Sassy Radish

I wanted to give you a recipe for an early 2010 before I left for the Dominican Republic (whee!), but my time management skills are lacking. Instead, what you get is a vision of me in my Princess Leia hat, a picture of the one of the cutest kids ever (with whom I’ll be spending some time in DR over the New Year’s holiday) and what I had for lunch the other day. Why my recent lunch? Because I hope that 2010 is a lovely, wholesome and nurturing year for you all, much like this chicken soup I had made earlier in the month and froze for those days when it’s far too cold to go outside.

I hope that your celebrations are sparkling and joyous, that champagne is flowing and the laughter is without a pause. I hope that the year is full of the same joy and exuberance your parties are and that wherever you find yourself next year, you feel loved and cared for. That is my wish for all of you and I can’t wait to share some January-perfect recipes with you in 2010!

Happy New Year! Thank you for being a part of my world and allowing me to be a part of yours!

We’re pretty much at the homestretch here – Thanksgiving is days (DAYS!) away and tensions are running high. Every year, I freak out that my turkey will be too dry, and every year, just like magic, it comes out perfect, so much so that there are barely any leftovers. And I, personally, love my turkey leftovers. I think I’m just anxious to get into the kitchen and get the actual dinner started. All in good time, I suppose. Until then, I am left to bite my knuckles in nervous anticipation.

Anxiety aside, I love hosting this holiday and cannot imagine not doing it. When we arrived to the US, it was the first real holiday I got to learn about, and I embraced it with a readiness and ardor only a freshly minted immigrant could procure. I wanted to learn everything that was quintessentially American, down to the most minute detail, and nothing screamed America to me more than a table displaying turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, pumpkin and apple pie. If my mother even so much as breathed a suggestion of serving a Russian salad alongside the traditional American dishes, I would shoot her a dirty look. I felt like she was sullying a holiday that was my instant passageway into assimilation and subsequent acceptance. When you’re a teenager and everything about you is awkward, being a foreigner with broken English and an accent is the last nail in the coffin of social suicide. I felt it keenly and perhaps was a bit overly concerned about it, but as we all remember when you’re 13, your issues feel like the weight of the world upon your shoulders. If I only knew then what I know now.

In my fervor and push to assimilate and prove my American-ness to everyone, but mostly, really, myself, I hijacked hosting it from the first year. Every year, I made my parents sit through a turkey dinner, tying this holiday upon their necks much a like a boulder-laden bib. Patiently, graciously, they complied with me. But somewhere along the way, we, somehow, grew into this holiday. It stopped being an exercise in trying to belong as the holiday finally grew to belong to us. And one year, and I’m not sure which year it was, the holiday was ours. Really, truly, wonderfully ours. And then we couldn’t remember what it felt like otherwise.

And perhaps, this is what I love the most about Thanksgiving – the part of belonging. No matter what religion or cultural background you are, Thanksgiving is for you. Unconcerned with gifts, it’s a holiday to gather with the people you love to celebrate the one thing we should perhaps do consciously every day – practice the act of gratitude. In a country full of immigrants and stories of wandering and arrival, this is a holiday to unite us all. Together, around a table, we partake in meal, share some laughs and hopefully give thanks for our lives. And there are so many things go be grateful for. Each one of us has his own list.

This year, as pretty much every other year, I’m hosting Thanksgiving again (in other words, I am continuing hijacking the hosting duties, just try and pry it out of my hands!) and this time it’s for a party of 11 people (and my doorman!). For the first time since I moved to New York, nearly 9 years ago, my parents will be visiting me for the holiday, thus marking it our first Thanksgiving together in many years! Add to that, my practically next-door neighbor Sharon and her three cousins visiting New York, and my lovely friend Brita and her family and their dog, Oliver. And last, but not least Anna over at Very Small Anna needed someone to babysit her tortoise, Bowser, while she was out of town, and guess who volunteered? Full house, indeed! The heritage turkey’s been ordered months ago, and I can’t wait to pick it up on Wednesday.

But, anxiety and dreams of assimilation aside, and many years that have passed, I wanted to share with you this year’s Thanksgiving menu because I’m very excited about it. Maybe it’ll give you a few ideas if you’re still searching for what to make. And if nothing on the menu calls to you, there are a few other suggestions below, which will, hopefully, strike a chord.

