Consider the Oyster (Stuffing)!

                        
Back in 1941, M.F.K. Fisher wrote vibrantly, wickedly, about love, death (and stew) amongst the molluscs in her seminal tome Consider The Oyster. So, I got to thinking...how about considering an oyster stuffing for Thanksgiving this year?

If you are curious as to what it’s all about, the recipe is below. Whatever you serve, have a wonderful time with family, found family, and friends. And THANKS for reading Evenings with Peter!

“The oysters were curious too, weren’t they...”
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Oyster Stuffing

In a large pot, melt 4 tbsp butter over high heat until it smokes gently. 

Add 2 ribs diced celery, 1 large diced onion, 1 diced bell pepper, 1 1/2 jalapenos (seeded and minced), 7 cloves minced garlic, and 2 1/2 tbsp poultry seasoning. Lower to medium heat and saute until browned and tender, 15 minutes. 

Stir in 3 cups shucked oysters (purhcase a tin, already shucked!) and their liquid. Cook until edges curl, 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. 

Stir in 8 cups crisp bread cubes, followed by 1 cup chicken or turkey stock. Add 1 more pack of stuffing mix and 4 eggs to incorporate. 

Season with salt and pepper. Fold in 2 cups chopped parsley, 2 sliced green onions, and 1 1/2 tsp minced rosemary.

Stuff in a 12 lb turkey. Or, bake in a greased casserole at 350 F until golden, 30-45 minutes.

Darling Clementine

Get a little Tipsy this Thanksgiving! Sweet Potato Tipsy, that is, courtesy of Clementine Paddleford.

Although she was once considered the pioneer of American food writing, Ms. Paddleford is largely forgotten today. I first encountered her in the pages of Saveur magazine some years ago and among the other recipes featured in the article, I was particularly enamored with these creamy sweet potatoes shot with a solid dose of sherry. 

I like to celebrate her memory by serving Sweet Potato Tipsy over the holidays, and I think you’ll agree this wonderfully warming dish is perfectly suited to a Thanksgiving table.  

Below is a picture of Miss Paddleford’s cookbook How America Eats, peeking out from under a platter of her scrumptious ginger cookies. Bake a batch to keep the kids busy this season! Click here for the recipe and to learn more about the great Clementine Paddleford. 

P.S. If you would like to make further use of sweet potatoes, click here.

Sweet Potato Tipsy
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
8 medium sweet potatoes
2 pinches of salt
7 tbsp butter
1⁄2 cup half and half
1⁄4 cup dry sherry
3 tbsp brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Put 8 medium sweet potatoes into a large pot, cover with cold water, and add 2 generous pinches of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium, and cook until soft when pierce, 30-40 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

2. Peel potatoes and transfer to a large bowl. Coarsely mash potatoes with the tines of a fork, then add 5 tbsp. softened butter, 1⁄2 cup half-and-half, 1⁄4 cup dry sherry, and 3 tbsp. brown sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Transfer sweet potato mixture to a buttered medium baking dish, dot with 2 tbsp. butter, and bake until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.


First published in Saveur in Issue #62

 

BOOK/A TABLE - Rollin' on the River

Percival Everett’s remarkable novel James reimagines The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as narrated from the enslaved Jim’s perspective. The New York Times bestseller was also recently announced as Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year.

During Jim and Huck’s journey together down the Mississippi river, they discover a stash of books that includes Candide. I loved Jim’s testament to the transporting nature of reading:

       “I pulled my sack of books closer, reached in and touched one. I let my hand linger there, a flirtation of sorts. The small thick book I’d wrapped my fingers around was the novel. I had never read a novel, though I understood the concept of fiction. It wasn’t so unlike religion, or history, for that matter. I pulled the book from the bag. I checked to see if Huck was still sleeping soundly and then I opened it. The smell of the pages was glorious.

       In the country of Westphalia...
       I was somewhere else. I was not on one side of that damned river or the other. I was not on the Mississippi. I was not in Missouri.”

Now, the friends don’t find a lot to eat during their travels (their bread ruined, they mostly subsist on catfish and berries), but talk about nourishment! Huck couldn’t read much, but Jim was thankful that he could feed his soul.

What are you reading that feeds your soul? What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? While you chew on that, think about making these traditional yeast rolls courtesy of Southern Living to share with your family and friends as you break bread together for the holiday.

Why? Because that’s how you roll, of course.

Click on the Southern Living link below for tips and make-ahead options and do enjoy!

