Up until a couple of years ago I’d never heard of these things, then they seemed to pop up on trendy menus everywhere. I’ve had these as appetizers a few times at restaurants, but assumed that they fell into the class of things like tempura, that although theoretically possible to make at home, isn’t worth the bother. This is happily not the case at all, they are super quick and easy to prepare, and taste just like the ones at the restaurant.

Ingredients

• 1 TB Olive oil
• 6 oz Shishito peppers
• Coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Prep the peppers by rinsing and draining well, then pat dry. Leave them whole with the stems intact!
2. Heat a 10″ cast iron frying pan over medium high heat (or other pan large enough to hold peppers in a single layer)
3. Add the oil, and swirl around to evenly coat the pan
4. Add the peppers and spread out in a single layer
5. Stir and flip the peppers every 1-2 minutes to cook evenly on all sides
6. Once peppers are blistered on all sides and begin to soften, remove to serving bowl and toss with salt.

Normally I deseed peppers, but these are not objectionable unless it’s a really large pepper, and even then it’s easy enough to nibble around them. So just leave them whole.

Do not read this if you are Italian, if your Grandmother was Italian, or if you are expecting anything vaguely authentically Italian. In fact, I should probably call it something else altogether, lest I be sued by Bologna for using their cuisine in vain.
But with that out of the way, let’s move on, because this really is delicious, and a lot easier than the real deal.

Ingredients

• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 TB butter
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 carrot, chopped fine
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/4-1/2 cup wine
• 1 box (750g) Pomi chopped tomatoes (or a 28 oz can)
• 1 liter box of beef broth
• 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, freshly grated

Directions

1. Heat a large (12″) frying pan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and butter, and the vegetables once it’s melted.
2. Sauté for a couple of minutes until onion is translucent and just starting to color. Add the turkey and break up any chunks.
3. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and stir until turkey is no longer pink.
4. Deglaze the pan with some wine. (I didn’t have an open bottle so just tossed in a splash of sweet Vermouth).
5. Add the tomatoes and stir well, bring to a boil.
6. Add in the broth, it will come close to the top of the pan but should all fit.
7. Cook uncovered until sauce reduces, and broth is almost completely evaporated/absorbed.
8. Stir in the grated cheese. It will be quite chunky, and not very “saucy”.
9. Serve with pasta, tortilla chips, or crusty French bread. And probably a green salad, or some broccoli or something.

I got hungry before it was done reducing, so scooped out the chunky bits with some tortilla chips.

It finally reduced (I didn’t time it, but took forever, likely because I was already hungry)

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it until the rest of you catch on: turkey is not just for Thanksgiving. And neither are cranberries, for that matter. To prove it, here’s an easy dish that uses both. Along with some some small oranges (I still don’t really undertand the difference between tangerines, clementines, and mandarines – are they different varieties or just different words for the same fruit?), this makes a delicious thick sauce, almost compote-like, with just enough sweetness to offset the bitterness.

Ingredients

• 2 turkey thighs, bone-in and skin on (about 2 lbs or 1 kg)
• 2 shallots (or one small onion), thinly sliced
• 1 cup fresh (or frozen) cranberries
• 1 cup chicken broth)
• 1/2 cup white wine or dry vermouth
• 1 splash (1-2 TB) Campari
• 2 tangerines, peeled and sectioned
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 4 sprigs fresh sage
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 TB sugar
• 2 TB maple syrup
• 2 TB oil
• 2 TB flour

Directions

1. Pat dry the thighs with a paper towel and sprinkle with kosher salt on both sides.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F
3. Heat a 10″ cast iron skillet (or other oven proof pan) over medium high heat.
4. Add the oil, and sear the thighs on both sides until golden brown, then remove from pan and set aside.
5. Add the shallots to the pan, and soften for a minute or two.
6. Add the herbs, and sprinkle the flour, then stir for another minute.
7. Deglaze the pan with the wine, add the Campari, and season with salt and pepper.
8. Return the turkey to the pan, skin side up, along with any juices that may have leaked out.
9. Add the cranberries and oranges, sprinkle with the sugar, and add the broth around the sides of the turkey.
10. Loosely cover and transfer to the oven for about an hour. Taste the sauce, add the maple syrup, and adjust seasoning and sweetness.
11. Remove the cover and cook for approximately another half hour, until the liquid is reduced and the turkey thoroughly cooked through.
12. Taste the sauce one more time, it should be a bit bitter with just a hint of sweetness. Mix to break up the large chunks, or leave as it, and serve under, over, or next to the turkey.

Monkfish is a firm fish, sometimes called “poor man’s lobster,” although it definitely tastes like a fish and not a crustacean. But it is relatively inexpensive, and when cooked well is a treat in its own right. Since it is a dense fish, and not flaky like cod, it needs thorough cooking, and is often roasted in the oven. I was too impatient to preheat the oven, so pan roasted it on the stovetop. I combined three different recipes, partially because I didn’t have all of the ingredients to recreate any of them faithfully, and partially because they all seemed a bit bland on their own. I was inspired by Belgian cuisine, although this is far from authentically anything. The good news is that it tasted good, so I’ll call it a success.

Ingredients

• 1 lb monkfish fillets, trimmed and butterflied if very thick
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 TB butter
• 2 TB flour
• Berbere or other fish seasoning of choice, to taste
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup Belgian beer
• 8 large oil-cured green olives stuffed with sun dried tomatoes, sliced

Directions

1. Heat a 10″ cast iron pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and the shallots and stir for a minute.
2. Season the fish well (salt and pepper is fine, or spice it up to taste), then dredge lightly in flour. Smear a bit of Dijon mustard on the top of each fillet.
3. Melt the butter into the pan, add the fresh herbs and the fish, and sprinkle with the garlic and olives.
4. Cook until lightly browned, then flip and cover the pan.
5. After a minute or two of browning the second side, deglaze with the beer, and recover the pan.
6. Cook covered for a few minutes until done. Do not undercook or it will be gross, and do not overcook or it will be tough and gross.
7. Serve with challah rolls, a thick slice of sheep milk Gouda, and a glass of the Belgian beer.

I wanted a potato bread that could be sliced, made from instant mashed potato flakes and not actual potatoes. It came out with a nice crumb, although not quite as silky or fluffy as I would have wanted. I think I’ll try it again though, maybe baked in the bread machine instead of free-form on the baking stone as I did today. And with 1/2 cup of potato flakes.
I loosely followed the King Arthur Flour recipe for butter split-top bread (https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/buttertop-bread-recipe), making a single deep slash instead of the diagonal cuts and slathering it with melted butter wouldn’t have hurt.

Ingredients

• 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup dry potato flakes
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 TB powdered milk
• 1 TB instant bread yeast
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup almond milk

Directions

1. Add ingredients to bread machine in the proper order, and process on basic dough setting.
2. Remove from pan, form into a loaf shape, and allow to rise for about an hour, or until almost doubled in bulk.
3. Slash with a lame a few times on the diagonal.
4. Bake on a pizza stone in a pre-heated 350F* oven on the Convection Bake setting for about 40-45 minutes.
5. Optional: slather the top with melted butter while still warm.
6. Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing.

* since the dough is rather rich and sweet, high temp will cause the outside to brown too much before the inside is fully cooked though.