Turkey Isn't Just for Thanksgiving: Turkey Stew with Dumplings

Usually on Thanksgiving between 20-25 people come over for dinner. Serving turkey is part of the holiday tradition but there's a practical side as well: one turkey serves a lot of people.

Turkey is a food so rooted in a holiday--think egg nog and New Year's Eve--that most people wouldn't think of using it at other times of the year.

Roast turkey in the summer is a practical solution to serving large amounts of food for backyard parties without an excessive amount of work.

Sweet, moist breast meat, perfect of sandwiches, can also be tossed in salads. Thigh meat is also good in sandwiches with a bit of mayonnaise, thin slices of red onion and arugula leaves. Or, teasing flavor out of the legs and thighs by boiling them in a large pot of water creates delicious turkey stock and several pounds of meat ideal for salads, soups and stews.

Turkey Stew with Dumplings and Vegetables

Yield: 4-6 servings

Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

4 cups cooked, shredded turkey dark meat

6 cups turkey stock (fat removed)

2 carrots (washed, peeled, ends removed, chopped into thick rounds)

2 sweet potatoes (cooked, skins removed, roughly chopped)

1 medium yellow onion (peeled, ends removed, roughly chopped)

1 ear of corn (kernels removed) or 1 cup of canned or frozen corn

1 celery stalk (washed, ends removed, roughly chopped)

1/2 cup brown or shiitake mushrooms (washed, thinly sliced)

4 garlic cloves (peeled, finely chopped)

1/2 cup Italian parsley (leaves only, finely chopped)

1 small bunch spinach (washed thoroughly, stems removed)

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon sweet butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 - 3/4 cup half and half

Olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

Method

In a dutch oven or a frying pan with tall sides, sauté the carrots, garlic, celery, mushrooms, onions, corn, and parsley in olive oil until lightly browned. Season with sea salt and pepper. Add the shredded turkey, cooked sweet potatoes, and turkey stock. Simmer. Drop in the spinach and cook for 10 minutes or until the spinach has wilted. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

To make the dumplings, mix together the flour, baking soda, sugar, season with sea salt and pepper in a bowl. Finely chop the butter, add to the flour and mix well. Slowly pour in the half and half, stirring until the batter has a thick consistency. Using 2 spoons, make dumplings and ease them them into the hot liquid.

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with a salad and a baguette.

Variations

Add 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions or Italian parsley to the dumplings.

Add 2 tablespoons finely chopped roasted red peppers to the dumplings.

Radish App

I'm glad you all wanted to come to our restaurant Raphanus!!  Today's the day that I get to share my radish appetizer with you, and boy am I excited.  Why am I so excited?  Well, I actually fell for the root vegetable I had for so long considered verboten.  Roasted with vanilla, I'll happily eat a whole bunch!

I utilized radishes in all their glory with this appetizer; slicing some, cutting others into wedges, even transforming the leaves into a pesto!  Hints of citrus and vanilla are found in the dish, and they really elevated the flavors.  You'll see them in Evelyne and Faith's creations as well.  Without further ado...
Vanilla Roasted Radishes over Crispy Polenta Rounds w/Radish Leaf Pesto & Crispy Radish!

A composed plate, celebrating the radish

While it may seem like a complicated dish, you could also view it as getting four recipes for the price of one ;)  Each of these components could stand on their own-- the pesto tossed with some pasta, crispy radish chips as a snack, vanilla roasted radishes next to any main dish and crispy polenta rounds with your favorite topper.  Possibilities abound!

Crispy Polenta Rounds
adapted from Orangette

3c water
1c almond milk (or more water)
1c polenta
1t kosher salt
2T butter
1/2c finely grated parmesan

Bring water and almond milk to a simmer over medium heat.  Whisk in polenta, reduce heat and cook on low, whisking frequently.  Cook for 30min-1hr, until polenta is thick but still fluid.  Add salt, butter and parmesan and whisk well to combine.  Spread out, 1" thick, into two 9x9 pans.  Cool, then refrigerate until firm.

When ready to assemble appetizer, cut wedges out of polenta (I used a round cookie cutter).  Heat a cast iron skillet (or your favorite nonstick one) over medium heat.  Cook each of the polenta wedges a few minutes on each side, until they start to brown and get a little crispy.

