Samin Nosrat's Roast Chicken (Marinated in Buttermilk)

My plans changed for Thanksgiving with Gov Walz's (kind of) stay home order, such that I did not travel to see my sister and her kids in Iowa, and instead had a solo retreat for several days at home. It was totally luxurious, particularly because I was busier with work and was ready for vacation. I had stacks of compelling books to read or page through, and had leftovers all weekend! My thanksgiving harvest dinner featured a whole roast chicken, mashed sunchokes, roasted kabocha squash with salad, and roasted savoy cabbage. I also made some cranberry/date sauce at the last minute after remembering I still had frozen cranberries in the freezer from last year. I felt happy that all the veggies were from my garden, and was very pleased with how everything turned out. Yum. 

This chicken preparation is really easy, and yielded a delicious, crispy skinned, very moist chicken. Thanks to my friend Allison for alerting me to this Samin Nosrat recipe, where all you do is salt your chicken and then marinate it in buttermilk for 24 hours before following some helpful instructions about chicken placement in the oven and cooking it. I didn't know Samin before this, but the trailer for her Netflix show Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat looks good, primarily because she seems great. It is on my list for some winter viewing in lieu of my Top Chef obsession, and I like that they list some recipes, including this one, on the website. I didn't see a note until afterwards to use plain yogurt if you have no buttermilk. (I had been wondering b/c I needed to go to three stores for buttermilk!)

Samin's Chicken

• 3½- to 4-pound (about 1.5 kilograms) chicken
• Salt
• 2 cups (475 ml) buttermilk

The day before you want to cook the chicken, remove the wingtips by cutting through the first wing joint with poultry shears or a sharp knife. Reserve for stock. Season the chicken generously with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Stir 2 tablespoons of kosher salt or 4 teaspoons fine sea salt into the buttermilk to dissolve. Place the chicken in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag and pour in the buttermilk. If the chicken won’t fit in a gallon-size bag, double up two plastic produce bags to prevent leakage and tie the bag with a piece of twine.

Seal it, squish the buttermilk all around the chicken, place on a rimmed plate, and refrigerate. If you’re so inclined, over the next 24 hours you can turn the bag so every part of the chicken gets marinated, but that’s not essential.

Pull the chicken from the fridge an hour before you plan to cook it. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C), with a rack set in the center position.

Remove the chicken from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive. Tightly tie together the legs of the chicken with a piece of butcher’s twine. Place the chicken in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or shallow roasting pan.

Slide the pan all the way to the back of the oven on the center rack. Rotate the pan so that the legs are pointing toward the rear left corner and the breast is pointing toward the center of the oven (the back corners tend to be the hottest spots in the oven, so this orientation protects the breast from overcooking before the legs are done). Pretty soon you should hear the chicken sizzling.

After about 20 minutes, when the chicken starts to brown, reduce the heat to 400°F and continue roasting for 10 minutes and then move the pan so the legs are facing the back right corner of the oven.

Continue cooking for another 30 minutes or so, until the chicken is brown all over and the juices run clear when you insert a knife down to the bone between the leg and the thigh.

When the chicken’s done, remove it to a platter and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving. 

This is the mashed sunchoke view - they were so good!

Andouille Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing (GF)

I have never really liked stuffing, even when I ate gluten. I don't even remember the last time I tried it - something like 20 years ago. But my aunt went up and changed things around this year and assigned us all new dishes to bring to Thanksgiving to get out of whatever old ruts and recipes we've been making for too long. I was assigned GF stuffing, and decided to attempt to find my own love of the stuff. This recipe mostly succeeded - it was delicious and spicy and chewy and crunchy. And still, I think stuffing is kinda weird. Like, it seems better to have for breakfast with eggs?!

I don't generally like most GF breads - or I do, but all that rice flour and stuff makes me feel wilty in my soul. I like some grainy heft. So I went with a cornmeal-only cornbread recipe - with sausage, cranberries, and apples. The original recipe is from Food 52, which I followed and is what is listed below. (I didn't have apple cider so used ginger brew, which I did have, instead. It seemed to work out just fine! In typing this out, I also realized I forgot the egg?! Oops. Still good!)

