Category Archives: Autumn

Elderflower Fennel Turkey Gravy

Posted on by October 30, 2017

I LOVE this rich, silky, savory Elderflower Fennel Turkey Gravy. It’s slightly floral sweetness pairs perfectly with the brightness of the juniper brine on my Juniper Brined Turkey Breast Roast and provides a lovely contrast to the salt. This Elderflower Fennel Turkey Gravy is a great make ahead dish. While it’s in now way complicated, it is a little slow. So make sure you’re multi-tasking while you cook it. You’ll have plenty of time while it’s simmering and reducing to work on other things and the payoff is a rich gravy that’s perfectly paired with it’s bird. Another little secret to this Elderflower Fennel Turkey Gravy is the butter. Use your absolute favorite. The slowly sauteed-in-butter shallots essentially dissolve into the butter and white wine to build a savory foundation. The final notes of sweet elderflower and anise make this gravy stand out from others and round out flavor profile. Because I made this gravy to pair with a breast only recipe, the richness of this Elderflower Fennel Turkey Gravy feels essential, rather than over-the-top decadence. … Continue reading →

Juniper Brined Turkey Breast Roast

Posted on by October 30, 2017

Hello Dirty Laundry Kitchen fans, it’s been awhile. I’m really excited to be posting this Juniper Brined Turkey Breast Roast, with time for it to make it’s way onto your Thanksgiving menus. Truth told, it’s simple and delicious as a plan ahead weeknight dinner, too. The slices from this Juniper Brined Turkey Breast Roast make for some seriously good sandwiches, especially when paired with some homemade cranberry relish. I served leftover slices of it with aged cheddar on cranberry walnut french toast last weekend, so really, the sky is the limit. Let your imagination run wild. For so many reasons, including it’s fabulous leftover potential, I think this Juniper Brined Turkey Breast Roast is a great first post after a blogging hiatus. I created this recipe before my daughter entered the world and my life changed in so many ways, so coming back to it, and finding that it still fits into my cooking philosophy is comforting and empowering. I think you’ll notice in the coming months that practices, procedures and recipes are going to get even easier here at Dirty Laundry Kitchen. I still fully believe in my mission of comfortable, elegant entertaining. But the addition of a child … Continue reading →

Apple Cider Margarita

Posted on by December 8, 2016

This year, this Apple Cider Margarita has been my drink of choice, especially when I’m entertaining. I’ve made it for almost everyone I know at this point, which means, that after a whole season of pours and tweaks it’s finally time to measure it out, write it down and share my Apple Cider Margarita with you. There are a few twists and turns in my Apple Cider Margarita that admittedly bring into question naming this lovely fall cocktail after the margarita at all. But because of the lime juice and the tequila, and because it’s just so tasty, I feel confident that no matter you call it, guests are going to accept the glass graciously and then praise it genuinely. I add a little bit of the Italian bitter Cynar, to give the cocktail some extra depth, but there’s no need to wait to make my Apple Cider Margarita if you don’t have any on hand. I assure you that you’ll love this cocktail equally well with and without the bitter oomph, and of course, you could always add a dash of any bitters that you do have on hand instead. The striking garnish adds a festive quality that bridges … Continue reading →

Thick and Smooth Fall Apple Butter

Posted on by December 3, 2015

Thick and Smooth Fall Apple Butter is a delight to eat and a cinch to make. And the best part? Thick and Smooth Fall Apple Butter makes fall last all year long if you decide to preserve it. The apples, plus apple cider give it a very concentrated flavor. The cinnamon and cardamom make the thick spread full of spice and flavor. And the dark brown sugar, which is my personal preference, makes this spread rich and deep in flavor. I love spreading it on warm breads of all sorts but warm croissants are one of my personal favorite uses. I also love it in place of mustard or mayo on a sandwich like my Ladies Lunching Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwich. My sister put it on a slice of my Double Almond Pumpkin Bread over Thanksgiving and remarked, this tasted like fall! No matter how you choose to use this Thick and Smooth Fall Apple Butter, you’re going to love it. … Continue reading →

