Randwiches Guide to Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite cooking holiday. Not going to lie, it's an awesome time to show off in the kitchen and I rarely get to cook large format meals. I pull out all the stops and I use every single leftover bit in a sandwich.

Instead of telling you what you should be cooking on turkey day, I thought it would be better to help you get through it. My cooking origin story goes like this: my mom asked me to help with Thanksgiving dinner when I turned 16. She told me to wake up at 6am and when I awoke, she was gone. She had to work at the hospital and I had to get the whole dinner on the table. The end of the story is that I did it and started watching Food Network as a result.

The point is: no one wants to panic on Thanksgiving morning. I put together these editable Google Drive templates for everyone to use and share with guests.

>> Click here to view the Thanksgiving worksheets<<
To save to your Google Drive: File > Make a Copy > Rename > Save	To save as a PDF: File > Download as > Select PDF > Save

Once you've got it filled out, print it out or display it on an iPad in the kitchen so you stay on track.

Page 1: Organize the guests

• Open the Google Document and share with your friends, have them sign up to bring a dish.
• Do you have enough platters and serving utensils to accommodate the whole dinner? If not, ask a friend who isn't bringing anything to bring or buy disposable.
• Note that there is a column for heat source. Make sure you can fit everything into the oven when they need to be or get creative with warming solutions, like...
  • In the microwave
  • Wrapped in a blanket or winter coat
  • Slow Cooker, rice cooker or steamer
• Short on fridge space? If it's cold outside, consider hosting your drinks in a cooler or (god forbid) in the snow. 
  • Any meats to be cooked can be out of the fridge for an hour to come to room temperature.
  • Cheese can be plated an hour ahead. Watch out for sheep or buffalo milk cheese, they will sweat. Prepare to blot them like a greasy pizza or plate them last.
  • Precut tubers like carrots or potatoes and store them with ice water if you can't fit them in the fridge.

Page 2: Lay out the schedule

• It really important to time your dishes. Figure out what can be made ahead.
• A good window of time to make gravy is while you rest the turkey, it will still be hot in 30 minutes!
• Think about the residual heat on the stove or in the oven, do any desserts need to be defrosted or held at a low temp?

Page 3: Plan your individual dishes

• Don't just read one recipe. Read many recipes and decide what steps you will take or if you're going to add a bit of flair.
• Document what you need to do and when.
• List all of the ingredients you have already.
• Manage shopping by grouping ingredients by store and department.

Finally, roll with it. People are going to bring different things if the store runs out. There might not be enough of one thing or another. A relative might have a strong opinion of how you're making your gravy. It's all ok, have a drink and I hope you treat yourself to a slice of pie!

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Love leftovers? Or better yet, leftover sandwiches? Join me for the Put A Egg On It issue 11 release party and Leftover Special event. Not only will you be the first to get a copy of the newest PAEOI, you can bring all of your Thanksgiving leftovers and compete in a sandwich making contest. Full details here.

[Upcoming] #BlogHerFood15 in Chicago, IL

I'm heading to Chicago this week for #BlogHerFood15. I'll be speaking on a day 1 panel about social media! I'll specifically be talking about Tumblr, Flipboard and GIFs for food bloggers.

Here are the details:

November 6, 2015 - 2:45pm - 4:00pm

Social Media Bootcamp: New School Tools

You may not need to use every new tool that is launched, but you should a) stake your claim in each one and b) make an informed decision before deciding one isn't for you. We'll review such newer platforms as Tumblr, Snapchat, Periscope, Flipboard, and understand the potential relevance of something in between a still shot and a video: The animated GIF!

Moderator:
MJ Tam, Chicagonista.com

Speakers:
Rachel Adams, Dinner was Delicious
Gaby Dalkin, What's Gaby Cooking
**Jenn de la Vega, Randwiches** << Woo!

Will you be at #BlogHerFood15? Tweet me @Randwiches & come say hi !

Modern Mezze Menu: Flakey Grilled Bread

Adapted from Bon Appètit | Shot by Riley Ziesig

I'll be honest with you. The worst part about this recipe is waiting four hours for the dough to proof. Other than that, it's smooth sailing and completely rewarding.

It's fun to explore how flatbreads get so flakey. Here, we've rolled them out flat, rolled them into a cigar and then coiled the cigar like a cinnamon roll.  

