Recipes for a NewEnglandGrown Holiday

Side Dish for a Roast: Balsamic-Glazed Onions and Figs
Relish to Liven Up the Christmas Turkey: Cranberry Sauce with Horseradish
Main Course for a Holiday Dinner Party: Pumpkin Lasagna with Pork and Sage
Sippers for Snowman-makers, Sledders and Carolers: Apple Cider Three Ways
Dessert for an Elegant New Year’s Eve: Maple Syrup Parfait

 

Side Dish for a Roast:
Balsamic-Glazed Onions and Figs

This is an unusual side dish particularly well-suited to pork roasts, but also good with poultry or even beef.  The little boiler onions are a great find from local farm stands, with a sweetness and tenderness unmatched by other onions. Peeling them can be a fuss, but the easy method described below makes short work of that. 

Sadly, figs are not grown commercially in New England, though a few intrepid Portuguese and Italian gardeners have been known to coddle their trees through the long winter. The dried fruits retain their shape and structural integrity through the short simmer, but give up enough of their flavor to the syrup to elevate the whole dish beyond the ordinary.

1 pound boiler onions
8 oz. dried whole figs
1 cup chicken or beef stock
2 T butter
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Set figs to soak in stock.

Peel onions by dunking the onions first into boiling water for 2 minutes, then into cold water. Cut off the ends and slip onions from their skins.

Melt butter in large pan over medium heat.  Brown the onions until some browning shows on all sides, about ten minutes. Add the figs, stock and vinegar, lower the heat, and cover.  Cook at a low simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the onions are fork-tender. Uncover and increase the heat slightly, and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.

 

 

Side Dish to Liven Up the Christmas Turkey:
Cranberry Sauce with Horseradish

This simple sauce is a piquant alternative to the usual cranberry or cranberry-orange sauces. It makes a nice side for holiday roast or a good sandwich spread for the leftovers.  Local cranberries are available in many stores now, or you can order organic berries online from Cranberry Hill.

2 cups fresh cranberries
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
½ cup raisins
¼ cup prepared horseradish, or more to taste

Combine cranberries, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Cook five minutes, stirring occasionally, add the raisins, and cook three minutes more.  Allow to cool, and then add the horseradish.  Will last several days in the fridge.

 

 

 

Main Course for a Holiday Dinner Party:
Pumpkin Lasagna with Pork and Sage

Everyone knows that lasagna makes a great party dish – it can be made the day before and baked off at the last minute, it only calls for salad and bread to make a meal, and the leftovers make great lunches. But for these very reasons, regular tomato-ricotta-ground beef lasagna has become a dinner party cliché, too common to feel truly festive. This version, made with local pumpkin, ground pork and sage, brings life back to an old favorite. The hearty flavors are perfect for a winter night.

Pumpkins can last a long while in storage, so you should be able to find local ones at farm stores and some small markets.  Look for sugar pumpkins, intended for cooking, not decoration. You’ll need 2 pounds of pumpkin to produce about 2 cups of puree. Another winter squash, like butternut, can be substituted; prepare the same way. Also take to time to look for local pork – the breeds grown by small farmers can have flavor unmatched by factory-farmed pigs.

Although there are several steps, you can stop after any one and put everything in the fridge to wait until you are ready to go on. This makes the recipe easy to fit into a day of holiday errands or baking.  Remembering to season each element individually is the key to a full-flavored result.  Once assembled, the lasagna can sit refrigerated overnight before baking.

Pumpkin Mixture
2 pounds fresh pumpkin
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper

Cut the pumpkin(s) in half and scrape out the stringy insides and seeds.  Rub the inside with butter, sprinkle with a teaspoon of water, cover and bake on 350 until the flesh is soft, about an hour and a half.  Allow to cool, then remove the flesh from the peel and puree in a food processor. Whisk together nutmeg, egg, milk, salt and pepper and add to pumpkin puree. Set aside.

White Sauce
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 cups milk
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour, and stir over medium heat for about 30 seconds. Add milk slowly while whisking thoroughly.  Continue to cook while whisking gently over medium heat until mixture thickens, about five minutes. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.

Pork and Onions with Sage
1 pound ground pork
2 T oil
Salt and pepper
2 large onions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
Brown pork thoroughly in oil. Season with salt and pepper, then drain on paper towels to remove grease. Pour all but 1 T of fat from pan, and add onions.  Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden. Combine onions with sausage and sage and set aside.