The cornbread in this recipe is amazing: a not sweet, buttery, grainy, crusty cornbread. I will make it again. I made the cornbread one day, cutting it into cubes to dry out overnight, and made the stuffing the next. You could, as the recipe originator notes in the comments, make the whole thing in advance and store in the fridge til you are ready to bake and serve.

Stuffing:

• 6 tablespoons butter, divided, plus more for baking dish
• 2 large onions, diced
• 3 large celery stalks, diced
• 2 apples, cored and diced
• 1 pound Andouille sausage, removed from casing
• ¹/₂ cup apple cider (or ginger brew)
• 1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 recipe Cast-Iron Skillet Cornbread (below), or 1 10-inch cornbread, cut in 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup chicken stock

Cast-Iron Skillet Cornbread

• 1 ¹/₂ cups coarse yellow cornmeal
• ³/₄ teaspoon baking soda
• ¹/₂ teaspoon Kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ¹/₂ cups plain drinkable yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk
• 1 ¹/₂ tablespoons maple syrup or honey
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Stuffing Instructions:

1. Place corn bread cubes on a baking sheet and leave out over night to dry. Or, toast the cubes in a 350 F degree oven for 10 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Butter a 9X13-inch baking dish. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, celery and apples and sauté until softened, about 7-9 minutes. Add the sausage, crumbling it into small bits, and sauté, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, until cooked and browned. Add the cider, cranberries, rosemary, and sage and cook until the cranberries soften, about 5 minutes. Scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon.

 

3. Place mixture in a large bowl and add the corn bread, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and enough chicken stock just to moisten the mixture. Stir well. Pour stuffing into prepared dish. Dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Bake until stuffing is heated through and top is golden, 35 to 45 minutes.

Cornbread Instructions:

1. Preheat an oven to 425 F degrees. Heat a 10-inch seasoned cast-iron skillet in the oven for 10 minutes, until it's very hot.
2. Combine the cornmeal, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together the eggs, yogurt and maple syrup in a large bowl.
3. Remove the hot skillet from the oven and add the butter, swirling it until it's melted (it's OK if it slightly browns). Working quickly, pour the hot, melted butter into the egg and yogurt mixture, and whisk until combined. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Pour the batter into the hot skillet and and bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Allow cornbread to slightly cool before cutting.

Apple Pie with double (grain free) crust

This year I poted to go for a gluten free Apple Pie for Thanksgiving (I seem to flip flop between pumpkin and apple on alternate years.) I neglected to get a photo, but want to remember this recipe because it tasted great. The crust got a bit soggy by day three, but still tasted good - it was almost like it just had a crumble top.

I used a recipe from Comfy Belly, a blog whose grain free biscuits are also great. This Apple Pie recipe is a double crust with apples that you cook in a saucepan. Note to self: cut apples in large pieces so they don't get too mushy when cooking. Also, press the bottom crust into the pie plate, and use care when rolling out the top crust. Mine tore a bit, but it actually looked good that way in the end - I just layered it a bit. It was rough and homemade looking that way.

I used only a Tablespoon or so of honey in the whole recipe split between crust and filling, and about 1 1/2 Tablespoons truvia (1 T for the filling). It was not overly sweet, but was sweet enough and will not elevate blood sugar!

(We also brought squirrel organ pate and cauliflower mashed potatoes to dinner. The pate was a initially met with some doubt, but all gave it some thumb's up after trying it.)

Sweet Potatoes with Spiced butter and Pomegranate seeds

My feasting on Thursday was grandiose - everything was super delicious. My uncle smoked a turkey that was free from any gluten contact, and there were two grain free pies and lots of delicious sides. I made these sweet potatoes that turned out really delicious (I was a little nervous about the spicing).

