Turkey Meatloaf - with Tomato Bell Pepper Relish

My friend came over and I asked her what she wanted for lunch. She said, "Whatever you have" and I proceeded to pull out of my fridge chili, moroccan chicken with coussous, roasted butternut squash soup, and orzo salad. She just shook her head and said, "You ALWAYS have so much food."

That is true. I always like to have leftovers - for a few reasons. I have to generally feed 3 or 4 people lunch every day, so having a mix of leftovers makes it a snap - we have soup, then we can make sandwiches. We have extra pasta, then we can just heat it up. Chili just requires me to throw together some guacamole. The leftovers make preparing lunch very simple and easy for me, and it always does seem that I have random people visiting at lunchtime and although sometimes I do prepare something fresh, most of my visitors don't seem to mind leftovers.

To prepare DOUBLE of something is RARELY double the work. You already dirty one set of pans making a single batch, and you don't increase the pan washing by making a double batch. Although chopping and prepping ingredients may take more time, it certainly isn't double, the actual working and putting all the ingredients together is never double the time. So for smaller amount of effort, you get double the food. One recipe that I LOVE doing this with is Turkey Meatloaf. I have one turkey meatloaf recipe where I had adapted it to eliminate eggs and hidden sources of soy and dairy. I just did it with another one - Tyler Florence's Meatloaf with Tomato Relish. This one has the lovely flavor addition of bacon. His does call for a combination of pork and beef - I just substitute turkey for the entire amount. The bell pepper tomato relish does a wonderful job of keeping the loaf moist, tender and totally delicious.

May you make double the food with less effort! Enjoy!

Turkey Meatloaf with Bell Pepper Relish (Makes 2 loaves)

Tomato Relish:
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, finely diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 bay leaves
5 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced
5 tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced
1/1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
24 oz bottle ketchup
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Meatloaf:
6 slices wheat bread - soy and dairy free
4 lbs ground pound ground turkey
Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6-8 bacon slices

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat a skillet with a 2-count of oil and place over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Throw in the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften. Now add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 8 cups of relish.

Place the torn bread in a large bowl. Set aside about 1 1/2 cups of the relish aside. Pour the remaining relish on top. (warm or even hot is okay - let the bread soak up some of the liquid and the juices.)

This is where you get your hands dirty! Mix up and squish up the bread and the relish so that the bread has absorbed most of the liquid from the relish. It should be a sort of gloppy warm mess. Let it cool for a bit, and then add turkey meat, thyme, salt and pepper.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet or line with foil. Transfer the meat mixture to the center of the cookie sheet and form into two logs about 9 inches long and about 4 inches wide. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish. Lattice the bacon along the top. (see picture.)

Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the bacon is crisp and the meatloaf is firm. Rotate the meat loaf while it's baking every now and then to insure that the bacon browns evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing.

Suggested sides

Garlic Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Cauliflower Gratin

Meatloaf before oven baking.

Simple Sides: Garlic Broccoli

I remember, as a young child, my father, an OB/Gyn would try and pick out the garlic from his food at dinner. Oftentimes my mother would cook food trying to utilize less garlic and I saw my dad restrict the amount of food that had a lot of garlic. He did this, because he was worried about the odor that could possibly exude from him as a physician and he didn't want to push his patients off.

That was 36 years ago, in a United States that is much different from what it is now. We were, at the time, one of two Korean families living in a small suburb of Chicago, and I'm guessing, although I don't have a clear recollection, that other people's food was not as stinky as ours? In the area where we live now, there are lots of "stinky" ethnic foods, and no one seems to mind, although I did read an article which stated that the #1 pet peeve of people in the work place was smelling "stinky ethnic food" in the lunch room. My guess is that the lunch room haters would hate our family as our family, LOVES garlic. Husband and daughters can eat special Korean marinated garlic cloves WHOLE and they chomp it and munch it down. They love anything garlic - garlic pasta, garlic bread, and this dish, garlic broccoli.

It's my own invention - and it's easy enough to play around with. I use sliced garlic and partially steamed broccoli to make a quick an easy side.

Garlic Broccoli

2-3 broccoli crowns
10 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil, or vegetable oil if you want a less "Italian feel"
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Wash broccoli and break into small pieces. Place in a microwaveable bowl. Add 3 T of water and cover tightly with saran wrap. Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet. When add garlic and saute over medium heat. Be careful not to scorch the garlic - because nothing tastes WORSE than burnt garlic. Slowly saute until garlic is slightly golden and oil is flavored with the garlic. Toss in steamed broccoli. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve!