After they've proofed for the four hours, you roll them out flat again and cook them on a hot hot hot grill pan. When they come off, you swipe them with some butter, a crumble of Maldon and dill (my suggestion!). Perfect with labneh, hummus or a greek yogurt with grated garlic.

If you've ever been to Glasserie in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; this is the closest approximation to their side of grilled bread!

Did you try it? Tag @Randwiches in an Instagram photo, I'd love to see it! 

Modern Mezze Menu: Smashing Pumpkins (literally)

Shot by Riley Ziesig

I was shopping at the Greene Grape one afternoon and their display of Fall pumpkins were gorgeous. I've only known pumpkin at the extremes, as a thing you put on your porch or magically appearing in a pie. The in-between part of actually cooking pumpkin eluded me, what, with canned pumpkin available where I grew up? Never really had the opportunity to get my hands on one outside of Halloween!

The most genius (and most simple) idea of cooking this pumpkin came from the Greene Grape signage. A small note next to the pumpkins said, "Smash it on the ground and roast it!"

Yes, you can totally do that. And I'm going to make this joke.

Take any baking pumpkin and wash it. You don't want to get any dirt on the outside to get on the inside. Put it in a paper bag, roll up the excess end and wrap that in a plastic shopping bag. Tie it closed. Ascend to the top of the stairs of your house or if you're in an apartment like me, the top rung of a step-ladder. Laugh a little at the situation, it's part of the recipe.

Make sure the floor is clear. Warn all roommates, housemates, toddlers, and pets that you will be lobbing a pumpkin with some might and force at the ground below. Confirm that you will be throwing the pumpkin stem side up, I don't want you all complaining to me about scuffing your wood floor after this. Don't just drop the pumpkin, throw it. I had to do this twice because I am a small human with little strength.

Open up the bag and check that you actually broke the pumpkin into manageable pieces as big as your hand. It will be impossible (and scary) if they broke into exactly the same size -- pics if that happens! -- but make sure the collective pieces will fit in a pan in your oven.

I love how the pumpkin looks broken up like this and not sliced in unnatural uniform pieces. The divots are ideal for holding dips for your fancy crudités platter!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop out the seeds and save them for roasting if you wish. Use a spoon to remove the pulp or use your hands if you don't mind the barbarism. Place the pumpkin in an oven-safe roasting pan in and drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Do not let any pieces overlap, single layer please! Roast for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is fork tender. 

While you wait, prepare a sauce, pesto or dip. I like this pistachio tapenade from Smitten Kitchen.

Once the pumpkin is roasted, let it cool so it's easier to handle and you don't mess up the cute cup shapes. Spoon in your favorite dip and enjoy as a vegetarian main or impressive shared side dish!

Did you smash a pumpkin? I wanna see. Tweet me @Randwiches or tag me on Instagram.

An Important Introduction to Cooking Lion's Mane Mushroom

As seen on FeedFeed!

My first encounter with lion's mane mushroom was the McCarren Park farmer's market. I glanced at the John D. Madura Farm's table and spotted this white fluffy ball, not unlike a tribble.

The kind man at the stand advised me to slice it into steaks and cook it slowly with butter and pepper. That's it! This is totally optional and only because I want to complicate everything: I put the whole head in the smoker and it tinted the entire lobe a dirty brown. I sliced it and pan fried it. Minutes later, it was rich, sort of lobster-y and striated like a piece of chicken breast. I implore you to try it if you can find it!

You'll need:
1 medium head of lion's mane (Or enough to constritute a head of cauliflower)	2 tablespoons of butter Pepper Salt

If you're going to smoke it. Try and smoke other vegetables like tomatoes or cauliflower so you don't fire up just for a little bit of mushrooms. I recommend 30 minutes with maplewood.

If you don't smoke the mushrooms, they still turn out great!

Brush off any dirt or black bits on the "fur" of the mushroom. Cut off the "foot", where it used to attach to the tree (it resembles the stalk of a cauliflower). Cut the mushroom into 1/2 inch steaks or as best you can, uniformly.

Place them in a dry pan on medium. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes and flip. When the mushrooms have released water and start to brown, add the butter. Make sure every piece gets a bit on both sides. Be delicate as you handle them and don't stir them around. Season with salt and generous amounts of fresh ground pepper. Bring the heat down to low and cook until both sides are golden brown.

The furry fronds will go from soft to crispy and soak up all that butter. MMMMPH. So satisfying as a side dish or garnish to a warm salad.

