Yes, it is that time of year again.  The time when hordes of family descends on the house to stuff themselves full of Thanksgiving holiday cheer.

Somehow, my house has become the traditional Thanksgiving venue.  This isn’t really a problem… I’d consider it more of a culinary challenge.  This year the guest list consists of 21 people, which means preparing a 30 pound turkey.  Yes, it is true.  Turkey do come in 30 pound sizes.  Who really knew?

I’ve spent a lot of time in the last few weeks pondering the ways that this whole meal can be simplified.   Of course, I do that every year, and in the end it always feels like the house has been hit by an atomic bomb.  Still, there’s always hope that it will be more organized.

I’ll be chronicling along the way, but here’s the menu so far:

• 30 pound fresh turkey
• Gravy
• 15 pounds of mashed potatoes
• Italian Sausage and Wild Rice Dressing
• Cauliflower and Broccoli in Cheese Sauce
• Corn Casserole (brought by a guest)
• Green Bean Casserole (brought by a guest)
• Okra (brought by a guest)
• Black-eyed Peas (brought by a guest)
• Pumpkin Pie
• Assorted Pies (brought by a guest).

That doesn’t look so tough, does it?  Ha!  Let the chaos begin!

There are several firsts that we look forward to during the cooking year.  The first “real” arugula in the spring.  The first grilled New York Strip of the season.  And, without a doubt, the first BLT made with home grown tomatoes.

Nothing touches home grown tomatoes.  Even farmers’ market tomatoes just aren’t the same.  Pulling a plump, juicy tomato from the vine, feeling the heat of the flesh from the sun, cutting into the tomato and getting that smell of ripe summer… it just does not get better than that.  Especially when it is the very first tomato of the season.

We reserve the first tomato of the season for our BLT ritual – served al fresco, with wine, for lunch. Our goal, which we hit almost every year, is that this tomato is ripened by the first weekend of July.   But the details of the BLT tend to vary from year to year, depending on what is on hand and at its freshest.  This year our BLT contained Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon, arugula, Butler Farms Fresh Brebis Cheese with Garlic and Herbs, and farm fresh sweet onion.

And yes, it was as good as it looked.

Ok maybe that second headline is a bit over the top. There has been a lot of fretting about the dangers of choking on hot dogs because of a policy statement on children and choking issued in February by the American Academy of Pediatrics. With summer upon us and the sizzles and smells of tubular meat in the air, the fear mongering is being ratcheted up! Now don’t misunderstand me, choking is a bad thing. It has always been a bad thing.

My mom relates a tale to her and I driving down the road when I was a small boy. More than likely I was standing up in the back seat with no seatbelt (you just didn’t do that in the early 60’s). She had given me a lifesavers candy. As she tells it, I began to choke on it and she had to pull the car over and pull me from the back seat. The image of me hanging upside down from my mother’s arms; her smacking the crap out of my back, makes me wonder why she wasn’t arrested for child abuse. If that were to happen today, I am sure she would have. From that day forward I was not allowed to eat a hot dog that wasn’t cut into 5000 pieces until I reached the age of 17. Even today “Grandma” will tell her grandchildren to “cut that hot dog up before you eat it”. This does not thrill my 20 year old daughter. Do we have to completely change a historic food icon because parents don’t tell their kids to “chew your food” or because they don’t cut their hot dogs up before they serve them?

I have been a lover of tubular meat as my posts on this blog imply (here). I am dead set against any kind of regulations that would change the shape of the hot dog or brat, or polish sausage or Italian sausage or…you get the point. Thankfully there are TTM’s (Tubular Meat Modifiers). Creative entrepreneurs have invented aftermarket devices to save kids from certain death from tubular meat.

Creative Innovations has created the “Guard Dog” to transform the sinister “danger dog” into, as they put it a “Safety Cut Hot Dog” that will breakup into small pieces when chewed. All of this is done with an eye on reducing the choking hazard.

If you’re looking to reduce choking AND have fun, there is “Octodog”. No this isn’t hotdogs made from octopus (note to self: “tentacle tube steak”) it is a device that makes a hot dog look like an octopus. It also helps to reduce choking by sending your kid screaming from the dinner table because they think there is a cephalopod on their plate.