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Rosemary Pork Chops, Maple Cornbread Stuffing, and Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Sometimes I look at a recipe, and if the list of ingredients seems daunting, I just forget about it. I don't often want to make a dish where the list of ingredients is more complex and longer than the recipe itself. It seems to go against the very nature of good simple ingredients, cooked properly and well.

These pork chops are just my type of dish - six ingredients: olive oil, garlic, salt, rosemary, lemon and pork, all simply prepared and easily made.

I served it with roasted brussels sprouts and maple cornbread stuffing. It is an easy way to practice some Thanksgiving side dishes before the actual big day.

On a practical note, pork chop is FAR cheaper than red meat (far cheaper than our favorite cut of steak - ribeye on the bone) and still has that meaty filling feel. We enjoy it for that reason. In fact, during the meal, husband commented, "This tastes GREAT with steak sauce, but costs a lot less. More pork during the recession." I laughed, but I think he was serious.

Rosemary Pork Chops

3 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 (1/2-inch-thick) bone-in rib pork chops (1 1/2 pounds)
Accompaniment: lemon wedges

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Mince and mash garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt, then stir together with rosemary, oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Rub mixture all over chops.

Broil chops on a broiler pan about 4 inches from heat, turning once, until just cooked through, about 12 minutes total. Let stand 5 minutes. (Please watch carefully as everyone's oven is different. You do NOT want to overcook pork...it will be super dry.)

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Simple Sides: Roasted Sweet Potato Circles

I love sweet potatoes... I'm particularly partial to the Korean/Japanese one (go goo ma -고구마) and can't eat enough of them when they are in season. I like just plain roasting them in the oven, steaming them and pureeing them, but I have to say that a new favorite of mine is cutting them into rounds, tossing them in olive oil and salt and roasting them in the oven. What ends up happening is that the salt draws out water from the potatoes, intensifying the sweetness and then roasting ends up caramelizing the sugar in the potatoes making for an a chewy sweet round. It almost tastes like candy the sweetness is so pure. And it is so simple to make.

Make sure you put the potatoes on a single layer - do not overlap - this is to ensure the maximum roasting and caramelization of your potato.

Roasted Sweet Potato Circles

1.5 lbs sweet potatoes (I like the Korean/Japanese one for its texture, but you can opt to use the standard sweet potato/yam available at your local supermarket. It will still taste very good.)
Olive oil
Salt

Preheat oven to 425.

Slice the sweet potatoes into 1/2 in rounds. Toss them in olive oil enough to coat them and lay them on a single layer in a pan. Sprinkle salt on top. Bake in oven until golden brown - about 30 minutes (or longer depending on your oven.)

These are the potatoes before being put into the oven. Note the single layer with no potatoes overlapping.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots

Brussels sprouts are the stuff of nightmares for kids - it's the vegetable that no one wants to eat, the one that gets fed to the dog, or the one that ends up in the dryer after kids have stuffed it into their pockets as a way to avoid eating them.

I happen to LOVE them...and this recipe, my kids love it too. Adding bacon to anything makes the dish a winner (as testified on Top Chef.) The roasting with the bacon and shallots elevates the Brussels sprouts flavor to something mellow, nutty and sublime. Not only do they taste good, they are GREAT for your health. (okay so maybe adding the bacon sort of detracts from their health benefits...) The final plus - they are super easy to make - you can do part of it ahead of time, and then finish them off in the oven at the end, or make them ahead, and then just reheat them in the oven for the last 10 minutes.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots

4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 pound bacon, diced
4 shallots, thinly sliced
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat oil over medium heat in a roasting pan or large skillet. Add the bacon and shallots and cook until slightly caramelized and translucent . Add the Brussels sprouts and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and more oil (if necessary to coat all the sprouts) and roast in the oven until the vegetables are cooked through and golden brown. It may take anywhere from 25-40 minutes. Remove from the oven.

These are the brussels sprouts after being tossed with the bacon and shallots before being roasted.

This is what they look like after being roasted.