Love mushrooms? Check out these other posts.

• Zero waste mushroom powder

• Super savory mushroom rubbed Delmonico steak

• Shiitake tartines with arugula salad

• Pickled oyster mushrooms

• Daring exercises with a giant king oyster mushroom

Have you had lion's mane? How do you cook them? Tell me by tweeting to @Randwiches.

Modern Mezze Menu: Crushed Cucumber Lime Pickle

Adapted from Bon Appètit | Shot by Riley Ziesig

I thought this dish was too beautiful to pass up. I have a coconut allergy, so I substituted the milk with swipes of labneh. I also fried up my own garlic chips for some crunch on top.

To make garlic chips, cut 5 to 6 garlic cloves into thin slices; the long way. Fill a small frying pan with enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom. Place the garlic in the oil and bring it up to a boil. Once you see the edges of the garlic frying with tiny bubbles, bring it down to a simmer for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and let the pan sit off heat for 20 minutes. If they are not chip-like, you cut them too thick and you should simmer again, careful not to burn them. They should be a golden straw color and stiff. Drain on a paper towel.

For the pickles, it is a funny concept to toss fresh cucumbers in another kind of pickle. Jars of lime "mixed pickle" can be found in Indian grocery stores. Luckily SFK left some at my house. Basically, you cut up a large hot house cucumber, squish it with your hands a bit and toss it in the chopped spicy pickle. I bet it jostled the plant cell walls, releasing juice and allowing the pickle to permeate quickly.

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When you plate the cucumbers with the labneh, herbs and crunchy garlic; it is both spicy, cooling and juicy. 

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A similar dish can be found at Han Dynasty in the East Village. Instead of lime pickle, they use a sticky, garlic-y sauce with fresh cucumbers. It is very addicting.

Did you try it? Tag @Randwiches in an Instagram photo, I'd love to see it! 

Mustard Greens Display Versatility in This Spring Salad

As seen on FeedFeed!

One of my favorite stands at the McCarren Park farmer's market is Bodhitree Farm. I grew up knowing lettuce as only iceberg and romaine, so it was really cool to learn all about stringy plants like minutina and mustard greens. 

I made this salad for a big group bbq. The different textures of cooked and uncooked mustard green are up against fresh lemon and the crunch of fiddlehead ferns. It's simple but so nice to chew on with smokey meats.

You'll need:
1 bunch of mustard greens, washed 1/4 lb of Minutina* 1/4 lb of fiddlehead ferns	1 lemon, zested and juiced Fariway Barbara Sicilian olive oil Salt *Substitute with any light green

Cook half of the mustard greens in a dry pan on medium, watching as they wilt. Pour on a quarter cup of water to steam them. Turn off the pan and squeeze half the lemon into it. Let it cool.

Grill or pan fry the fiddle head ferns in a little olive oil. Make sure to brown them on both sides. 

To assemble the salad, place the cooked greens at the bottom of the bowl. Pile on the uncooked mustard, minutina and fiddle head ferns on top. Squeeze the rest of the lemon over all of it. Sprinkle the salt and lemon zest, then drizzle olive oil to your liking. 

How about you? Have you tried cooking greens and tossing in fresh ones? Tweet me if you try it @Randwiches.

Why I Treated Myself to This Loaded Lamb Bacon Bagel

As seen on FeedFeed!

Bagels were a roommate tradition when I lived in Bed Stuy. Jeff would go get a dozen from Bergen Bagels and stored them in the freezer. Some mornings when we'd wake up at the same time (a rare occurrence), he'd treat us all to a bagel board with lox and whipped cream cheese out of the KitchenAid.

I've since moved out and established my own rituals on the weekend. I wake up early, as if I'm going to work, but instead I head for the McCarren Park farmer's market. Sometimes when I've still got room in my backpack, I walk over to the Meat Hook. That first time I went in as someone who lived in the neighborhood, I picked up slices of lamb bacon.

This bagel was an ode to the old times but also a small housewarming gift to myself.

You'll need:
1 Everything Bagel 3 slices of lamb bacon, cooked Sohha sea salt yogurt	1/3 bunch of mustard greens 1 pat of butter 1/2 can of crushed tomatoes 1 small heirloom tomato, sliced

Start by washing and soaking the mustard greens in a bowl of water. Jostle them a few times and change the water, this will help get the sand out. Once the greens are clean, drain them and dry.