And if nothing strikes a chord, then I want to thank you, my dear readers, for coming here and being my sounding board, my audience, my friends. I love this little space I’ve carved out and in the last 15 months or so it has grown even more dear to me than ever before. I am grateful for all of you and wish you all a lovely, warm, wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

2009 THANKSGIVING MENU
Porcini Mushroom Soup
Alton Brown’s (influenced) Turkey
Stuffing from Gourmet, Unbound (but will be vegetarian)
Olive Oil Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Pumpkin Bread Pudding Souffle
Escarole Salad with Pickled Onions (recipe coming soon!)
Cranberry Sauce (recipe coming soon!)
Julia Moskin’s Corn (as seen on The Wednesday Chef)
Roasted Acorn Squash with Cilantro Dressing
Cream-Braised Brussels Sprouts
Cumin-Roasted Parsnips (recipe coming soon!)
Apple-Cranberry Pie with Honey-Bourbon Caramel
Pine Nut Tart with Rosemary (from Claudia Fleming – recipe coming soon!)

OTHER SOUP IDEAS:

Chestnut Apple Soup
Curried Carrot Ginger Soup with Pepitas, Cilantro Oil and a Homemade Spicy Marshmallow
Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Red Pepper Soup

OTHER SALAD IDEAS:

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Black Beans and Chili Dressing
Fennel Tangerine Salad
Apple Celery Salad with Candied Pecans

OTHER VEGETABLE DISHES:

Pomegranate Molasses Glazed Eggplant
Cream Braised Cabbage with Leeks
Glazed Pearl Onions in Port
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Onions and Lemon Zest
Roasted Acorn Squash with a Wine Reduction Sauce
Spiced Glazed Carrots
Mushroom Farro Pie (at Gourmet, Unbound)
Sweet Potato Gnocchi

FOR THE DAY AFTER:

Hazelnut Chestnut Cake
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Turkey Salad (THE best salad for those turkey leftovers!

Slowly, steadily, we’re unveiling Gourmet, Unbound to you bit by bit. Only a few more weeks until we have our official launch, but for now, here’s a teaser for you. A lovely mushroom and farro pie from last year’s November issue of Gourmet. So head on over to Gourmet, Unbound – and check it out. I’m pretty sure, you’re gonna love it. I am now doubly regretting that I made this pie a year after I book marked it and the kept delaying. I have much time to make up for my omission – and I wouldn’t want you to make the same mistake I did.

To be current with all the teasers and updates, you can follow us on Twitter – @gourmetunbound.

Last Monday, much to everyone’s surprise, Conde Nast announced that it was shutting down Gourmet magazine.

I don’t really know what to say about this because I have written and rewritten my thoughts on this over and over. I thought how ironic it was that my last recipe and the next one are both recipes from the October issue. I never found the magazine boring or stale – it always offered me recipes I wanted to try.

By now, we’re all read about a dozen op/ed pieces on Gourmet’s demise and its unexpected shutdown. I don’t think I can say anything really substantive other than it was more than just a magazine for those of us who subscribed and couldn’t wait for the next issue to arrive in the mail. It wasn’t just a publication, telling us how to sear scallops, or make delicate genoise, or raise awareness about the plight of tomato workers.

Gourmet, to me at least, was something iconic – the very first magazine I subscribed to at the age of 14. Gourmet is my time-capsule; it holds my memories, my transition to college, and to a college graduate. I’ve cooked many a Thanksgiving dinner armed with nothing more than a trusty Gourmet at my side. And while we could :talk about ad revenue and costs for days on end, I guarantee you this: not one of the McKinsey consultants who made this recommendation had a subscription to the magazine. Nor did they read issue after issue, saving recipes, clipping meaningful articles, discussing the content with friends. To try and sum up Gourmet’s importance on its readers, the food community and general history (of how we eat, live, think, dream – because it was a reflection of that too and so much can be gleaned about a people, a nation, from its eating habits) would be like trying to sum up someone in an elegy. You just cannot. Gourmet’s impact on my life cannot be described or measured. It simply was. And I’ll treasure it forever.

Well – a few friends and I were so dismayed by the shuttering of the magazine, that a couple of folks and I have decided put something together – a cooking and writing project, so to speak, to honor Gourmet’s 68 year legacy. Certainly, a publisher can shut down magazines, fire its staff and deprive us of getting that glossy in the mail. But – they can’t stop us from cooking; and they can’t stop us from keeping Gourmet’s memory and spirit alive. They can kick us out of their offices, but they can’t kick us out of our kitchens.

