Anyone can cook. Yes, anyone.  Can you follow directions?  Check.  Do you have a pulse and possession of your sense of smell and taste?  Check.  Feeling a flutter of nervous excitement that comes with trying something new?  Check.

For proof that anyone can cook, look no further than yours truly. I come from one of those stereotypical late 20th Century suburban households — the one where mom comes home from work to make dinner for the kids, usually by adding water to something that came from a box.  Not to fault my mother, but that approach to cooking gave me a skewed view on just how easy it is to make real food.  And by real I mean totally 100% homemade food made from raw ingredients purchased from the local store.

So, if I can do it, you can do it.  Take my hand as we learn to cook a basic winter meal that will in turn feed the creation of other delicious meals.

Menu and Shopping List:

Whole Roast Chicken with Fresh Herbs

• 1 whole chicken (2.5 lb serves two people).
• Whatever fresh herbs you can find. Flat leaf parsley is cheap and easy. Rosemary, sage, or thyme will be better if you can find it.
• Butter.
• Salt (preferably sea or kosher salt).
• Fresh black pepper.

Roasted Potatoes

• 1/2 lb of potatoes for roasting (Yukon gold, red, fingerling).
• Olive oil.

Braised Red Cabbage
(Recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver.)

• 1 melon sized head of red cabbage.
• Bacon.
• Fennel seeds.
• 1 apple.
• 1 onion.
• Balsamic vinegar.
• Flat leaf parsley.
  

Step One: Buying the Chicken

I know — whole poultry in a world of plastic-wrapped frozen chicken breasts can be a little intimidating. Take a deep breath if you need to and then head to your local store that, hopefully, has a selection of whole organic (and preferably, pasture-raised) chickens.  For example, my local co-op had three options for a certified organic bird.

Wise whole chicken at $4.99 a lb.
Eberly whole chicken at $4.99 a lb.
Coleman whole chicken at $2.99 a lb.

Trust your instincts when selecting your chicken.  Price will obviously be a factor, but an ethically and humanely raised bird will make for a more delicious dinner. I chose a chicken from Eberly, which is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Step Two: Putting it All Together

When you get your chicken home, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.  You’ll need a roasting pan for the chicken — a Pyrex dish or cast iron pot works too.  Remove the plastic wrap from the chicken and give it a little rinse in the sink.  Be sure to remove the packet of giblets, if they are there, from inside the bird and discard (or consider using them for gravy).

Place your chicken in the roasting pan you’ve selected and give it a pat dry with a paper towel and then sprinkle with salt.

Take whatever fresh herbs you’ve bought and chop up about 2 tbls worth and set aside.  Then take 2 tbls of room temperature butter and spread over the chicken making sure to get in between the skin and the meat and into all the crevices.  The butter gives the bird a wonderful golden color as it roasts and by separating the skin from the meat, the butter will make the skin crispy, too.  Then sprinkle the fresh herbs all over the bird, mixing it in with the butter.

The final step, before it goes into the oven, is to truss the chicken by tying the legs together.  Chow.com has a good video on how to do this.  If you don’t have anything with which to tie the legs together, such as butchers’ string, I suggest forgoing the trussing.  It won’t make a huge difference in the end.

Place the chicken in the oven.  It will roast at 425 degrees F for about an hour.  Keep an eye on it during the last half hour.

Three indicators that your bird is done: One, the color will be deeply golden.  Two, the juices run clear when you make a test incision into the thickest part of the bird.  Three, when you wiggle the drumstick, it will easily start to separate from the rest of the chicken.

Once the bird is roasting, slice up your potatoes into even sized wedges, toss with olive oil and any remaining chopped herbs, and stick into an oven-safe dish to cook along side the chicken.  They’ll cook almost as long the bird.

Then it’s time to make the braised red cabbage, following the recipe from Jamie Oliver’s website.  I should note that this recipe makes a huge amount, so best to halve it for two people.

By the time the cabbage has finished braising, the chicken should be ready along with the potatoes.

Serve to yourself and loved ones and bask in the glow of a well made meal!

