Cream of Roasted Chestnut and Butternut Soup
Organic Field Greens Salad
Sweet Sausage and Sage Corn Bread Stuffing
Bourbon Molasses Baked Country Ham
Pumpkin, Cranberry and White Chocolate Bread Pudding
-Menu provided by The Tides Restaurant and Oyster Bar
The holidays bring us all together in celebration of family and
friendship. It's a great time to get out the good china and create a
festive meal to share with those you love. We're excited to give you a
show-stopping menu that is sure to be a favorite of all your guests. We
want to give special thanks to The Tides Restaurant and Oyster Bar for
providing the recipes for this marvelous meal. Chef Ahmed Koroma did a
fabulous job preparing the meal especially for our readers. Go ahead,
get cookin' and enjoy the results.
Cream of Roasted Chestnut and Butternut Soup
5 tbsp. olive oil
3 small onions, sliced
1 leek (white part only) -sliced
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 C. chestnuts (roasted and peeled)
6 C. chopped peeled butternut squash
7 C. water
1 C. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. mace
1 tbsp. grated ginger
1 tbsp. honey
3 C. apple cider
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
your favorite store-bought croutons
Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and
garlic and cook, stirring, until soft, about 6 minutes.
Add the squash, chestnuts, ginger, water and cider and season with salt
and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, until
the squash is tender, about 30 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Add cream,
nutmeg, mace and honey, let simmer for 15 minutes.
Divide soup among bowls and garnish with the croutons. Serve
immediately.
Yield: 10 to 12 Servings
Organic Field Greens Salad
10 heads assorted baby lettuces
1 baby arugula
Edible flowers (orchids or pansies)
4 vine ripe tomatoes-quartered
1 English cucumber sliced into 12 portions
Garlic croutons as needed
Raspberry vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Trim, wash and dry the lettuces and arugula. Toss lettuces and arugula
in large bowl with raspberry dressing and croutons. Transfer salad to 12
cold plates and garnish each plate with tomato, cucumber and flower.
Raspberry Vinaigrette
4 oz. red wine vinegar
4 oz. rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 oz. honey
5 oz. seedless raspberry preserves
6 oz. olive oil
8 oz. salad oil
Yield: 1 qt.
Whisk together the vinegars, lemon jus, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic.
Whisk in honey and raspberry preserves. Slowly whisk in the oils,
emulsifying the dressing. Refrigerate and use as needed.
Yield: 12 servings
Sweet Sausage and Sage Corn Bread Stuffing
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casing discarded
1/2 stick (1/4 C.) unsalted butter
2 medium-large onions, chopped fine
1 large carrot, chopped fine
3 ribs of celery, chopped fine
1 1/2 lbs. fennel bulbs (sometimes called anise, about 2 medium), stalks
trimmed flush with bulbs and bulbs chopped fine (about 4 1/2 C.)
2 tsp. fennel seeds, chopped fine
1/4 C. Pernod or other anise-flavored aperitif
2 tsp. dried thyme, crumbled
2 tsp. dried tarragon, crumbled
2 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
5 C. corn bread for stuffing or packaged corn bread stuffing
In a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet cook sausage over moderately high
heat, stirring and breaking up lumps with a fork, until no longer pink.
Transfer sausage with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Add butter to fat
remaining in skillet and cook onions, celery, carrots, chopped fennel,
fennel seeds and salt to taste over moderate heat, stirring until fennel
is softened, about 10 minutes. Add aperitif, thyme, sage and tarragon
and cook, stirring, until most liquid is evaporated. Add mixture to
sausage with corn bread or packaged stuffing and toss to combine well.
Season stuffing with salt and pepper and cool completely. Stuffing may
be made two days ahead and chilled, covered. To prevent bacterial growth
do not stuff turkey cavities ahead, wait until you're ready for baking.
Yield: 12 to 14 servings
Bourbon Molasses Baked Country Ham
12 sugarcane swizzle sticks, each cut into about 3-inch pieces
1 hickory smoked ham, spiral sliced, 8 to 10 pounds (no bone, water
added, cooked)
1 C. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 C. pure cane syrup
1/2 C. dark molasses
1/2 C. dark corn syrup
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground Allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 C. good bourbon whiskey
8 Granny Smith apples
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a shallow baking pan with parchment or
waxed paper. Insert the sugarcane sticks into the ham at 3- to 4-inch
intervals. Tie the ham, using kitchen twine, horizontally and vertically
to keep it together, like wrapping a gift. Place on a wire rack in the
baking pan. In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients together
except for the mustard and bourbon. Mix well. In a small bowl, dissolve
the mustard in the bourbon and then add to the spice mixture. Blend
well. Brush the entire ham with the glaze, coating it evenly. Wash,
core, and halve the apples. Place all around the ham. Baste the ham a
second time and baste the apples with the glaze. Bake for 45 minutes.
Baste the ham and fruit again. Bake another 45 minutes. Remove the ham
from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the
string and swizzle sticks. Serve the apples on a platter with the ham.
Serve everything warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 10 to 12 Servings
Pumpkin, Cranberry and White Chocolate Bread Pudding
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, plus 2 tbsp. melted butter
4 large eggs
3 C. heavy cream
1 C. milk
1 C. packed light brown sugar
1 C. roasted pumpkin puree (split whole pumpkin in half, remove seeds
roast @350 degrees for 30 minutes, cool, scrape out flesh and puree in
blender until smooth.)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 C. 1/2-inch cubes of day-old bread
6 oz. white chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 C. dried cranberries
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 by 14-inch baking dish with
the softened butter. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the cream,
milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and pumpkin. Add the bread,
chocolate and dried cranberries and stir well, then mix in the melted
butter. Let sit for 30 minutes so the bread will absorb the egg mixture.
Pour into the prepared dish. Bake until firm when pressed in the center,
about 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack until just warm, about 20 minutes.
Serve with your favorite caramel fudge sauce.
Yield: 14 Servings |
