I haven’t been toiling over a hot stove today.  No, I’ve been toiling over a cold keyboard.  Between you and me, the keyboard is harder.

This is my simple way of saying (drum roll please) that I have signed a book contract with Storey Publishing.  Well, that’s not true either.  I’ve signed three book contracts with Storey. In their infinite wisdom, they want me to write three cookbooks for them.  These will be the first three books in their new Kitchen Basics series.  120 pages of how to do stuff in your kitchen.  The first two books will be available next Spring. One will be about knives.  The other for next Spring is about vinegars and infused oils.  And the third, just in time for the ’14 holidays, will be on chocolate candies.

So, what’s it like to be a first-time cookbook author?  Well, after the euphoria leaves, there’s 10 minutes of grateful reflection.  Which has now been replaced, with no reprieve, by non-stop panic. The knife book, as of today, is one third written.  And I’m in the midst of planning a homemade vinegar assembly line, located between my desk and a dog bed, for the second book.  But the words and ideas that so glibly roll into my brain when there’s no keyboard nearby are mocking me, just beyond the reach of my fingertips.

Oh, the questions: Prepare a roasted chicken on tv in two short segments?  Easy. Plan a dinner for eight people near Tanglewood for this weekend?  Piece of cake.  Fulfill my life’s dream of being a cookbook author?  Ruh roh.

Stay tuned!

1 4-5 pound chicken

3-4 carrots, peeled and cut in 4 pieces, length-wise

2-3 celery stalks, cut in 4 pieces, length-wise

approximately 1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

paprika

1 onion, peeled and quartered

1 lemon, cut in half

1. Remove the neck and giblets from the chicken.  Rinse the chicken, and dry it with paper towel to remove any excess water.
2. Spread the carrot and celery pieces in the slow cooker.
3. Spread olive oil over the chicken, and sprinkle throughout with salt, pepper, and paprika.
4. Place the cut onion into the cavity of the chicken, and place the chicken into the slow cooker.
5. Squeeze the lemon over the chicken, and place the squeezed lemon halves into the slow cooker.
6. Cover the slow cooker, and cook the chicken on low, for approximately 6 hours.

NOTES:

• The timing of the cooking will vary based on your slow cooker and the size of the chicken.  It may be a bit more, or less, than 6 hours.
• If you’d like crispy skin on the chicken after it’s cooked, put the chicken in an oven-proof pan, and place it under your oven’s broiler for 5 minutes.  Do not put it on the highest rack-level in the oven, or it might burn the chicken. Place the pan in the lower half of the oven.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Corned beef.  Or, as my people like to say, a third method to cook brisket. But then, some might say it’s the second method, if you’re not one to swoon over a nice smoked brisket with a zippy barbecue sauce.  But I digress already.

If you’re like most people, you’re both looking forward to, and dreading, making your own corned beef.  For years, you’ve probably followed a family recipe of buying a corned beef that’s already been brined, and then boiling it in water until all of the flavor is gone, then serving it with cabbage.  You start out with the thrill of anticipation, and end up with the agony of de meat.  I can help you.

The first thing you want to do is to buy a corned beef from a butcher who you like and trust.  That’s because he (or she!) will have either pickled the beef themselves, or had it done for them using their own recipe. The next thing you want to do is to throw out any flavor packets that might come with the brisket.  These packets are filled with sometimes-questionable seasonings that are supposed to give the beef flavor.  Instead, make up your own seasoning.  Or better yet, use this recipe, which was dropped on my doorstep a zillion years ago.  This will give you amazing flavor, and make all of your guests happy.  And make sure you make extra.  The sandwiches and corned beef hash that will come from the leftovers will make you happy for days.

One thought about the color of the cooked corned beef: if you’re from Boston, or other parts of New England, you probably grew up on grey corned beef.  If you’re from everywhere else on the planet, you only know the nice red corned beef.  If you accidentally get the one you’re not used to, don’t think the meat has gone bad.  Just cook it, and enjoy it.  The flavor will still be great.

If you think you’ll be gone all day when you want to cook it, you can also prepare it in a slow cooker.  It’ll take at least 6 hours, on low, for 3 (or so) pounds.  It might be 8 hours for 4-5 pounds, which you’ll have to cut into two pieces to fit into the slow cooker.