Buttery Yeast Rolls
Adapted from Southern Living Test Kitchen
By Southern Living Test Kitchen
Yield: 32 rolls

Ingredients
2 (1/4-oz) envelopes active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
1 1/4 cups warm water (105° to 115°F), divided
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
5 to 5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, as needed, divided, plus more for work surface
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tsp flaky sea salt

Directions
Activate yeast:
Stir together yeast and 1/4 cup of the warm water in a large bowl; let stand until mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

Make dough:
Add eggs, shortening, sugar, salt, 2 cups of the flour, and remaining 1 cup warm water to yeast mixture. Beat with a wooden spoon until well combined and smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually stir in 3 cups of the flour until a soft dough forms, adding up to 1/4 cup remaining flour if dough is too sticky.

Complete first rise:
Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel; let rise in a warm place (about 80°F) until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Divide dough into rolls:
Punch down dough in bowl. Turn out onto a floured work surface, and knead until slightly smoother, 3 to 4 times. Divide in half. Working with 1 portion at a time and keeping remaining dough covered, shape each portion evenly into 16 balls (about 2 heaping tablespoons each). If baking right away, skip to Step 6.

Freeze dough balls if making ahead:
To freeze, arrange dough balls about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap. Freeze until solid, about 4 hours. Transfer to a freezer-safe zip-top bag. Seal bag, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at least 8 hours in the refrigerator, covered, before using.

Complete second rise:
Arrange fresh or frozen dough balls in 2 lightly greased (with cooking spray) 9-inch square metal baking pans. Cover each pan with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place (about 80°F) until slightly more than doubled in size, about 1 hour. If dough balls were frozen, let rise about 1 hour, 30 minutes. You can also let the dough rise in the refrigerator overnight. Let sit at room temperature while the oven preheats before baking.

Bake rolls:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove plastic wrap from baking pan. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from oven, brush evenly with butter, and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Serve warm.

Turkey in Turks!

Baby whisked me away to Turks and Caicos islands for an incredible Thanksgiving vacation this year. We stayed in Provo with friends for a few days and also shacked up at the breathtaking, sprawling Grace Bay Club resort. While our hosts assumed their respective posts working on a holiday that is not necessarily celebrated there, Baby and I hit the supermarket for groceries and set to work ourselves, to create our Thanksgiving candlelit midnight supper! The chalkboard with the menu above is my handiwork, and the price per person listed on the lower right hand corner was merely foolishness.

Here's our table in the glorious sunshine garden, before we set up and descended for the feast.

While our neighbor created Jamie Oliver's Dinner Lady Carrots and Soldier Leeks with Bacon next door, Baby injected our 22 pound turkey with sherry and melted butter and stuffed it full of onions, oranges, lemons, tangerines, rosemary, parsley and thyme. I got a good handful of softened butter and gently rubbed it underneath the skin and yes, I tore a bunch of parsley apart and further placed it under the skin as well to form a heart shape.

We trussed our Tom with kitchen twine...and into the oven it went to ruminate for a few hours!

Having acquainted ourselves with the kitchen and putting out plates, utensils, serving ware and the cooking tools we'd need ahead of time, I made my usual Sweet Potato Tipsy and went out to set the table, while Baby made his mashed potatoes with herbed butter and Alouette creamy cheese and amazing cranberry-cherry-orange compote.

When guests arrived, Baby served a sentimental platter of Pigs & Blankets, the way his mother used to make, with the dogs wrapped up in Pillsbury puff pastry. Yellow and grainy mustards went alongside with a sort of ketchup sauce that I made up from a carton of sensuously red Kumato tomatoes that also veer toward black pearls in color, some balsamic vinegar and crystallized pineapple that was on hand.

Behold the beast with the parsley heart gracing its proud breast!

How quickly it was ravaged! And it was so tender, I daresay it was the best turkey I ever had. For me, the injection of sherry and butter is essential, and the bird also must be monitored with a meat thermometer.


Our table at night! And what a flurry it was!

The tryptophan clearly kicked in somewhere around here.

Our guests delighted in lemon and coconut Pepperidge Farm cakes, the old store-bought dressed up with some fresh blackberries and raspberries.

For leftovers the next day, we pored over turkey sandwiches wedged into local rolls and I pureed the Lady Carrots and Soldier Leeks with gravy and heavy cream for a marvelous soup.

And somehow we managed to keep Coco away from raiding everything until it was time for her to have leftovers of her own, which she devoured!