Steamed Scallions with Miso Paste

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 bunch of scallions, washed and entire stalk chopped in one-inch segments

Sauce

1 tsp white miso paste

3 tsp mirin (sweet sake)

1 tbsp water

½ tsp sugar
 
METHOD:

• Boil a small saucepan with about 3 cups of water.

• Drop the chopped scallions in the boiling water for about 1 minute.

• Remove scallions from water and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process.

To Make the Sauce

• Mix the miso paste, mirin, water and sugar in a small pan.

• Heat this mixture and mix it well together.

• Cook for about 2 minutes and remove from fire.

• Combine about 2 tablespoons of the sauce with the steamed scallions and serve warm or cold.

This is such an easy dessert to make and its all cooked in one pot! I used a recipe from the Smitten Kitchen  blog which worked really well.
 
 

 
 

Apple Tatin

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 medium apples (I used fuji, granny smith and golden delicious)

Juice of half a lemon


6 tablespoons / 6 oz butter


1 1/3 cup sugar,

Divided 
puffed pastry chilled ( store bought)


9-inch ovenproof skillet,
 
METHOD:

• Peel apples, halve and core apples.

• Once cored, cut lengthwise into quarters (i.e. four pieces per apple) and cut a bevel along their inner edge, which will help their curved exteriors stay on top as they rest on this edge.

• Toss apple chunks with the lemon juice and 1/3 cup of the sugar.

• Set aside for 15 minutes; this will help release the apple’s juices.

• Melt butter in your skillet over medium heat.

• Sprinkle in remaining 1 cup sugar and whisk it over the heat until it becomes the palest of caramels ( about 10 minutes).

• Don’t worry if the caramel has not thickened – it will as you cook the apples.

• Off the heat, add the apples to the skillet, arranging them rounded sides down in one layer.

• Lay any additional apple wedges rounded sides down in a second layer, starting from the center.

• Return the pan to the stove and cook in the caramel for another 20 to 25 minutes over moderately high heat.

• With a spoon, regularly press down on the apples and baste them caramel juices from the pan.

• If it seems that your apples in the center are cooking faster, swap them with ones that are cooking more slowly, and rotate apples that are cooking unevenly 180 degrees.

• The apples will shrink a bit and by the end of the cooking time, your second layer of apples might end up slipping into the first — this is fine.

• Preheat oven to 400.

• Roll out your puffed pastry to a 9-inch circle and trim if needed.

• Cut four vents in pastry.

• Remove skillet from heat again, and arrange pastry round over apples.

• Tuck it in around the apples for nicer edges later.

• Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

• Once baked, use potholders to place a plate or serving dish (larger in diameter than the pan) over the pasty and with a deep breath and a quick prayer unmold the pastry and apples at once onto the plate.

• If any apples stubbornly remain behind in the pan, nudge them out with a spatula.

• Serve with a dollop of whipped crème fraîche, or lightly sweetened whipped cream and eat immediately.
 

Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs

Serves 14 

Ingredients:

7 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

Salt and pepper, for taste

Paprika, for garnishing

Sweet gherkin pickles sliced, for garnishing

Pimentos, for garnishing
 
 
METHOD:

• Halve 7 eggs lengthwise.

• Remove yolks and place in a small bowl.

• Mash yolks with a fork and stir in mayonnaise, pickle relish, and mustard.

• Add salt and pepper, to taste.

• Fill egg whites evenly with yolk mixture.

• Garnish with paprika, pickles and pimentos.

• Store covered in refrigerator.
 
 

Shirien Ryan’s Green Bean Usli

¼ cup toor daal (yellow split lentils)

¼ cup channa daal (yellow split peas)

2 cups green beans chopped and par boiled

1 small onion, chopped

½ cup fresh grated coconut

3 tbsp. ground coconut

1 tsp cumin seeds

2-3 dry red chilies

1 sprig curry leves

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. black mustard seeds

3/4 tsp turmeric

1 bunch cilantro, chopped
 
METHOD:

• Combine both kinds of yellow split peas and soak with a little water.