If you’re curious to know more, or to get involved, shoot me an email (on my About page) and I’ll add you to the distribution list. While this isn’t a resurrection per se, consider it an homage, a way for us to all come together and celebrate something we all loved and will continue to relish.

As usual, things here at Sassy Radish take a wee bit longer than elsewhere and I’m quite late with my offering for the fifth annual MENU FOR HOPE, but I will contribute shortly – please check back shortly!!

For those of you new to Menu For Hope – it was started by Pim of the fantastic Chez Pim five years ago, hence the 5th annual Menu for Hope fund-raising effort (I’m pretty sharp, aren’t I?).

The money collected from this year’s raffle will go to the UN World Food Programme to the Lesotho School Lunch Program in Africa.

To give you scope, last year, Menu for Hope raised over $90,000 for the lunch program in Lesotho. And this year, despite the recession and all, we are hoping to do the same and maybe even surpass that.

All it takes is a $10 ticket per entry and you could try your luck and some pretty amazing gifts this year from bloggers all around the world. I hope you participate in this and help a great cause.

LONG OVERDUE CONTRIBUTION ANNOUCEMENT! Sorry about the delays folks – I’m giving away a fabulous 7-cup KitchenAid food processor.

I have a 12-cup KitchenAid and it is by far - the best food processor I have ever used.
It is easier to manipulate than the Cuisinart with which in the past I’ve had some issues. I really marvel at how awesome it is every time I use it.

Brief description of the prize:
Food processor with touch-pad controls, pulse option, and powerful induction motor 7-cup-capacity work bowl; multipurpose stainless-steel blade; large feed tube and pusher. Reversible stainless-steel slicing/shredding disc; 3-cup mini bowl for smaller tasks Base wipes clean easily; dishwasher-safe bowls, blades, and discs. I use this for everything from making dough to creating quick sauces and emulsions – the mini prep bowl is brilliant – it’s like having 2 processors in 1 — and saves on space too!!

To donate/enter to win:

1. Go to First Giving, the site that manages this campaign, and make your donation. Every $10 donation, gets you one entry. $20 gets you 2 entries. And so on.

2. If you’re interested in winning this prize, please enter code UE35. Additionally, if you want it in a color, other than white. It comes in RED or BLACK, though I am a huge fan of the white one. Please enter a note (should you win) if you want it in RED or BLACK.

3. Meh – I already have a food processor, give me something else! Go and check out all the other awesome prizes being offered this time around.

4. Lastly, be sure to check off the box that says “happy for the page owner to see my email address” because we’ll need to get in touch with you should you win!

5. One very last note, because of various shipping / import complications, taxes, etc, I am happy to ship this anywhere in the United States – but must apologize to foreign readers as I won’t be able to accommodate this time.

The good folks at Bon Appetit have put together a slide show called Blog Envy featuring holiday recipes from some of their favorite bloggers, including yours truly. That’s me on Slide 6 – with the potato latkes I waxed so poetic about. It is an honor to be featured among so many amazing bloggers: Deb, Lisa, Luisa, David, Dorie Greenspan, Clotilde, Shauna, Matt, Elise, Heidi and Nicky & Oliver. I’m delighted to have met and gotten to know a few of them – I am delighted to be included in their number! And of course, I am excited to get to know the other blogs featured – as their pictures and dishes looked amazing!

So go and check out the slide show — and happy holiday season! I’ll be back tomorrow with regular posting.

Dear readers, I’ve got some good entries sitting on the back burner that I just can’t seem to finish up at this point in time. The kitchen has been somewhat abandoned lately, in favor or trying to soak in the summer nights, friends, wine and the ever-addictive spin classes. And on top of everything, there’s been some bumps on the road, a bit of turmoil here and there that is increasingly needing more of my attention, which, sadly, comes at the cost of cooking and writing.

I’m taking a short’ish break and hope that you all will be here when I return. I’m sorry to just up and disappear, but I need some bandwidth to tend to more pressing matters at the moment.

I leave you with two pictures (and I must apologize for their quality as they were taken with my blackberry!) that I took while wading around a Chinatown grocery store. I found them pretty humorous and hope you do as well. I think they speak for themselves and any commentary, witty or otherwise, would detract from them. So enjoy.

Now, I might just go ahead and post a recipe in the next few days (proving myself wrong), but I wanted to at least partly explain my radio silence.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summers and taking advantage of all the bounty that’s currently in season!

Welcome to Sassy Radish 2.0 — this has been a project in the works for quite some time. And you will still see some additions, changes, tweaks. The categories, I know are slightly out of order – so they’ll be fixed.