Finally, if you’re feeling a bit uptight and inadequate in the tubular meat department, Kalex Enterprises has a solution. They have created the Wynder’s Spiral Hot Dog Cutter. As their website says “the cut allows the hot dog, brat, or sausage to unwind so now it fits the bun better. We all want a dog that fits the bun better now don’t we? Due to the PG nature of this blog, I won’t discuss the how the Spiral Hot Dog Cutter impacts choking. We will leave that to a different blog.
The bottom line is, don’t change the way we make the dog, if you are concerned about a choking hazard there are plenty of aftermarket solutions to help. Go boldly into this grilling season resting assured that American ingenuity will keep you safe.

Chicken Parmagiana is perhaps one of the simplest, most under-made recipes.  At least it is here at Cuisine Capers.  It is hard to say why that is, given that it is a full-flavored, hearty dish that really hits the comfort spot.

You may be asking yourself – Chicken Parmigiana?  Is that the same thing as Chicken Parmesan?  To most people, I’d say that it is the same thing — Chicken, covered in tomato sauce  and cheese and baked.  I will have to confess that I do not consider these things the same thing, as I have a different recipe that I make that I call Chicken Parmesan.  There also seems to be a plethora of ways to spell Chicken Parmigiana, including parmagiana.

It doesn’t really matter what you call it or how you spell it – all that it really matters is that it’s a satisfying dish.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning, 
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 3 – 4 boneless, skinless Chicken Breast halves
• 1 jar prepared spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup grated pozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare 3 bowls used for dredging the chicken breasts.  In bowl #1, add the flour.  In bowl #2, beat one egg.  In bowl #3 combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, Italian Seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.

Pat chicken breasts dry and dip into each bowl in order.  First, coat with flour lightly.  Next, add the chicken breast to the egg wash, ensuring that the breast is coated, yet not dripping with egg.  Last, dredge thoroughly in the bread crumb mixture, coating evenly.  

Add olive oil to ovenproof sautee pan, and heat until nearly smoking.  Slowly immerse each dredged chicken breast into the oil and allow to fry until a crunchy coating has formed.  Flip the chicken carefully, making sure that the coating maintains its integrity.  Once both sides are fried crisp, remove from the pan.

Here’s where you can make this recipe as complex or as easy as you would like.  There are many people who would recoil in horror at the thought of using a jarred spaghetti sauce.  I will admit that there are times that I am one of those poeple.  But when I want to make good food fast, I don’t mind compromising on a quality, jarred sauce.

Drain the leftover olive oil out of the pan, add the sauce to the same pan, and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken breasts to the sauce pan and remove from heat.  Spoon some of the sauce in the pan over the chicken breasts to lightly coat.  Add mozzarella and parmesan cheese to each breast.

Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 45 minutes, until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

Serve with a side of pasta tossed in the sauce left in the pan, or with a roasted spaghetti squash, also tossed with the remaining pan sauce.

It’s that time of year again, when the crisp fall temperatures stir the hearts of Wisconsin’s Norwegian brethren. The aroma of rotting fish and rutabagas is in the air. At Lutheran churches and Son’s of Norway lodges all over southern Wisconsin the annual ritual of the lutefisk supper is upon us.

For as long as I can remember our family has been eating lutefisk and lefse around the holiday season. When I was young it was always at Grandma’s house, where she had spent days making lefse and soaking the lutefisk before the big dinner. Now that my Grandmother has passed away, my family still enjoys this ritual at one (or more if I am lucky) of the local churches around the area. The lutefisk dinner is a major fundraiser for those organizations that put it on. People come from all around for this once a year event. You purchase your tickets and then wait in the pews till your number is called. Seating is usually family style and you quickly make friends as your passing the pitchers of melted butter around the table. Members of the congregation are working hard preparing and serving the meal. For those who have yet to acquire a taste for lutefisk (or fish jello as my son likes to call it), there is usually ham or meatballs to satisfy. When you throw in the mash potatoes, Cole slaw and cranberries you have the makings of great meal. To top things off, there is always a slice of pie.

If you have never tried a lutefisk dinner, I encourage you to do so this season. Below is a list of the various dates and locations of lutefisk dinners in southern Wisconsin. I am not sure I have all of them listed so if you know of additions to this list, please be sure to comment below.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to pass the butter.