In our next post, I’ll tell you how to take your left over chicken carcass and make it into homemade chicken stock, which can be used to make such things as risotto or soup.

So, enjoy her most recent recipe, for vegetable curry, and check out her site for more.  And let us know if you give this a try!

Eatwell Recipe 25: Quick Coconut Vegetable Curry

Simply put, this curry is “the bomb.” It’s simple, delicious, easy to make and good for you. It was inspired by a similar dish my brother-in-law, Daniel, made for dinner a few weeks ago. He’s a loose kind of cook — instead of reading a recipe he relies on gut instinct. And his instincts were right on in this case!

Although the recipe below calls for green beans, kabocha squash and chard (since those are the things we’d received in our produce box this past week) you could just as easily substitute spinach or kale for the chard, turnips or carrots (or both) for the squash, add some potatoes, etc., etc. Likewise, though I’ve listed curry powder below, you could toast your own spices if you’re a purist or you could also use one of the Thai curry pastes with delightful results. The basic concept is very flexible so feel free to experiment.

That said, the kabocha squash is truly excellent in this curry — its dense, starchy flesh lends lots of substance and its sweet, meaty flavor complements the coconut milk nicely.

Besides tasting really good, one of the nicest things about this dish is its simplicity. It’s a great way to work a bunch of fresh veggies into a delicious meal. I’d recommend serving it with short grain brown rice and a salad.

Quick Coconut Vegetable Curry
Serves 6

Ingredients

* 1 small to medium-sized kabocha squash, halved, seeds removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
* 1 bunch chard, washed, stems removed and chopped into 1-inch pieces, leaves cut into ribbons
* 2 big handfuls of green beans, washed and trimmed
* 2 medium onions, sliced
* 3 cloves of garlic, minced
* 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
* 2 cans of coconut milk (my Thai cooking teacher recommends the Chao koh brand)
* 3 cups of vegetable broth (I use Better than Bouillon and just add boiling water — it’s great stuff)
* A very large handful of fresh cilantro, washed and chopped
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 3 Tbsps curry powder and/or garam masala (you can use more if you like)
* 2 tsps canola oil or ghee
* A pinch of red pepper flakes
* 1 Tbsp sugar

Directions

1. Start by prepping the veggies: Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and then cut the flesh into 1-inch cubes (there’s no need to peel kabocha squash). Wash the chard and remove the stems, chopping them into 1-inch long pieces. Cut the chard leaves into ribbons. Slice the onions and mince the garlic and ginger. Wash and chop the cilantro.

2. Once all the veggies are prepped, put your rice on to cook. I recommend either short grain brown rice or basmati rice for this curry.

3. In a large pot, sautee the onions, garlic, ginger and chili flakes in the oil or ghee for several minutes, cooking until the onions have begun to soften and become translucent. While that stuff is frying, boil the water for the vegetable bouillon and mix it well (unless you’re using prepared vegetable broth).

4. Add the vegetable broth and the coconut milk to the pot then toss in the cubed kabocha squash and season it all with curry powder, garam masala, pepper and sugar (there’s most likely no need for salt since the vegetable broth should be fairly salty.) Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-high and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the squash is beginning to feel tender when poked with a fork.

5. Add the green beans and the chard stems and simmer for another 3-5 minutes or until the green beans feel done to your liking. Then toss in the ribbons of chard leaf and the cilantro and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

6. Allow to cool slightly and serve over the warm rice.

It feels so good to have the option to buy local food from farmers’ markets or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms.   There’s also profound comfort in growing your own foods and appreciating how much sun, soil, water, and time goes into your summer months of salad, or into raspberries and wineberries that you grow or forage.

Growing berries of any kind is worth it. I picked my first bowl of black raspberries from a couple of plants my neighbor gave me three years ago. Raspberries produce fruit on second season canes, and last year’s drought resulted in just a few desiccated and shrunken raspberries with zero taste. This year, I expected the same because of drought conditions from fall until March, but with a 17” record rainfall since April 1 in the Mid-Atlantic region, my berries and new canes are luscious and fat. With more berries from my neighbor’s bushes, I have enough for tarts, which are so easy to make and bake. If I don’t want to heat up the house in summer, I use the little gas grill outside—which works fine for pizza, too.

