As the new year approaches, it’s resolution time.  And with every bite of those Christmas cookies and each sip of that eggnog, you think yourself, “I’ll start fresh in the new year.” And the fastest way to a healthier life is to cook for yourself. When you’re making your OWN food, you’ll be a whole lot less likely to add another pinch of salt or that extra tablespoon of butter.  

That’s why I teamed up with SHAPE Magazine on a series called “SHAPE Cooking School.” The idea is that everyone should be armed with the basic skills necessary to cook a decent meal.  And that’s precisely where I come in! Throughout the 11-video series, I show you how to season your food, chop an onion, make vinaigrette, poach an egg, roast a chicken, and more!  They’re all short and sweet, but are packed full of information that will make any novice feel like a pro.  So check them out, pass them along, and make sure to tweet me if there are any other basic skills you’re interested in learning about! 

So this New Year, don’t make the resolution to diet - that’s all about limits and restrictions.  Instead, make it a point to nourish your body and mind by cooking for yourself.  You’ll not only hone your skills but you’ll feel great too. 

Make sure to check out all 11 videos HERE. Now get cooking! 

Oysters are perfect for a special occasion.  I personally love them raw, but not everyone is down with that.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t serve them at your fete!  These baked oysters are tender and succulent, and get some serious wow-factor from a topping of crimini mushrooms, shallots, white wine, and cream.  Dramatically served on a long wooden plank over a bed of salt, and you’ve got a jaw dropping presentation that won’t last long once your guests get their hands on them! Check out the episode below and follow along with the recipe! 

BAKED OYSTERS RECIPE:

• 12 Freshly Shucked Oysters, in the shell 
• 1 TBSP Butter
• 1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Cup Minced Shallot (about 1 large shallot)
• 8 oz. Crimini Mushrooms, chopped 
• 2 cloves minced Garlic 
• 1/3 C White Wine (pinot grigio preferred)
• 2 TBSP chopped chives, for garnish
• S&P to taste
• 1 LB coarse sea salt, for display and stability when baking. 

Preheat your oven to 400 Degrees Fahrenheit. Pour course salt into a rimmed baking sheet and place your shucked oysters securely in the salt. 

In a medium pan, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat.  When the butter is melted and the oil is glistening, add the shallot. Cook until translucent, then add the mushrooms and garlic.  Add a generous pinch of salt and a crack of black pepper, and stir. Cook for another five minutes, then add the white wine.  Allow the wine to reduce, and the alcohol to cook off, about five minutes more. Turn off the heat, stir in the cream, and spoon the mixture over each oyster and garnish with the chives. 

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until bubbly and delicious.  Line a long platter or a wooden plank with a bed of salt about 2 inches wide, and place each oyster in the salt, side by side, for dramatic presentation. 

Don’t complain if they’re gone in less than a minute! 

Happy Holidays from Hungry in Brooklyn!

So it’s the big day… and while you may think Thanksgiving is all about the cooking, it’s also really about the timing.  If you’ve been following HIB’s checklists, you should have your appetizer, dessert, and cranberry sauce already complete. Here’s a list of what to do throughout the day so that all your dishes are ready to be served at the same time.  And while this may seem like a pretty jam-packed day, there’s plenty of free time throughout for enjoying some libations. 

10:00 AM - Eat Breakfast.  You’ll need sustenance for the day of cooking you have ahead of you! 

11:00 AM - Take your turkey out of the fridge: the goal is to take the chill off for roasting. You can certainly get it all prepped and ready for the oven, and then let it hang out on your counter until you’re ready to roast it. This is also a great time to take your Cranberry sauce out of the fridge - it’s best served room temperature.

11:30 - Prep your brussels sprouts and carrots & parsnips (chopping, tossing with oil, seasoning, etc) and put them in their respective baking dishes. 

12:00 - Preheat your oven to 425 Degrees F

12:30 - Roast the turkey. You’re looking at a cook time of around 3 hours, depending on how large the bird is - and remember, it has to rest before carving (and can rest up to 45 minutes/hour - it will retain its heat) so don’t rush it. Let it hang out! 

1:30 - Chop your potatoes and add them to water for boiling 

2:15 - Your potatoes are done, make the mashed potatoes! 

2:30 - Make your stuffing on the stove top and then transfer it to an oven-safe dish for baking once there’s room in the oven. 

3:00 - Add your Carrots & Parsnips to the oven on the bottom rack and heat up your soup on the stove top.  

3:30 - Pull your turkey out of the oven and allow it to rest.  Pop those Brussels Sprouts and Stuffing in the oven now that you have the room. Take this time to make gravy with the pan drippings. 

4:00  - Serve your soup! Your guests have been smelling amazing things in that kitchen and have gotten hungry!

4:15 - Your brussels sprouts, stuffing, and carrot & parsnip dishes are all done! Remove them from the oven, carve the turkey and…..

4:30/5:00 - Dinner is served!  Have a drink, enjoy, and give thanks to your friends and family who will certainly clean up after this fine meal considering all the work you’ve done to make this a feast to remember! 

Happy Thanksgiving from Hungry in Brooklyn!