If you want some more pointers, check out my recent appearance on Mass Appeal, on channel 22 in Springfield, MA.  Trust me.  The little bit of extra effort you put into this corned beef will be hugely worth your effort.

3-5 lbs raw corned beef

2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

2 onions, peeled and cut into chunks

4 celery stalks, cut into chunks

6 cloves

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3 small pieces, crystallized ginger

1/4 teaspoon juniper berries

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon whole peppercorns

 The vegetables:

2 pounds potatoes

1 small cabbage

2 carrots, peeled and cut into small chunks

1. Pat the meat dry to remove any remaining bits from the brine.
2. Place the 1^st ten ingredients in a stockpot.  Cover with water, cover the pot, and bring to a boil.  Gently simmer until the beef is done, 1 1/2 – 2+ hours.  Removed the meat, and strain/skim out ALL of the remaining veg and bits.  Discard the veg and bits.
3. Add the cabbage and carrots to the stockpot liquid used for cooking the beef, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the potatoes, and simmer until all of the veg is cooked (don’t overcook the potatoes).  This might be another 8-10 minutes.
4. Serve the whole thing together…

Makes 8-10+ servings

If this recipe seems a bit daunting to prepare, think of it as five simple steps: boiling the pasta, grating the cheese, melting the butter and flour, adding the hot milk, and throwing everything in together. The result is a great, classic comfort food.

1 pound macaroni/elbows (or your favorite pasta)

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk, heated, but not boiling

8 oz cheddar cheese, grated

1 pound muenster cheese, grated

1/4 cup (approximately) parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (a pinch)

paprika

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Set aside a 9”x13” pan.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the macaroni, following the directions on the box.  Set aside
2. In a saucepan, over a medium heat, melt the butter, then add the flour, and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.  It may turn brown.  That’s oaky.  Slowly whisk in the warmed milk and stir, more than occasionally, for up to ten minutes,  or at least until it’s thickened. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg.
3. In a large bowl, add the milk mixture to the grated cheese, and stir until the cheese is melted.  Add to the cooked macaroni, and combine.
4. Pour the macaroni mixture into the pan.  Sprinkle on the parmesan, and then the paprika.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until browned on top.

Makes 8-10 servings (or one MASSIVE serving…)

NOTE: For a gluten-free option, use rice flour instead of regular flour.  And substitute gluten-free noodles for the pasta.  If you’re not a big fan of gluten-free pasta, don’t worry.  The great flavor and texture of the cheese will hide any shortcomings you might find in the gluten-free pasta.

If you want to see a video of me making this on Mass Appeal, on NBC channel 22 in Springfield, check it out here with my other tv cooking appearances.

It’s panic time. Your turkey is out of the oven.  All of the side dishes are sardined into the oven in a masterful attempt to heat white and sweet potatoes, green beans and Brussels sprouts, Aunt Edna’s peanut butter and spam in puff pastry treats, and more.  Now, you think, your work really begins.  You have to make the gravy and carve the turkey before you hear, and not for the first time, “you said dinner was at 2:00, and now it’s midnight.”

What to do? Breathe deeply, think of a place that has palm trees, warm water, sand, and no people.  And dive in.  No, not into the water.  Into the last part of your meal prep.

Let me make this easier for you.  Hopefully, you’ve kept the rest of your planning and cooking simple.  No fois gras. No baking pies when the turkey is in the oven.  And fewer than 17 side dishes.  At this point, your turkey is out of the oven, and resting after it’s time in the oven.  All you have to do is make the gravy and carve the turkey.  Yes, in that order.

Here’s how I’ve helped to make this easier for you.  One is a recipe for turkey gravy.  This is a simple recipe, which can also be easily made gluten-free by using corn starch instead of flour.  But I also tell you how to make turkey stock and how to get the pan drippings from the pan into your gravy.

Another way to reduce your stress is to carve your turkey slowly, methodically, and in your kitchen, not at the table.  Let me re-phrase this: DO NOT CARVE YOUR TURKEY AT THE TABLE!!!  Carving at the table is like going to a demolition derby.  People are there for the crashes, mayhem, and accidents.  Carving at the table is no different.  The dining room has a crowded, often unstable table.  No, I don’t mean your family. You need a solid, stable surface, your kitchen counter, to carve the bird. Trust me. Bad things happen when people watch carving.  It’s not just an old tale.  It’s the law.

