This is the month when magazines, newspapers, and foodie websites bestow valuable space to inspirational menus for the perfect Thanksgiving. My advice is to forget perfection: just make food that tastes good. Your family has been looking forward to this meal. Any innovative dish that requires herculean efforts should be reserved for a less stressful day. No one will be disappointed if eggs aren’t suspended in aspic and your turkey is not encased in puff pastry.
Equally important, not every dish needs to be dripping in butter, drowning in dairy products, or buried under a shroud of molten marshmallows. Simply roasted Brussels sprouts or winter squash—or steamed veggies like green beans or broccoli—can be equally festive, and are a welcome diversion from all the rich side dishes associated with the day.
Whether you’re the harried host or a lucky guest on November 28, the Danville farmers’ market has a plethora of products to elevate every aspect of the meal. Fill your shopping basket with voluptuous pears; bright and shiny persimmons; plump pomegranates; tiny kumquats; moist raisins; this year’s crop of walnuts; truckloads of apples; all the basics for farm-fresh salads, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes…and unbelievable deals on just-picked flowers.
Since “yam” is a misnomer commonly applied to the sweet potato, the age-old confusion over the difference between the two seems to resurface this time each year. So here’s the dirt:
Real yams are starchy tropical tubers—often one to four feet long—and rarely seen outside of obscure ethnic markets. Chances are you will never encounter one.
What we see labeled as “yams” are actually a red-skinned variety ofsweet potato. Sweet potatoes ordinaire have a gold-ish-color skin and flesh, and a drier texture inside, similar to a russet potato.
The yam variety of sweet potato (such as Red Garnet and Jewel) has dark, reddish-purple skin and bright orange flesh. All varieties of sweet potatoes are interchangeable in recipes, though most prefer the vibrant color and moist, creamy texture of the yam. So there you have it.
Here’s a make-ahead recipe that would be right at home on any table, any day. It’s as pretty as it is delicious, and the recipe is easily doubled for crowds. And unlike many holiday sweet potato preparations, it’s light, fresh, and healthy.
SWEET POTATO PUREE with ORANGE, GINGER, and POMEGRANATE
4 large red-skinned (yam variety) sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds), scrubbed but not peeled
2 medium oranges
3 to 4 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger, to taste
Salt
Arils (seeds) from 1 pomegranate* (about 1/3 cup), at room temperature
- Place sweet potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, until very soft, about 50 minutes.
- Grate the zest from 1 orange and chop finely. Halve and juice both oranges, straining out any seeds. (You should have about 2/3 cup juice.)
- Drain the potatoes in a colander and rinse with cold water; drain again. When just cool enough to handle, peel and cut into large chunks.
- In a food processor or blender, working in batches if necessary, combine the sweet potato chunks, orange zest, orange juice, and ginger. Process until smooth. Season to taste with salt. Before serving, reheat gently in a saucepan or in the microwave. Transfer to a warmed shallow 1 1/2-quart serving bowl, and scatter pomegranate arils over the top. Makes about 5 ½ cups, to serve 6 to 8.
Cook’s Tip:
* When not handled properly, fresh pomegranates can create a mess, and airborne arils can stain everything in sight. Here’s the right way:
- Cut a slit in the center of the pomegranate, large enough to insert both of your thumbs. (I also wear latex gloves, when I think of it.)
- Submerge the pomegranate in a large bowl of cold water.
- Working underwater, insert your thumbs into the slit and pull the fruit apart into 2 pieces. Use your fingers to loosen the arils from the white membrane within. The arils will float to the surface—rinsed and ready to be lifted out with a fine mesh strainer or your fingers.
- A Happy Coincidence
I recently returned from a delightful vacation in France. On the first morning, over breakfast at a chateau in Normandy, I discovered that two of the people in our small tour group are diehard fans of ALIVE Magazine. How cool is that? (Bonjour, Valerie and Courtney!)
__________________________________________________________________
The Danville Certified Farmers’ Market, located at Railroad & Prospect, is open every Saturday, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For specific crop information call the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association at 1-800-949-FARM, or visit their web site at www.pcfma.org. This market is made possible through the generous support of the Town of Danville. Please show your appreciation by patronizing the many fine shops and restaurants located in downtown Danville. Buy fresh. Buy local. Live well.
Please note: Perhaps the following can be placed in a sidebar:
——————————————————————————————
The Life of Pie
For most of us, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without pie; specifically, pumpkin and/or apple. Here are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for ingredients at the farmers’ market.
Pumpkin
Pumpkins and other winter squash abound at the market. If you’re a purist who eschews anything that comes out of a can, don’t be tempted to buy the biggest pumpkin you can find. Instead, purchase several of a smaller variety (such as Sugar Pie or Cinderella) that are better suited for eating. Also consider buying organic.
Organically-grown pumpkins store better than those that have been force-fed with chemicals, mainly because artificial feeding changes the molecular structure of the vegetable so it takes on more water weight. This is obviously good news for the vendor sitting at a roadside pumpkin patch–selling big ol’ jack-o-lanterns by the pound–but it’s bad news for those of us who are looking for firm, flavorful squash.
And here’s another little factoid to ponder: Some canned “pumpkin” puree is actually made from a blend of one or more types of winter squash, such as butternut, Hubbard, or kabocha. These squash varieties can be less stringy and sweeter, with color richer than actual pumpkin. Because they fall under the same genus, the USDA does not make a distinction for labeling purposes.
There are actually a lot of people who insist butternut squash makes the best “pumpkin” pie!
Apple
Not surprisingly, the quality of apples you use in a pie makes all the difference.
If you think you’ll save money by using sour, wax-coated apples on sale at a supermarket, save yourself some work and just skip the whole process. You’ll be better off buying a pre-made pie from a reputable baker.
But if you want to treat your family to something special and shop the farmers’ market for tangy, tree-ripened apples such as McIntosh, Rome Beauty, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, or a combination thereof, get ready for some first-class all-American comfort food. It will be the pie everyone wishes their mom had made.
Leave a Reply