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Plan some fun with a cooking class at Kitchen Window! We have an incredible line-up of topics, menus and instructors. With hundreds of choices, a Kitchen Window cooking class makes a great outing with friends and family, as well as a wonderful date night. 
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Whether your celebration is traditional, innovative, or an eclectic potluck, we wish you the best of the season! Our sincere thanks for being a special part of our extended family!
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To Receive our E-Newsletter via email - Please subscribe to our mail list. Return to www.kitchenwindow.com Copyright 2011 - Kitchen Window and Acorn Advisors. ================================
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Newsletter - Text Version “New Twists for the Thanksgiving Table” We have a cornucopia of great holiday ideas and strategies for you! While most Thanksgiving food talk seems to focus on the turkey, we’re all about the side dishes this time! IN THIS ISSUE, we present some new ideas for your Thanksgiving celebration – a different kind of stuffing, a seasonal salsa, and a cake full of autumnal flavors. We explore sweet potatoes, wrangle a squash, and shed some light on how to make great gravy. Most importantly, we offer our thanks to you, our loyal customers that make our day every time you visit. Your support of our local business means a lot to us – we are truly grateful! Shopping Locally As an independent business that’s locally owned, we greatly appreciate your business. But something else happens when you shop with us, you help our shared local community. What happens when you shop at a locally owned business? Saturday, November 26th -- 2nd Annual Small Business Saturday Sweet Potatoes Besides the big bird, Thanksgiving tables hold autumn harvests of squash, apples, pumpkins, and nuts, and more. Root vegetables abound, fresh from the growing season, and capture our interest as superb seasonal features. Sweet potatoes are the up-and-coming vegetable this season. Don’t limit them to November, they’re a fantastic choice throughout autumn and winter. Some of us grew up with sweet potatoes prepared only one way – some sort of casserole topped with marshmallows. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this preparation, but sweet potatoes deserve to break free of the stereotype and take their rightful place as an incredibly versatile vegetable at any meal. Power Food Facts - Nutritionally packed with Vitamins A and C, and is a good source of complex carbohydrates, B vitamins, protein, iron, calcium and potassium. One medium-sized sweet potato is about 160 calories. Ideas for Eating More Sweet Potatoes: Baked Fried Mashed Pureed Roasted Sweet Root Mix with Maple Glaze Improvise a dish of autumn roots by roasting cubes of sweet potatoes, beets, and onions, or any combination of root vegetables that come your way. Toss in a few fresh cranberries for color if you like. Spread the cubed vegetables in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt. Bake in a 400°F oven until just tender, or about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the cubes. Turn the cubes halfway through baking. There should be signs of golden brown color on the edges and corners. (This roasting step can be done a day ahead of time). To finish, toss the cubes with the Maple-Mustard Glaze, and bake another 10-15 minutes until heated through and the glaze bubbles. Serve hot. Beautiful to behold, delicious to eat! Maple-Mustard Glaze – Mix well in a small bowl, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard, 1 clove minced garlic, and sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. If you’d like some added smoky heat, add 1 tablespoon of minced chipotles in adobo sauce. This amount of glaze will lightly coat about 4 sweet potatoes, 2 beets, and 1 onion. RECIPE: Minnesota Wild Rice Dressing with Dried Fruits Traditional stuffings are most often based on bread – this recipe places wild rice in the primary position. The special nutty flavor of the rice is accessorized with dried apricots and cranberries, toasted pine nuts and a mirepoix mix of onions, carrots and celery. Fresh herbs -- sage, thyme and parsley -- distinguish this dish. Use this stuffing either in the turkey or as a side. The best part? It can be made a day ahead of time! Recipes from The New Thanksgiving Table by Diane Morgan. Copyright © 2008. Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA. Reprinted with permission by the publisher. All rights reserved. Recipe Notes: Wild rice is not rice at all. Rather, the kernels stem from particular grasses that, like rice, thrive in wetlands. The grains, dark brown and nearly black, are much longer in length than traditional rice grains. Wild rice is cooked by boiling for about 45 minutes. Unlike regular rice, cook in excess water and drain when tender. Top Tools for Turkey Time All Clad Roaster - Sturdy pan for all your roasting needs this season. How to Wrangle a Butternut Squash Another orange vegetable that’s a powerhouse of good nutrition is squash. However, their toughness and unique shapes can be intimidating. Here’s how to wrangle a butternut squash in your kitchen: Scrub the surface of the squash. Optionally, you may wish to microwave the whole squash for a couple of minutes; it will be easier to peel. Create a flat surface for cutting stability. Cut a small piece off both the top and bottom with a sharp cook’s knife on a stable cutting board. Peel the squash with a sharp vegetable peeler. A serrated peeler often works better than a straight-edge peeler. Cut the squash in half lengthwise with the squash sitting upright on the larger flat end. Scoop out the seeds and membranes from the bulbous portion of the squash. Fresh Cranberry Salsa Cranberries, a classic part of the Thanksgiving table, are usually presented in some overly sweet formulation. Here we have a new twist on cranberries that pairs the tart, crunchy berries with onion, cilantro, chiles and lime juice as a great alternative. The salsa is delicious as a Thanksgiving table condiment, and the leftovers go well with tortilla chips during the weekend’s big games. Recipes from The New Thanksgiving Table by Diane Morgan. Copyright © 2008. Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA. Reprinted with permission by the publisher. All rights reserved. Building Better Gravy Making gravy used to be a weekly event right along with the Sunday pot roast. Eating habits have changed leaving the making of great gravy a big mystery! Turkey time is a good occasion for making gravy; the moisture and flavor couples with turkey slices to the benefit of both, while mashed potatoes and gravy are some place just short of heaven. There are many ways to make gravy; they all involve fat, a thickening agent and broth melded together into a flavorful sauce. Gravy can be made without roasting meat, but when pan drippings are available, delicious gravy results. Here’s our gravy plan for turkey day. (1) Pour pan drippings from the roasting pan into a gravy separator. The fat will rise to the top while the cooked meat juices drop to the bottom. Include as many brown bits from the roasting pan as possible. (2) Spoon two tablespoons of the fat from the top and place in a saucepan over medium-high heat. The remainder of the fat/oil will not be used. (3) Mix 2 tablespoons of softened butter with 2 tablespoons of flour into a smooth paste (beurre manie) and set aside. As the paste is made, each grain of flour becomes coated with butter minimizing the tendency of flour to clump when wet. (Adding flour directly to the hot liquids can result in lumpy gravy). (4) Pour up to 3 cups of the roasting juices from the gravy separator into the saucepan with the warming fat. If there are not 3 cups of juices (not fat), add enough canned stock to make 3 cups. (5) Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the butter-flour paste and whisk continuously. The gravy will thicken as it continues to boil. (6) Remove from heat to prevent any sticking or scorching. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Alternatively, instead of flour, a slurry of cornstarch dissolved in cold water may be added to the boiling juices; add the cornstarch mixture gradually allowing it to thicken before adding more. Cornstarch will create a more translucent sauce, while flour gives gravy a more opaque appearance. Safety Tips Use thermometer to ensure that the turkey reaches 165°F. A thermometer is just as helpful in avoiding overcooking the turkey. For stuffed birds, the innermost point of the stuffing must also reach 165°F. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat and all the other chopping and dicing. This will help to reduce cross contamination. Wash contaminated surfaces with hot, soapy water immediately after preparation. Sharp knives are safer than dull knives! Have your knives sharpened now and be ready for the entire holiday season. Practice food safety routines. “Keep hot foods hot, and cold foods cold.” More specifically, foods should not be left to set at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep hot food warm with a chafing dish or induction warmer, and cold foods over ice. Transfer leftover food, once cooled, to the refrigerator as soon as possible. When placing leftovers in the refrigerator, allow plenty of air circulation around each container. Once thoroughly chilled, containers and bags may be stacked, but not before. RECIPE: Molasses Gingerbread Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Cream In a season full of pies, serving cake may seem radical! But, try this recipe and you’ll say, “radically delicious!” The secret to this fabulous cake is two-thirds of a cup of minced fresh ginger. Oh, a second secret, a healthy dose of black pepper. It’s a very moist, dense cake. A subtle sprinkling of cinnamon in the sweetened whipped cream makes this dessert an irresistible delight! Recipes from The New Thanksgiving Table by Diane Morgan. Copyright © 2008. Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA. Reprinted with permission by the publisher. All rights reserved. Recipe Notes: Fresh ginger is a knobby root with a thin, paper-thin brown peel. To preserve the greatest amount of the ginger flesh, scrape away the outer skin with the back of a spoon. We like to use a grapefruit spoon for this task; its toothy edge helps the scraping process. Crosscut ginger into thin slices before mincing to tame the long fibers present in the root. How to be a Good Guest Don’t arrive too early, come too late, or stay too long. If you’re bringing food, keep cold food cold, hot food hot. Bring the dish ready to serve. Avoid food choices that require kitchen resources once at the host’s home. Bring a hostess gift if you’re not bringing part of the meal. An appropriate gift could be a gourmet food item, a bowl of fresh fruit, or a lovely bouquet of fresh flowers. If you choose to bring fresh flowers, have them delivered a day ahead of time, or bring them already arranged and in a vase. Avoid bringing a gift that requires any refrigerator space. As you leave, “say your thank you’s” to both the host and hostess. Write a thank you note the next day, and send immediately. (It’s old-fashioned, but so appreciated!). Cookbook Review: The New Thanksgiving Table Whether your celebration is traditional, innovative, or an eclectic potluck, we wish you the best of the season! Our sincere thanks for being a special part of our extended family!
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