So, here are my two turkey carving videos.  One is from Mass Appeal last year.  And the other is my slightly older YouTube video. Take 15 minutes (total!) for these two videos to make your Thanksgiving a wee bit easier and less stressful.  Not only will you be glad you did, but your family and friends will love the less-stressed you.

Happy Thanksgiving, and bon appetit!

This three-part recipe will help you from the moment your turkey comes put of the oven until you’re ready to carve it. It has the gravy, the turkey stock, and removing the drippings from the pan.  One-stop gravy making!

The Gravy

¼ cup flour or cornstarch

1/2 cup water

4 cups turkey or chicken stock

pan drippings from roasted turkey, strained

deglazed drippings and stock from pan (see below)

salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour (or cornstarch) and water.  Whisk to remove any lumps, and set aside.  This is called a slurry.
2. Place the pan drippings, deglazed bits, and 2 cups of the stock in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer.
3. Taste the sauce. Add more stock, if you’d like more gravy. But don’t let the gravy become too mild in taste.
4. As an optional step, you can strain the gravy now if you like it smooth.
5. With the gravy at a slow simmer, add ½ of the slurry, and simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until it thickens.  If you’d like it thicker, add more slurry.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Other (optional) ingredients to add to your gravy:

• 1/3 cup bourbon or white wine
• 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces, whisked into the gravy
• Add the cooked giblets to the gravy after it’s strained

How to make Turkey Stock from Giblets

1. Take the giblets (neck, liver heart, and gizzards) from the turkey’s cavity, and cover them with 4-5 cups of water.
2. Add an onion, chopped stalk of celery, and a chopped carrot.  Simmer uncovered for one hour.  If the water level goes down by more than ¼, add cold water and bring back to a simmer.
3. After an hour, strain the stock.  You can chop up the meats from the stock and add them to your finished gravy

Removing the turkey and deglazing  

1. Remove the turkey from the pan. Rest it on a warm platter as you make the gravy.
2. Pour the liquid from the pan into a large bowl or heat-proof pitcher.  Remove the pan drippings that are not stuck in the pan and place these in a separate, 2 quart saucepan.  Set all of these aside.
3. Once the liquid from the pan has cooled a bit, remove the fat from the top of the liquid, either with a spoon, or a fat-separator. Discard the fat.
4. Once you have removed the drippings and liquid from the turkey roasting pan, there may be some bits of turkey that are stuck in the pan.  To remove them, place the pan on a burner (or two, if the pan is large enough) on a medium-high heat.  Have a wooden spoon or scraper handy.
5. Once the pan is quite hot, and almost smoking, add ½ cup (or more, if needed) of the stock or other liquid to the pan.  You want only a small amount of liquid to just moisten the stuck bits in the pan.
6. With the wooden spoon, scrape up the bits, and put these into a 2 quart saucepan, with the other loose bits that you removed from the roasting pan.

Roasted Chicken al la Cast Iron

There’s something about the mystique of a cast iron skillet.  It conjures up the idea of home cooking.  And campfires. And comfort food.  Even another time altogether.  But for those people who don’t actually own cast iron pans, it conjures up two more feelings:  panic and confusion.  All from a frying pan. Oops.  Sorry. We now call these skillets.

So why all of this panic and confusion?  In an increasingly not-so-rare coincidence, I was asked this same question three times this week: how do you season and maintain cast iron cookware?  The answer is shockingly simple.  But more on the beauty of cast iron first.

Just about everyone wants really cool, nifty cookware. I have a set of All-Clad that I love, and have been using for years. They heat evenly, clean easily, and look great.  Which also describes cast iron.  I have four cast iron skillets, and I use one of them as often as I use my All-Clad. So why not use cast iron all the time?  Well, for one thing, the All-Clad weighs much less, which makes it easier to swing around the kitchen.  And the cast iron needs a wee bit of maintenance.  And it’s the fear of this mysterious maintenance that scares away so many people.

