A Dash, Pinch & A Snapshot

Toasted Baguette Stuffed With Brie & A Port Wine Cherry Compote

Port Cherry Compote: Sautee one pound of pitted cherries, I used sweet cherries, in a small saucepan on medium-high heat with half a cup of port a teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and 5 sprigs of thyme and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, 25 to 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool, then remove the thyme sprigs.

Cut a deep "v" on the top of the baguette. Pull out some of the middles to create a deep crevice. Place the Brie slices into the crevice, overlapping each slice. Place of a baking sheet and toast at 400 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes

Transfer the toasted goodness to a cutting board & spoon the cherry compote over the melted Brie. Slice into thick slices, garnish with the remaining thyme sprig and SNAPSHOT!

Cranberry & Blueberry Cobbler

I made some extra cranberry (not canbury) sauce to give this easy recipe a try. Mix the cranberry sauce with your favorite pie filling, line your pie dish with buttermilk by placing them atop the filling, sprinkle your biscuits with raw sugar, chill and when ready bake until your biscuits are golden brown.

My assistant Joelle Gee helped me out with this one!
We prepped Cranberry & Blueberry AND Cranberry & Strawberry

By popular demand, my Sumac Dry Brined Overnight Turkey

Part I

I started off by treating my 16 pound fresh turkey to a seasoning rub worthy of a massage parlor from Times Square in the 70's. The seasoning mix consisted of 1 tablespoon of Sumac, 1 tablespoon of herbes de Provence, 3 tablespoons of kosher salt & 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Then I placed that lucky bird in the fridge uncovered so the skin could lose its moisture, which makes for a crisper skin.

24 hours later the bird get removed from the fridge to sit uncovered for an hour or two so it can move towards room temperature in anticipation of its' herbed butter rub. The herbed butter is two sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature, the zest of 3 lemons and 3 tablespoons of minced thyme. Once again I work that herbed butter like a Times Square veteran.

Now that you buttered your bird you can stuff it with a quartered apple, a quartered lemon and 10 thyme sprigs

Line the bottom of your pan with 2 quartered onions, 2 large carrots chopped, 1/2 a bunch of celery chopped & one clove of garlic chopped. I pour about a 1/2 inch of broth in the pan and a way we go.

45 minutes at 450 and then down to 175 degrees for the duration. In my case I'm figuring about 14 hours. You can go as high as 200 degrees and time it according to the size of your bird. You CANNOT overcook the bird this way so don't worry. Your bird temperature when it done should be at 170-175

No basting, no foil tent. Once you get it in the oven there is nothing left to do other than wake up to the aroma of turkey and to the prospect of a free oven by noon Thursday so you can finish off the rest of your feast.

Sometimes it's less in the recipe and all in the presentation. For my mother-in-laws 80th, she is a hamburger fan, I did 4 different types of sliders with an assortment of accompaniments

Here is the lineup

Sliders: Beef (80-20), Lamb, Kobe Beef & The Impossible Burger

Cheese: Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Feta, Mozzarella

Toppings: Pickled Jalapenos (homemade), Red Lettuce,
Beefsteak Tomatoes, Slice Jalapeno, Bacon (Thick Cut), Hot Dog Cart Onions and Peppers (home made), Red Onion, Dill Pickles, Avocado, Crispy Onion Rings (home made)

Condiments: Spicy Mayo, Ketchup, Mustard, BBQ Sauce

Bun: Potato Slide Rolls

Side Dish: Fried Green Bananas (I tried to air fry them, not so good, much better when I deep fried them last time) and

SNAP

Not Your Grandma's Eggplant Parmigiana But...

One mention of the word eggplant frees the Italian in me to conjure up visions of long thin breaded slices fried in olive oil and topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella sometimes resting on some lightly toasted Italian bread.

This is a good thing. A very good thing.

However, living with the Debster often results in a change of tradition. Sometime for the better, sometimes for the worse. Today it was for the better.

Out of the blue she said she was in the mood for eggplant, but not that fried stuff. Mission accepted.

I started out with 3 baby eggplant, rather than a fully grown one. Easier to manage and oh so tender. I peeled these guys, sliced them about an 1 inch thick, and immediately threw them in a cold salted water and lemon bath to discourage browning.

Meanwhile I put together my work station. Flour mix, eggs, and wheat panko breadcrumbs. For my flour I like to use the same mix I use when making fried clams. 1 1/4 cup of corn flour (not corn meal) and 1/3 all purpose flour. I just love that taste and it always turns up the crispiness.

After breading each of the slices I put them in...the air fryer! That's right 12 minutes in a pre-heated air fryer at 400 degrees. Using my insert I layed out two layers and then switched the slices around at the 7 minute mark. When I am air frying I keep my regular oven on 250 so I can keep my food warm while I cook several batches.

If you don't have an air fryer you should get one. In any event, you could bake these guys in the oven for 12 minutes as well, flipping them at 8 minutes, and then after the twelve minute mark stick them under the broiler for 2 minutes.

Back to my eggplant. After plating them I drenched them in seasoned tomato sauce with a touch of cream and topped with parmesan and red pepper. This proved an ample substitute for the layers of mozzarella that usually weigh down an order of eggplant parmigiana, without guilt. The crispy eggplant more than held up to the steaming sauce like a champ. Then

SNAP

The Ripe Avocado Dilemma

There it is, a huge sale on... "overly ripe avocados". You find yourself tempted but ultimately you don't risk taking more than one or two for fear they will go brown before you can take them to town.

I can assure you that you do not need to be afraid! You can jump on a sale like I did this week and puree your ripe avocado, I added a little lime juice (to keep away the brown) a few cilantro flakes and crushed red peeper and FROZE THE PUREE into cubes

Now this won't due for avocado slices in your salad or on your burger, but for salsa, guacamole or smoothies it's a no brainer.

So pounce, slice, pit, season, puree, freeze and...

SNAP

Alpa, I couldn't leave you without a recipe for homemade ricotta to go with your grilled carrots recipe.

I took a deep breath before trying this and exhaled as I could not believe how easy it was AND how incredible and fresh the ricotta tasted. Say goodbye to Polly-O forever!

Here you go Alpa

Grilled Carrots with Fresh Ricotta and Toasted Pecans.

Was looking for a way to use my homemade ricotta that didn't involve pasta. With smoked ribs on the grill this became a perfect side dish.

On a scale of 1 to 5 this dish was 🤠🤠🤠🤠🤠