• Remove the water and grind the soaked dal with 1 t cumin seeds and dry red chili to taste.

•In a bowl combine the beans, ground dal mixture, coconut, salt and hing.

• Mix it well together with 2 tbsp water.

• In a wok or kadai, heat 2 tbsp. oil.

• Add cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, uraad daal and stir for a minute till the seeds begin to pop.

• Add the chopped onion and curry leaves and stir well.

• Add turmeric and stir for a minute.

• Add the beans mixture; mix well and cover and cook.

• Add salt to taste

• Stir the mixture occasionally.

• Cook for about 10 minutes.

• Add fresh chopped cilantro and remove room fire.

• Serve hot
 

You can use any crunchy vegetables that you have. Things like cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots and so on work really well in this mix. You can also mix it up by using raw vegetables such as cucumbers, turnips and so on.

Vegetable Summer Rolls

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup hard tofu, minced or diced

1 cup bean sprouts

2 medium carrots, shredded

4 scallions, chopped

4-5 tbs chives, chopped (optional)

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

10 mung bean sheets or rice paper rolls, soaked in water for 10 minutes and halved
 
METHOD:

• In a heated wok, add 1 tsp. oil and stir fry the garlic.

• Add the tofu and scallions.

• Stir for a few seconds and add the carrots and bean sprouts.

• Add the soy sauce, sesame oil and chives.

• Mix well.

• Remove from fire.

• Place the filling in the rice paper sheets.

• Roll into cylinder shaped parcels similar to spring rolls.

• Serve with any Asian dipping sauce.

Note: These rolls can be made a few hours before serving and keep well in the fridge.

Lentils with Bottle Gourd (Lauki/ Doodhi Daal)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 cups channa daal (yellow split peas)

2 tsp garlic and ginger, chopped

2 small onions, chopped

4 tomatoes, chopped

½ bottle gourd (lauki/ ghiya), peeled and cubed

2 black cardamom pods ( moti elaichi)

1 cinnamon stick (dalchini)

3-4 cloves (laung)

2 tsp turmeric (haldi)

1 tsp cumin seeds ( jeera)

½ tsp asafetida (hing)

1 tsp. coriander powder

Red chili powder to taste

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Salt to taste
 
METHOD:

• In a pressure cooker or open pot add the daal with 6 cups of water.

• Add the chopped lauki, cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, 1 tsp turmeric powder and salt to taste.

• Cook this until the lentils are soft ( about ½ hour) and set aside.

• In a wok or kadai, heat 2 tbs oil.

• Add the asafetida and jeera.

• Add chopped onions and stir for 5 minutes.

• Add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp turmeric, chili powder and salt.

• Cook for about a 2 minutes.

• Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes.

• Add this mixture to the cooked lentils.

• Bring the lentils to a boil and slowly simmer for about 10 – 15 minutes.

• Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
 
 

Crispy Vegetables with Sweet and Sour Sauce

Serves 4
 
Ingredients

1 packet unflavored gelatin

1 cup water

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

1 cup broccoli, chopped in flowerets

1 cup cauliflower, chopped in flowerets

Fresh baby corn, chopped into bite sized pieces.

1 carrot, sliced

½ flour

¾ cornstarch

8-9 cloves garlic, rough chopped and deep fried
 
METHOD:

• Make the sweet and sour sauce and set aside ( scroll down for the recipe)

• Wash all chopped vegetables, drain and set aside in a mixing bowl.

• In a small saucepan, dissolve the packet of gelatin over medium heat.

• Once the gelatin is completely dissolved, remove from heat.

• In a small bowl combine the gelatin with pepper, sugar, salt, cornstarch and flour and whisk well to mix.

• When the mixture is smooth, mix this in with the chopped vegetables to coat.

• In a wok, heat 4 cups of oil to fry with.

• Deep fry the diced garlic till brown and set aside.

