Reserve at room temperature.

2. Peel potatoes and cut into 1” cubes. Place into a pot with 1½ quarts of water mixed with 1 pint of 2% or whole milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to achieve a gentle simmer, cover, and cook potatoes until just tender. Meanwhile, melt butter and cut or break Boursin into ½” pieces.

3. Drain potatoes and run through a ricer into a mixing bowl. A standup mixer with the balloon whip attachment is a good choice, although a hand mixer with a stainless steel bowl will work. Beat in the melted butter until incorporated. Add roasted garlic, Boursin, salt, and pepper sauce or white pepper. Whip for several minutes to evenly incorporate. Taste. Adjust seasoning as desired. Place in a glass or stainless steel pan or bowl. A little melted butter may be drizzled evenly over the top to prevent crusting. Cover with tin foil. May be held in a 200º oven or refrigerated and warmed in a 325º oven until heated throughout.

Hawaiian Sweet Potatoes

Considering the ease of preparation, the year-round availability, and the beneficial nutrients of sweet potatoes, it is surprising they aren’t more popular. Part of the reason, I suspect, is that too many people’s only introduction to this beautiful tuber is through those over cooked, over syruped canned varieties. Designed like baby food to induce diabetes, canned sweets are further degraded by mashing them with additional sweetener and then covering the gooey mess with marshmallows. Yuck.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not categorically against mashing sweets or topping them with marshmallows. In fact, I have a delicious recipe that does just that. But that recipe specifies fresh potatoes.

For rest of the year eating, try roasting a sweet potato until tender and eating it skin and all with no adornment. For the holidays, however, try this interpretation. I acquired it from the CIA 30 years ago and have been making it ever since.

• 4 pounds sweet potatoes

• 1 (20 oz) can pineapple tidbits in juice

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

• 1 stick of butter

• ¾ tsp salt

• 3¼ oz jar macadamia nuts or cashews

1. Wash, eye, and roast sweet potatoes at 350º until just cooked. Cooking time can vary considerably depending on the size of the potatoes. Remove smaller potatoes as they are done. When cool enough to handle, peel and cut into ¾” slices. Keep each potato together and arrange the slices in a tilted, overlapping fashion in a 9”X12” pan.

2. Drain the pineapple juice into a small pan; mix in butter, brown sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer and reduce until very thick. Be careful not to burn.

3. To finish: sprinkle the pineapple tidbits and nuts uniformly over the potatoes, coat evenly with the brown sugar-pineapple juice glaze. Cover with tin foil and bake in a 350º oven for 30-45 minutes to serve. This recipe can be made the day before and assembled prior to the final baking.

Gravy

While any of these side dishes will win raves—yes, even from Uncle Bill—possibly the most impressive dish one could make would be authentic gravy enhanced with a little wine or spirits. Americans are so used to insipid, artificial tasting gravy, that the real thing will have friends or family remembering it well into the new year.

This is not a recipe in the formula sense, as there are no measurements, but rather a general guide of how to make gravy for roast meat or fowl. The first step is to roast the meat on a bed of carrots, celery, onions, and a few cloves of garlic (a.k.a mirepoix) and about ¼ cup of water. If the meat was roasted without this advantage, try sautéing the vegetables then adding them to the simmering gravy step described below.

Depending on the size and density of the roasting pan, the cook’s comfort level, the size of the stove, the gravy can be made right in the roasting pan after the roast has been removed. Alternately, all of the juices, fat, and vegetables can be poured into a heavy weight saucepan.

If transferring to a saucepan, make sure to capture meat drippings caramelized on the bottom of the roasting pan by adding a small amount of stock, water, or spirits, then warming the pan over medium heat while stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen the drippings. This step is known as deglazing the pan.

Once all the juices and vegetables are in the same pan, turn the heat to medium high and evaporate all the liquid until only the fat, any solid pieces of meat or vegetable, and caramelized drippings remain. Turn the heat down to, at least, medium to start the roux.

Although fashion has nudged roux out of its fundamental role in favor of arrowroot, cornstarch, or no starch at all, it plays an important part here because it is made with the rendered fat from the roast. This matters because the fat in meat is responsible for much of the flavor.

Add just enough flour to absorb the fat and reach the consistency of a very thick liquid. Adjust the heat so the roux lightly bubbles. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often using a wooden spoon. At this stage, the roux will yield light colored gravy. Gentle cooking can be continued until the roux is about the color of peanut butter to produce a traditional darker turkey or roast beef gravy.

Without removing it from the heat, deglaze the pan with your favorite wine or spirits using a wooden spoon to loosen the caramelized bits. I like to use brandy, a fortified wine like sherry or Madeira, or a dry white or red depending on the application.

Whisk in chicken or beef stock as desired. Use homemade if you have it, canned if you don’t. As the gravy thickens, whisk in more stock. The sauce should be on the thin side, so it can be reduced through simmering to blend and concentrate the flavors.

Simmer the sauce for 15-30 minutes. If the gravy needs more thickening, dissolve a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch or arrowroot in cold water. Whisk into the boiling sauce only as much of this liquid as needed to achieve the desired thickness. It will thicken immediately. Pour the gravy through a fine strainer. If using chicken or beef base, choose a high quality product like: “Better Than Bouillon” brand. Adjust the seasoning with salt, white pepper, or Tabasco.

You now have the information you need to redeem your culinary stature for the holidays. And while you’re sitting there enjoying the fire and feeling all that goodwill, resolve to make a donation to a food pantry. Oh yeah, and to take some cooking classes.

Rafe Montello is an honor graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and holds a master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with undergraduate majors in psychology and English with a creative writing emphasis. His program, We’re Cooking Now, explores how cooking, food, and eating can serve as a vehicle for personal and community development. Learn more about We’re Cooking Now and Rafe at www.werecookingnow.org. He may be reached in Madison, Wisconsin at (608) 222-8457