The Official Chef Robert Irvine Blog

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of what I like to call the hearth and home season. This uniquely American holiday inspired by the example of the Pilgrims who thanked God as well as their Native American friends for helping them make it through the first year, is one of my favorites! The Wampanoag found it within themselves to show compassion to the Mayflower passengers who landed on their shores by teaching them farming methods and other ways to survive in their new home. Given today’s state of the economy, it will be more difficult this year for many of us to feel thankful, and very probable that, in contrast to previous years, a number of us may literally lack the ability to give material gifts to others in this holiday season. However, we can follow the example of those Native Americans by resolving to give others our compassion and understanding.

As you know, my team and I travel a lot and, during this election year, we have heard much more than usual of the unfiltered chatter out there on the cooking trail that, frankly, makes us flinch. These days we are surrounded by people who work hard their entire lives but then find themselves unable to afford health insurance. We’ve also had occasion to talk to students who - after actually managing to make their way through to college graduation - find themselves saddled with 4 years worth of student loans, only to enter a work world where one has to hold 2 or 3 menial jobs, because no single employer can be found who can provide enough work hours to cover living expenses. While it is human nature to analyze the circumstances of others through our own prisms, I challenge you this holiday season to compassionately give your support and your prayers to those less fortunate than you in these days. This can mean material support, a kind word or just maintaining a positive outlook. It should be easy to imagine yourself as part of the community of those in whose moccasins you do not walk.

Let’s resolve to set aside our differences, realize that idle chatter that serves no good purpose and that, by coming together, we can achieve anything.. Remember that we are all in this together.

In keeping with the theme of simple compassion and kindness, I have decided to put together a Thanksgiving menu with a few special touches but which has its beauty in simplicity!

Baby Greens Salad with Quail Egg and Maple White Balsamic Vinaigrette
Chilled Beet Soup with Sour Cream and Dill Pickle
Twelfth Night Turkey with Wild Rice Stuffing and Ale Reduction
Cranberry Apple Stuffing (optional for those who simply must have bread-based stuffing)
Garden Peas in a Three-Cheese Sauce
Mashed Molasses Sweet Potatoes
Three Apple Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream

I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have been there to lend kind words and support to me and my team over this most eventful past year. I hope God’s blessings are in store for all of you and all of us.

Appetizer: Salad

BABY GREENS SALAD WITH QUAIL EGG AND
MAPLE WHITE BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients for vinaigrette:
⅛ cup white balsamic vinegar (such as that from Colavita)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup (add 1 teaspoon more if you like a sweeter taste)
1 shallot clove, quartered
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Ingredients for salad:
3 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 English cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced thin, or shredded with a vegetable peeler
1 pound baby greens (such as frisée, arugula, romaine hearts), rinsed and dried with a salad
spinner or patted dry with paper towels
Salt and pepper to taste
1 fifteen-ounce can pre-cooked quail eggs (a can contains about 11 pre-boiled and peeled eggs,
and can be found in Asian markets)

Method:
Make the vinaigrette by adding the vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, shallot and rosemary, one at a time, through the feed opening of a running blender. Then leaving the blender running, pour the olive oil in a slow steady stream into the vinegar mixture very slowly to emulsify. Remove to a container and season with salt and pepper.

Toss the tomatoes, cucumber and carrots with the salad dressing. Toss with baby greens just before serving and garnish with quail eggs cut into halves. Season with black pepper.

Appetizer: Soup

CHILLED BEET SOUP WITH SOUR CREAM AND DILL PICKLE
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed with the side of a knife blade
3 pounds fresh beets, peeled and quartered
2 English cucumbers, peeled and diced
2 cups orange juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper,
Juice of 1 fresh lime
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped dill pickle

Method:
Heat the grapeseed oil over medium heat in a large deep pot and add the onion and garlic, sautéing them until they are translucent. Add the beets and cucumber, and cover with 6 cups water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from heat and bring to room temperature.

Add the orange juice and blend with an immersion blender, or in batches in a conventional blender. Re-season with salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Stir in the lime juice and chill.

Spoon into serving bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream which has chopped dill pickle sprinkled onto it.