To serve, top polenta rounds with vanilla roasted radishes and serve alongside radish leaf pesto and crispy radish chips, see below.


Vanilla Roasted Radishes

1 bunch radishes
1/2T extra virgin olive oil
1/2T butter, melted
1/4t sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400deg.

Remove radishes from stems, saving the leaves for the pesto.  Cut them into wedges; for larger radishes I cut them into sixths, but smaller ones I kept in quarters.  Toss them with olive oil, melted butter, sugar, seeds from the vanilla bean and a sprinkle of salt.  Spread out onto a cookie sheet and bake for 20-30min, until they are beginning to caramelize around the edges.  Remove and set aside until ready to top the crispy polenta.

Radish Leaf Pesto

1c packed radish leaves (from 2 bunches)
zest of 1 small lemon
1-2 garlic cloves
.75oz almonds
~1/4c finely grated parmesan
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
extra virgin olive oil

Wash the radish leaves and then add them to the bowl of a food processor or blender.  Add the rest of the ingredients except olive oil and pulse to combine.  With the motor running, drizzle in enough olive oil to reach your desired consistency.  I left mine a little chunky and served it along side my crispy polenta topped with vanilla roasted radishes.

Radish Chips
adapted from Simple Comfort Food

1 bunch of radishes
1/4t garlic powder
1/2t smoked paprika
generous pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1T extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350deg.

Remove radishes from their stems, keeping the leaves for the pesto.  Slice radishes as thin as you can get them, 1/4" or less.  Add them to a bowl, cover with saran wrap and microwave for 40sec.  Drain and then add spices (garlic powder through pepper).  Starting by adding ~1/2T olive oil, then toss well to coat.  Add more olive oil if you need to, you just don't want them too wet.

Spread radish slices in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (a pizza stone also works).  Bake for 15min, then lower the oven to 225deg.  Flip the radish slices over and bake another 20min or more, until they are dried out and crisp.  Remove from the oven and serve alongside roasted radish-topped polenta and radish leaf pesto.

Don't forget to check out dinner and dessert over at Cheap Ethnic Eatz and An Edible Mosaic!

Video and poster - methane in the Arctic

Methane in the Arctic threatens to escalate into runaway global warming.

The poster shown in the video is added below. 

Click on the poster to view a higher-resolution version, for printing out and hanging it on the wall.

Methane in the Arctic

Methane is often said to have a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 21 times as strong as carbon dioxide, a figure based on IPCC assessment reports that date back to the 1990s. However, the IPCC has updated methane's GWP several times since, as illustrated in Table 1. below.

In its Fourth Assessment Report (AR4, 2007), the IPCC gives methane a GWP of 25 as much as carbon dioxide over 100 years and 72 as much as carbon dioxide over 20 years.

Furthermore, a 2009 study, by Drew Shindell et al., points out that the IPCC figures do not include direct+indirect radiative effects of aerosol responses to methane releases that increase methane's GWP to 105 over 20 years when included

Moreover, in the context of tipping points, which seems appropriate regarding methane releases in the Arctic, it makes sense to focus on a short time horizon, possibly as short as a few years.

Accordingly, methane's GWP can best be visualized as in the image below, which is also displayed mid-right on the poster above.

The image on the left shows methane's global warming potential (GWP) for different time horizons, pointing out that methane's GWP is more than 130 times that of carbon dioxide over a period of ten years.

IPCC¹ figures were used to create the blue line. The red line is based on figures in a study by Shindell et al.², which are higher as they include more effects. This study concludes that methane's GWP would likely be further increased by including ecosystem responses.

The ecosystem response can be particularly strong in the Arctic, where the seabed contains huge amounts of methane. Continued warming in the Arctic can cause large abrupt methane releases which in turn can trigger further methane releases from sediments under the sea.

This is particularly worrying, not only because of the presence of huge amounts of methane, but also because the sea is quite shallow in areas such as the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS), which in the case of large abrupt releases can soon lead to oxygen depletion in the water and make that much of the methane will enter the atmosphere without being oxidized in the water.

