Thanksgiving Dishes from Vivian Howard’s Kitchen

 

This time of year always means the mouth-watering smells of the holiday season! Chef Vivian Howard of the docu-series “A Chef’s Life” on PBS has step-by-step recipes for memorable Thanksgiving plates.  Each year I try out some new recipes and I think I just might have to try Vivian’s date, pecan, bacon cheese ball with curried peach preserves.   Which recipe do you want you to try out?

Here are some recipes Vivian shared with us:

1. Date, Pecan, Bacon Cheese Ball with Curried Peach Preserves
2. Buttery Turkey with Warm Sorghum Vinaigrette
3. Turnip Root and Green Dressing
4. Pecan Streusual Pie with Chocolate Ice Cream

Recipe 1: Date, Pecan, Bacon Cheese Ball with Curried Peach Preserves

Ingredients –

¼ cup high-quality blue cheese (such as Maytag)

⅓ cup unsalted butter

¼ cup fresh goat cheese

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons cream cheese

2 tablespoons butter, divided

¼ cup roughly chopped pecans

¼ cup chopped dated

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions (both white and green parts)

3 slices bacon

2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

 

Note: This recipe calls for dates. Please do not use pre-chopped dates from a bag. They are covered in sugar and taste like sweet cardboard. Use whole, dried dates and remove the pits.

 

Curried Peach Preserves

3 pounds ripe freestone peaches

2 pounds granulated sugar

1 tablespoon madras curry powder

Zest of 1 lime (removed with a vegetable peeler)

1-inch piece fresh ginger (peeled and sliced super thin)

¼ cup lime juice

2 tablespoons orange juice

½ teaspoon salt

 

 

Directions

Cheese Ball

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the blue cheese, butter, goat cheese, and cream cheese from the refrigerator to soften them.

Toss together 2 teaspoons of melted butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pecans on a baking sheet. Spread the pecans out in a single layer and roast for about 8 minutes. Once you begin to smell the pecans, remove the nuts from the oven and allow them to cool.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all the ingredients except the bacon and the parsley. Paddle it up till homogenous.

At this point you’re looking at a pretty loose cheese spread. In order to form this stuff into a ball, transfer the bowl to the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so.

Using the method that best suits you, cook your favorite bacon until crisp. Let it cool and crumble it up. You should end up with about ¼ cup bacon crumbles.

Once the cheese mixture is stiff enough to hold up, form your ball and roll it in bacon followed by parsley.

 

Curried Peach Preserves

 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and set up an ice bath nearby. Make an X in the bottom of each peach. Drop the peaches, maybe 5 at a time, into the water and allow them to boil for up to 1 minute. Be careful not to cook the peaches, but make sure the skin is beginning to peel away from the flesh. Remove the peaches from the boiling water and drop them into the ice bath. Once all the peaches have been shocked in ice water, start peeling them using the X as a guide.

In a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients, mix together the sugar, curry powder, zests, and ginger. Start cutting the peaches into ½-inch wedges and dropping them into the bowl with the curried sugar. Once you’ve wedged all the peaches, toss them thoroughly with the sugar mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature overnight.

The next day, transfer the contents of the bowl to a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Bring the peach mixture up to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. Spoon a little of the preserves onto a cold plate. Transfer the plate to the refrigerator for a minute or two and test the viscosity of the preserves. Ideally you are looking for something that’s the consistency of thick molasses. If you’re there, stir in the juices and the salt. If you’re not, cook 10 minutes more, then stir in the juice and salt.

The preserves will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. Alternately, you can them in a hot-water bath according to basic canning instructions.

Recipe 2: Buttery Turkey with Warm Sorghum Vinaigrette

Ingredients –

 

Buttery Turkey

One fresh 12-18 pound turkey

Salt and black pepper

4 sprigs rosemary

4 sprigs thyme

1 orange, halved

2 pounds butter

1 lemon, halved

2×2-foot square of cheesecloth folded to cover the breast portion of your bird

Warm Sorghum Vinegar Sauce

½ cup small diced red onion

½ stick butter

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

⅔ cup cider vinegar

½ cup sorghum syrup

¼ cup honey

 

Directions

Buttery Turkey

 

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Remove the giblets from your turkey and rinse both the inside as well as the outside of the bird. Pat your turkey dry and season his skin and cavity thoroughly with salt and pepper.