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Maple Cornbread Stuffing

I remember the first time I decided to make this recipe. Husband and I had moved to Hong Kong, and I was still very much consumed with a "proper Thanksgiving dinner" even though we weren't going to have our family around. I saw this recipe in the pages of Bon Appetit magazine and it literally jumped out at me. There was no picture but the ingredients sounded so great together that I was dying to make it.

In HK, husband and I lived in 850 sq feet, and the kitchen was smaller than our current guest bathroom. I literally could turn in a circle and go to the sink, another quarter turn I'd be in front of the oven, and then another quarter turn and it was the fridge. But I did have an oven, a tiny 17.5 sq. foot fridge, and this great stuffing recipe. Husband was agreeable to the idea of hosting a "small" gathering of some recent friends, all of whom were NOT handy in the kitchen. The thing with Hong Kong is that there isn't much incentive to be good at cooking as kitchens are tiny and hot, there are maids and helpers a plenty to cook for you, and you can buy literally anything you want to eat. But I still felt very strongly that we needed to have a homemade Thanksgiving. And being the international community it is, most ingredients were easy to come by with a bit of research. (thank you Olivers market in Prince's Building.)

In the end, as husband LOVES having people over to eat good food, our "small" party of new friends became a HUGE party of 25 people (reminder 850 sq feet), all who seemed intrigued and excited by a home cooked meal. There were a few single Americans who were not going to be able to enjoy their mother's cooking and the majority were Hong Kong Chinese, most who had been educated abroad. And I cooked turkey, ham, this stuffing, two kinds of pie, hot artichoke dip, cookies, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn. And at the end, aside from the turkey that people loved, the STUFFING was the hit of the party. In particular, one of my husband's work mates ADORED it so much that he begged to take a large container of it home. He requested it at subsequent Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner parties.

I'm sure husband's friend's adulation of the stuffing contributes to its high standing in my recipe book, but as a general rule, how can you go wrong with apples, cornbread, sausages all mixed together? Doesn't it just sound rich and delicious now? Add a hint of maple syrup, herbs and spices and you have a stuffing that tastes great mixed with scrambled eggs the day after Thanksgiving.

I've adapted this recipe from the original one in Bon Appetit, as that one required me to make cornbread the day before, and as a general rule, I couldn't manage to do it. I've not made it with the homemade cornbread, but this year I am debating if I will. We'll see how much energy I have.

As a note, I'm not a huge fan of baking IN the turkey, as my method of turkey baking is all about insuring a juicy a bird - and adding stuffing means you add time which adds a potential for a dryer bird. So I bake mine in a casserole dish...this stuffing dish is rich enough that you don't miss the turkey juices all baked in.

New England Maple Sausage Cornbread Stuffing
(adapted from Bon Appetit | November 2001)
Serves 10-12

1 pound breakfast-style bulk sausage
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 3/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped
1 pound onions, chopped
4 large celery stalks, chopped
1 cup chopped celery leaves
8 cups cornbread stuffing mix (I like orowheat or Mrs. Cubinsons)
4 large eggs
2/3 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1/3 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1/3 cup maple syrup

Sauté sausage in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking up finely with back of fork, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to very large bowl. Melt butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples, onions, and celery stalks; sauté until very tender, about 12 minutes. Add celery leaves and stir 30 seconds to wilt. Add mixture to bowl with sausage. Stir corn bread into sausage mixture. Whisk eggs and all remaining ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Mix into stuffing.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake until heated through, about 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is slightly crisp and golden, about 20 minutes longer.

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Practicing for Thanksgiving

I have to say that cooking for Thanksgiving is one of my favorite activities of all time. One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories is back in the late 90's. A bunch of friends decided NOT to go home for the holidays, and instead just stay at our house. I cooked up a storm with my friends as assistants. I brined a turkey, had cheese fondue, baked a ham, made a pumpkin pecan tart, stuffing, mashed potatoes - the works! And that year, we holed ourselves up in the house, watched something about the greatest inventions of the millennium (Joseph Gutenberg's printing press was #1) and ate leftovers until we thought we would pop. We'd sit, get a bit hungry, go to the fridge and make ourselves a plate. On top of that I made a turkey veggie soup, so ham and cheese sandwiches became the perfect pairing. One friend (H - you know I'm talking about you) would cut off tiny wedges of the pumpkin pecan tart - essentially eating half of the entire tart, but only small wedges at a time.