Additionally, low water temperatures and long sea currents in the Arctic Ocean are not very friendly toward bacteria that might otherwise break down methane in the water.

For further background, also see the post The potential impact of large abrupt release of methane in the Arctic at the Arctic Methane blog³, and the FAQ page at that blog.

References:

1. IPCC, Climate Change 2007: Working Group I: The Physical Science Basis, Table 2.14 (2007)
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch2s2-10-2.html

2. D.T. Shindell et al., "Improved Attribution of Climate Forcing to Emissions". Science vol 326: pp. 716-718 (2009)
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/326/5953/716.abstract

3. Sam Carana, The potential impact of large abrupt release of methane in the Arctic (2012)
http://arcticmethane.blogspot.com/2012/05/potential-impact-of-large-abrupt.html

Asparagus Stalks Memorial Day Picnics

Burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, cole slaw and fresh fruit salads are Memorial Day classics. I look forward to those favorites but to keep them interesting, it's good to add something new and a little unexpected.

When I was growing up, asparagus was one of the fancy vegetables. Carrots, corn and broccoli were the everyday vegetables. Asparagus was saved for special occasions. These days asparagus is affordable, easy-to-prepare and versatile.

Right now asparagus is plentiful in farmers markets. Nutritious, delicious and loaded with healthy minerals, asparagus can be enjoyed raw or cooked, as a salad or a side dish to add zest to a backyard barbecue or afternoon lunch.

Raw Asparagus Salad

Look for small to medium sized stalks that are firm and without blemish or shrivel-marks.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 pound asparagus, washed, white ends trimmed plus an additional 2" cut off and discarded
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Slice in half the long way the larger stalks just before serving. Just before serving, toss the asparagus with the seasoned olive oil.

Variations

To add heat, dust with a pinch of cayenne or 1/4 teaspoon pepper flakes.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons flaky goat cheese over the asparagus.

Finely chop 1 garlic clove and lightly sauté until brown, sprinkle over the asparagus.

Grilled Asparagus

Use any size asparagus you like. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus, washed, white ends trimmed plus an additional 2" cut off and discarded

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat the grill on a medium flame.

Toss the asparagus in the seasoned olive oil and place on the grill. 

Tongs will help turn the asparagus on the grill. Be careful to brown but not burn the tender stalks. Serve warm.

Variations

Grill with carrots (sliced or whole baby carrots) and serve as a vegetable course or as a side dish.

To add heat, dust with a pinch of cayenne or an additional 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Steamed or Sautéed Asparagus with Caramelized Garlic, Shallots and Almond Slivers

Use any size asparagus you like. I prefer large or medium sized stalks, cut in half the long way so I can caramelize inside the asparagus.

The dish is as delicious whether you steam or sauté the asparagus. The choice is yours.

Blanched, raw slivered almonds are widely available in supermarkets. From my experience, Trader Joe's has good quality, affordable almonds.

To deceive the eye, the shallot and garlic clove should be sliced to resemble the almond slivers. The surprising sweet-savory/soft-crunch contrast adds to the fun of the dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus, washed, white ends trimmed plus an additional 2" cut off and discarded

1/4 cup blanched, raw almond slivers

1 large shallot, washed, peeled, root end removed, thin sliced

1 large garlic clove, washed, peeled, root end removed, thin sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Heat a large frying pan with the olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper. Add the asparagus, cooking in batches if necessary. Don't crowd them in the pan so they cook evenly. Use tongs to turn them frequently to brown and avoid burning.

Remove the cooked stalks to a plate lined with a paper towel.

In the same pan, cook the shallot, garlic and almonds until lightly browned. Add a touch of olive oil if needed. Season with black pepper.

Either add the cooked asparagus back into the pan with the almond mixture and toss well or plate the asparagus and top the stalks with the almond mixture.

Serve warm.

Striking increase of methane in the Arctic

Click on image to enlarge

Dr. Leonid Yurganov, Senior Research Scientist, JCET, UMBC, and member of AMEG, produced the above images with IASI/METOP satellite data (EUMETSAT).

The images show methane levels for 2008, 1-10 November, and for 2011, 1-10 November.

The images show a striking increase of methane over the shelf areas of the Arctic Ocean.