Raspberries are an excellent source of fiber, manganese and vitamin C. They are also a good source of vitamin B2, folate, niacin, magnesium, potassium and copper. In addition, they contain significant amounts of the well-researched phytonutrient, ellagic acid. Raspberries help prevent damage to cell membranes and other structures in the body by neutralizing free radicals. Raspberry’s flavonoid content has antioxidant properties, as well as some antimicrobial ones, including the ability to prevent overgrowth of certain bacteria and fungi such as Candida albicans in the body.

Wild wineberries have even higher ellagic acid content than domestic raspberries, which contributes to a tangier taste with a slightly bitter undertaste. Last weekend I hiked in Patapsco River Park to check on the ripening of the wineberries,  an escaped Chinese raspberry brought here to cross with domestic varieties. Abundant in the woods of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region, especially along railroad tracks and coastal areas, the wineberry is stickier, with higher sugar content than a domestic raspberry. They freeze well, though frozen berries seem to shed a lot more water when you use them for tarts or pies, so I usually add a little flour, corn starch, or tapioca for thickening. Wineberries will be ripe in Maryland for about 3 weeks in July, so I look forward to more tarts.

Pie crust, plus berries, a little sugar, lemon zest, and flour or corn starch equals berry tart.  You can make a simple pie crust with flour, butter, cold water, and a little milk brushed on for glaze or binding dough. Or you can make vegan, gluten-free, sugar free, pie crust.  For a sweet crust, I use a Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant recipe.

Last time, I was in a rush and used grocery store ready-to-use dough for a pie, and I swear the hydrogenated lard instantly added 2 pounds to my midriff, plus I kept thinking about all those free radicals gathering in my fat to plan a cancer party in 20 years, so I avoid store-bought dough or mix. Anyway, after you bake and cool your tarts, you can freeze them for later enjoyment.

Here’s a sweet pie crust recipe. If you use a food processor for baking and need exact directions, go to the Joy of Baking website.

Berry Tarts

Pastry Crust

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

2 tablespoon sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 egg yolk

1 – 2 tablespoons ice water

Filling

5 cups raspberries

1/3 cup sugar

lemon zest to taste

1 tablespoon cornstarch or flour for thickening

1 tablespoon water

In a bowl stir flour, sugar, plus pinch of salt. Drop the butter into the flour mix, a few pieces at a time. You can use a knife, large fork, pastry cutter or cold fingers to quickly and lightly mash together ingredients until the mixture becomes crumbly. Whisk 1 tablespoon ice water, lemon juice, and the egg yolk and sprinkle over mixture as you stir or mash until the dough just holds together when pinched. Don’t overwork the dough or you will turn it into rock. If dough is still too crumbly, add up to a tablespoon of ice water. With cold hands, divide and form into 4 balls. Cover bowl and refrigerate for an hour if possible, or overnight is even better.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the pastry from the fridge. Lay wax paper on your countertop or cutting board and lightly flour the surface and a rolling pin (or a glass bottle). Roll out each dough ball into a 7 inch circle. Place the four pastry circles onto the baking sheet. Refrigerate pastry until you’re not ready to fill.

Filling

In a large bowl, crush about a cup of raspberries and combine with 1 tablespoon water, sugar, lemon zest, and thickener.  Stir in the rest of the berries. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and divide the filling among the four pastry circles, leaving about a 1 inch border around the outside edges of the pastry. Gently fold the edges of the pastry up and over the filling, leaving the center of the tart open. Looks like a little pouch full of berries. Press the edges gently so the pastry sticks together. (Use a little milk to help it stick and/or brush some on for a glaze.) Once the tarts are assembled, you can cover and return to the refrigerator for about 15 – 30 minutes to chill, or pop them in a 400 degree F preheated oven on the center rack.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling and start to run out from the center of the tart.  Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool before serving.