After the four-day break, one friend came back and said our faces all resembled full moons. It did take us a while to get used to going back to work, moving off of the sofa, and actually eating at regular intervals, but we enjoyed our mini vacation in our home.

And although I don't ever want to go to QUITE that level of sedentary gluttony, I still look very fondly back at that memory and giggle with the thought of us all become beached Thanksgiving whales. The food, good food, played a big part in our ability to never leave the confines of our home and instead spend lots of wonderful time with one another.

In honor of that fantastic memory, I'm dedicating the next few posts to possible Thanksgiving sides...in order to make your Thanksgiving menu planning easier. I'll be writing about my favorite stuffing recipe, some vegetable sides and just general ideas about planning a menu.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Moo Gook - Korean Radish Soup - Mini Lesson

Moo Gook is a great soup to get into your repertoire of Korean soups - the main reason is that its flavors are relatively neutral - meaning that it almost goes with anything Korean that you can think up. I like it for that reason, and although the soup is not one of husband's favorites, second daughter adores moo, so once in a while husband has to sacrifice a bit, in order that daughter can eat what she loves.

Again, as with all Korean soups, you can make it so it tastes ordinary, or you can try a few new techniques and make it taste extraordinary. There are some key points to help you take the soup to a higher level, and I'm going to explain them here.

Moo Gook

1 lb beef brisket
16 cups of water
1 onion, whole, peeled
6 cloves of garlic (whole)
2 medium sized Moo (Korean radish) - about 2 lbs (try and choose one that seems heavy for its size)
3 sheets (about the size of a playing card) dashima RINSED WELL. (Called Konbu - I found mine at Whole Foods!)
3 cloves of garlic crushed
1 bunch of green onions, washed and cut into three inch pieces.
Salt
Pepper

First - soak your brisket in cold water. This draws out the blood and saves you from having to skim off the scum from your soup. This helps create a nice, clean looking broth. Soak at least 45 minutes.

While beef is soaking, prepare the moo. Cut into large chunks that go down lengthwise.
(for some reason I could only find green moo, but it still tasted good when cooked.)

Bring 10 cups of water to a rolling boil. Once the water is boiling add beef, onion, and six cloves of garlic. Keep it at a low rolling boil.

After beef has been cooking for about 40-45 minutes, add moo and dashima. Cook altogether at a low simmer until moo is tender but NOT falling apart - anywhere between 20-30 minutes depending on your moo. The delicious flavor of the moo and dashima will blend with the beef broth making a great base for your soup.


When moo is tender, remove everything from the soup broth. Throw away onion and garlic cloves. Set aside moo, beef, dashima.


Then you will be left with only the broth.


After the moo has cooled and you can handle it without burning the tips of your fingers off, slice into nice even 1/2 in slices. Cut dashima into 1/2 strips as well.


Shred the beef into smaller pieces.

Add sliced moo, dashima, beef, and green onions BACK into the soup pot. Add 3 cloves of chopped or crushed garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and allow the green onion to wilt. Serve.

Steak Salad - Making Leftovers Wonderful

Usually when we cook our ribeye steaks, we generally grill an extra one. We have an extra one on hand in case daughters feel particularly hungry and want to eat more, or if husband wants another one for the next day, or if I want to perhaps make a steak sandwich for lunch the next day. An extra steak always comes in handy.

We had an extra steak in the refrigerator, and rather than eat it for lunch (like I often do as I do love a great reheated steak) I decided to hold off and turn it into a nice light dinner for us. I found a recipe that sounded great (Giada De Laurentiis' Steak Salad) and just modified it a bit to work for our needs. (basically for what I had in the refrigerator.) The result was a very delicious dinner that I enjoyed. I served it with Butternut Squash Soup that I had made for lunch earlier and it was a satisfying meal. Husband also enjoyed it, although at one point he did mention that he felt like it was missing steak sauce. I guess old habits die hard.

Steak Salad

3 cups spring mix (or your choice of lettuce)
3 cups fresh baby arugula
3 shallots, chopped
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
4 ounces Gorgonzola, coarsely crumbled (OPTIONAL - I did not do this but it did sound delicious.)
Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound LEFTOVER steak (such as New York, rib-eye or filet mignon), pan-fried or grilled and chilled

In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, shallots, baby arugula, cherry tomatoes, and half of the cheese. Toss the salad with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad with salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the salad on a platter.

