It’s nice to have a really hearty, hot dip as part of the spread when the ravenous football hordes are hungry. This is a jazzed up version of a classic sausage dip recipe, with warm, winter flavor.  Zesty Italian sausage with the bite of fennel is paired with woodsy sage and creamy, nutty fontina cheese, with a little kick of salty Parmesan to round it out.  Don’t skimp on the sage, as it really sets the tone for this dip.  Serve with hearty crackers, chips or toasted bread rounds, and maybe a knife for spreading should someone prefer to be dainty.

Italian Sausage Dip with Fontina and Sage

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

2 cloves garlic

1 generous handful sage leaves, finely chopped

8 ounces cream cheese

4 ounces fontina cheese. grated

8 ounces sour cream

1 ounce parmesan cheese, grated

Break the sausage into small pieces and cook in large sauté pan over medium heat. Use a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon to break the meat up into very small pieces, almost crumbs.  Remember you will be eating this as a dip or spread and big chunks are too hard to eat.  Cook until the sausage is no longer pink.  Put the garlic cloves through a garlic press (or very finely mince them) into the pan, stir and cook for another minute.  Sprinkle half the chopped sage over the sausage and stir until wilted. Drain any excess fat from the pan.  Cut the cream cheese into small cubes and add to the sausage, stirring until it melts.  Add the fontina and stir until the cheese begins to melt and become creamy.  Stir in the sour cream and the remaining sage and cook over medium heat until everything is melted, smooth and bubbly.  Sprinkle over the parmesan cheese and stir.

Transfer the dip to an oven safe baker and serve immediately, or the dip can be cooled and refrigerated overnight at this point.  When ready to serve, heat the dip in a 350° oven until hot through and bubbly, stirring a few times. Serve with crackers, bread rounds or corn chips.

Serves 8 -1 0, can be doubled

These nuts are another cocktail party recipe.  Yes, they are perfect for nibbling at a cocktail party, but I really say this because I picked up the idea at a cocktail party.  Some ladies and I were standing around with our drinks, nibbling on a bowl of glazed pecans and chatting about various flavored nut recipes.  One of the ladies remarked that her grandmother always made “these peanuts that she boiled in sugar syrup.” As is my wont, I asked for details.  She didn’t know anything more, just that her grandmother used to fix up a huge kettle of peanuts boiling in sugar and
water.

These ideas stick with me, long after the party is over. I experimented occasionally over the years, overthinking the idea as it turns out, until I got it right.  Raw peanuts simply boiled in sugar syrup.  These little gems are not as sweet as you might think, and the salt adds a nice balance to each bite.  The peanut flavor really shines through.  They will keep in an airtight container for quite a while, so they make a great little gift.  But put a bowl on the bar, and your guests will gobble them up.  I’ll admit, I made a batch on a Thursday to photograph over the weekend, and they were all gone before the camera came out.

Sugared Peanuts

Raw peanuts are the key.  Ready-roasted ones will not soak up the syrup.  Look for them in the bulk section of a health food store or market. 

2 cups water

2 cups granulated sugar

4 cups raw peanuts

Salt

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line 2 rimmed baking sheets completely with non-stick foil, or foil greased with a light coat of oil.

Stir the water and sugar together is a large, high-sided saucepan.  You want plenty of room for the peanuts, so you can stir them around and avoid the pot boiling over. Bring the syrup to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Stir in the peanuts and cook in the syrup, stirring frequently, until the peanuts absorb the syrup.  This may take 20 – 30 minutes.  As the process comes to the end, and almost all the syrup is absorbed, stir constantly to prevent scorching.  When there is only a little syrup left in the pan, put the prepared baking sheets by the stove and very quickly transfer the peanuts to the pans using a slotted spoon.  Shake the spoon to let any remaining syrup drip off. Keep the pot on the heat, being carefully of the really hot syrup.  If you take it off the heat, and the peanut syrup will immediately seize up and granulate. Spread the peanuts out in one layer on the first pan, trying to prevent many from clumping up. You largely want individual nuts, not peanut brittle.  Sprinkle a little table salt over the peanuts and place in the oven.  Repeat with the remaining baking sheet.  Bake the nuts for 10 – 12 minutes, until they are lightly golden.  Rotate the trays between racks at 5 minutes so the bottom pan doesn’t burn.

