Show Us Some Love, Vote for Cook and Craft to be “Best of the CT Gold Coast”

Do you love our store? Then let your fellow CT residents know about us… Vote Cook and Craft to be “Best of the Gold Coast” in Home and Retail Services Category.

Many thanks!

Guiltless Luxury: Sustainable Meats. Fro

Guiltless Luxury: Sustainable Meats. From veal to rabbit to foie gras: 5 sources for humanely raised high-end meats. http://ow.ly/9Kzzn

Refreshing herbal cocktail, to usher in

Refreshing herbal cocktail, to usher in the warm weather of Springtime. via @Food52 http://food52.com/blog/3058_lemon_ginger_basil_cooler

Spring Colors Are Popping Up In Our Store

Took a few pictures last week… We have some great Spring colors for your kitchen/ table. http://ow.ly/9KnaD

Charleston Gumbo

Ahhh… The first snow of 2012 got us thinking of a warming stew for dinner. So we tried this spicy thick seafood ‘soup,’ the Charleston Gumbo.  It’s easy to make and cleaning up is also easy because there’s only one pot to clean! This dish will definitely warm you up, and when served in one of Le Creuset‘s colorful Cast Iron Casseroles it will cheer up a wintry night.

Serves: 4/6                  Preparation and Cooking 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients

• 125 grams chopped bacon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 green chilli, seeded and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 2 small red chillies, seeded and chopped
• 500 g peeled and chopped tomatoes
• 500 g new potatoes cut into 1cm dice
• 225 g okra, cut into 1 cm slices
• a pinch of cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 cups fish stock or water
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 450 g cod fillet, cut into 6 cm pieces
• 1 kg large raw shrimp
• 1 kg small raw clams
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, to garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat a Casserole on a low to medium heat for 3 – 4 minutes.
2. Add the bacon and cook, stirring until the fat begins to run. Add the olive oil with the onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic and chillies. Reduce the heat to low and cook these vegetables until they begin to soften.
3. Add the tomatoes and all the remaining ingredients, except the seafood.
4. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the vegetables are very tender. Add all the seafood, stirring well.
5. Cover again and cook for 5 to 8 minutes longer until the cod is cooked and the clams are open; discard any clams that remain closed.
6. Just before serving, stir in the chopped parsley and season.
7. To serve: Ladle over cooked long grained rice.
8. Bon Appétit!

This Saturday, It’s Party Time in Old Greenwich!

This Saturday is the First Light Festival in downtown Old Greenwich. Come join your friends and neighbors to celebrate the coming of Winter. Tons of fun activities for children and tasty snacks and drinks for everyone. This is the block party you don’t want to miss!

Peanut Turkey with Apples and Carrots

Photo: Tasting Table

Whoa… Hold the press! When I first got an email for Southern-inspired Thanksgiving recipes from Tasting Table, a daily “food culture” newsletter, I was immediately drawn to the peanut aspect of the recipe. Over the years I have read many turkey recipes that involve exotic spices, rubs, and brine liquids… But peanuts?? I have never heard of combining peanuts with turkey before! I would like to share this with our Cook and Craft family… Hope you enjoy it and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

– Mel Harjono

Yield: 6 servings    Cook Time: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS

Turkey

One 12-pound turkey–giblets removed, turkey rinsed and patted dry

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage, plus 3 sprigs fresh sage, divided

4 baking apples (such as Macintosh)–cored, halved and divided

1 shallot, peeled

Half a medium lemon

8 large carrots, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise

2 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons peanut oil

Peanut-Butter Gravy

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup apple cider2 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salted peanuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Sprinkle the cavity and skin of the turkey liberally with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mash together 3 tablespoons of the butter with the chopped sage, salt and pepper. Carefully rub the seasoned butter under the turkey’s skin. Stuff the cavity with the remaining sage springs, 2 apple halves, shallot and lemon. Truss the turkey’s legs.

2. In a large roasting pan, add the 3 remaining apples and the carrots. Toss with the remaining teaspoon of sage butter. Season with salt and pepper and add the chicken stock. Transfer the turkey, breast side up, to a wire rack and fold the wing tips under the turkey; rub with the peanut oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Place the rack on top of the vegetables.

3. Place the pan in the oven and roast until the turkey is golden, about 45 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375° and roast, basting every 20 minutes with the pan sauce until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh reads 165°, about 1 to 1½ hours.

4. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

5. Make the gravy: Transfer the apples and carrots from the pan to a bowl and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Skim the fat off of the pan drippings and set the pan on two burners over medium heat. Deglaze the pan with the cider vinegar and whisk, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Add the flour to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, whisking constantly, until the gravy is thickened and the starch flavor is cooked out, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the apple cider and chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes. Whisk in the peanut butter and cook another 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste and keep warm.

6. Carve the turkey and serve warm with the caramelized carrots, peanut-butter gravy and salted peanuts.

Do a Thanksgiving Feast Like a Pro… Avoid these 10 rookie’s mistakes

So you wanna create an awesome, memorable Thanksgiving party?