The original recipe was in Bon Appetit using squash, but I tried it with sweet potatoes. It's a Persian spiced butter with cinnamon, coriander, lime zest and cardamom. The flavor was perfect: enough to be interesting, but not too overpowering to make it difficult to eat with other foods, and the pomegranate seeds were festive. I was making a double batch (7-8 lbs of sweet potatoes) and it all was pretty easy. I did not get any finished photos, alas. I meant to take one right before serving (with the pomegranate seeds), but of course was too swept up in the forthcoming eating to remember to take a picture. Imagine a blend of these two photos:

 Because this was Thanksgiving, I made a little extra effort and peeled the sweet potatoes. I cut them into a large dice - a little over an inch cubed. Originally I roasted them in olive oil and than poured the spiced butter glaze over the top, but were I to make them again I would just roast them in the butter glaze.

Spiced Butter

My double batch! Lots of sweet potatoes!

8 T butter/ghee
1 tsp fresh grated lime zest
1 T fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp pepper
salt

Additional ingredients: Sweet potatoes (3-4 lbs) and pomegranate seeds.

1. Make the spiced butter: Either in a bowl by hand or in a food processor, mix all ingredients except salt until combined. Salt to taste (I used about 1 tsp.) Use within a week, or roll up in parchment paper and refrigerate up to 2 weeks, or freeze for 3 months.
2. When ready to make sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring about 1/2 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Whisk in spiced butter, 1 T at a time, until all butter is incorporated to form a rich, glossy sauce. 
3. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into large chunks. In a large bowl, toss sweet potato pieces with 1/2+ of butter sauce. Stir to coat on all sides and use extra butter sauce if needed.
4. Layer sweet potatoes in single layers on sheet pans (with an edge) and lightly salt with a nice sea salt (I like Maldon). Roast for 20 minutes, flipping sweet potatoes midway through. Sweet potato pieces should be soft and browned.
5. To serve, pour remaining butter sauce over sweet potatoes and toss with pomegranate seeds.
YUM!

*Note: I learned an easy way to get pomegranate seeds from this youtube video. You basically score the pomegranate around the middle and pull it apart, then wack each half with a wooden spoon to knock out the seeds. I thought it worked great.

"Paleo" Apple Pie

I made a really good apple pie for Thanksgiving. I finished it off yesterday morning and am already wanting more! Ah, the time of holiday treat eating. I blended a bunch of recipes and was happy with the end result. The only thing I'd tamper with next time is the crumble topping...it didn't get crispy and was a little more soft/chewy. I didn't actually mind that, but will experiment some more.

The crust is a pecan crust from Elena's Pantry. The only thing I changed was to add a little sweetness to the crust. I only added one date - it seems neglegable to use just one, but that is what I did! I also baked mine differently than she does because I pre-baked it a bit and did the filling with mostly cooked apples. The whole pie baked together for only 15 minutes. Making grain free pies is really much easier than the old gluten kind - at least not needing to roll out crust and wait for it to chill and all that business. I found it quite pleasant. You could easily reduce the sweetener in the filling (or use part stevia) - I was winging it and it turned out not overly sweet.

Pecan Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups pecans
1 medjool date, pit removed
1 T coconut flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease/butter/ghee a 9" pie plate.
2. Pulse pecans and chopped date in a food processor until mixture resembles course gravel. Add coconut flour, salt and egg and pulse until the mixture thickens and starts to form a ball.
3. Spread nut crust mix into pie plate, making sure to smooth it evenly on the bottom and sides. I found it nice to wet my fingers so that the mixture didn't stick to my fingers. It took a little patience, but the whole thing spread pretty easily.
4. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 10-14 minutes. The crust will start to brown slightly and will look more firm. I poked a few fork holes on the crust to let any steam/air out as it baked. Let crust cool a bit before filling with apples.