Cool the nuts on the baking pans.  You can break up any clumps with your fingers.

Makes 4 cups

I always think it’s nice to start off the Thanksgiving celebrations with a special cocktail and a few nibbles.  It sets a convivial mood and keeps everyone occupied while the last touches of the meal are being tended too.  Frankly, I like to have everyone’s hands busy while I am trying to get the food on the table so they stay out of my way!

This lovely little tipple is redolent of fall, with a hint of woodsy rosemary and sweet juicy pear.  I love to have the rosemary simple syrup around to sweeten other cocktails or a cup of tea, so make whole batch. The elderflower liqueur is optional, but adds a secret floral undertone that really brightens the drink.  I love this as a sophisticated martini, but you could also up the amount of simple syrup and serve it over ice topped with soda as a long drink.  And increase the amounts as much as needed to serve your guests.

Rosemary Pear Martini

For one drink:

1 Tablespoon rosemary simple syrup*

2 Tablespoons pear vodka (such as Absolut Pear)

½ Tablespoon St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

½  cup pear juice (such as Ceres or Looza)

Place all the ingredients over a handful of ice in a shaker or pitcher.  Shake or stir well.  Strain into a martini glass.

For a pitcher:

¼ cup plus 2 Tablespoons rosemary simple syrup

¾ cup pear vodka

3 Tablespoons St. Germain Liqueur

3 cups pear juice

Place all the ingredients in a pitcher over ice.  Stir well, then strain into martini glasses.

Makes 6 drinks

*Rosemary Simple Syrup

In a medium saucepan, stir together 1 cup sugar and one cup water.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve, and drop in a handful of rosemary stalks.  Stir to submerge the rosemary and boil for 3 minutes until the sugar is dissolved.  Remove from the heat, cover the pan, and leave to cool.  The syrup can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Makes 1 cup

Gravy is essential to a Thanksgiving turkey, but only if it is good gravy.  And what makes gravy good is delicious drippings from a beautifully roasted bird. Many gravy methods involve making it right in the pan the turkey was cooked in, to scrape up all the bits and juices.  And that’s great.  But I realized some years ago that trying to do this while my family stands around the kitchen impatiently waiting for their food is impractical.  So I now make a rich gravy base the day before, and stir in the lovely juices when the bird has cooked.  Bacon grease, caramelized onions and a bit of bourbon add flavor to the base, but don’t worry if it seems a little bland at first.  Whisking in the juices brings everything together in a gorgeous golden gravy.  The onions may make your gravy look a bit lumpy, but the flavor is brilliant.

Make-Ahead Gravy for your Turkey

2 Tablespoons bacon grease or oil

2 cups finely diced onion (from about 1 ½ onions)

2 Tablespoons bourbon

2 Tablespoons butter

4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups turkey or chicken stock

Drippings from your turkey, skimmed of fat

Salt and pepper to taste

Pick out a medium sized, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, and make a paper lid for stewing the onions by cutting out a circle from a piece of parchment or waxed paper that will fit tightly over the surface of the onions. This is called a cartouche, by the way.  Melt the bacon drippings in the saucepan and add the onions before the grease gets too hot.  Sauté gently over medium until the onions are soft and translucent, stirring frequently.  Don’t let the onions scorch or brown.  Add the bourbon and cook, stirring, until it is almost all evaporated.  Turn the heat to low. Place the parchment paper circle over the top of the onion pressing directly on the surface.  Cook the onions until soft and caramelized and golden brown, removing the paper once or twice and stirring, replacing the paper lid, about 20 minutes.

