What Can You Do With A Smoked Turkey Leg?

For years now I have been eyeing the smoked turkey legs, wrapped two to a package, at the DiPaola Farms stand at the Union Square market. I just could never envision myself doing anything except gnaw on them so I just ignored them. Then I read this and was led to believe that they could have a life beyond just being consumed Flintstone-style.

I picked up a package a few weeks ago and tonight they become an ingredient of our Southernish dinner, which was one of A.'s specialities back in his cooking days. Instead of his usual Black-eyed Peas, Collard Greens and rice. I added diced turkey, omitting the sinewy bits, to the peas. I tossed in the bone to add more flavor while it simmered.



Black-Eyed Peas, Collard Greens and Rice (4 large servings)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white rice
2 large onions, diced
2-3 squirts ketchup
fresh thyme
2 cans black-eyed peas
1 smoked turkey leg, meat diced (you can also use sausage, kielbasa etc.)
1 bunch collard greens, cleaned, stemmed and chopped.
2 tablespoons butter

1. Put rice on to boil.
2. Saute onion until golden. Add squirts of ketchup and stir. Add peas and turkey, thyme. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3. Steam greens with a small amount of water over low heat, for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain water and toss with salt and butter over low heat.
4. When rice is finished, everything else should be too!

A Very British Christmas

One perk to being Jewish is being invited to someone else's Christmas. After my Thanksgiving debacle and Hanukkah bash, I was more than grateful not to have another holiday meal to prepare.

This year we were invited to my friend H.'s home for her version of a British Christmas. The thought of participating in her Christmas was particularly alluring, especially after H. described some of the dishes she would be preparing. I had all sorts of images of strange fruitcakes, puddings and the like dancing around in my head.

I promptly offered to contribute a dish and somehow ended up in charge of Mince Pies. Now if, several years ago, someone had told me that I would even eat such a dish, let alone prepare it, I would have been shocked as, in my mind, it fell into the category of "awful English food" full of dried fruits, nuts and booze. With the help of Nigella, my mission was easily accomplished (a subject which will surely merit its own post).

My friend led me to believe that her British Christmas would resemble Thanksgiving and in a certain way it did only it was better. For one, she cooked it, not me. But besides that it was full of quirky additions.

Let's start with the turkey. It emerged from the oven perfectly browned and upside down (which didn't seem to phase H. a bit and must certainly be the secret to one of the juiciest, tastiest turkeys I have encountered). The only downside was that the tender, plump breast was not browned which really didn't matter.

As for the sides, there was a cranberry sauce and numerous vegetables. Brussels sprouts with bacon and pine nuts, leeks and courgettes in butter (love this), roasted potatoes, roasted parsnips, peas and carrots..

We began the meal by popping open some Christmas crackers, each one filled with a note and a treat. That may have been slightly diverting but it was dessert time that really took the cake. That was when our gracious hostess presented the Christmas pudding, all aflame, flanked by the mini mince pies, which were in danger of going up in smoke.

When the flames died down, the pudding, with heavy cream, turned out to be a fine dessert better than I would have imagined. After dinner drinks were sipped while we nibbled and all in all it was a swell dinner indeed.

Whoever said the British can't cook or don't eat well need just eat chez H. They will be most pleasantly surprised!

This Bodes Well For The Future: Izzy Washes Dishes

I didn't even ask. I never even suggested the idea but today, as Izzy watched me pile the dishes in the sink he pleaded with me to be able to wash them.

"Mama. Let me wash the dishes. I want to.." Even though the very thought would have never occurred to me, how could I refuse.

He dragged his chair over, requested a clean pop-up sponge and set to work. As he washed he said, "I am washing the dishes so that you don't have to."

How does he know how I hate to wash dishes? Whatever prompted him to do so, may it continue...so that one day he will help someone else wash the dishes.

Provencal Walnut Cookies: A Perfect Addition To Your Holiday Baking

If for some odd reason you haven't finished your holiday baking or you are in search of a new recipe in which time of is of the essence, you must try these Nicoise walnut cookies.

They stand out from the rest in their use of ground walnuts as the main ingredient and by virtue of the fact that they are so quick to prepare. I found this treasure from a favorite old cookbook called Cuisine of the Sun by Mireille Johnston.

Provencal Walnut Cookies (Petits Biscuits Aux Noix)

1 cup fine chopped walnuts

1/4 lb. butter

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees

2. Chop walnuts in food processor (pulse so as not to create butter)

3. Cream butter and stir in sugar.

4. Add vanilla, nuts and flour.

5. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

6. Make teaspoon-sized ball of dough and place on cookie sheets, 2 inches apart.

7. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until pale brown.

8. Remove from oven and sprinkle immediately with granulated sugar. Allow to cool and then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

Makes 25 cookies (double recipe, you will be glad you did!)

Post-Traumatic Pastrami: A Visit To Katz's

Having been raised on a weekly diet of pastrami, corned beef and other outrageously unhealthy Jewish deli-matter, how did it come to be that Izzy, now four and a half, had yet to eat pastrami until yesterday? Pig's foot before pastrami, how on earth did I allow that to happen? My grandmother would be appalled.

In retrospect, it all makes sense. Having long been a pastrami fanatic, I gradually kicked the habit as I got older and realized how truly unhealthy it was. I began to notice that although the taste sensation was terrific, the aftermath was less than stellar. I would be thirsty and lethargic afterwards, vowing not to eat it again. I was still lured by occasional cravings which diminished over time. Now if I eat it once a year, that seems quite sufficient.

