A Feast Made for an Inauguration

On January 20th, we want our friends and family to join us at our house to watch Joseph R. Biden and Kamala Harris take their oaths of office. But as with so many aspects of life, the pandemic has changed the way we share important moments in our lives.

Although we will be in our separate homes, we will be together watching the Inauguration in real time. Afterwards, to share our reactions, we'll log onto Zoom. During both, we'll enjoy favorite dishes and toast with a favorite drink.

I was asked to contribute recipes.

Here are the favorites I would have prepared if everyone had gathered at our home. For my wife and myself, I'll make just one dish, plus our favorite drink for a toast.

If you want a recipe, click on the title/link.

Have a great Inauguration! Looking forward to a better future.

Chicken - brined, topped with feta and onions

Roast chicken is easy to prepare.  After pre-heating the oven and washing the chicken inside and outside, simply place on a roasting rack in a pan and bake 30 minutes breast side down, then 30 minutes breast side up. The feta and onion topped roast chicken recipe adds a few steps and ingredients to create a savory, delicious, festive meal. 

For the full recipe, please click on the above link.

Chicken - fried, topped with honey

A chef showed me this recipe and I have used it ever since. Compared with a roast chicken, fried chicken takes a bit more work. The same technique can be applied to fresh vegetables to make best-ever onion rings, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms and string beans.

With the onions, slice very thin and separate into rings. With shiitakes, cut each mushroom into two pieces before placing into buttermilk and then dredging in seasoned flour. Asparagus and string beans, boil 2 minutes in water, seasoned with Diamond Crystal kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon to 1 quart) before placing into buttermilk and dredging in seasoned flour. 

Use good quality canola oil and heat until a parsley leaf fries quickly but does not burn.

For the full recipe, please click on the above link.

Brown Sugar Roasted Salmon

A favorite of my wife, the salmon is seasoned twice. First by dry seasonings. Secondly with a sauce applied at the end of roasting. Depending on the thickness of the filet, the salmon cooks quickly, between 10-30 minutes. Delicious if served hot or at room temperature.

For the full recipe, please click on the above link.

Salads & Vegetables - salt boiled, then roasted artichokes, carrot salad, chopped parsley salad with feta

Roasted artichokes can be served hot or at room temperature, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper. Several salads give you a variety to choose from. 

For the full recipes, please click on the above link.

Sangria Fruit Salad

Easy-to-make and festive, by adding bite-sized bits of fresh fruit, after you toast Biden-Harris, you can enjoy dessert.

For the full recipe, please click on the above link.

Chesney Hill's French 75 Cocktail

Chesney Hill is a go-to cocktail person. When I asked her what she would serve to toast the Inauguration, she didn't hesitate. A classic French 75 Cocktail.

The satiny smooth drink packs a wallop so sip and enjoy. 

Made with gin (or vodka or even cognac), a sparkling wine (preferably champagne), simple syrup, lemon juice and a lemon peel twist. Shake with ice, serve and toast our new President and Vice President!

As with everything in life, using the best ingredients produces the best results. Use a quality spirit and champagne or sparkling wine.

Ingredients 

1 oz. gin (Chesney recommends Empress Gim)

3 oz. champagne or sparkling white wine

1/2 oz simple syrup (1 cup white sugar + 1 cup water, reserve what isn't used)

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Lemon peel twist to garnish

Directions

Making simple syrup is, well, simple. Place sugar into a small saucepan. Slowly add water. Turn the burner on low and walk away. Do not stir or agitate. The sugar will slowly dissolve in the heated water. Do not allow to boil but do reduce the syrup by continuing to cook on the low flame 10 additional minutes after the sugar granules have disappeared. Cool and use, reserving the unneeded portion in an air tight container kept in the refrigerator. 

Place all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake. Strain out the ice as you pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon peel twist.

Serve icy cold.