When the onions are lovely and golden, add the butter and stir until it is melted.  Sprinkle over the flour and stir to coat the onions.  Cook for about three minutes, then begin slowly whisking in the stock.  Continue whisking until your gravy base is quite thick. It will thin out when you add the turkey drippings.  The base may look and taste a bit bland now, but that will be fixed when we add the drippings.  At this point, you can cool the gravy base, cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to serve, reheat the gravy over low heat, stirring to heat it through.  Skim the fat from your turkey drippings, either by letting the juices settle and skimming off the fat the collects on the top, or use a nifty gravy separator if you’ve got one.  Slowly whisk the drippings from your roasted turkey into the gravy base, tasting as you go, until you have a nice, rich taste.  You don’t want to pour in all the juices and thin the gravy out too much.  Cook the gravy, whisking constantly, to thicken it up as needed.  Taste before adding any salt, as the turkey drippings may be quite salty.  Add pepper to taste if you’d like.

I love cooking with pumpkin, so Halloween and the dawn of autumn present all sorts of opportunities in the kitchen.  I have always been obsessed with sweet pumpkin dishes, but I have been expanding my repertoire to savory ideas as well.

Working with fresh pumpkin is not difficult, you just need to be careful and use a good, sturdy knife.  The texture of freshly grated pumpkin is a world away from the standard canned puree.  If you have a half or a wedge of pumpkin leftover, brush it with olive oil and roast it after you’ve made the cornbread.  Scoop out the soft puree and use it to make soup or jazz up mashed potatoes.  You can even freeze it for later.  I love the garlic notes in this, but if it is not your thing, leave it out.  And a generous grinding of black pepper adds real pep.  This cornbread is delicious with a bowl of soup or chili, toasted and spread with butter.

Pumpkin Cornbread

2 -3 pound pie pumpkin, to make 11 ounces grated flesh

5 Tablespoons butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cups yellow cornmeal

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup milk

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 clove garlic, pressed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Using a big, sturdy, sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out all the seeds and fibrous center. Cut one pumpkin half into wedges and carefully cut away the skin.  Cut the flesh into chunks and grate it in the food processor or using a large box grater.  If you use a food processor and the grated strands are very long, run a knife through them to cutthe strands down to size. Weigh out the flesh, and cut and grate more pieces to reach 11 ounces.

Place one Tablespoon butter in a 9-inch round baking dish and place it in the oven.

In a large bowl, toss the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt, pepper and nutmeg together with a fork.  Add the grated pumpkin and tossto coat. Make a well in the center and add the milk, butter and eggs.  Stir with fork to mix well.  Put the garlic clove through a garlic press, then stir the batter to make sure it is evenly distributed.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and use a pastry brush to spread the melted butter up and around the sides of the pan.  Quickly scrape the batter into the dish and return to the oven.  Cook for 20 – 25 minutes until puffed, firm and golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm from baking or toasted.

Serves 6 – 8

Recipe magic.  I love things like this.  I  ran across this recipe in a number of old-school community cookbooks.  Enough times that I finally had to try it, to see if it could really work. I shouldn’t have doubted the vaunted cooks of the community recipe collection.  It works, and it is genius.  Now, it is not quite the same as a delicate French soufflé, one that involves whipping egg whites and gentle folding, but those come with the added risk of the dreaded collapse.  But this is light, and if there is an easier, more impressive recipe I have yet to find it.

Let me say one thing.  Don’t question the recipe. I did, and it was a waste of time.  This works. I don’t know why buttering the bread slices And the blender will be full, but it works.  This soufflé is an amazing accompaniment to roasted meats.  It’s good on its own, or with a good tomato sauce.  It makes a great side dish or a lovely luncheon dish with a light green salad.  Whip this up for a weekend brunch, and your diners will be blown away by your skill in the kitchen.

Blender Cheese Soufflé

10 slices hearty white sandwich bread

¼ cup butter (1/2 stick), softened

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

2 cups milk

4 eggs

½ teaspoon ground dry mustard

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Generous pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Butter a 2 quart ceramic casserole dish.