October 24, 2009

• Son’s of Norway Idun Lodge
  2262 Winnebago Street in Madison, WI
  (608) 837-8335
  11:00am – 6:00pm
  Meatballs (for the faint of heart) potatoes, rutabagas, lefse, sweet soup, and more. Adult (13 & up) $16, Youth (5 – 12) $7

November 6, 2009

• Lakeside Lutheren Church
  located at the corner of Mandrake Road and Northport Drive (WI Highway 113)
  (608)-244-6181
  serving the public from 11:00 am until 8:00 pm

November 7, 2009

• Bonnet Prairie Lutheran Church
  two miles south of Rio, N3694 Old F Road
  (920) 992-3200
• Western Koshkonong Lutheran Church
  2633 Church St, Cottage Grove, WI 53527-8616
  (608) 873-6744 or (608) 873-7148
  Serving Times 11:30AM 12:45PM 4:00PM 5:15PM & 6:30PM, Tickets $14.00 in advance and $15.00 for walk ups.
• Barneveld Lutheran Church
  505 Swiss Lane Barneveld 53537
  (608) 924-8621
  Serving: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Adults: $ 15.00 Children 12 & under: $ 7.00

November 14, 2009

• Son’s of Norway Nordland Lodge
  418 W. Milwaukee St., Janesville, WI 53511
  (608) 365-1369
  11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
• Christ Lutheran Church
  220 S. Main St., DeForest
  (608) 846-4719
  11 a.m. to 7 p.m., adults $15, $7 for children 6 to 12, under 6 free (2008 prices)

December 5, 2009

• St. Olaf Lutheran Church
  W653 Roosevelt Road, Rubicon, WI 53078
  (920) 474-7042
  Serving 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

For you wired technogeeks who love to cook, Belling has just come out wth a new digital cookbook.  The Media Chef holds about 48 instructional cooking videos and can also be used as a calendar, a media player and a photo frame.  The 8 inch screen device also comes with a remote control.

So, if you have an extra $275 burning a hole in your pocket, this is the item to pick up!

I don’t know about you, but I have found myself becoming addicted to reality tv.  No, not the mainstream stuff that turns up on the major networks.  I don’t really care about bachelors, survivors, big losers, or great racers.

Instead, I must confess that I have become addicted to reality food tv.  Top Chef, Top Chef Masters, The Next Food Network Star and more… they air it, I watch it!

So tonight season two of The Next Iron Chef kicks in.  Much more serious than The Next Food Network Star, The Next Iron Chef pits true professionals against each other in a duel of the kitchen.  The winner becomes, obviously, one of the Iron Chefs that make appearances on Iron Chef America.

This year the competitors include:

• Amanda Freitag, Executive Chef for The Harrison, which is a two star restaurant in New York.  She is also a judge on yet another Food Network show, Chopped.
• Brad Farmerie grew up in Pittsburgh but attended Le Cordon Bleu in the UK. He settled in New York and has been involved with a number of restaurants, including Double Crown and Madam Geneva, which takes its inspiration from former British colonized countries of South Asia and the Far East.
• Dominique Crenn was raised in Versailles, France, spend nine years in San Francisco, made a stop in Indonesia, before returning to California – this time Los Angelos – while maintaining her passion for sustainable, local ingredients.
• Eric Greenspan attended Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. Now in Los Angelos, he has opened The Foundry on Melrose, featuring fine dining and American Cuisine.
• Holly Smith was born in Maryland, but now owns and operates two restaurants in Seattle, Poco Carretto Gelato and Cafe Juanita.  She specializes in Northern Italian cooking (my personal favorite!).
• Jehangir Mehta owns and operates Graffiti, yet another New York restaurant.  Born in Mumbai, he attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York.
• Jose Garces owns and operates several restaurants in Philadelphia, including Amada, an Andalusian tapas bar; Tinto, a wine bar and restaurant inspired by the Basque region of Northern Spain and Southern France; Distrito, featuring the cuisine of Mexico City; Chifa, a Latin-Asian restaurant; and Village Whiskey, a bar with over 80 whiskies.
• Nate Appleman, born in Greenville, OH, has made his name in the San Francisco Bay area.  He was a founding team member of A16 in San Francisco.  Interestingly enough, I have eaten at this restaurant and found it to be very good, but not the best place that I’ve dined.
• Roberto Trevino began his career in San Francisco but soon relocated to Puerto Rico, where he has opened Budatai.  Roberto appeared on The Iron Chef, battling Mario Batali.
• Seamus Mullen, a native of Vermont, specializes in Spanish cuisine and tapas.  He owns two tapas restaurants in New York.  Boqueria has also earned two stars from The New York Times. 