Dumplings and Turkey Stew Make the Best Thanksgiving Left-Overs

We loved our Thanksgiving. Even though it was smaller than in other years. Five instead of twenty-five. Even thought it was outside on the patio where the fall leaves fell onto our plates instead of inside our warm and cozy house. We had time to have real conversations in an unhurried way. 

After the delights of Thanksgiving, then come the left-overs. Open faced sandwiches with turkey and turkey liver pate. Turkey soup made from the stock of Thanksgiving's bones and bits. And, my favorite, dumplings and turkey stew. The absolute best comfort food. 

The basics are straightforward. Cooked turkey meat. A handful of favorite vegetables. A cup of white flour. A bit of half and half. A cube of butter. Homemade turkey stock. A few seasonings.

Simmer. Cover. Uncover and serve! Easy and delicious.

Farm-to-Table Vegetables, Turkey and Dumplings

Use a good quality organic turkey and buy farmers market produce when available. 

If you have dried whole shiitake mushrooms, use them. They add a distinctive flavor, different from the delicate flavor of thinly sliced shiitakes.

Use vegetables you love. And lots of them. English peas. Squash rounds. Kabocha chunks. Roasted sweet potatoes. Green beans. Kale. Shredded cabbage. Chopped turnips. My preference is to tilt the balance towards the fresh produce, plating great mounds of vegetables with a leg and a wing or two pieces of breast.

The dish can be covered and served the next day or divided into smaller covered containers and frozen for up to three months.

Yield: 4 servings

Time to prep: 15 minutes (if you already have turkey stock) or 1 hour (including time to make turkey stock)

Time to cook: 30 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes - 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

4 cups cooked turkey meat, cut into quarter sized pieces, no bones
1 medium yellow onion, washed, ends trimmed, outer skin removed, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 cup green beans, washed, ends removed, cut into 1" long pieces
1 cup broccoli florets, washed and cut into 1" pieces or broccoli leaves, washed, shredded
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, washed, stem end trimmed, thinly sliced or 2 cups dried whole shiitake mushrooms, washed
1/4 cup Italian parsley, leaves only, washed, finely chopped
1 garlic, peeled, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 cup celery, washed, ends trimmed, cut into 1/2" pieces (optional)
4 cups homemade turkey stock, as described below
1 large carrot, washed, trimmed, peeled, cut into 1/2" thick rounds
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne powder (optional)

Dumpling ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour, white
2 tablespoons sweet (unsalted) butter, cut into fine bits
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper

1 scallion, washed, ends trimmed, green and white parts finely chopped or 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, leaves only, washed, finely chopped (optional)
1/2-1/3 cup half and half, cream or whole milk

Directions

The turkey stock cooks as we're enjoying Thanksgiving dinner. As I carve, I put the bones and carcass into a large pot. Cover with water plus four more cups and simmer covered for 45 minutes. Strain through a colander, reserving liquid in a bowl. Let the carcass cool and remove the meat.

Use what stock is needed for the dish, reserving the rest covered in the refrigerator for up to three days or in the freezer for up to six months. The meat pulled off the carcass can be added to the braise or submerged in stock and frozen for later use.

In a mixing bowl, add flour, cut up butter, scallion (or Italian parsley), baking soda, sea salt and black pepper. Using a fork, mix well. Slowly add milk, stirring until thickened. The resulting mixture should be like thick batter. If the mixture is too runny, add a tablespoon of flour. Cover and set aside.

In a large pot, heat olive oil and sauté onions and garlic (optional) with oil until softened. Add cooked turkey and vegetables. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add turkey stock.  Stir and simmer 20 minutes.

To make the dumplings, use two soup spoons to create small rounds of dough. Drop each dumpling into the simmering liquid. Make room for each dumpling so they do not touch because they will expand as they cook. Use all the dumplings batter and cover.

Adjust the heat so the stock simmers but does not boil.

Cook 30 minutes and serve immediately. Place several dumplings into each bowl, adding a protein and a good helping of vegetables with several tablespoons of sauce.

Serve hot.