We don’t eat a lot of meat in our household – not because we don’t like it, but because good, sustainably raised meat is a touch expensive these days. We belong to a food co-op that gets most of its meat from local farms, and still we have trouble affording it with any regularity. But I’d rather eat less meat than eat meat of questionable quality. I haven’t heard a better quote about meat issues than this one from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (author of the River Cottage Meat Book), who says in his “Meat Manifesto”:

“Think about the meat that you eat. Is it good enough? Good enough to bring you pleasure every time you eat it? Could it, should it be better? Are you among the millions of consumers putting pressure on farmers to produce mountains of cheap meat of dubious quality, by dubious means? Perhaps it would make sense to spend a little more on it, a little less often. Or to buy cheaper cuts of better meat.”

This post is, by no means, a preachy manifesto, but you can taste the difference between meat of “dubious means” and meat raised in a sustainable way. (Same is true of eggs and dairy.) Frankly, sustainably-raised meat (and eggs, and other dairy products) just tastes a lot better. Read more about the “œdubious means” over at the Green Fork or at The Ethicurian or at Eating Liberally.

This is a super easy recipe for pork tenderloin. Simple ingredients, simple cooking method, and very quick – a perfect weeknight dinner. I serve it with roasted potatoes (or mashed would be good) and a nice salad. The key is not overcooking the pork – you want a bit of pink remaining. Pork these days only has to be cooked to 150ºF – and by letting the meat rest for a few minutes, the temperature will rise a few degrees more. Also – when you sear meat, don”t move the meat around! Just put it in the pan and let it cook. It will release itself when it’s formed a nice brown crust.

Serves 2-3.

Special Equipment: A 10-12 inch saute pan with an oven-proof handle.
Sliced pork tenderloin

Sliced pork tenderloin

Ingredients:

One 1-pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of any extra fat and silverskin (the silvery looking tendon-y stuff)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon very coarsely ground black pepper (grind in a pepper grinder or use a meat mallet or small skillet to crack whole peppercorns)
1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly crushed with the side of your knife
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons chicken stock or water
1 tablespoon butter (optional)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400º.
2. Season the pork with the salt and the peppercorns, pressing the peppercorns lightly into the meat, if necessary, to adhere.
3. In a medium saucepan with an oven-proof handle, add the olive oil and garlic and heat on medium-high until the garlic is just golden, turning the garlic occasionally, 1-2 minutes. Remove and discard garlic clove.
4. Turn the heat up to high. Add the pork tenderloin and sear on all sides, about 5 minutes per side, or until the entire tenderloin is evenly browned.
5. Put the entire pan (with pork) into the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 150ºF. Carefully turn the pork once during cooking.
6. Very carefully, remove the pan from the oven (remember that the handle will be very, very hot). Remove the pork to a plate or cutting board and cover with foil. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.
7. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon of fat remaining in the pan. Carefully place the pan over high heat (do not clean pan) and add the chicken stock or water. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture boil until reduced slightly (a little less than 5 minutes).
8. Add the optional tablespoon butter and, using a whisk, swirl around in pan until it has melted into the sauce.
9. Taste the pan jus and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
10. Uncover the pork, slice, and serve with pan jus.

It snowed ALL NIGHT last night here in Anchorage! We got about a foot of snow, and it’s STILL SNOWING!!  Until a few days ago, I’d been cross-country skiing on the Hillside trails, and due to our meager snow cover, I’d quickly made a pair of rock skis out of my best pair of skis. (They are six years old, though!) *sigh* I know what will be on my Christmas list this year! Anyway, according to my brother, Ben (the manager of Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking), it’s high time I updated my gear from the Pleistocene era. He says that I should try the latest technology — skinnier tips, less shaping in the middle (or is that wider tips and more shaping in the middle?).