My recent pastrami hankering was fueled by the news that the famed Second Avenue Deli was reopening. Then I was tempted by a shiksa who photographed this and the craving had to be sated. So when the afternoon found us on the Lower East Side for hair-related activities, just a hop, skip and a jump from Katz's, I realized the time had come, to satisfy my craving and begin Izzy's initiation into the world of pastrami.

So I found myself on a mission, dragging my child along Houston Street on one of the darkest days of the year. We came upon Yonah Schimmel's first, where I decided to pick up a knish or two, continue on to Katz's, get take-out and bring everything home to eat.

But no, by the time we arrived at Katz's, Izzy was already entering the "hungry zone". There was no way I could make it home happily if we didn't eat then. So I waited on line for my hand cut pastrami and ordered a pastrami on rye to stay. The hunk of meat that the cutter forked out onto the cutting board was blacked with spices and looked succulent. Izzy sat down patiently, while I peered over the counter, eyeing our feast to come.

I placed the plate in between Izzy and me and prepared to indulge. Izzy immediately dove for the pickles, while I took a bite of the bulging sandwich. I explained to him that we would be sharing the sandwich yet when I offered him bites he only took dainty nibbles. I broke a piece off and placed it beside him. It remained untouched. Meanwhile he continued to eat his pickles.

Something was clearly amiss, as he hadn't snacked much during the afternoon and was certainly hungry. I suggested he eat some of the sandwich and he shook his head no. I had no inkling as to what was wrong so imagine my shock when he said, "The meat is too salty. I don't really like it."

Somehow I was crushed, having raised my boy to eat nearly everything save one of the major food groups of my youth. Not only that, but the boy was still hungry and it was late. I promised him we would hurry home and have the knishes. It was a long ride home and we were both thoroughly exhausted. Thankfully he managed to eat half a knish and go straight to bed.

I suppose I should be grateful that Izzy did not swoon over pastrami, given the heriditary heart problems in my family, it is one food he doesn't need to eat. On the other hand, do I dare introduce him to The Second Avenue Deli? How can I avoid it? Next time we will order the corned-beef.

The Wonder Of Homemade Marshmallows

What inspired me to make marshmallows along with all of my other cooking baking you ask? Especially now, during this frenzied time of year?

Well I have often toyed with the idea and then I read this post a few weeks ago by David Lebovitz. It became clear that making homemade marshmallows could only heighten the holiday excitement. Besides, they are perfect in hot chocolate which is what everyone should be drinking right now.

I immediately consulted Martha Stewart, for who else could I count on to have perfected the art of making homemade marshmallows? The recipe looked simple enough. I even had the forethought to purchase the gelatin in advance, along with the corn syrup (a product which I am loathe to use but truth be told, marshmallows are not found in the health food section). The only thing missing was a candy thermometer which I found easily enough.

Yesterday afternoon, amidst the cookie baking chaos, Izzy and I set to work. First we dissolved the gelatin in a mixing bowl and then placed the sugar, corn syrup and salt into the pot and set it to boil. The mixture needs to simmer about 10-15 minutes until it reaches a temperature of 244 degrees. Your child needs to be extremely patient and cooperative to watch this, which Izzy was. He stood at the stove, eyeing the bubbling mixture cautiously.



When the mixture reaches the proper temperature, it is time to dump the entire contents of the pot, slowly into the base of a Kitchen Aid Mixer, where the dissolved gelatin awaits. Then simply turn on the mixture at low speed and gradually increase it. Watch as the clear substance turns snowy white and changes texture. Izzy was awestruck, as was I.

After the mixture, which now clearly resembles marshmallow fluff, has tripled in volume, add vanilla and then pour it into a confectioner's sugar coated glass Pyrex dish, 9 x 13 (NOT 8 x 12 as Martha suggests). Sprinkle with more confectioner's sugar and wait til morning. You will awaken to a dish full of firm sticky marshmallow matter which needs to be cut out into squares and rolled in endless quantities of still more confectioner's sugar. Mess aside, everyone will be delighted.

A Veritable Barnyard: Farm Animal Sugar Cookies

I found these cookie cutters at Fishs Eddy years ago and I used to use them to make sugar cookies as holiday gifts for my students at the Lycee Francais, where I taught English to second-graders. I had four classes which was a total of between 65-75 students depending upon the year and they each received two cookies. The cookie baking kept me up til the wee hours as it was no small task.

The reward for all of my work was the fact that those seven and eight year old children appreciated the homemade cookies. They would remark upon their delicate lemon flavor and seemed more grateful than one might imagine.

This year I took the cutters out so that Izzy and I could make some cookies for his teachers and start a yearly tradition.

The recipe I use comes from The Cookie Jar Cookbook, which I have used so often the pages are falling out. These are fragile cookies with a subtle lemon flavor, delightfully buttery and crisp.

Animal Cookies (aka Lambies)

2 cups less 2 tablespoons unsifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Sift dry ingredients and set aside.

3. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

4. Add egg, vanilla and lemon zest and beat.

5. Gradually add dry ingredients.

6. Remove ball of dough and divide in 4.

7. Put dough between two pieces of waxed paper and roll out. Place in freezer for 15 minutes. Do same with remainder of dough.

8. Remove dough from freezer, one piece at a time. Remove paper, cut out shapes and transfer to cookie sheet.

9. Bake for 8-11 minutes, turning cookie sheets once.

10. Allow to cool and decorate as desired. Or be lazy like me and just sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. I also add one tiny silver dragee as an eye before baking