Hopefully by now you have most of your Tuesday Checklist all completed!  If not, get going! There’s actually not quite as much to do to today to prepare for your feast, so you have lots of catch-up time! 

Today we’re going to focus on the dishes you can make-ahead.  So far you should have your cranberry sauce already made, your garlic roasted, and your chicken stock all set to go.  So now let’s prep for the stuffing, and make the soup and dessert!

WEDNESDAY CHECKLIST

Plan out what you’re Drinking:  This detail is almost as important as the meal itself! It’s a good idea to get a variety of wines.  Make sure to have some decent pinot grigio on hand for cooking - it makes a wonderful gravy.  But you’re not going to use all of it - so make sure it’s something you’ll drink, too!  A lighter wine like a Pinot Noir will match nicely with every course.  And don’t forget some bubbly for dessert.  If you want something seasonal and warming that can serve a crowd, try making Mulled Apple Cider!  It’s easy and can be kept warm all night in your slow cooker. 

Make the Whoopie Pies:  This year, incorporate those pumpkin-pie flavors into an interesting and delicious dessert that can be made ahead of time!  If you’re not into making dessert, order a pie from a local pie shop, but make sure to give it your own signature twist with Homemade Whipped Cream 

Make the Apple and Butternut Squash Soup:  It’s no secret that soup is better the second day, so take a load of your day-of cooking on Thanksgiving and make this delicious and easy recipe the day before! 

Prep your Bread for Stuffing: Cut your loaf of bread into cubes and arrange in a single layer to dry out overnight, or for speedier results, dry the cubes out in a 300 degree oven for about an hour. 

If you have any questions, send me a tweet and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can! 

Thanksgiving should be a time to spend with family and friends, for relaxation, and for the promise of leftovers. It should not lead to any stress when it comes to cooking the perfect meal. Hosting Thanksgiving dinner may seem like a daunting task whether you’re cooking for 2 or 12.  But in reality, with a little planning ahead and some pre-Thanksgiving organization, you can cook like a pro without breaking a sweat.  Clean-up, on the other hand, is another story.

Over the next three days, I’ll help you plan every aspect of your Thanksgiving preparation.  Here is the fool-proof menu: 

Appetizer: 

• Butternut Squash and Apple Soup 

Main: 

• Oven Roasted Turkey w/ Homemade Gravy
• Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Parmigiano Reggiano 
• Cranberry Sauce
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Mushroom and Walnut Stuffing (courtesy Martha Stewart)
• Roasted Carrots & Parsnips with Thyme (chop carrots and parsnips on the bias, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and 6 sprigs of time.  Roast @ 375 for 35-45 minutes)

Dessert: 

• Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Frosting 

Sounds like too much to handle? If everything is timed properly, you will be just fine. But remember, it never hurts to ask for help.  Tell a friend to bring the brussels sprouts, or your brother to make the stuffing. 

TUESDAY CHECKLIST: 

• Go Grocery Shopping!  Make a list of all the ingredients you will need, and get it done early.  The last thing you’ll want to do is head to Whole Foods on Wednesday night.  Yikes!

• Clean out your refrigerator!  You’ll need to make room for all the ingredients and prep you’ll be doing over the next four days.

• Make Chicken Stock!  Stop at the market after work and grab yourself a rotisserie chicken.  Then you don’t have to cook tonight, AND you can make yourself the best homemade chicken stock which you’ll be sure to use plenty of throughout your Thanksgiving Prep.  It doesn’t hurt to have a couple extra cartons on hand in case of an emergency. 

• Roast Garlic!  This will be your secret ingredient.  Roast about 6 whole heads.  Slice the top (stem side) off, exposing the individual cloves of garlic still intact in the head.  drizzle with olive oil and wrap in foil.  Roast at 325 F for about an hour and a half.  This will come in handy for your turkey, and for the mashed potatoes, and can be stored in the fridge for a whole week. 

• Make Cranberry Sauce!  This will keep in the fridge for almost a week, so why not make it now?  You’re guests will never know you didn’t slave over it on Thursday morning.  And please, whatever you do, don’t buy the canned stuff.  This recipe is too easy for you to skip. 

Make sure to keep checking back for other updates, tips and tricks, and of course the Wednesday and Thursday checklists. And if you have any questions, tweet me and I’ll try get back to you as soon as I can! 

I’ve never been a huge Pumpkin Pie fan.  I know, call it blasphemy, especially on the holiday that wouldn’t be complete without it.  Unless, that is, you make a pumpkin roll - but that just seems way too old-fashioned or Paula Deen for my tastes.  

Enter:  The Pumpkin Whoopie Pie.  The perfect mixture of cake and frosting, sandwiched together in the most decadent individual serving with all the flavors of fall. You’re sure to satisfy the traditionalists but intrigue even the most picky of eaters. 

This is adapted from Matt Lewis’s recipe via marthastewart.com.  He serves these bad-boys seasonally at his super awesome Red Hook bakery, Baked, of which I’m a HUGE fan. Some minor changes have been made but the bones of the recipe are all his.  So without further adieu, here you have it:

PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIE RECIPE:

For The Cream-Cheese Filling:

• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces organic cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For The Pumpkin Whoopie Cookies:

• 3 cups organic AP Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup Walnut Oil
• 3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets in even circular mounds, about 1 inch apart. Bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.