Fig Sage Cotija Cornbread

Posted on by November 14, 2015

This Fig Sage Cotija Cornbread is an unexpected but delightful combination of savory and sweet loaded with fun textures and flavors and delicious served with soups and stews of all sorts. It’s based on a recipe I read in Food and Wine and I’ve used it as the base for a Cornbread Stuffing on my Mexican Thanksgiving Menu. I’m going to let you in on all of my cornbread tricks and secrets. I like to use a mixture of grinds for the cornmeal to get a little extra texture in the bread (but of course you can use all of one or the other if you don’t want to keep both on hand). If you use all medium, add just a little extra buttermilk to keep it really moist as the more course meal absorbs more moisture from the batter. I also use a regular cake pan for this Fig Sage Cotija Cornbread since a cast-iron skillet is nizoral. It was fun to discover that a cake pan heated really hot and filled with melted butter will nizoral. Pretty cool, right? And that crispy outer texture is one of the many things that sets this Fig Sage Cotija Cornbread apart … Continue reading →

Rye Crust Apple Custard Pie

Posted on by November 20, 2015

I love everything about this Rye Crust Apple Custard Pie, except perhaps the fact that it requires a deep-dish pan and it’s a bit of a pain to make. The dense, savory, buttery crust goes so well with the cool creamy custard. Then the tart but caramelized apples bring bushels of fall flavor and provide texture and balance to the vanilla custard. It is playful and unexpected all the while fulfilling my love for old-fashioned dessert flavors. This Rye Crust Apple Custard Pie is oh-so-worth the extra effort this recipe may require, and I have broken it into a two or three day process to make it feel less arduous when I make it. Simply make the pastry one day, roll it out and bake it another, make the apples a day or two ahead and refrigerate them. When you’re ready to bake it, it will be a matter of throwing all of the ingredients together, rather than the make and wait all-day process this looks like. That said, if you’re having a busy, multi-tasking full-meal sort of cooking day, you won’t notice the challenge at all because the steps are straightforward and you can use the downtime for other … Continue reading →

Lingonberry Elderflower Cranberry Relish

Posted on by November 16, 2015

One item that I absolutely cannot have Thanksgiving without is a version of my Lingonberry Elderflower Cranberry Relish. If you check out a couple of my menus you’ll see that I make Cranberry Relish a little differently every year, based on the direction I’m taking the menu. For the Mexican Thanksgiving, I added a little tequila. For Caribbean Thanksgiving, I added lime and dark rum. This year, for my Scandinavian Thanksgiving menu, I’ve added elderflower and lingonberries. So why is Lingonberry Elderflower Cranberry Relish so critical to Thanksgiving? Well, the tart flavor cuts through all the salt and fat to balance each dish and is an essential part of a perfect bite for me. I also love it for leftovers. It’s a great condiment on a turkey sandwich and with the Juniper Brined Turkey I made for my Scandinavian Thanksgiving Menu those sandwiches are more tender and flavorful than ever. If you’d rather go with the classic relish, just skip the elderflower and lingonberry preserves, but I must say this Lingonberry Elderflower Cranberry Relish brings a little something extra to the Holiday table this year that I think you and your guests will notice and enjoy. … Continue reading →

Carrot Wheat Berry Salad with Lemon Caraway Yogurt

Posted on by November 15, 2015

This Carrot Wheat Berry Salad with Lemon Caraway Yogurt is a perfect fall salad that works well as a meal or as a first course if you like. It’s also a fun one to prepare for guests, because it’s just a little unusual. This Carrot Wheat Berry Salad with Lemon Caraway Yogurt makes a great meal because it’s chock full of good things and is served on filling wheat berries. I served it in small portions for my Scandinavian Thanksgiving Menu, but we were really glad there were leftovers so we could eat it for dinner for the next few days. And I continued to make it all winter long since it feels fresh and light while still being easy to make in the winter. And it’s fun to swap out the root vegetables or mix them up. It’s great with parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, etc. But don’t take my word for it, try out this Carrot Wheat Berry Salad with Lemon Caraway Yogurt and make it to your exact preference. Full disclosure, this recipe is based closely on a food and wine recipe. I made it because of its Scandinavian pallet and I was thrilled that it went so well … Continue reading →