But what you get instead of the old design are the following improvements:

1. Recipe Index – perhaps the most useful feature of the newly redesigned site.
2. Cleaner, breathe-easy design – I’m a big fan of whitespace and hope you are as well.
3. Better categorization.
4. Tag cloud, so you can search you an ingredient or a theme (also being tweaked as clearly you can’t see it at the moment).
5. Last 5 entries/comments.
6. About me page – which is still blank, mostly because I can’t come up with anything interesting to write about me.
7. Conversions page – being tweaked.
8. I’ll add Archives by Month on the left hand side too.
9. Logo — the little radish outline is now the official logo!

I will be tweaking this more in the upcoming weeks, but in the meantime let me know your your comments and suggestions.

Last, but not least, this site could not have been made possible without the hard work of my friend Katy, a designer par excellence who put this site together and to whom I owe a debt of gratitude and beyond!

When I previously complained about work and lacking time to post, I was merely unaware of just how busy I was going to become immediately after Thanksgiving. Well, it has not ceased since and I’m about to go on vacation starting Tuesday. And I am SO late in posting about this event, it’s shameful. Surely, you’d think I would have a few minutes to write a few phrases and let you know about it. I am sorry to say, it’s been an unprecedented amount of work. However, I always say better late than never and so… here is my offering in this year’s Menu for Hope.

Menu for Hope is an annual fund-raiser organized by food bloggers around the globe to raise money for a world cause – this year, as well as last year it was for the the U.N. World Food Programme, and it’s been running from December 10 through the 24. We, the food bloggers try to entice you, the reader, to give in exchange for gifts that bloggers either make, purchase, donate some other way. For each $10 you donate (seriously just $10 bucks!!!), you may choose to enter your name into a raffle for a specific prize. The full list of donated raffle prizes is here.

What is Sassy Radish giving you this year is the question, right? What am I enticing you with? Well, I have to be realistic and say I won’t be able to make you food and ship it to you. Given how my work is going right now, I’m lucky enough to have time to boil rice. But, I do have something rather special for you.

And that would be this ice cream maker AND David Lebovitz’ latest book “The Perfect Scoop”. I can claim few cook books to have changed my life and how I look at certain food, in this case, sorbets and ice creams – and the Scoop as I call it – has.

I am happy to ship this to anyone within the United States – as in other countries you will probably need a separate adapter to plug in the ice cream machine.

To enter:

Go to FirstGiving.com, which is managing the giving campaign. When it asks you to enter a “Personal Message” you enter code UE39, which will sign you up for the cook book and the ice cream machine. Check the box that follows which says that you are “happy for the page owner to see my email address”–this will allow organizers to know which raffles you’d like to be entered in.

The winners of each raffle prize will be announced Wednesday January 9 on Chez Pim.

Thank you all for donating to this cause – I wish you all good luck in the raffle!!

I’ve been a bit distracted lately with all kinds of work-related stuff. It’s also been harder to shoot food with the light being less abundant nowadays, and by the time dinner is ready, I have no other choice but to use the flash that’s built into my camera. I know, I know, I should just go ahead and buy one of those awesome separate flashes that make my food look natural and more appetizing than the glare of the built-in, but why do they have to be so expensive? Someday soon, I hope.

Aside from being spoiled with take-out last week (because long hours make me want to spend zero minutes in the kitchen), and being away this weekend in Atlantic City (I gambled, I lost, oh well), a few housekeeping items before I forget.

Check out what I think would make a great food holiday I would have if I had my druthers – I gave it a long, hard think before settling on my food holiday of choice. And I’m very grateful to Chew On That Blog for letting me opine!

My weekly post on Accidental Hedonist, finally reviews our SC trip to Charleston. I review a few restaurants and share some photos from the trip. Don’t miss the goat photo!

The zucchini photo makes it to Taste Spotting!

Finally, a little bit of shameless self-congratulatory material. Two of the photos I took last year while in Austin were selected to be included in the Schmap Online Austin guide. I’m delighted that these pictures, taken with a non-SLR Olympus got to be in the running. And of course, it’s always nice to have your pictures admired (I’d be lying to you if I didn’t admit that).

And that is about all from me. I’m sorry I’ve been less-than-dedicated to cooking and writing as of late, but there are other things in life to be done – and last week was more about preserving sanity between work, gym and then more work (at home after gym and dinner). I promise to be better in the future!