Many of us feel the urge to lighten our menus a bit after the big Thanksgiving blowout of last week. Kind of get things under control a bit, if you know what I mean, as we head into the rest of the holiday season. As the indulgence of last week looms around our waistlines, it can seem a daunting task at first. But if you try to eat with the seasons, and if you’re lucky enough to have a fall garden coming into full swing, it’s really not all that hard to do. Cooler temperatures and lower humidity translate into good times for salad greens, cole crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts, root vegetables, and all manner of greens. Just what we need to help us get back on track and provide our bodies with the vitamins and minerals needed to fortify us through the winter months ahead.

My husband and I are newish to vegetable gardening and this year, our second attempt at a fall garden, has really surprised us. Without the screaming heat of the South Louisiana summer to contend with, even sporadic watering goes a long way. When the temperatures cooled off last week with the first near-frost, the haphazardly sown seeds dug down deep and really took off. Surprisingly, and seemingly overnight, we have lettuces gone wild (bronze arrow, rouge de grenobloise, arugula, mizuna, and red russian kale, to name a few), enough mustard greens to feed a small army, lacinato kale standing up like brave soldiers, radishes, beets, swiss chard, several heavily-laden volunteer tomato plants, and one very lonely (but still producing!) volunteer cucumber vine.  We’ve decided that we like this fall gardening stuff!

So earlier this week, when searching for a way to round out a meal of roasted wild ducks from one of Paul’s hunting ventures, a trip out back to the garden filled in the blanks. One lonely remaining jar of fig mostarda from a late summer canning venture called to me from the fridge, too, and found its way into an existing balsamic vinaigrette. Before you know it, the ducks were accompanied by a beautiful salad of mixed greens drizzled with fig vinaigrette, just enough cheese to make us think we were indulging, and a few toasted nuts for texture. Something rich and indulgent would also have been awesome with those ducks, (think rice and gravy, creamy polenta), but, as my boss would say, “oh, baby”, eating light never tasted so good!I didn’t really take notes when putting that fig vinaigrette together, but here is a simple fig vinaigrette recipe that we developed with Emeril for his upcoming sandwich cookbook that will be out next fall. If it sounds tempting to you, I suggest you try it with whatever type of fig preserves you have on hand, and feel free to adjust the balance by adding more vinegar or oil to taste. This vinaigrette works well with all sorts of roasted meats: duck, pork, chicken, and is nice on salads with salty cheeses such as feta, gorgonzola, or roquefort.

Fig Vinaigrette

• 4 tablespoons fig preserves (chop if whole figs)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
• Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a small bowl, combine the fig preserves and the balsamic vinegar. Whisk in the grapeseed oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: about 1 cup

I am thoroughly exhausted from Thanksgiving this year. I think I may have over done it a bit. It was worth it. The meal was fabulous and there was not a ton of food leftover, which means everyone enjoyed themselves. The one thing I am always sure to have enough of is turkey so that I can make gumbo. Making gumbo after Thanksgiving is a huge tradition in New Orleans and most of southern Louisiana.  

I make a fairly conventional turkey gumbo with the addition of greens. I adore greens of all kinds but especially kale. It is growing like crazy in my garden this year. I always serve some sort of greens at Thanksgiving and I love to throw the leftover greens in my gumbo. It makes me feel healthy and I think it tastes great. I don’t use a recipe when I make gumbo because I just like to wing it. But I have included Emeril’s recipe for a gumbo that is similar to the one I make.

Smoked Turkey and Collard Green Gumbo

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, Courtesy Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Inc.

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups small diced onions
• 3/4 cup small diced celery
• 3/4 cup small diced green, red, and/or yellow bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle stout beer (recommended: Abita Turbo Dog)
• 8 cups dark chicken stock, chicken stock, or water
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 pounds smoked turkey legs
• 1 pound collard greens, stemmed and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Steamed white rice, for serving

Directions

Heat a 6-quart wide-mouthed Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour and oil to the pan and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, until the flour mixture is a deep chocolate brown color, about 20 minutes. Add the onions, celery and peppers to the roux and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and cook for 1 minute. Add the beer to the roux, stir, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the stock, thyme, bay leaves, 2 teaspoons of Essence, salt, and cayenne to the pan. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the turkey legs to the pan. Cook until the turkey legs are falling-from-the-bone-tender, about 3 hours.

Remove the turkey from the pot and transfer to a plate to cool. Add the collard greens to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 1 hour. When the turkey is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and tear into bite-size pieces. Discard the skin and bones. Return the turkey meat to the gumbo. Taste the gumbo, reseason if necessary, and add the green onions and parsley to the pot. Serve with steamed white rice.