So after a leisurely Sunday breakfast (Meredith helped her dad make pancakes), Dan and I discussed the day. We decided that I would have the first ski shift. (We trade off with Meredith when we both want to ski solo.) He and Meredith would plow the driveway and our road up to the top of the hill, then I would scoot out in our little front-wheel-drive Jetta station wagon and zip over to Hillside for a slow and lovely trample around the trails. I got dressed and set off, my windshield wipers flailing at the thick clouds of snowflakes already obscuring Dan’s plow swath. My trusty little Jetta made it up the hill–and in fact, although none of the roads were plowed except for Dan’s handiwork, I made it the three miles to the trailhead at the high school. At which point, my little car plowed uphill into the huge berm of snow across the entrance to the parking lot and got firmly stuck. Whoops! I tried backing out, into the relatively clear main road, but I was completely high-centered! While my Jetta has great traction, it doesn’t have very high clearance. So I spent the next half hour on my belly, wishing I’d brought a shovel, burrowing packed snow out from under my car with my gloved hands. I managed to back the car out in stages, foot by foot. When I was about four feet from the road, two nice guys from the nearby sledding hill walked over and shoved me the rest of the way out. Thank you!!

I anxiously drove right home, luckily without incident, passing several cars embedded in their own snowdrifts, and zipped back into the garage. SAFE! Dan and Meredith, by this time making a snowman, were surprised to see me home so soon, but I soon re-emerged from the house with my gear. I popped my skis on, strapped on my poles, and skied off up the driveway! I had a gorgeous slog/ski on the bike trail through my neighborhood, and all the way back to the Hillside trails, where I did a short loop and then trudged my slow and snowy way back!

Here’s what I ate for lunch when I got home! It’s the perfect warming meal for a snowy day.

tomato soup with croutons

This tomato soup is a revelation: it’s yummy, creamy and rich without any cream or butter in it! It’s based on a recipe in Peter Berley’s book The Flexitarian Table. I think it makes a difference to use really good canned tomatoes and tomato paste, and I like Muir Glen. I also love this recipe because I can use gobs of local carrots and onions! For a meal, serve this soup with any kind of a simple green vegetable or savory salad. I like to make a double batch and then freeze the extras for a fast meal later, when I’m cold and hungry!

You can just toast the bread in the toaster for the croutons, and cut it into cubes (that’s what I did today!), or you can get fancy and make the garlicky croutons if you aren’t already starving-hungry, and can wait 20 minutes for them to toast in the oven.

The Soup

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups thinly sliced onions (3-4 medium)

sea salt or kosher salt

1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled

2 medium carrots (peeled if the skins are tough), sliced

large pinch of red pepper flakes, or to taste

2 tablespoons tomato paste

28-ounce can of whole plum tomatoes or diced tomatoes in juice

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock or water (I use broth left over from cooking white beans with onion and garlic)

two 2-inch strips of orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler

1 teaspoon dried sage

I slice the onions and carrots in the food processor–this is especially time-saving if you’re doing a double batch of soup. Just cut off the stem end of the carrots and push them down through the narrow feed tube, pushing with the pusher cup.

In a heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the onions have softened–5 minutes or so. Add the garlic cloves, carrots, and pepper flakes, lower the heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are sweet and juicy and tender, but not browned, 20 minutes or so. Check and stir occasionally, adding a few tablespoons of water if the vegetables are dry.

Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the stock or water, orange zest and sage and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and discard the orange zest. Puree the soup with an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender. It’s easiest to do this if you’ve let the soup cool for a while first. Season with salt if you like, but I didn’t find it necessary because of the salt already added to the onions and in the canned tomatoes. Reheat the soup before serving, and add water to thin the soup if it seems too thick.

Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with croutons, and serve.

The Croutons

5 slices hearty whole-grain bread

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed in a garlic press

¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mash the garlic with the salt in the bottom of a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the olive oil. Cut the slices of bread into cubes and toss them in the garlicky oil until the oil is thoroughly absorbed and distributed.

Spread the bread cubes out on a baking sheet and bake for 15-25 minutes, until the croutons are crispy and golden-brown.  Sprinkle with the bacon if you’re adding it.  Toss and serve immediately.

Cooking with kids is a good way to teach them about food and get them to try things they might not otherwise, and helps build a “food doesn’t just come from a store” relationship with whole foods. It also makes for great memories.