The food editors at Bon Appetite magazine (clearly a source you can trust!) compiled these 10 most common Thanksgiving mistakes and gave us some common sense tips to avoid them. Believe it or not, we are guilty of committing at least a couple of mistakes on this list in the past. This list is a good reminder (like, read the recipe first!) for novice and pro-alike. May we all have a stress-free, delicious Thanksgiving this year… Cheers!

10 Most Common Thanksgiving Mistakes

Not reading the recipes first — This classic mistake results in a lot of “Oops, I don’t have that pan” or “oops, I didn’t know it needed to brine overnight.” Avoid these disasters by reading the recipes! Make sure you have the dishes needed and ample time to get things done.

Picking dishes that all require last-minute preparation… When designing the feast, figure out how it’s going to get put together and on the table at the same time. Know what can be done ahead, what can be warmed in the oven while the turkey rests, etc.

…Or that all need to be in the oven at the same time — Choose recipes that require different preparation and can be served at different temperatures; oven versus stovetop and hot versus room temp.

Not having all of the serving dishes and utensils needed — Reading the recipes will help you figure out what you might need, but you can always rearrange the dishes you have to fit with the right recipe. If you are short, borrow from friends and family.

Undercooking the turkey — Rely on internal temperatures rather than cooking time to determine when your bird is done. Don’t even think about roasting a turkey without a thermometer.

Overcooking the turkey — Start checking if it’s done about 1/2 hour before the recipe says it will be. But make it fast! The more you open the door, the more heat the oven will lose, making roasting time longer. OR, use a probe thermometer that stays in the turkey while it roasts, with an alarm that goes off when it’s ready.

Making lumpy mashed potatoes — Buy a potato ricer! It’s the best guarantee for a silky, lump-free mash.

Not serving hors d’oeuvres — Even if you’ve been tasting (read: snacking) all day as you cook, your guests haven’t. Put out something light, like cured salmon and crisps, to keep them hungry–but not ravenous–for the big meal.

Dishing out cold gravy — You can keep your gravy at serving temperature indefinitely by keeping it in a pot of barely simmering water that comes halfway up the sides of the gravy boat (although if you’re using grandma’s china, you might want to use a ceramic bowl).

Setting the table at the last minute – Set the table one day ahead. You can even put Post-It’s on serving dishes that say what recipe will go with which platter or bowl.

French Toast + Pancake = Awesomeness

photo: A Cozy Kitchen

File this under “Why did I not think of this genius idea before??” This scrumptious dish is a modified French toast… instead of the regular egg batter, dip the toast in pancake batter. The result is a firm yet moist toast with amazing crust. Give this recipe a try this weekend!

Ingredients
4 whole Large Eggs
1 cup All-purpose Flour
1 cup Milk
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla (optional)
½ teaspoons Cinnamon, Optional
12 slices Bread (you’ll Want Something Thick And Hearty To Stand Up To The Heavier Batter)

Instruction
Beat eggs until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients (except bread). Heat a griddle over medium high heat until a drop of water skitters across the pan. Dip one slice of bread at a time in the batter until it is completely covered. Place on the griddle and cook until brown on one side. Then, flip and brown the other side. You will know the bread is ready to flip in the same way you know pancakes are ready: the edges look dry and bubbles have formed in the batter along the crust. Slather with butter and drizzle on some maple syrup. These also freeze well for breakfast later in the week.

Red Tomato and Garlic Chutney

ToMAYto, toMAHto… Let’s not call the whole thing off, and make some chutney instead! The middle of summer is usually filled with an abundance of tomatoes. One can only eat so much of tomato salad. A great way to preserve this summer fruit is by canning, freezing, or making chutney with them. This recipe is an easy classic. Chutney sounds fancy, but it is so easy to make!

Ingredients — Makes about 6.5 cups

• 1 tsp. whole allspice
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 pieces fresh ginger, approximately 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches, bruised
• 3 1/4 pounds red tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 1 pound cooking apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1 pound onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 small garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 ml) red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. coarse salt
• 7/8 cup packed (200 grams) warmed good brown sugar

Methods –

1. Place the whole spices and bruised ginger in a piece of muslin and tie it into a bag with string.
2. Place all the ingredients except the sugar in a stainless steel preserving pan and bring to the boil, then simmer until tender. Add the warmed sugar and stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil, then simmer gently for approximately 1.5 hours until the chutney is think but still juicy, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove the muslin bag, then pour the chutney into hot, sterilized jars and seal.

To sterilize the jars –

European-style canning jars, which have glass tops, secured by a thick wire clamp are best for chutneys. Wash the jars in hot soapy water, rinse in hot water, and leave to air-dry. Place a folded dish towel on an oven shelf and lay the jars on their sides on top. Shortly before you need to use them, heat the oven to 225 F/ 110 C and leave the jars at this temperature for 20-30 minutes. The jars should still be hot when you fill them with hot jam or chutney.

Equipment note –

Preserving pan: a noncorrosive, nonreactive preserving pan, big enough to hold large quantities of boiling jam. Also known as a maslin pan or a jam pan, is wide and shallow to encourage rapid evaporation when bringing jam to setting point. A good quality pan will have a thick, heavy base, which will prevent any preserve from burning.