For reference, the image on the right is added, showing predicted methane hydrates, as published by WWF with surface temperature hotspots added.

Dr. Yurganov points at the threat of large emissions of methane from clathrates (methane hydrates) in the Arctic, and urges others to support his proposals for further satellite methane monitoring.

Current growth of methane is being monitored by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) facility on NASA's Aqua satellite.

Dr. Yurganov has been using AIRS data for years and points at an image he produced using AIRS data. The image shows that, during the autumn of 2011, the anomaly in the Northern Hemisphere was substantially larger than the anomaly in the Southern Hemisphere.
ftp://asl.umbc.edu/pub/yurganov/methane/AIRS_CH4_2002-2012.pdf

Monthly mean maps of methane are available at Dr. Yurganov's website. The maps have been produced using AIRS data since 2002 up to now, for both the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. The maps are at:
ftp://asl.umbc.edu/pub/yurganov/methane/MAPS/

Comparisons with other instruments for the Arctic are still few or lacking. Examples are for TANSO, May-November, 2010:
ftp://asl.umbc.edu/pub/yurganov/methane/MAPS/TANSO_2010day&night.jpg

Poppyseed Bread

Over the years, I've been doing my best to learn some of the foods I grew up eating with the Polish side of my family; things like potato pierogies, babka, nut bread and our christmas barszcz.  One of the recipes that has evaded me was Poppyseed Bread (or roll).

By now you've probably figured out that it didn't evade me this year ;)  With some translation help from Magda, I made a poppyseed bread that would've made anyone fail their drug test!  Actually, I have no idea if it would or not, but we all kept going back for more so I can only imagine.

Poppyseed Bread
from my Babka recipe & Moje Wypieki
Yield:  2-3 loaves

For the bread:
1c milk
1/2c butter
1/2c sugar plus scant 1T, divided
1t salt
2 pkg yeast
1/2c warm water
4-6c AP flour
1t grated or dried lemon peel
2 eggs, beaten

For the filling:
500g poppyseeds
250g sugar (or a little less)
100g raisins
50g chopped walnuts
1T honey
almond extract, a few drops
cinnamon, as much as you like (I'm always generous)
1T butter, softened
6 egg whites  (save the yolks for an egg wash)

Combine butter, milk, 1/2c sugar and salt in a small pot and turn on heat on low.  Once the butter has melted and sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.

Once the butter/milk mixture has cooled, add warm water to a small bowl and sprinkle with yeast and scant tablespoon of sugar.  Let stand 5-10min, until bubbly.

In the bowl of a stand mixture, add cooled butter/milk mixture and eggs, then using the whisk attachment mix until well combined.  Add 2c flour and lemon peel and mix well.  Change to the dough hook and with the machine running, add flour until the dough begins to pull away from the bowl.  Remove dough and place on a floured surface.  Continue to knead and add flour until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky.  Place in a bowl sprayed with nonstick spray, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling.  Bring 500ml water to a boil, and then pour over poppyseeds in a medium bowl.  Set aside to cool.  The original recipe said to grind the poppyseeds twice, but I didn't have much luck with a coffee grinder or blender, so I just proceeded with the recipe and it turned out fine.  If you want to try grinding, best of luck!  Add sugar (I started with 150g), raisins, walnuts, honey, almond extract, cinnamon and butter and mix well.  In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until they form soft peaks.  Gently fold egg whites into the poppyseed mixture and taste.  Add more sugar, if necessary (I ended up using adding a bit more).

Preheat oven to 350deg.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down.  Cut the dough into 3 pieces (when I did two they came out way too large!) and cover them with a towel.  One at a time, roll out each piece of dough into a rectangle.  Spread out 1/3 of the poppyseed filing, leaving 1" on the edges.  Starting from the long side of the dough, roll up tightly.  Transfer to a cookie sheet (I baked mine on a pizza stone) and brush with the an egg wash made from several yolks mixed with a drop or two of water.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-45min (the time will depend on the size of the loaf), until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.  Let cool on a rack before cutting.

Looking at these pictures again, my mouth is watering!  While we usually make this for Easter, I'm thinking there's no reason not to enjoy it any time of year :)

Have you every tried a poppyseed roll?  Or ever tried grinding poppyseeds--any advice??