The first time I “cooked” (popcorn!) with my niece Paeton (now 7, at the time, 3 or 4) she was amazed that it could be cooked on a stove top and said I was “just like Rachel Ray.” We try to cook something together every time I get back to the West Coast. Her favorite is gazpacho, which we make in August or September with tomatoes from friends’ gardens or farm stands. (Hey Paeton! What should we cook for Christmas?)

Back to that one last recipe. Bemoaning the “dearth of green, crunchy things” on the Thanksgiving menu, Cate shares what looks like an incredible recipe for Green Beans al Dente in a Luscious Warm Rosemary Vinaigrette — one that might just put your that old green bean casserole (you know the one) to rest. Thanks, Cate!

Green Beans al Dente in a Luscious Warm Rosemary Vinaigrette

*1 T. Dijon mustard
*1 medium clove of garlic, finely minced
*2 t. fresh rosemary, finely minced
*1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
*2 pounds of green beans
*5 slices of local, uncured bacon (optional, of course)
*salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the slices of bacon till nice and crispy. Chop and set aside.

Together: In a medium-sized bowl, measure out the vinegar, the mustard, and throw in the garlic and rosemary. Your mini-chef will give this a good whisk. Then Big Person will start very very slowly adding the olive oil as your mini-chef continues to whisk away. Add enough salt and pepper for your taste. When it’s all hanging together nicely, set the dressing aside and begin the green beans.

Big Person: Steam the green beans just till they turn bright green, remove them from the heat and, using tongs, place them in a serving bowl. You could also submerge them in an ice bath at this point, but who has the counter space or time when cooking this for a huge feast?

Next, pour the dressing into a small saucepan. Turn the heat on to medium-low, and whisk every now and again till the dressing is warm but not at all hot.

Together again: Big Person will pour the dressing over the green beans and sprinkle with the bacon if you’re adding it. Toss and serve immediately.

First up, from our good friend and former colleague, Megan Saynisch, whose recently launched Brooklyn Farmhouse is already an amazing (and accessible) resource for learning to cook real food. I’m thinking these would be great at Thanksgiving dinner, but maybe even better the next day, with some leftover gravy?

Cheddar-Sage Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 cups White Lily flour (or all-purpose)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon rubbed sage
1/4 cup (2 oz.) homemade butter (or store-bought), very cold and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup white cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 cup (or more) homemade buttermilk (or store-bought)

Special equipment: a 2-inch biscuit cutter, a 9-inch cake pan or cookie sheet

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 500°.
2. Lightly grease (or spray with cooking spray) a 9-inch cake pan.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sage.
4. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or two knives. The butter pieces should range in size from a large pea to a little lentil.
5. Stir in the cheese.
6. Add the buttermilk, gently stirring until the dough starts to come together. You will have a fairly wet dough.
7. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface, and knead gently for one to two turns. Roll or pat out to about 3/4-inch thickness.
8. Using a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter, stamp out as many biscuits as you can, taking care not to twist the biscuit cutter into the dough. Re-roll the scraps as necessary.
9. Place the biscuits into the cake pan, letting the sides touch.
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown.

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From my friend Cammie Beuhler, Chef and owner of Epicure Catering in Leland, Michigan, who I met last spring in New Orleans.

Roasted brussels sprouts with local smoked rabbit, bacon, and cider reduction

Serves: 6

2 pounds Brussels Sprouts
8 ounces smoked rabbit meat
8 ounces Applewood Smoked Bacon
5-6 big sprigs fresh curly parsley, chopped
2 cups fresh pressed apple cider
1 t whole grain mustard
1 t sharp Dijon mustard (such as Maille)
½ t Salt
½ t fresh ground black pepper
1 T extra virgin olive oil

-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

-Start the cider reduction: put cider in a small pot and reduce in volume by ¾, until you have about ½ cup.

-Meanwhile:

-Prep the bacon: Stack the bacon and cut crosswise into ½ inch strips (lardons). Cook the strips on medium heat in a saute pan until crispy. Remove the bacon lardons onto a paper towel, and reserve the remaining fat for use at a later time.