Remove the crusts from the bread, then butter each slice.  Cut the buttered bread into chunks and set aside. Cut 4 ounces of the cheese into small cubes, and grate the other half on a box grater and set aside.

Place milk and eggs in the carafe of a blender. Stuff the bread and the cheese cubes into the blender.  The blender is going to be full, so stuff everything in there.  Run the blender a few times to get things going.  You’ll need to push the ingredients down into the blender.  Add the seasonings and blend again until the batter is completely smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared casserole dish.  Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over the batter and stir to combine with the batter.

Bake the soufflé for 45 – 50 minutes until it is puffed in the center and golden and no longer wobbles.  If it starts to brown too much, loosely cover with foil while baking.

Serve immediately. The soufflé will deflate a little as it cools.

Serves 6 – 8

A good potato salad is something of an essential for the backyard cookout or grilling session.  It can be made ahead, and adds that substantial heft to a burger or hot dog plate.  And a homemade potato salad is so much better than a bag of cheap chips.  Served next to a steak, it’s downright elegant.

A very good cook I know, with, let’s say a few more years of wisdom than me, shared the vinegar secret.  She told me the only way to get any flavor in potato salad is vinegar in the water and vinegar on the spuds.  And I think she’s right.  I prefer mellow cider vinegar, but plain old white works just as well.  This dressing is a garlic-y riff on classic green goddess herb dressing.  I add some crumbled bacon because I like bacon with, well, everything, but feel free to leave it out if you are having a meat-heavy meal.

Garlic Goddess Potato Salad

2 pounds small potatoes, yellow, red or a mix

¾ cup cider vinegar, divided

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup well-shaken buttermilk

2 green onions

3 Tablespoons finely chopped chives

Generous handful of parsley leaves, finely chopped

2- 3 cloves garlic

½ pound bacon, cooked and chopped into pieces (optional)

Scrub the potatoes well and cut them into bite-sized pieces, all about the same size so they cook evenly. Place the potatoes in a large Dutch oven and cover with water by about 1 inch.  Add ½ cup of the vinegar and bring to a boil.  Cook the potatoes until tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 15 minutes.  You want your potatoes cooked through and soft, but not falling apart.

Drain the potatoes in a colander, and return to the pan.  Pour over the remaining ¼ cup vinegar and gently stir to coat the potatoes. Leave to cool while you make the dressing.

Place the mayonnaise, buttermilk, herbs and garlic in the carafe of a blender and blend until smooth. Taste it, and if you’d like to add more garlic, feel free.  Pour the dressing over the cooled potatoes and toss lightly to coat without breaking up the potatoes.  Add the bacon if you are using it. Taste, and add salt if needed. Chill until ready to serve.

The potato salad will keep covered in the fridge for up to 2 days, though you might consider tossing in the bacon right before serving to keep it crispy.

Serves 6

The combination of peaches and ginger is a favorite of mine, and in these muffins, it really shines.  These muffins are not too sweet, but burst with flavor and texture.  Fresh, in-season peaches are such a summer treat, make the most of the season.

Use real ginger ale for this – the kind you find at natural food stores or specialty markets.  Fortunately, it is frequently sold by the bottle in the refrigerated drinks section, so you won’t have to buy a whole six-pack.  I like Blenheim’s and Reid’s, but make sure you don’t buy the spicy or hot variety for this recipe.  I find crystaliized ginger already chopped into little chunks pretty easily, but if all you find are big pieces, use scissors to cut it into small bites.

 Peach and Ginger Muffins

 2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

2 fresh peaches

3 Tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

6 Tablespoons real ginger ale

turbinado or granulated sugar for sprinkling

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease 12 muffin cups.

 In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and ginger lightly with a whisk to break up lumps of sugar. Add the melted butter, sour cream and eggs and stir just until mixed – do not overwork.