What is this maintenance?  It starts with seasoning the new pan.  You only do this with cast iron.  Your new All-Clad, Calphalon, Viking, etc. doesn’t need it.  Yet the steps for cast iron are simple and amazingly easy.  All you need to do is wash and completely dry your new cast iron pan.  Then generously spread (also known as “schmearing”) canola oil over the whole pan, including the outside, except the very bottom. Place it in a 200°F oven for three hours. Remove it, and let it cool completely.  Wipe off the excess oil with paper towel, and you’re ready to cook. To maintain this seasoning, wash the pan after cooking with soap and water, and no scrubby pads. And make sure the pan is completely dry before you put it way.  That’s it.  Over time, you’ll get a nice sheen to the pan, which will also help give it a virtual non-stick surface.

There are so many benefits to cast iron, starting with it’s price.  You can get an 8” skillet for under $10. But the real beauty is that it will also be around longer than you will (sorry about that). My favorite skillet is from a former co-worker, Sally, from a cool chocolate company (Harbor Sweets!) where I worked for five years. She got it from her mother. Sally was a mere 73 years old when she gave it to me over ten years ago. Yes, my favorite frying pan might be 100 years old.  And it works like a charm.

Another benefit is that it goes from stovetop to oven easily, without concern for damaging the handle, rivets, etc. You just have to remember to use an oven mitt when it’s hot.  And you can’t put a regular non-stick pan in a hot oven.  The non-stick surfaces tend to degrade in ovens over 400°.

The benefits of cast iron far outweigh it’s simple maintenance. So run out and add a cast iron skillet or two.  Or three.  You’ll be thrilled with it.

Coming up next time: some cooking tips and recipes with cast iron.

Interpreted from Jacques Pepin & Julia Child

(yes I know: no cream, butter, cheese, or breadcrumbs…)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 onion, sliced

4-5 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/4” slices (peeling is optional)

2 cups (approx) chicken stock (ys, you can use vegetable stock)

salt and pepper

2 bay leaves

Preheat the oven to 375°.

1. Heat a large cast iron skillet * over a medium heat.  Add the olive oil, and then the onions. Sauté for 15-20 minutes, or until they start to brown and soften.  You can sauté the onions for longer, even caramelizing them.  This will make everything even more flavorful.
2. Add the remaining ingredients.  Add enough stock to barely cover the potatoes.  Bring to a simmer.
3. When the mixture has reached a simmer, remove the skillet from the stovetop, and place in the oven, uncovered.
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the stock s absorbed, and a crust begins to form on the potatoes. If some stock remains in the pan, that’s okay.  Either remove it before serving, or serve it with the liquid.  Both work well.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

* If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, or an oven proof skillet, heat the potatoes on the stovetop in a skillet.  Then, CAREFULLY transfer the hot mixture to an oven proof dish, like a pie plate, to bake in the oven.

There are some days when I wake up and can’t believe I do this for a living.  Saturday was one of those days.  I showed up at Stonewall Kitchen in York, Maine to teach one of my frequent cooking classes there.  But this wasn’t just one of my regular classes there.  This was Julia Child Week!  Stonewall has been doing this for years, and not just to jump on the Julia bandwagon to honor her 100^th birthday.  Chefs come in and prepare Julia’s recipes.  So I put together the menu: her shrimp with lemon zest and garlic, swordfish Provençal, a potato gratin, and pots de crème.  It was a blast!

But the one dish on the menu that thrilled me the most is the potato gratin.  I saw Julia and Jacques Pepin do this on tv years ago. As we all know, Jacques Pepin is arguably one of, if not THE, best chefs on the planet.  Not only does he know just about everything, he modestly shows it in such a gracious way.  After Julia, there’s Jacques.  And then everyone else.

Jacques’ potato gratin is one of many from his mother’s kitchen. When most people think of a gratin, they think of cream, butter, cheese, and/or breadcrumbs.  This gratin has none of those.  This interpretation of the gratin is that the crust on top is formed naturally from the heat in the oven.  Not only is this a great potato dish, it’s lighter and more flavorful than most.  Plus, it’s gluten-free.  How great is that?

When you do make it, here’s a hint: while the recipe calls for slicing the potatoes ¼“ thick, you don’t have to get out a mandoline or a tape measure to make them exactly that size.  If they’re a bit thicker, or thinner, just adjust the cooking time.  And to make slicing easier, carefully cut the potato in half length-wise.  That’ll make slicing easier with the flat surface of the potato on the cutting board.

As you-know-who would say, “Bon Apétit!”