Apple Filling
7-9 tart apples
juice of half a lemon
4 T butter/ghee
3 T honey
2 T coconut sugar
1+ tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 T coconut flour

Core apples and cut in thick slices Heat butter in a large pot and add apples once it is melted. Add remaining ingredients. Cook for about 20-25 minutes on medium heat. You want the apples to cook, but not get too soft or mushy; stir gently to coat apples in the sweet butter sauce throughout cooking time. You also want liquid to reduce a bit.

Crumble Topping: Mix the following ingredients in a food processor until crumbly/sticky.
4 dates, pit removed, chopped
2 T pecans
2 T almond meal
2 T butter or ghee

For pie: Once apples are soft and mostly cooked, spoon apples into pie crust. I had a little remaining liquid which I poured over the apples. Top pie with crumble topping.

Bake for 15 minutes in 350 degree oven. Serve!

Roasted Squash with Date Relish and Pumpkin Seeds

I made a new recipe for Thanksgiving this year, and I have to say it is my favorite squash recipe ever. OMG this was so good. It comes from Bon Appetit, and it turned out totally gorgeous. I never got a photo, but I perused some online pictures to try to find one that might hint at the color and flavor combo of this dish. It was stunning and delicious.

This is the first time I have ever cooked kabocha, and I love it. It is really rich and almost dry because it is so dense. It is almost like a sweet potato in dark orange color and texture. It would probably make excellent pumpkin pie filling because there is such little moisture.

The prep for this dish is a bit lengthy - mostly because you have to peel the squash before baking it. The recipe recommends that you remove the peel after halving the squash (as shown), which is what I did.

Roasted Squash with Date Relish and Pumpkin Seeds (serves 8)

Final servings looked a little like this...

1/3 c. shelled raw pumpkin seeds/pepitas
1 tsp + 3/4 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
1 4 lb kabocha squash, halved through the root end and seeded
kosher salt
1 T fresh thyme leaves
freshly ground pepper
1/4 c (or more) fresh lemon juice
1/4 c chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 bunch/4oz. dandelion greens/arugula - rough ends removed (I recommend arugula)
1 c deglet dates (*deglet is very important! other dates are too sticky), pitted and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 oz parmesan cut into 1/4" pieces (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375. Arrange racks in upper and lower 1/3 of oven. Spread pepitas on a baking sheet in a single layer. Stir them once or twice while browning on the top oven rack - about 7 minutes total, until lightly browned, puffed, and aromatic. Toss seeds on cookie sheet with 1 t olive oil and a pinch of salt. Let cool on the tray. When cool, chop as garnish for salad. (I used them whole!)

like this only with no peel!

2. Increase oven temp to 425. Place squash half cut side down on a cutting board. Carefully remove the peel with a sharp knife. Cut squash lengthwise into 3/4" thick wedges. (Again, you could reverse those steps and try removing the peel after making wedges.) Put squash wedges, 1/4 c olive oil, and thyme in a large bowl and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange squash wedges on two large rimmed baking sheets in a single layer. Bake until soft when pierced with a fork, rotating sheets one time midway through, about 25-30 minutes.
3. Mix remaining 1/2 c oil, 1/4 c lemon juice, and parsley in a medium bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and any additional lemon juice to taste. Place greens in a large bowl, drizzle 1 T of dressing over the top and toss to coat. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Add dates and parmesan (if using) to remaining dressing for date relish.
4. Arrange greens on a large platter, top with warm squash, and then spoon the date relish over it all. Top with pumpkin seeds as the garnish.

*Note: I have made a version of this dish sans greens - with only the squash (I mixed in delicata too), the dressing, pumpkin seeds, and the dates. It makes a great potluck item.

Thanksgiving Day Turkey and Veggies

I made my very first turkey!  It was definitely a proud moment when I pulled that beautiful golden brown turkey out of the oven.  I asked around to get advice from others about how to make the best turkey.  Many people mentioned a roasting bag.  Normally I would be against using a plastic bag in cooking; I'm frankly worried about ingesting toxins from the plastic.  But, people told me it was the best turkey they ever made when they used the roasting bag, so I figured I would give it a try.  It was brilliant.  I put herbs and garlic inside the turkey and covered it with coconut oil (might use butter next time), then put it in the bag inside a roasting pan and away it went.  The end result was beautiful, flavorful and perfectly done.  I even have lots of wonderful leftovers, and extra pan drippings, to heat up all week.