Stuff the cavity with the rosemary, thyme, and halved orange. Place the turkey in a roasting pan and slide him into the oven.

Melt the butter along with the halved lemon in a small saucepan. After about 30 minutes of roasting, dip the cheesecloth into the lemon butter and lay it over the top of the turkey breast. Repeat this every thirty minutes (remove, dip in lemon butter, and replace) for the duration of the cooking time. The turkey is done when the juices run clear between the leg and the thigh, between 2½–3½ hours.

Remove the turkey from the oven and allow him to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Warm Sorghum Vinegar Sauce

 

In a medium saucepan, sweat the red onion in the butter. Cook until onions are soft and translucent. Add the nutmeg, black pepper, and vinegar. Bring this to a boil and add the syrup and honey. Simmer until it’s reduced by half. Serve warm.

 

Recipe 3: Turnip Root and Green Dressing

Ingredients –

 

Turnip Root and Green Dressing

5 tablespoons butter, divided

2 quarts ham hock stock (recipe follows)

2 cups turnip root, cut into ½-inch dice

4 cups roughly chopped turnip greens

2 cups small diced onion

2 cups small diced celery

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons salt, divided

2 cups smoked ham hock meat

4 cups roughly torn, day-old cornbread

2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated, divided

2 teaspoons black pepper

 

Ham Hock Stock

1 large smoked ham hock

3 quarts water

1 onion, split

4 garlic cloves, split

1 carrot, halved and split

1 rib celery, halved and split

1 bay leaf

4 sprigs thyme

 

Directions

Ham Hock Stock

 

Combine all the ingredients in a small stockpot. Bring it up to a boil and cover. Cook for about 2½ hours at a simmer. The ham hock should be very tender, the meat easy to pick off the bone. Let the ham hock cool in the liquid for at least 30 minutes.

Strain out the vegetables. Reserve the stock (there should be 2 quarts) and skim off any fat that congeals at the top. Pick and slightly shred the ham hock meat and reserve.

Turnip Root and Green Dressing

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13×2-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Bring the stock to a boil and set up an ice bath nearby. Drop in the diced turnip roots and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes. Shock them in the ice bath.

Drop in the turnip greens and cook them also for about 4 minutes. Once they are just barely tender, transfer them to the ice bath as well. Reduce the ham hock stock to about 3 cups. Drain the roots and greens and pat them dry.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium sauté pan and sweat the onion, celery, and garlic with 1 teaspoon salt for about 10 minutes, or until translucent and shrunken slightly.

In a large bowl, toss together the onion mixture, the ham hock meat, turnip roots and greens, cornbread, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and the remaining salt and the pepper until well combined. Pour the ham hock stock over to moisten. Transfer all of this to your baking dish and press down on it slightly. Dot the top of it with the remaining butter and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered for 1 hour.

Recipe 4: Pecan Streusual Pie with Chocolate Ice Cream

 

Ingredients –

 

Crust/Streusel Mix

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

1 tablespoon butter

1 large egg, whisked

 

Filling

2 cups white chocolate chips

½ cup butter

4 large egg yolks

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup heavy cream

⅔ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup toasted chopped pecans

 

Directions

Crust/Streusel Mix

 

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and pecans. Using a fork, pastry cutter, or cold hands, cut in the butter until it resembles pebbly sand. Stir in the egg until the mixture is damp.

Filling

 

Using a double boiler, melt the white chocolate and the butter over low heat.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until totally smooth.

Pour the melted white chocolate mixture into the egg-sugar mixture and whisk it to combine.

Slowly whisk in the heavy cream. Fold in the flour, salt, and finally the pecans.

Assemble and Bake

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Using roughly 1 tablespoon butter, grease two 8-inch pie pans. Press half the streusel mixture along the bottom of the two pans, forming a crust. Bake these for about 12 minutes and allow them to cool.

Lower your oven’s heat to 325 degrees. Divide the filling in half and pour each half into each crust. Sprinkle the remaining streusel on top, trying to be as even as possible.

Bake the pies for 35–40 minutes, or until golden brown and set in the middle.

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