Cut the peaches, with the skin on, into small chunks.  Drop peaches and crystallized ginger into batter and lightly stir just to mix.  Lightly stir in the ginger ale.  Muffins need to be just mixed, the batter will still be a bit lumpy.  Spoon into muffin cups, they will be nice and full. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until a tester inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Makes 12 muffins

This also works well with plums.

I don’t really know what else I can say about this recipe.  It’s a rich, Southern version of butterscotch sauce with fresh peaches cooked right in, and a nice little kick of bourbon.  Of course, this is great over a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.  But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that my favorite way to eat this is with a spoon.  A few slices of fresh peaches on the ice cream amps up the flavor, and a sprinkling of chopped pecans ain’t a bad touch either.

Peach Butterbourbon Sauce

2 large peaches or 3 small, peeled and pitted

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

¼ cup bourbon

Cut the peaches into small chunks and set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then stir in the sugar and stir until melted.  Carefully pour in the bourbon and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, and add the chopped peaches.  Simmer until the peaches are completely soft and disintegrating into the sauce.  The ripeness of the peaches will determine how long this takes.

When the peaches are completely soft, puree the sauce with an immersion blender until smooth.  If you don’t have an immersion blender, mash the peaches with a sturdy wooden spoon, then press the sauce through a wire sieve.

Serve warm over ice cream.  The sauce will keep in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.  Reheat gently in the microwave, stirring frequently, to loosen up.

Makes about 1 ½ cups sauce

Summer food for me is all about bounty.  There is so much fresh, healthy food available, I worry about how I can enjoy as much as possible more than the idea that I might not have access to it at all.  I cook fresh meals for myself, and spend a lot of time putting things up for winter, like these simple Dilly Beans.  Not because I have to, but because I want to.  Sometimes I have so much fresh produce in the house, I have a hard time deciding what to cook next.  Making dinner is a joy, not a worry, because my choices are so vast and diverse.

But for millions of American kids and families, summer is about the opposite of bounty.  It’s a frightening time, when the school lunch program is not an option,  parents worry about how they can feed their families, kids have to skip meals and they don’t get the proper nutrition growing bodies need.  Summer is a struggle, not a carefree holiday. 

Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Summer Meals campaign works to combat this problem.  So do your local food banks, and many food pantries are faced with empty shelves in the summer months when demand is high.  So as we all enjoy the beauty and bounty of summer cooking, please remember those who don’t have that pleasure.  Donate to Share Our Strength or your local food bank.  Organize a food drive in your neighborhood or workplace.  I think there is an idea for a fun summer project for the kids in there!  Please, share ideas you have for helping local kids and communities in the comments section.

Dilly Beans

Old fashioned versions of this always look so pretty with full heads of dill tucked inside, so if you have dill growing or a place where you can buy full dill seed heads, use about three of those with one dill sprig.

¾ pound fresh green beans (enough to fill a quart jar)

2 cups apple cider vinegar

2 cups water

4 Tablespoons canning salt or 3 Tablespoons table salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon dill seed

2 cloves garlic

4 – 5 stalks fresh dill

Trim the ends off the beans, making sure they are a length to stand in the jar. Blanch the beans in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and cover with ice cubes to stop the cooking. Toss the ice around to get to all the beans.  Drain.

Clean a one quart jar with two piece lid.  Stack the beans, the garlic cloves and the dill sprigs in the jar.  I find it easiest to do this with the jar on its side, so the beans stack on top of each other and stay upright. 

Bring the vinegar, water, seeds, salt and sugar to a full rolling boil and boil for 2 minutes.  Carefully pour the liquid over the beans in the jar to cover, leaving a ¼ inch head space at the top.  Immediately put on the top and screw on the band.  Leave to cool 8 hours or so, then refrigerate.   There may be more pickling liquid than you need, just discard the remainder.

To can the beans for longer term storage, process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes immediately after pouring in the hot vinegar and screwing on the lid and band. Here are step by step instructions for canning.