Entrée: Turkey

TWELFTH NIGHT TURKEY
WITH WILD RICE STUFFING & ALE REDUCTION
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients for stuffing:
2 cups chicken stock (alternatively you can make your own stock from the unused turkey parts if
you are breaking down the turkey yourself and have the time – see turkey ingredient
below and turkey stock instruction below*)
1 cup wild rice (such as the Royal Blend marketed by Rice Select, a mixture of Texmati white,
brown, wild, and red rice)
4 tablespoons butter (1 tablespoon for rice and 3 tablespoons for sautéing)
1 pound sausage, casing removed
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and small diced
1 large white onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil, if needed (approximately as needed to keep the pan oiled)
¼ pound liver, blood vessels removed (in the episode we used the liver from the rabbit that was
cooked for another entree, but you can use turkey and/or chicken livers)
3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (from about 5 or 6 large sprigs)
6 fresh sage leaves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram leaves (from about 5 or 6 large sprigs)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
3 eggs, beaten

Ingredients for the turkey and rub:
1 twelve to fifteen pound turkey, breast and legs cut away from bones and tendons removed but with most of the skin left on (so you can contain the stuffing), and soaked in cold water with kosher salt (You can buy the turkey breast and legs pre-boned or ask your butcher to do it. If you break down a whole turkey yourself in advance, you can boil the unused parts to make turkey stock for the rice to go in the stuffing and for the gravy. See turkey stock instructions below.)
¼ cup olive oil
5 or 6 large sprigs fresh marjoram, leaves stripped from the stems
1 tablespoon anise seed
6 to 8 sprigs fresh parsley leaves cut off (and stems reserved for the gravy – below)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients for the ale reduction gravy:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, lightly crushed with the side of a knife blade, then minced
1 shallot, minced
3 or 4 sage leaves, minced
1 bay leaf
2 twelve-ounce bottles ale (such as Samuel Adams Boston Lager)
1 pint chicken stock (or turkey stock you have made)
½ cup cold butter (1 stick or 8 tablespoons), crumbled into flour ingredient below to look like coarse cornmeal
½ cup flour, combined with crumbled butter ingredient above to look like coarse cornmeal
Salt and pepper, to taste

Special equipment:
Kitchen twine

Method for the stuffing:
Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the wild rice and 1 tablespoon butter (reserving the rest of the butter), cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer undisturbed for 50 minutes.

Whilst the wild rice is cooking, melt another tablespoon of butter over medium heat (reserving the rest of the butter) in a large skillet and cook the sausage until browned, about 8 to 10 minutes, keep the meat loose whist you cook it. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage to a bowl. Pour most of the sausage fat from the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon of fat. Add the apples and sauté until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove them to the bowl with the sausage. To the same pan, add oil if the pan is too dry and cook the onion until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Cook the liver in the pan until cooked through, but still tender, about 5 minutes, and then remove to a carving board to cool to room temperature. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the pan and sauté the celery, thyme, sage, marjoram, and parsley over medium heat until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Cut the liver down into ¼ inch cubes.

Remove the rice from the heat and let stand 10 minutes before removing the lid. Stir and allow to cool to room temperature. Combine the liver with the wild rice, sausage, apples, and sautéed herbs. Add beaten eggs and mix well. Set aside briefly.

Method for the turkey:
Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Make the paste to rub on the turkey by adding one at a time through the feed opening of a running blender: oil, marjoram, anise seeds, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Fill the turkey breast and thighs with the rice stuffing and secure with kitchen twine. Rub the paste liberally on the turkey and roast, basting with the pan juice every 30 minutes or so, until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees. This will take about 20 minutes per pound (4 to 5 hours.) Remove the turkey from the oven and let rest whilst you are preparing the gravy.

Pour the pan juices into a glass container so you can see the fat layer and pour off or spoon off most of the fat. Strain the remaining pan juices into a bowl and reserve to add to the gravy as described in the gravy instructions.

Method for the ale reduction gravy:
In a deep saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Sauté the garlic, shallots, sage, and bay leaf until the shallots turn translucent, about 3 minutes, monitoring to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn. De-glaze the pan with the ale and increase the heat to medium high, allowing most of the ale to evaporate, about 10 minutes. Gradually stir in the stock and bring to a gentle boil. Then, gradually whisk in the butter/flour mixture (which has been combined to look like coarse cornmeal). Reduce the heat to low and allow the flour to “cook out” and allow the gravy to thicken, about 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk in the juices from the turkey pan and cook for a few more minutes to allow flavors to integrate. Remove the bay leaf and strain gravy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve sliced turkey and stuffing with gravy.

*FOR TURKEY STOCK: Place the turkey parts in a large pot and completely cover with water. Add:
1 large quartered onion
1 large carrot cut into chunks
1 celery stalk cut into chunks
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon peppercorns
A sachet d’epices containing: 1 handful parsley stems, a bay leaf, and 5 or 6 thyme sprigs.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and gently boil for about 3 hours skimming off impurities that rise to the top. (Add additional water as needed if water level gets too low.) Remove the bones and discard, and reserve large pieces of turkey (for use in a soup with the extra stock), and strain the liquid into a bowl for the stock for use in your recipes.