Emeril’s ESSENCE Creole Seasoning

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from “New New Orleans Cooking”, by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William Morrow, 1993.

Growing citrus in Louisiana can be a tricky proposition: summertime brings leaf miners  (who absolutely adore the soft, tender new-growth leaves) as well as butterflies whose larvae can literally strip a small tree of all leaves within days. Winter freezes can kill small trees, or in the case of larger, well-established trees, do some pretty serious damage at minimum. Late spring hail storms can easily strip trees of blossoms, meaning no fruit will follow. And so on and so on. While this all just part of the natural rhythm of life and the challenges that each season brings, it is a truly joyous day when, for instance, the Meyer lemon tree you planted in your backyard nearly 4 years ago finally has fruit!

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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I think because it is all about food. I have a tendency to go a little crazy with the menu. This relates back to the very first Thanksgiving dinner I cooked. I was in culinary school at The Culinary Institute of America and I was headed down to Manhattan to have Thanksgiving with some friends. I thought I would show off my new culinary skills and try to be a little creative. I was not going to make a turkey, I was going to roast a duck and make risotto and roasted root vegetables. The dinner ended up being a complete disaster. The duck was over cooked and I realized that one duck would not feed six people. The risotto was more like glue and I honestly do not remember what happened to the root vegetables. I was extremely embarrassed. The only saving grace was that we were young, care free and in Manhattan where you can get Chinese food delivered even on Thanksgiving.

After that debacle, I vowed that I would stick to traditional fare for Thanksgiving. I have honed my craft. Thanksgiving dinner no longer makes me anxious. I have come to embrace it and there have even been a few years that I felt like Martha Stewart.

This year’s menu:

• Deviled Quail’s Eggs
• Ham and Cheese Gougeres
• Cinnamon Spiced Nuts
• Oysters Bienville
• Herb Roasted Organic Heirloom Turkey Breast, Confit Turkey Legs with Sage Gravy
• Salad of Heirloom Lettuces(from my garden), Shaved Apples, Maytag Blue Cheese, Pecans, Pomegranate Vinaigrette
• Sauteed Lacinata Kale(from my garden) with Garlic, Bacon and Onions
• Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan
• Butternut Squash Puree
• Sweet Potato Gratin
• Wild Rice Stuffing
• Pomegranate, Meyer Lemon, Cranberry Relish
• Cranberry Gelee
• Roasted Pears with Port Macerated Cherries
• Rosemary Buttermilk Biscuits
• Brown Sugar Buttermilk Pie from Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food Magazine
• and of course lots of Champagne

I have been in the kitchen since Monday evening prepping. Believe it or not the menu is pretty easy this year. Nothing too fancy. I have been uber organized and am looking forward to a relaxing day on Thursday. I really enjoy cooking for and with my family and friends. It is definitely something to be thankful for.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday filled with joy.

 Look at this!  You have got to see this Thanksgiving Leftover wonder that Chef Emeril made for Good Morning America, Friday………  Cook this for your family the day after and it might upstage the Thanksgiving meal itself.  Will you just look at it.  Stacey Meyer really outdid herself with this one.  And do you know what this idea this was born from?  I’ll tell you…”how about a leftover stuffing cake with egg….”  And look what Chef Emeril bangs out.

This is a griddled stuffing cake topped with sauteed spinach (you can use leftover greens if you want), warmed sliced turkey, a poached egg (improvise with fried or scrambled), and right over the top is turkey gravy and fresh herbs.  Ummmm, Ummmm, Ummm.  And if you really want to go crazy as some of the tasters here at Homebase suggested, spoon a little cranberry sauce somewhere in there.  Wow!

This is how it looks while testing… She’s really got all the pots going.

Eggs go in the empty pot…. Opps, Sorry.

Here is Chef Chris’ excited apporach to “tasting”.  Well, it was his lunchtime…. (and this is still after he ate a whole one…) and there is Chef Stacey.  You go girl!

So the trickiest part is how dry or wet your stuffing is.   You want to make a mold of it in a greased ramekin.  Really press it down in there.  Then flip over to unmold.  And of course, pat it lovingly with your hands so it behaves.  Then, griddle it. Don’t worry about it cracking.  Once you get all the other goodness on top, it’ll still be a showstopper.

Happy Cooking!  and check out Chef Emeril on Friday, November 25st, in the 8:30am half hour on ABC’s Good Morning America.