Leek Soup with Fried Sage

Posted on by October 31, 2015

This Leek Soup with Fried Sage is velvety, savory, smooth, and delicious. It’s easy to make in the large quantity I have it scaled for in this recipe. This way you can eat what you like and the freeze the leftovers. This Leek Soup with Fried Sage freezes really well, like many soups, for that matter. In fact, I made this soup a couple of weeks before I needed it for my Scandinavian Thanksgiving Menu and simply pulled it out of the freezer and reheated it the day of the feast. I love cooking ahead for big deal meals; it’s so helpful for stress management a.k.a. hanging out with your guests drinking Rhubarb Lillet Rose Aquavit Spritzers, which is really what you should be doing anyway when you have a big party, right? The good news is that you can make the garnish ahead of time as well. The pretty green sage provides some visual interest and awesome texture, but this simple soup is still delicious without it if you want to keep it really simple or sage isn’t your thing. I think it would be great to try this Leek Soup with Fried Sage with other fried herbs. In … Continue reading →

Swedish Gjetost Fondue

Posted on by October 27, 2015

This Gjetost Fondue is another great easy to make ahead hors d’oeuvres that’s perfect for any Thanksgiving, but I served it as a started for my Scandinavian Thanksgiving Menu for good reason. It’s chock full of lovely Swedish cheeses, which are actually rather easy to find, particularly if you live near an IKEA, where they stock all of the cheeses required for this Swedish Gjetost Fondue. But even if you can’t find many of them, the only two that are absolutely essential are the French Gruyère and the Scandinavian Gjetost. The Gjetost in particular cannot be substituted because it is a very unique caramelized goat’s milk cheese. Yes, you heard me, caramelized goat’s milk cheese. But, caramelized milk sounds crazy to describe cheese. It is, you’re right. And while Gjetost on it’s own tends to be a love or hate it food because it’s a little sweet and extremely dense and creamy. It is also absolutely the element that makes this Swedish Gjetost Fondue so special and one of the crowd favorites at Thanksgiving last year, even amongst people who said they didn’t normally like Gjetost. It’s also a cheese that I grew up with at breakfast, served on toast, … Continue reading →

Sweet Pickled Carrots and Cauliflower

Posted on by October 29, 2015

I absolutely love, love, love, this Sweet Pickled Carrots and Cauliflower recipe and I wish that I could credit myself with it, but instead, credit where credit is due, it comes from Food and Wine. It could easily have been overlooked in the magazine. The photos aren’t stunning, but the flavors, oh, the flavors. I have to say, these Sweet Pickled Carrots and Cauliflower are probably my favorite pickles to date. They’re sweet, they’re spiced, they’re a touch spicy, they’re so flavorful and they make cauliflower, what is in my opinion one of the most boring vegetables, absolutely come alive with flavor and texture. I can’t rave enough about these Sweet Pickled Carrots and Cauliflower. So while you may have to make a run to the store for some of the spices, I guarantee you’ll be glad you did. And since they’re a quick pickle, this recipe is actually really straight-forward and fast. And the Sweet Pickled Carrots and Cauliflower are so delicious that you won’t need to worry about long term-storage for them- they’ll be long gone before you could even begin to think about them going bad. Even if nothing else from my Scandinavian Thanksgiving Menu inspires you, … Continue reading →

Bacon Herb Paste Stuffed Turkey

Posted on by October 19, 2015

This Bacon Herb Paste Stuffed Turkey is a variation on a Food and Wine recipe that I’ve been making for years. Bacon Herb Paste Stuffed Turkey is also one of my most requested recipes and it’s a great solution to send to the many people who complain that they don’t like turkey that much, it’s the weak link of Thanksgiving, or the turkey is always dry. Au contraire, mon frère! I promise that if you make this Bacon Herb Paste Stuffed Turkey there will be so few leftovers that you will go up a size next year so that you will have enough turkey leftover to make my Leftover Thanksgiving Enchiladas or Turkey Gumbo. I also promise that your guests will rave and the gravy will be the best gravy you’ve ever made. Tall promises, I know, but not tall tales. This Bacon Herb Paste Stuffed Turkey will deliver and the best part is, it doesn’t even require you to get up at the crack of dawn to cook it. When you do decide to make my Bacon Herb Paste Stuffed Turkey for Thanksgiving, please make sure to check out the complete Thanksgiving 2009 menu for awesome sides, decorations, and … Continue reading →