Accompaniment: Stuffing

CRANBERRY APPLE STUFFING
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Serves: 8 to 12

Ingredients:
2 sticks (1/2 cup) butter, 1 stick to sauté and one stick to drizzle over the surface of the stuffing
2 shallot cloves, minced
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed with the side of a knife blade and minced
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
4 apples, peeled if you wish, diced into ½ inch cubes and tossed with the juice of 1 lime
½ cup port wine
2 cups fresh cranberries
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 pound crusty French bread (about 2 loaves) diced into ½ inch to ¾ inch cubes
1 to 2 cups apple juice (approximately as needed to moisten the bread)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Special equipment:
An oven-to-table casserole dish, lightly buttered

Method:
In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic cloves and poultry seasoning, and cook until the shallots turn translucent, stirring frequently to prevent burning, about 3 minutes. Stir in the apples and stir to coat with the butter. Cover and let cook until the apples just begin to soften, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the pot lid and increase the heat to medium high, letting most of the juices in the pan evaporate, about 5 to 10 minutes. De-glaze the pan with the port wine and allow the wine to reduce by half, about 5 minutes, then gently fold in the cranberries and cloves. Keep the pan on the heat until the cranberries begin to pop, about 5 more minutes, then remove it from the heat and bring to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F whilst the apple cranberry mixture is cooling.

In a large bowl combine the bread cubes and the apple cranberry mixture. Add just enough apple juice to moisten the bread without making it mushy, and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Mix well, but try to avoid squeezing the bread too much. The goal is to moisten and mix it without making the bread into a too dense mass; this is why we mix all the other ingredients first before adding them to the bread. (You may be well served to do this with your hands. Disposable plastic gloves are useful for this endeavor.) Spoon into the prepared oven to table dish and place the stuffing uncovered in the oven. After the stuffing has been baking for 20 minutes, melt the other stick of butter and drizzle it over the surface of the stuffing as it bakes in order to have it form a buttery crust. Bake until dry and fluffy, another 15 to 20 minutes, then remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes in a warm place before serving.

Accompaniment: Green Vegetables

GARDEN PEAS IN A THREE-CHEESE SAUCE
Copyright, 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 sixteen-ounce package frozen peas, thawed
⅓ cup parmesan cheese
⅓ cup shredded white cheddar cheese
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
Salt, as needed
1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, minced

Method:
Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan and sauté the garlic and shallots until they are translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cream and nutmeg. Allow this mixture to reduce by about one-third. Remove the pot from the heat and gradually whisk in the parmesan cheese and cheddar. Return to low heat, and cook about 5 to 7 minutes until the flavors infuse. Gently fold in the peas, season with pepper and sprinkle with Romano cheese. Since the cheeses will lend saltiness, add salt only if it is still needed after all the cheeses are added. Cover and return to the warm burner or a warm place and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the peas to heat through. Garnish with mint leaves.

Accompaniment: Potatoes

MASHED MOLASSES SWEET POTATOES
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
4 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, (approximately 4 to 6 yams or about 12 sweet potatoes
depending on size) peeled and cut into 1 to 1-1/2 inch chunks
1 cup (2 sticks or ½ pound) butter, cut into cubes
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons molasses
¼ to ½ cup cream, as needed to achieve desired consistency
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method:
These potatoes can be steamed to preserve more of the flavor and vitamins (or boiled if you wish), until tender. (To steam them, you can place them in a single layer on a rack placed over a large shallow pan of water with a large pot lid to cover. Replenish water in pan if it boils off before they are tender.) (If you boil them, be sure to drain well.)

Place the tender cooked potatoes and butter in a large bowl and mash by hand. Then, using a beater, whip in the cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses, and enough cream to achieve your desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Dessert: Apple Crumble

THREE-APPLE CRUMBLE
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
6 large apples (2 each of three different varieties: Granny Smith, Winesap, Rome Beauty,
Stayman, Braeburn) peeled, cored and diced medium
6 tablespoons sugar
¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
⅓ cup brown sugar
Juice of one lemon
One pint vanilla ice cream

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the apples and just half of the sugar (3 tablespoons) into a sauté pan and cook over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes or until apples begin to soften. Drain them and set aside.

For the crumb topping, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter in a bowl. Blend with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Coat the apples with the lemon juice and spoon into a deep baking dish. Top with the crumble mix and sprinkle with the brown sugar, and bake until done, about 30 minutes. To minimize oven clean-up, you may want to place foil under the baking dish to catch any spills. The fruit will bubble and will be very hot, so exercise extra care in removing from the oven.

Serve wedges topped with vanilla ice cream.