I also made a few sides to go with my turkey.  I am doing a pretty strict version of paleo, so I couldn't get very fancy with anything.  I did do an extra twist on butternut squash that I found on theclothesmakethegirl.com.  Instead of just roasting the squash I also pureed it in the food processor with coconut oil, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and one egg.  Then, I put it into a casserole dish and baked it at 350 for 30 minutes.  I think I was suppose to have the oven hotter than that, but it turned out really well.  The recipe called for pecans, which I would've loved to have added, but I can't eat nuts.  I highly recommend adding them if you make this version.  It was very good, but the pecans would really add a lot to the dish.  The butternut squash was so sweet, rich and creamy.  I really felt like I was having a dessert instead of a vegetable. Yum!

My other veggie was carrots.  I got the most beautiful and delicious carrots at the Midtown Winter Farmer's Market a couple weekends ago.  They are literally the best carrots I have ever had.  I pretty much couldn't screw up cooking them.  I decided to do them two ways.  I roasted some of the carrots with a little coconut oil, salt, and pepper in the oven for an hour.  I selected the most delicate of the carrots to cook on the stovetop in a little water and butter.  The recipe calls for honey, which of course I can't have, but these carrots were so sweet and tender, the honey would've been too much sweetness I think.  They were spectacular.  What a way to celebrate the harvest.

I was so proud of my turkey and all of the food I was able to make today.  It was a small gathering, just me and my parents, but we had a nice time sharing a meal and spending time together.

I have loved exploring different foods and recipes this fall.  Thank you Megan for inviting me to this blog and for sharing all of your food adventures.  You continue to inspire me.  Everything you post I want to try.  Pressing apple cider sounds pretty exciting.  I've got that on my list for next fall.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin pie (GF)

I've been eating a little more paleo-like these days, sort of as an experiment in sugar-free, grain-free, low lactose eating. I am not strict about it, but so far it feels really good. Also, it seems that more folks around me are eating this way - or some variation, which makes blog posting about it a little more fun.

So - I brought pumpkin pie to my family feast, making no promises that it would taste good (just in case). Pumpkin pie is just so quintessential. I mean, I have yet to have a vegan version that actually tastes good, and I was worried this could go down the same (dairy-free) route. But, no! This filling actually tops my list of pumpkin pies: honey = delish. It was thicker than other recipes, which I loved. The more non-traditional aspect of the pie was the crust: it was a nut crust (no flour), which was more like a cheesecake graham cracker crust consistency. The nuttiness was really good - and though not the flaky (glutinous) crust of pumpkin pie norms, it was super tasty.

I got the recipe from the website linked above. I used my own pumpkin (it was actually butternut squash, which I roasted for an hour, then cooled and pureed). I liked the fresh ginger a lot, and would maybe use a little more next time. I am also curious how this would turn out with a mix of almonds and pecans...

Crust:
* 1 cup pecans;
* 1/2 cup hazelnuts;
* 4 tbsp butter, ghee or coconut oil (room temperature);
* A pinch of sea salt;

Filling:
* 1 can fresh or canned pumpkin puree (about 1 3/4 cups);
* 2 eggs;
* 1/2 cup local raw honey;
* 1/2 cup coconut milk;
* 2 tsp cinnamon;
* 1/4 tsp ground cloves;
* 1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger;

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Process the nuts in a food processor to almost a flour consistency. Be careful not to process too much and get a butter instead.
3. In a bowl, mix the ground nuts with the butter or coconut oil and then spread the crust mixture in a pie pan and bake for 10 minutes. (See photo of crust after pre-baking.)
4. While the crust bakes, mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl.
5. Add the filling evenly on the baked crust and bake for an additional 45 minutes.