Good Gravy (Bacon Shallot Herb Gravy)

Thanksgiving is all about tradition, but it's also nice to change things up. Since the stakes are too high to chance an untried recipe, however, my friends and I have taken to a pre-Thanksgiving tradition: hosting a small dinner party to vet new entries to the menu before they have a chance to end in tears. I headed to our test kitchen last week, camera in-hand, to pick the best recipe for this month's article, and this bacon shallot herb gravy was the undisputed star of the evening. I think gravy is an unsung hero on the Thanksgiving table. Certainly most people have a favored recipe, (I have very fond memories of my aunt always making ours with the turkey drippings in the roasting pan, itself), but it's a humble condiment. I'm not sure anyone would cite it as their favorite thing on the table. I aim to change that with this recipe, a simple but stunning offering adapted from Justin Chapple that should please even the most discriminating gourmand. Conversely, if you're the type of person to always prepare gravy from a can, jar, or (God bless you) packet, you need to knock that off immediately and try this recipe, instead.

All aboard the gravy train

Season of Squash (Spanish Pumpkin Stew)

Winter is coming. And I'm not just saying that as a Game of Thrones fan. With the early sunsets and icy breezes, winter is always a great time for soup, but soup is unfortunately not typically regarded as haute cuisine. I wanted to try to make a soup that would put some excitement back on the dinner table. People may appreciate chicken noodle, but it doesn't usually elicit oohs and ahs. I also wanted to find a way to feature pumpkin, as it's the signature produce of October, without falling prey to the ubiquitous assault of pumpkin spice (insert noun). Eventually, I found my way to a Spanish stew named Berza de Calabaza. Many sources list this as an Andalusian specialty, though the recipe I settled on as a base template employs a Catalan ingredient in picada: an almost pesto-like blend of toasted bread, almonds, and garlic, as a thickener. Between the pumpkin, picada,  and beans, this makes an extremely hearty winter stew to warm the toes, stick to the ribs, and lift the spirit.

Like magic

The Root of the Problem (Roasted Carrots with Orange and Thyme)

The autumn is finally upon us and, as it is the season of the harvest, I've been finding myself increasingly drawn to the farmer's markets throughout Boston, welcome reflections of the Grower's Market back in Williamsport. Far be it for me to cast aspersions on the grocery, but there's an undeniable charm to being able to grab fresh, local produce while on a coffee break or waiting for the train home. While the market stalls still abound with treasures like ripe strawberries and luxuriously leafy kale, it was the humble carrot that most called to me this month; perhaps because a stand of kaleidoscope carrots caught my eye with its vivid contrasts of red, purple, orange, and yellow. It's been pointed out to me that my recipes seem almost single-minded in their focus on dinner and dessert, giving short shrift to the myriad accompaniments that help to make a full meal. This hasn't exactly been a conscious effort on my part, but rather the natural inclination towards the bigger and flashier set pieces that always draw one's attention. This month, I take a happy break from roasts and desserts to correct that oversight, and instead share one of the easiest, yet certainly tastiest little recipes in my repertoire. Roasted carrots with orange and thyme is an effortless creation that adds just the slightest spin to the comfortingly familiar. 

Don't I know you from somewhere?

Honeyed Words (Honey Cake)

As we head into September, we come ever closer to the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. While not religious or ethnically Jewish, I was intrigued by the traditional dessert of honey cake, mostly because I was lured in by the name. I like cake and I love honey, surely combining the two should be especially delicious, right? The answer is: absolutely!

Absolute honey

Mixed Feelings (Lollipop Lamb Chops)

This post is also available as an article in the 11/28/2012 Williamsport Sun Gazette.

My sister Kelly and her husband, Jonathan, have excellent taste in cookbooks, so it was exciting to get a new one for my birthday: Barefoot Contessa Foolproof. Reading through it, I was intrigued by what I thought was an unusually high proportion of lamb dishes. I suppose it makes sense, though, as lamb is pretty foolproof.

Foolproof!

Pumpkin Remix (Biscoff Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies)

Have you had Biscoff spread? It recently came to my attention that several of my friends haven't, and that's a shame. I've always been especially fond of peanut butter and its various compatriots like almond butter and Nutella, but Biscoff spread may just be the tastiest of all. As is to be expected, it lacks any redeeming nutritional value, but is as delicious as cookies pureed with canola oil until they achieve the consistency of Jif can be. I've found myself sneaking to the pantry at night, depleting it spoonful by guilty, furtive spoonful.

It's so good