After sampling the delicious pig at the Delmonico’s tent I headed over to some of the other tables. My first stop was at Crescent Pie & Sausage Co. where I had Bart Bell’s Chaurice with Homemade Mustard and Pickles. Bart is masterful at his craft of sausage making. When he talks to you about making sausage his eyes are literally gleaming with pride. Rightfully so. Chaurice is a traditional Creole sausage probably brought to Louisiana by the Spanish. It is slightly spicy and incorporates traditional Louisiana ingredients such as garlic, cayenne, bay leaf and thyme. It is a smoked sausage similar to both the Spanish chorizo and traditional Louisiana andouille. Generally chaurice is used a seasoning meat but Bart’s is so delicious it stands on its own, although the pickles and mustard are a nice touch.

I had to go check out Sue Zemanick from Gautreau’s (my alma mater). She prepared Fried Boudin Balls with Pimento Cheese and Cane Syrup Glaze. This sounded a little odd to me at first. I think it may have been the cane syrup but I have to say this was an out of this world pairing that worked incredibly well. Fried boudin is my favorite by far. I like the crispy outside with the boudin stuffing in the center. I am not sure why salty pork goes so well with sweet syrup but it just does. Think bacon with maple syrup. Boudin and cane syrup are a match made in heaven.

My last stop on this boudin adventure was at John Currance’s table. John, a native New Orleanian, is the chef at City Grocery in Oxford, MS. John is an avid hunter and fisherman and it seems appropriate to me that he served Boudin Stuffed Quail with Creole Mustard Cream. I felt a little like a stuffed quail at this point but it didn’t stop me from eating. It was delightful. Quails are such delicious little birds but have a tendency to be dry. The boudin alleviated this problem entirely and the dish was tender and moist.

I am looking forward to next year’s event. Boudin and Beer is now on the top of my list as far as New Orleans festivals. You just can’t beat it.

You may have seen Stacey’s blog from a couple of months back showing some of the behind-the-scene moments from our photo shoot with Chef Emeril for his upcoming sandwich cookbook…but what you may not realize is how much remains to be done even after a photo shoot is technically “over”. Our very talented photographer, Steven Freeman, took over 2800 images during the 4 day photo shoot (do the math…we were very busy!) The hard part comes in trying to select only the best of the best so that we end up with around 80 beautiful, mouthwatering images for the book. Everyone weighs in on their favorite images: Emeril, our Culinary Team and Marketing department…by the time we make our final selections, the photos have become old friends. Behold my office wall, which currently holds just a few (!) of our latest round of selects:

After all the final selections have been made, photos are edited if necessary and are then ready for submission to the publisher. Recipes and other frontmatter (frontmatter is just a fancy word for introduction, table of contents, acknowledgment, dedication, and anything else that goes up front in a book) will accompany the photos and, looking ahead, after about 5 rounds of editing and almost an entire year later, the book should be out in bookstores for everyone to enjoy.

The first ever Boudin and Beer event was held this past Friday, November 11, 2011. The charity event is hosted by Chef Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali, Donald Link and sponsored in part by Abita Beer. It was basically a huge block party studded with star chefs, local music, boudin in every possible form and in true New Orleans style drinks of all sorts were free flowing.

This is one of the best events New Orleans has to offer.  Walking into the tent the smells of pork were wafting from all directions. There were 23 local and regional chefs participating in this boudin extravaganza, meaning there were 23 versions of boudin to taste. I had really high expectations of myself, I really thought that I would be able to try most everything. It did not take long to realize that was simply out of the question. Who could eat that much boudin in one evening? I ended up eating about six dishes and paired them with Abita’s Amarillo Hopped Restoration Ale which was brewed exclusively for this event. Read more »

October 24th is national Food Day and I hope everyone can participate in some way. Perhaps an urban chicken workshop is just what you are looking for.

This weekend there is an urban chicken workshop hosted by Johnny Blancher of Ye Ole College Inn in conjunction with the New Orleans Food and Farm Network through their Grow Mo’Betta series.  It is from 10am to 12pm this Saturday at Ye Ole College Inn. I had the pleasure of meeting Johnny last weekend at the Fall Garden Festival at the Botanical Gardens. He was kind enough to volunteer to bring a few of his chickens out to the fest.

Show thumbnails as slideshow

I have attended a few workshops on raising chickens but I always learn something new with each workshop. Johnny is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his chickens I am sure the workshop will be fun and informative.

Hope to see you there!

 The Chefs Collaborative National Summit is being held here in New Orleans beginning this Sunday, October 23 and ends on Tuesday, October 25th. I am so looking forward to attending this conference.

What is Chefs Collaborative?

Chefs Collaborative is a nonprofit organization of chefs and culinary professionals working toward a more sustainable food supply. Read more »