The Manhattan Times

Three sides of Thanksgiving

by Adam Garrett-Clark

Thanksgiving is more than turkey. There are millions of side dishes used in households all over the country. For some, those recipes are more beloved than the bird that sits at the center of the table.

This year the Manhattan Times asked three prominent neighborhood chefs to create dishes that might inspire our readers to take new culinary adventures this holiday season.Kate Philippe, head chef and owner of Fibe Restaurant on Broadway and W. 171 Street, gave us recipes for a deceptively simple corn casserole and addictive bacon-wrapped dates.Ricardo Cardona, called one of New York’s most eminent Latino chefs by the Zagat guide,and designer of a host of Northern Manhattan restaurant menus, prepared a turkey empanada with a dried fruit salsa.Scott Campbell, Executive Chef at New Leaf Restaurant and Bar, went above and beyond his assignment, constructing an entire meal of seared duck with a cranberry compote, wild mushrooms, grains and fall vegetables.

To the chefs and readers, Happy Thanksgiving.

Scott Q. Campbell: Duck steak and cranberry compote

Campbell developed his reputation as a master of local ingredients and seasonal dishes first at Avenue Bistro and SQC Restaurant and Bar on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in the late 1990s. In the summer of 2007 he brought his modern-American cuisine style to New Leaf Restaurant and Bar where he creates a changing menu derived in part from ingredients harvested at the restaurant’s own garden inside Fort Tryon Park.

Campbell loves Thanksgiving. But over the last few years he’s noticed on television and in newspapers a growing boredom with traditional Thanksgiving fare – something he doesn’t necessarily agree with.

In that vein he created a healthier, modern alternative “that still has some of the same notes” of Thanksgiving, he said. In a medley of fall vegetables and grains and garnished with blackberries and wild mushrooms, Campbell created a duck steak with a zesty cranberry compote. He chose the duck, he said, in part because its fatty skin is a moister alternative to turkey meat. For Thanksgiving Campbell plans to go out with his wife to Keens Steakhouse on W. 36th Street where they serve a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Kate Philippe: Corn casserole and bacon-wrapped dates

Philippe has worked in the restaurant industry for over 20 years. Three years ago she opened the Mexican-themed Fibe Restaurant on Broadway and W.171st Street where she and her business partner Omara Reyes designed the menu.

Philippe believes Thanksgiving is about friends and family. That means as little time as possible should be spent in the kitchen. Her bacon and date appetizer and corn casserole are two recipes chosen for their simplicity and easy preparation. The corn casserole is baked and uses on old standby in her home kitchen arsenal, Jiffy corn muffin mix.

“That’s what makes life easy,” she said. Philippe came across her two dishes at the same Thanksgiving meal she attended at a friend’s house ten years ago and has been cooking them on Thanksgiving ever since. The friend who designed the dishes is Celeste Belletti, a pianist who performs a live show at Fibe every Friday night. This Thanksgiving, Philippe will continue a tradition of closing down her restaurant for the holiday and having a Thanksgiving dinner with her friends, staff, and customers who have nowhere else to go. The group will share a meal while decorating the restaurant for the Christmas season.

Ricardo Cardona: Turkey empanadas and sweet potato mash

As an executive chef, Cardona creates the concepts and recipes for each menu then works with the chefs to realize his creations.

For the Manhattan Times Cardona created a turkey empanada served with a dried fruit salsa, a dish he now plans to begin serving with his catering company, Cardona Catering, and at Manuelito's, a new restaurant he has opened on E. 82nd Street and 2nd Avenue, and the Hudson River Café.

“Latinos, we love empanadas,” he said. Serving turkey in a pocket also helps mask its dryness. The second dish Cardona offered was a sweet potato mash. The simple mash incorporates apples and orange juice and is Alex Rodriguez’s favorite thing to order at Yankee Stadium, he said.

Cardona will fly to the Dominican Republic this Thanksgiving to prepare for the Dec. 15 opening of the third Mamajuana Café in Santo Domingo. To celebrate before his afternoon departure, Cardona said his girlfriend is planning to cook for him. “A morning turkey,” he said with a laugh, or maybe the turkey empanada with a café con leche.