Assembly
1 T olive oil
8 oz lasagne noodles, dry (1 box)
½ cup grated Parmesan
If using dry noodles, boil until cooked al dente, about 7 minutes. Spread first 1 T of oil, then a few spoonsful of sauce on the bottom of the pan, then cover in noodles.  Spread with 1/3 pumpkin mixture, then another layer of noodles. Spread with ½ the sausage mixture and about 1/3 the remaining white sauce. Continue to layer, finishing with noodles and sauce.  Sprinkle with cheese, and bake for one hour, or until golden brown and bubbling.

 

 

Sippers for Snowman-makers, Sledders and Carolers:
Apple Cider Three Ways

New England is a region of orchards and apples.  Sure, we like hot cocoa as much as the next person, but, after an afternoon in the snow, we want cider. Fortunately, local apple cider is widely available from farm stores and some general grocery stores.  Although the traditional mulled cider below is the first choice of the younger set, adults might prefer one of our other options.  Before you head out into the winter wonderland, prep all three recipes, so when you come home, you can heat and serve.

Traditional Mulled Cider
1 quart apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon whole cloves
½ teaspoon whole allspice
2 tablespoon honey
Heat for about ten minutes over medium heat and serve warm.

Hot Apple-Ginger
1 quart apple cider
A 4-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into ½ inch slices
1 lemon, cut into 8 sections
Distribute the lemon and ginger slices evenly across four large mugs. Heat the cider until just simmering, then pour into the mugs.  Cover each mug with a saucer for five minutes to steep, then serve.

Toasted Apple
1 quart apple cider
4 ounces amaretto
4 ounces brandy
Pour one ounce each of amaretto and brandy in 4 large mugs.  Heat apple cider to just simmering, then distribute among the mugs and serve.

 

 

Dessert for an Elegant New Year’s Eve:
Maple Syrup Parfait

Have you ever had a real parfait?  I’m not talking about the layered pudding or ice cream desserts that have come to be known by the name.  I’m talking about a sophisticated frozen mixture of sugar syrup, eggs and cream that is still-frozen in a mold. A well-made parfait has a distinctive smooth, dense texture, something like a frozen version of a pots de crème. No one seems to make parfaits any more, which is too bad, because a parfait is more special and elegant than ice cream and doesn’t require an ice cream freezer.  Freezing the parfait in a loaf pan and unmolding makes  for a dramatic presentation, but you will have to work quickly before the parfait starts to melt.  Chilling the serving plate buys a few minutes, or you can take the easy way out and freeze the parfait in individually sized tempered glass dishes or in ramekins.

Choose a good local maple syrup. Grade B syrup actually has a stronger maple flavor than the paler, more refined Fancy or Grade A and is preferable in this recipe.  Of course, fresh local cream is best and doesn’t have the preservatives of supermarket cream. The tablespoon of bourbon improves the texture of the parfait by preventing crystallization and adds a hint of flavor; you can substitute plain vodka if you dislike bourbon. If you do like bourbon, you have my permission to add a second tablespoon.

 

Maple Parfait with Maple-Glazed Walnuts
4 egg yolks
¾ cup maple syrup
1 cup heavy cream
1 T bourbon

If forming in loaf pan, line the pan by cutting a strip as wide as the pan is long and setting across the sides and bottom of the pan, with a one-inch overhang on both sides. Set aside.

Beat eggs with an electric mixer for three minutes on medium. Warm syrup in a small saucepan over low just until warm to the touch, then add to the yolks in a slow stream while beating on medium speed.  Place the egg/syrup mixture in a bowl over a pot of just-simmering water and cook, stirring regularly, until the mixture reaches the custard stage – 185 degrees or when the mixture coats the back of a spoon. 

Remove from heat and beat the custard again until the mixture is nearly doubled in volume. Chill the custard in the refrigerator until cold (give it at least an hour). Whip the cream with the bourbon to soft peaks, then fold into the custard. Pour the mixture into dishes or ramekins. Cover the exposed area with plastic wrap, not touching the top of the parfait, and freeze until firm.

If using pan, unmold by running a hot knife along the ends of the loaf pan to separate the parfait, then invert on a serving plate. Use the overhanging waxed paper to pull out the parfait.

Garnish with glazed walnuts and more cream, if desired, and serve.

Maple Glazed Walnuts
Toast ½ cup walnut halves in a skillet until golden.  Add 2 T  maple syrup and cook, stirring, another 2 minutes, or until walnuts are coated.  Spread on a buttered pan to cool.