• Then sprinkle a little cornstarch on the vegetables and deep fry them in batches until crisp.

• Drain on a paper towel and set aside.

• Place the fried vegetables on a platter, sprinkle them with the fried garlic, pour the sweet and sour sauce on top and serve immediately.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Ingredients

1 tsp sugar

1 cup water, warm

1 lemon, juiced ( or 2 limes)

3 tbsp Thai sweet and chili sauce

Method:

• Whisk all of the above ingredients together and adjust for taste.

• Pour on top of hot, crispy vegetables and serve immediately.
 

You can bake this cake in a Bundt or a regular pan. I baked both and found that the regular one came our prettier than the Bundt. The folks at Clinton Street advise you to bake this one for your mother in law. You are sure to score some brownie cakey points!
 

 

Buttermilk Streusel Coffee Cake

Serves 8 – 10

Ingredients:

 Streusel Topping:

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup flour

¼ cup rolled oats

½ cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup graham cracker crumbs

4 Tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cake:

2 sticks butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

2 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons coffee extract or freshly brewed strong coffee

4 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt
 
METHOD:

• Preheat the over to 300 degrees and lightly spray a 10-inch Bundt pan.

• Now lightly dust it with flour.

• Mix all of the streusel topping ingredients together and set aside.

• Cream the butter and sugar together.

• Add the eggs two at a time, mixing until well blended.

• Mix in the buttermilk, vanilla and coffee.

• Sift the remaining dry ingredients together and then add to the butter/sugar mixture.

• Fill the Bundt pan halfway.

• Sprinkle with two-thirds of the streusel topping.

• Add the rest of the batter.

• Top with the remaining one-third streusel.

• Bake for 60-70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

• Cool.

• To unmold, place a plate firmly on top of the pan and flip, being careful to preserve the streusel.
 

It is a fabulous version of a large grapefruit that is very common in Thailand. It can be eaten in many ways but the most common ways are to eat it just as a fruit or make a salad with it.

I find that Pomelo is quite abundantly available in the fall season here in New York. I see it everywhere from the local Asian supermarkets to Costco.

This is a really simple salad I make with Pomelo.
 

Easy Pomelo Salad

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 pomelo, peeled, skinned and pulp removed

3 stalks scallions, chopped

1 holland pepper, diced

1 – 2 shallots, sliced thin

3 tbsp cilantro, chopped

4 tbsp roasted peanuts, chopped (optional)

4 tbsp fried onions, chopped (optional)
 
Dressing:

3 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp fish sauce (can substitute with soy sauce)

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar

• Combine all the above ingredients together, mix well and set aside.
 
Method:

• Place pomelo pulp in a bowl.

• Mix in holland peppers, scallions and shallots.

• Add the dressing and adjust seasoning to taste.

• Garish with cilantro, fried onions and peanuts.

• Serve immediately.
 

I love every single aspect of it.  

It’s not just the food that is so amazing but the spirit of the day is wonderful.

It’s all about family and friends getting together and spending the day cooking, eating and being  together. 

Here in our home, we spend some of the simplest, happiest, most loving and wonderful moments together at Thanksgiving.

I am thankful to all who share this special time with us.
 

Here is some of the food we ate:
 
 

DEVILED EGGS

CRAB STUFFED MUSHROOMS

MARINATED MUSHROOMS WITH PITA CHIPS

SWISS CHARD SALAD WITH MIXED PEPPERS

CHERRY TOMATO SALAD

ROAST TURKEY

MUSHROOM AND RICE STUFFING

GRAVY

HANA’S MASHED POTATOES

SWEET POTATO PIE

PANCH PHORUN BASA FISH

BRUSSEL SPROUTS

SAUTÉED ASPARAGUS

ROMANESCO BROCCOLI

SAUTÉED LOTUS STEM

TSUKEMENO (JAPANESE PICKLES)

BOO’S CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES

CRANBERRY JELLY

MIXED PASTRIES FROM VENIERO’S

PUMPKIN PIE