Stop by Jonathan’s free cooking demonstrations at Eastern Market on Saturday mornings to learn more and to pick up more free recipes using fresh market ingredients.
While I love the mad crush of December, Thanksgiving has always seemed like a holiday filled with no greater demands than sharing time with the people who make our lives special over a day in the kitchen – my favorite place! Each year I fill my fridge from Eastern Market and put together an easy – if a little expansive – menu. With seasonal, fresh flavors the dishes don’t need to be complicated. As long as you’ve got fresh herbs, farm-fresh butter and some pancetta on hand, you can work magic!
Two of my favorites are chive goat cheese mashed cauliflower and pancetta sautéed GoldRush apples. The cauliflower was inspired by chive and garlic goat cheese from Peachy Family Dairy (who sell outside at Eastern Market). Creamy rich cauliflower gets a bright bite from earthy chives and the tang of goat’s milk. If you haven’t eaten a GoldRush apple then run – don’t walk – to Ashton Farms and try one. I think it’s the best cooking apple out there and I love it for snacking as well. Unlike the similar appearing Yellow Delicious, GoldRush is crisp with honeyed sweetness, balanced acidity and great spice notes. Plus they store beautifully, so look for them all winter.
I hope you have a wonderful time cooking this Thanksgiving. If you have any questions, give me a shout on my Facebook page. My annual Thanksgiving hotline is open Monday – Wednesday of Thanksgiving week.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! May it be a day with much to be thankful for.
PS You can find these recipes and 125 more in my new book, Seasons to Taste – Farm-fresh Joy for Kitchen and Table. See me at Eastern Market on the November 21 and 28 for a signed copy, or order one from SeasonsToTasteCookbook.com.
Chive Goat Cheese Mashed Cauliflower
Serves 4-6
We fight over every batch of this creamy cauliflower, rich with goat cheese and grounded by the grassy, oniony flavor of fresh chives, still bright in your fall garden.
Ingredients:
6 cups cauliflower florets
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup whole milk
4 ounces soft goat cheese
4 tbs minced chives
2 tbs olive oil – the good stuff
Directions:
- Place cauliflower, garlic and milk in a small saucepan. Cover and simmer over low heat until mashably tender, about 10-12 minutes.
- Mash cauliflower and garlic. Blend in goat cheese, chives and 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Tip: Watch the temperature while steaming the cauliflower. If milk gets too hot it will boil over in the pan, making a mess of your stove-top.
Pancetta Sautéed GoldRush Apples
Serves 8
Salty pancetta, sweet-tart apples and just a touch of grassy parsley lend this side a flavor that is much greater than the sum of its parts.
Ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 pound of pancetta, diced
4 GoldRush, or other sweet-tart cooking apples cut in 1/4” matchsticks
1/4 cup parsley
Apple cider vinegar
Directions:
- Warm 1 tbs olive oil in a 12” skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until browned and fat is rendered.
- Remove pancetta with a slotted spoon and reserve on paper towels.
- Add apples to pan with pancetta fat, increase heat to medium-high and cook until beginning to brown, 3-4 minutes.
- Cover pan and cook 3-4 minutes until apples begin to soften.
- Remove lid and cook until apples are just fork tender.
- Season to taste with parsley, salt, pepper and vinegar.
Tip: Pancetta is salt-cured Italian bacon. It’s perfect when you want clean, salty, sweet pork fat without the smoky flavor of American bacon.