Recipes

Sweet Potato Mash

Ingredients:

6 peeled cut sweet potatoes

1 cup of OJ

1 cup of pineapple juice

½ cup brown sugar

4 apples, pealed and cored

4 tablespoons of butter

Boil sweet potatoes and apples for 15 minutes or until tender.

Remove the sweet potatoes and apples from liquid and reduce the liquid down until it is syrup.

Mash the apples and sweet potatoes with the syrup, 4 tablespoons of butter, the remaining liquid ingredients, salt and white pepper.

Turkey Empanadas

1 lb turkey leftovers or ground turkey

12 empanada discs (found in supermarket)

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1 red onion

1 carrot

2 stalks celery

Half teaspoon chopped fresh garlic

Pinch dry or fresh oregano

Half teaspoon of fresh chopped cilantro

Half a cap of sherry wine

1 teaspoon tomato paste

2 tablespoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon

1 cup of chicken broth or water

1 bay leaf

1/3 cup raisins

2 cups of frying oil

In a saucepan over medium heat with a bit of olive oil, brown the meat along with the diced vegetables. After everything is golden brown, add the wine, then add tomato paste and broth. Cook until all the liquid is evaporated. Add the raisins and chill the mixture.

With a spoon scoop a small amount in the middle of an empanada disc and fold like a half moon. Crimp the edge with a fork.

Heat the frying oil to 300 degrees. Then gently place the empanadas in the oil and cook till golden brown. Dry on paper towels.

Fruit Salsa

1 cup mixed dried fruit

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier or any citrus liqueur

1 tablespoon olive oil

Soak the fruit for ten minutes in warm water, drain and then mix with the remaining ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Corn Casserole

Ingredients:

9X13 inch casserole dish

2 cans of drained corn nibblets,

2 cans of cream of corn

2 packages of Jiffy corn muffin mix

16 ounces of sour cream,

1 stick of melted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Throw all the ingredients in the casserole dish and mix. Put it in the oven set to 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the top begins to brown. Like baking a cake, insert a toothpick to see when it is done. When the toothpick comes out clean, the casserole is done.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates

Ingredients:

Bacon

Dried pitted dates

Using a half slice of bacon, wrap tightly around one dried date and place on a cookie sheet seam-side down. Bake in oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Finish with serving toothpicks.

Duck Steak and Cranberry Compote

Ingredients:

4 Duck steaks (breasts)

Chinese five spice – to taste

Sea salt, Maldon – to taste

Black pepper, freshly ground – to taste

12 ounces wild mushrooms, cleaned

1 ½ ounces sweet butter

4 ounces local cranberries

1 ounce orange juice

Ginger, finely diced – to taste

Brown sugar – to taste

Orange zest – to taste

Angostura bitters – to taste

¼ cup wild rice

¼ cup dried cherries rehydrated in cranberry juice, just cover

¼ cup quinoa

1-1/2 ounces walnuts

1-1/2 ounces pumpkin seeds

1-1/2 ounces sesame seeds

1-1/2 ounces sunflower seeds

1 ounce extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt, Maldon – to taste

Pepper, freshly ground – to taste

3 ounces local baby Brussels sprouts

3 ounces local baby carrot

3 ounces local baby Tokyo turnip

2 ounces blackberries

In a medium saucepot pour in orange juice, add brown sugar and bring to a simmer. Add cranberries. Simmer cranberries for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously until they start to pop. Remove from heat.

Add orange zest, bitters, ginger and set aside.

Cook all grains separately until al dente. When cooked place all grains in a colander and drain, air-cool and dry.

Toast all nuts and seeds separately in an oven until they have a desired flavor and texture. Mix grains, cherries, seeds, nuts and flavorings with olive oil and seasonings.

Season duck steak with Chinese five spice and seasonings. In the meantime heat a large sauté pan to medium high heat, when hot add seasoned duck steaks to pan skin side down and render fat about 7 to 12 minutes, basting with duck fat intermittently until skin is crispy.

When duck is almost finished turn over and finish cooking to desired temperature, set aside and reserves some of the duck fat.

Thoroughly wash all of the vegetables and lightly blanch in salted water until al dente. Toss vegetables in the butter and olive oil then season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Drain off some of the duck fat; add butter and sauté and season wild mushrooms for a minute or so.

Cut the duck breast in half and plate. Add mixed grains, wild mushrooms, blackberries and cranberry compote.