Cut the steaks crosswise into thin slices. Arrange the steak slices atop the salad and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Drizzle more vinaigrette over the steak slices and serve.

Red Wine Vinaigrette
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, pepper and oil in a jar or container with a tight fitting lid. Shake, shake, shake it up good!

Yield: 1 2/3 cups

1000+ Hits... Why I Will Continue to Blog

I thought I'd take a moment to reflect...especially since 1,000 hits seems to be a bit of a milestone. I think 5,000 would be the next one and after that 10,000. It just seems crazy that there has been that much interest in an idea that I started to help out one woman.

I find myself especially motivated to really get people thinking and excited by cooking. Our current world is surrounded by so many "convenience" foods that I think people just find it easier to use those foods. But I'm convinced that convenience doesn't necessarily mean better or healthier or even all that more convenient. It's definitely easier in terms of thinking effort and perhaps it's nice and easy to stick a ready made something into the oven - but in the long run, I think we are doing our bodies and our families a disservice.

I keep posting and writing for that reason. If I can convince a few people at at time that it is possible to cook easily, deliciously, and healthily - then I think it's worth it. Home cooking not only feeds the body, but it definitely feeds the soul. You'll feel that much better when your family eats a meal that you've prepared that hasn't come out of plastic or a box - and instead comes from a bit more effort on your part, but with more nutrition and love. (and minus preservatives and chemicals!) You'll get satisfaction from seeing loved ones around you well fed, and they in turn will appreciate your small effort on their behalf.

Thanks for all the support! Happy cooking everyone!

Pasta with Vodka Cream Sauce (or make your own alcohol pasta sauce)

If my daughters had it their way, they'd probably request this pasta dish at least once a week. I don't make it that often for them, not because it is too hard to make or the ingredients difficult to procure - but more because I can't eat the dish (it has cream in it) and it tortures me to cook it and not be able to consume it. I can bear the pain of not eating it while it is in front of me about once every 3 weeks or so - not more often than that.

I do love this dish for its flexibility; the original recipe I used, Lidia Bastianich's recipe for "Penne Alla Vodka," calls for vodka, but I often (most always) don't have it handy lying around, so I substitute a white wine for the alcohol content. I realize that this makes my dish no longer Pasta with Vodka Cream Sauce, but instead Pasta with Wine Cream Sauce, but that's fine with me. I think tequila would also do well as the alcohol portion, although I'll say that I've not tried it. Her original recipe is vegetarian but I often chop up pancetta or bacon in order to eliminate making a protein dish for the kids. The end result is a really satisfying, slightly creamy, delicious dish -that kids (and adults) love!

Pasta with Vodka Cream Sauce (or White Wine Sauce)

Salt
One 35-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) with their liquid
1 pound penne (or your choice of pasta - not the long kind)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 cloves garlic, peeled, and sliced thinly
1/4 lb bacon or pancetta (optional)
Crushed hot red pepper (omit if you have kids eating it)
1/4 cup vodka (or your choice of alcohol - a white wine or tequila perhaps)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped basil
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for passing if you like

Preparation

Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat.

Pour the tomatoes and their liquid into the work bowl of a food processor. Using quick on/off pulses, process the tomatoes just until they are finely chopped. (Longer processing will aerate the tomatoes, turning them pink.) you can also use a hand blender for this.

Stir the penne into the boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until done, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic to the hot oil. Cook, shaking the skillet, until the garlic is lightly browned, about 1 minute. If you are using bacon or pancetta add it. Lower the work bowl with the tomatoes close to the skillet and carefully — they will splatter — slide the tomatoes into the pan. Bring to a boil, season lightly with salt and generously with crushed red pepper, and boil 2 minutes. Pour in the vodka (or your alcohol), lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer, and simmer until the pasta is ready.

Just before the pasta is done, pour in the cream. If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, fish the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer and drop it directly into the sauce in the skillet. If not, drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and pour in the sauce. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stirring to coat the pasta with sauce. Check the seasoning, adding salt and red pepper if necessary. Sprinkle the basil over the pasta and boil until the sauce is reduced enough to cling to the pasta.

Remove the pot from the heat, sprinkle 3/4 cup of the cheese over the pasta, and toss to mix. Serve immediately, passing additional cheese if you like.

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