It will be an enteraining competition along the way!

 Paula Deen does not necessarily represent the way that I cook. There are very few things that I see Paula make that make me feel the need to go to the kitchen and create. However, I have met Paula Deen (ok, we were within a few feet of each other for a few minutes), and I found her to be the warmest, most genuine “celebrity” that I’ve encountered. My respect for her on that day went up measurably, in comparison to Emeril, who was also at that same event.

Despite that nonsequitur, It is reprehensible to me the way that Barbara Walters approached Paula Deen on this interview on “The View” recently.

Should we pay attention to the way that children eat? Yes. Should we give them the healthiest food that we can? Yes. But really. Teaching a child to cook versus teaching a child to eat a Chicken McNugget is admirable. To seemingly blame Paula Deen’s new cookbook, which is geared towards teaching children to enjoy cooking, on child obesity is incredible.

Barbara, you could use a piece of cheesecake. It would probably make you happier and healthier, frankly. And if you want to take on a cause, how about thinking about getting children involved in their food, rather than driving through a drive thu to get it.

Just Sayin’.

This article is one in a series of articles about our recent tour of California Wine Country.  You can read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, the Summary, and the Restaurants as well.

They love their dogs in Sonoma County.  The dogs are a big part of the family and culture.  They are welcome at outdoor cafes, they wait to greet you at the tasting rooms, and they are celebrities in their own rights thanks to the Winery Dogs books that are sold nearly everywhere you go in the Dry Creek area and in Healdsburg.

And so of course we must include a post in tribute to the Winery Dogs of Dry Creek.

This article is one in a series of articles about our recent tour of California Wine Country. You can read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, the Summary, the Winery Dogs and the Restaurants as well. 

One of the most pleasurable epiphanies of our trip to Healdsburg was that the restaurants there are world class.  We took advantage of this, as well as restaurants along the way throughout the trip.

First up was a trek to Tex Wasabi’s in Santa Rosa.  Guy Fieri is, in my opinion, one of the freshest and most innovative of the latest batch of Food Network stars, and this is where he began to make his name and his reputation.  Tex Wasabi’s is all about thinking outside the box and mixing and matching well-established dishes into a unique blend.  On this trip we tried the traditional Brisket sandwich with BBQ Beans, and the very untraditional Brisket Sushi.  It was strange, but very, very good.

Once in Healdsburg we had a plethora of choices for dining, and yet the locals recommended the same restaurants time and time again.  You can’t go wrong with locally-suggested places, and we loved all of the restaurants that we tried.  First up, Willi’s Seafood and Wine Bar.

We’ve been to Willi’s before.  On our last trip we were just looking for a nice place to stop and have a bite to eat before we headed back to our hotel.  So we knew that Willi’s was the place to go for casual small plates in a relaxing outdoor environment.  We say outdoors because that is where you should sit when you go to Willi’s.  The patio is casual and the locals are prevelant.  And they bring their dogs, which makes dining there entertaining.  The thing to do at Willi’s is just order a plate or two and a time to share, and keep ordering until you get full.

Cena Luna is a deceptively formal restaurant.  The tables, decor and service is upscale, and yet we got the impression that we could have arrived in very casual clothing and still have been welcome.  The Italian cuisine was also upscale, and very satisfying.

As a self-avowed foodie, I do not completely fall in love with a meal.  But I can honestly say that I had the best dish I have ever tasted at Scopa, in Healdsburg.  This small restaurant did everything right, but the minute I put a bite of Nonna’s Chicken into my mouth, I was in love.  Nonna’s Chicken is baked in a cast iron covered pot, with polenta, tomato and chicken blending together for the most pefect blend of flavors and textures.  Bursting with flavor and yet sceaming comfort, I doubt I will ever experience love at first bite like that again.

A unique place to dine for breakfast, Bovolo is hard to find.  Hidden behind a bookstore, this casual place shouldn’t be overlooked.  You order at the counter and they bring your food to the back where the tables are.  The menu is unique, and I am not going to complain about that.  How often can you order a Pasta Carbonara for breakfast? (and it was GREAT!).