Two Restaurants for Mother's Day: Michael's in Santa Monica and Maison Giraud in Pacific Palisades

Mother's Day is a special time to appreciate our mothers and the mothers of our children. A leisurely meal in a pleasant surrounding is the perfect way to celebrate the women who are so central to our lives.

Brunch is the preferred meal for Mother's Day, when a sunny late morning adds to the celebration.

Michael's Restaurant (1147 Third Street, Santa Monica, CA 90403; 310/451-0843), located on Third Street in Santa Monica, half a block north of Wilshire, has an elegant dining room with the relaxed feeling of a private home. Surrounding diners at the rear of the restaurant, a lush patio garden obliterates all traces of the busy city a few feet away.

By staying focused on farmers market fresh, seasonal ingredients, owner/chef Michael McCarty has pulled off a magic trick, staying contemporary and innovative even as the culinary landscape changed. When the restaurant opened, market fresh produce was a rallying cry for a few talented chefs. Nowadays, just about every restaurant says it buys locally and seasonally.

The difference then as now is that fresh ingredients are a good beginning but to be something special, they must be prepared by a talented chef with a great palate.

For the West Side, Michael's is a member of a small group of upscale restaurants. On the spring menu, starters are priced from $18 for a half dozen raw oysters to $22 for the Maine lobster gnocchi with mains ranging from $34 for the Jidori half-chicken to $44 for the rack of lamb and New York steak.

But Happy Hour at Michael's is a bargain and it begins early (Monday-Friday 5:00pm; Saturday 6:0pm). Michael keeps Happy Hour happy until closing. With flavors inspired by the larger menu, the snacks are as varied as an crostini with duck confit or with burrata, arugula and Parmigiano-Reggiano, truffle-thyme fries, Andouille sausage with beer caramelized onions, piquillo pepper and avocado salad and an upscale riff on Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles in the Jidori wings with maple syrup and chile salt (addictive!).

For Mother's Day, Michael's has a Sunday brunch from 11:30am-2:00pm. The prix fix menu for adults ($65.00/person) and for children under ten ($30.00/person) has four to five choices per course in a three course brunch. The dishes are elegant (oysters with blood orange mignonette, petit prime filet with English peas, Shimeji mushrooms and white corn) and familiar (Eggs Benedict, Cobb salad, blueberry pancakes with chicken sausage or smoked bacon). Dessert is sensible (strawberry-oatmeal crisp with creme fraiche ice cream) or complex and rich (dark chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate ganache and raspberries).

If you want to toast mom, Michael's has an excellent wine cellar, including wines McCarty grows and bottles at his Malibu home, and a selection of delicious cocktails (a blood orange mimosa, Stoli bloody bull, "smoke love" with single malt scotch and smoked mescal, the "dark side of the moon," a wicked mixture of gin, vermouth, orange juice, lime orange oil simple and Creme de Violette! and a "frozen white lady," a sweet, ice cold, lemony confection of a drink).

Up the hill from Santa Monica, Maison Giraud (1032 Swarthmore Avenue, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272; 310/459-7561) is an outpost of French cuisine in suburban Pacific Palisades. Paired down and minimalist, the dining room is elegantly efficiently. Outside on the covered patio, diners enjoy eating at sidewalk tables, shaded by trees.

Alain Giraud wants the restaurant to be a relaxed gathering place for everyone wanting a good meal in a quiet setting. Like McCarty, Giraud is a habitué of farmers markets, looking for the freshest, best tasting, seasonal products he can find.

In the bakery he shows his deft hand with buttery, effervescent croissants, brioche, Danish, and other sweet and crisp pastries. 

For Mother's Day, Giraud will serve brunch from 10:30am-2:30pm featuring the usual menu with a selection of omelets, custardy scrambled eggs, French toast, Nicoise salad, grilled salmon, quiche and Eggs Benedict. For Mother's Day, he has added a green asparagus salad with citrus vinaigrette, roasted halibut and spring vegetables and for dessert, a strawberry and pistachio confection.

Besides dining at the restaurant, Mother's Day can also be celebrated at home by ordering from the bakery and the take-out menu.