For the frosting, sift confectioner’s sugar into a medium bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. 

To assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a ziplock bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, squeeze a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.

The Whoopie Pies can be kept in the fridge for a couple days, so this it the perfect make-ahead dessert.  Bake these on Wednesday, and they’ll be perfect on Thursday. And I promise you, no one will miss the pumpkin pie! 

It’s a good idea to have plenty of chicken stock on hand for Thanksgiving - it helps with everything from roasting the bird to thinning gravy to creating a perfect fall soup. Here’s a tip: pick up a rotisserie chicken for dinner and use the carcass for stock - you’ll have dinner AND delicious homemade chicken stock with no fuss!

You can use this same method with your Thanksgiving turkey as well.  Make sure to leave a pot on your stove that can collect all your scraps from a day of cooking - onion skins, tops of carrots, parsnip peels, extra herbs - throw them all into the pot with your turkey and fill it with water.  Bring it to a simmer while you enjoy your feast and catch up with family, and you’re all set with the most delicious turkey stock you’ve ever had!

Check out this 60-second how-to video on how to make the perfect stock! 

This soup is delicious with just a few simple main ingredients: one butternut squash, one apple, and one onion. It’s really easy yet amazingly delicious, and the flavor gets better the second and third day - so it’s a great make ahead appetizer for your Thanksgiving feast! 

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP - serves 6

1 Butternut Squash (2-3 lbs)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

8 sage leaves, chopped

2 cups chicken stock (plus more to adjust texture of soup)

8 ounces sour cream 

Salt & Pepper to taste 

Preheat your oven to 375 Degrees F.  Cut your butternut squash lengthwise down the center, and remove the seeds.  Drizzle with olive oil and generously salt and pepper. Place the squash face down on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil or parchment, and roast for about an hour, or until the squash may be pierced with a knife.  Allow to cool.  

Meanwhile, heat 1 TBSP olive oil over medium heat in a large pot, and sauté the onion, apple, and garlic with some salt and pepper until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the sage and sauté for one minute more. Scoop the squash away from the skin and add it to the pot, stirring to combine the ingredients.  Add enough stock to just cover the ingredients in the pot, and bring to a simmer.  Cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Then, it’s time to blend!  Either transfer to the soup carefully batch by batch to a blender, or use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth and creamy. If you would like it thinner, simply add more stock, 1/2 cup by 1/2 cup until you reach your desired consistency. Stir in the sour cream, and taste for seasoning.  Adjust the salt and pepper accordingly.  Serve with a garnish of your choice, perhaps some sour cream, some chives, or sage.  

Enjoy!  

Mashed potatoes are my favorite part of the Thanksgiving Feast.  Not only are they terribly decadent, they’re also the perfect vehicle for homemade turkey gravy.  My mashed potatoes get a little tang from sour cream and some extra flavor from two heads of roasted garlic - adding a wonderfully mild yet rich hint to these already special spuds. 

Perfect Mashed Potatoes

• 2 lbs Organic Yukon Golds 
• 8 ounces Sour Cream - warmed 
• 1 stick butter - melted
• 2 heads roasted garlic - cloves squeezed from the head
• salt and pepper to taste 

You can peel your potatoes if you like smooth mashed potatoes, but I prefer the more rustic appeal of mashed potatoes with the skin - and it’s less work! Just make sure to use a potato with a thin skin like Yukon Gold.

Chop the potatoes into 1 1/2 inch thick slices.  Place them in a large pot and cover them with cold, salted water.  Bring them to a simmer and allow them to cook for about 20 minutes, or until a fork can puncture the potatoes easily. 

Drain the potatoes and beat them with the rest of the ingredients - you can use an electric mixer or a potato masher.  Whatever you have on hand!  Make sure to season with plenty of salt and pepper, and voila!  You can make these while your turkey is roasting and keep them covered on the stovetop. Just make sure to reheat and give them a good stir before serving! 

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting recipes, videos and directions for a fool-proof Thanksgiving!  Here’s the first of our simple side dishes: Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Parmigiano Reggiano and Lemon.  Keep checking back for more recipes, as well as a guide to holiday food-prepping that will minimize your work come Turkey Day! 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts:

These delicious veggies are a perfect Thanksgiving accompaniment, but are delicious any time, no special occasion required!

• 1.5 pounds Brussels Sprouts, halved and stems removed
• 2 TBSP Olive Oil 
• Salt & Pepper to Taste
• Zest of one lemon (reserve lemon for the juice) 
• 2 TBSP Lemon Juice (half a lemon) 
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano 

Preheat your oven to 400 Degrees F. Toss the Brussels Sprouts, olive oil, salt, pepper and zest in a large bowl.  Arrange them on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until browned.  Toss them once during the roasting process to ensure even baking. Remove them from the oven and coat with lemon juice and parmigiano reggiano.  Toss to combine all the flavors, and serve!  

Happy Thanksgiving!