-Prep the rabbit: Remove the meat from the bones, discarding the bones. Combine the smoked rabbit meat with the bacon lardons and the parsley in a large bowl, and set aside.

-Roast the Sprouts: Rinse with cold water and drain. Trim stem ends without cutting the base of leaves or the brussels sprouts will come apart during cooking. Cut sprouts in half lengthwise. Roll the sprouts in enough olive oil to coat, and add the salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook until caramelized, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes.

-Assemble: Remove the sprouts from the oven and add to the bowl containing the rabbit, parsley and bacon. Combine the warm cider reduction with the mustards, and add to the above mixture. Toss together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Note: The rabbit farmer by my house sells the rabbit in vacuum-sealed packs weighing about 1½ pounds (basically 1 shoulder, saddle and hind leg from a 3 pound rabbit). I used one pack in this recipe. Once I removed the bones, I got about 8 to 10 ounces of smoked rabbit meat to work with.

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And from Devra Gartenstein, frequent contributor to the Green Fork as well as her own great blog, the Quirky Gourmet. This one is from her new cookbook, Local Bounty: Seasonal Vegan Recipes.

Acorn Squash and Wild Rice Patties

Yield: 6 servings
1 acorn squash
2 cups water
1/2 cup wild rice
1/2 cup brown rice
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds. Cut it into chunks that will fit in your vegetable steamer, then steam it for about 40 minutes, until it’s fork tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat the water in a small saucepan. When in boils, add the wild rice, cover the pan, and lower the heat. Cook it on medium low heat for about 30 minutes, then add the brown rice. Cook for another 30-40 minutes, until all the water is absorbed.
3. Meanwhile, heat two tablespoons of olive oil in another small saucepan, then add the onion, garlic, salt, and parsley. Cook on medium low heat for about five minutes, until the onion is translucent.
4. When the rice and the squash are ready, combine the rice and onion mixtures in a bowl, then scoop out the squash pulp and add it to this mixture. Mix well.
5. Shape the mixture into patties, then cook them in a skillet in the remaining olive oil for a few minutes on each side, until they start to brown.

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And one more, from our own Chelsea DeWitt, the glue that holds the Eat Well Guide together, and a great cook, to boot.

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

4 medium sweet potatoes
3 Tablespoons olive oIl
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Teaspoon ground coriander
1 Teaspoon garam masala
½ Teaspoon cayenne
1 Teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425°. Cut potatoes into 1 inch strips and mix in a large bowl with olive oil, garlic, spices, and salt. Spread fries onto a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, turning fries over every 10 minutes. Take out of oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Kim, who hosts a weekly chat on Tuesdays at 1pm eastern, is hosting a special Thanksgiving chat this Thusday at 1pm eastern, so drop by if you’re free. We missed her Vegetarian Thanksgiving chat, but you can check out the transcripts here. And if you are in the Washington, DC area, she’ll be back in town (Kim moved to Seattle last summer) for a meet and greet December 4th, from 6pm – 8pm at M Bar, in the Renaissance M Street Hotel, so save the date for that — I’ll be there!

Read on for Kim’s Brussels Sprout Slaw recipe

Brussels Sprout Slaw

Adapted from November 2001 issue of Food & Wine

5 slices thick slab bacon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces white wine
1 pound Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced in food processor, on a mandoline or by hand
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1 medium tart, crisp apple, peeled and thinly sliced
Few sprigs worth of fresh thyme leaves
Juice 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Method Cook back in large skillet until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels, reserving bacon fact. Combine butter and bacon fat in skillet on low heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Add wine, deglazing pans and stuck bacon bits. Add garlic and sprouts over medium heat and cook, stirring, until softened but still holding their color, about eight minutes. Add apple and thyme and cook for an additional three minutes until apples have warmed up and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Chop bacon into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle over slaw. Serve immediately. Makes five side-dish servings.

In addition to the five listed local ingredients, butter and white wine may also apply, depending on where you live. This recipe is part of my collection in “A Mighty Appetite for the Holidays,” available via blurb.com.