Put the crushed tomatoes in a shallow pan and start sautéing them on medium. Add the greens and cook until they're wilted down. Turn off the heat, add the butter and season the whole thing with a little salt and pepper.

To assemble: Slice your bagel and toast it.

Slather on the yogurt, tomatoey greens, lamb bacon and sliced tomato; in that order! Smash it a little bit so the insides don't slide around. Makes one delicious sandwich.

What do you like on your breakfast bagel? Tell me by tweeting to @Randwiches!

Hot Ham Water Ramen: A Bizarre Lunch at Work

As seen on FeedFeed!

Having a career in tech doesn't leave me a lot of time to cook, but I do revel in the moments that I get to bring lunch to the office.  While anyone can add hot water to a cup noodle ramen, or go to a ramen restaurant where the chefs spend days making perfect tonkotsu; I found the best of both worlds.

Back in April, my roommate Jeff got me a Benton's smoked ham leg for my birthday. I was thrilled! What I didn't know about it is that you have to peel away the tough, salty and inedible skin. The instructions say to bring the leg to a butcher and ask them to slice it. I'm really stubborn and always say "I CAN DO IT MYSELF." Let me tell you, it's really hard without a machine. Now, I know not everyone will have access to a whole ham leg, but in case you do, then I implore you to try this broth.

You'll need:
1 pound of Benton's ham skin* *feel free to substitute salt pork or even bacon	1 handful of bonito flakes or 3 chopped anchovies Water to fill a slow cooker

Place the ham skin in a slow cooker and fill with water. Cook on low for 8 hours or overnight. Discard the ham. Stir in the fish and store in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours. Strain the broth and taste for saltiness. Dilute with as much water as needed. It might congeal and that is normal, it will liquify when heated again.

How do you enjoy this at the office with only a microwave?

You'll need:
1 sous vide egg, cooked at 140F* 1 cup of Hot Ham Water Dashi 2 garlic chives, chopped 1 pack of dry ramen noodles *Or a soft boiled egg	Broccoli flowers or any microgreen 1 spring onion, sliced into rings 1 slice of Benton's ham, fried & sliced into strips Crispy onions Water to dilute, if needed

Transport the broth in a leakproof container or jar. Pre-boil store-bought ramen noodles at home and drain. Bring them in a separate container. Roll up all the other ingredients in a bundle of parchment paper wrapped in plastic wrap, careful to fold the paper over where you want to separate the crispy from the moist herbs.

At the office, fill a mug with water and microwave it for 2 minutes. Take it out of the microwave and plop the egg into the water. This will warm it up without cooking it. Put the broth in a bowl and heat it up for three minutes. Put the noodles in the broth and let stand for a minute. Dress the bowl with ham, greens and onion.  When you're ready to eat, crack the egg into it and pop that glorious yolk. The office will moan in unison.

Do you have any office lunch hacks? I want to know. Tweet me @Randwiches.

You Know You Want Fresh Mozzarella Salad for Breakfast

As seen on on FeedFeed!

As much as I love frying eggs to a crispy and dipping various meats and toast into runny yolk, I start to feel like my insides are lined with grease. Salad for breakfast sounds like a pretty radical idea but it's easy to convince anyone when there is a large slab of fresh cheese involved.  

Sometimes on my way to work, I stop by the Union Square  Farmer's Market. It was a gorgeous May day and celtuce was in season. I was unaware at the time but there is a whole root vegetable that was attached to these bitter greens. I also found a fresh ball of mozzarella at the Central Valley Farm stand. It is lightly salted and very delicate, cracking into familiar yellow curds when you cut it.  I threw my finds together in a salad, but I think you can swap out the cheese for any fresh varieties like ricotta, burrata or oaxaca.

You'll need:
1 fresh mozzarella ball, sliced thick 1 bunch of celtuce 4-5 garlic chives Olive oil Maldon salt	Broccoli flowers Mache flowers* Balsamic vinegar *Substitute with any flowering herb like thyme or microgreens like radish.

Cut the mozzarella into four thick discs, slicing horizontally. Place a piece of cheese on a bed of celtuce greens. Layer on the flowers and garlic chives before sprinkling the Maldon, olive oil and balsamic to your liking. 

If you're prepping ahead of time to serve, plate the salad without dressing and drizzle on when you're ready to eat. Serves 4 as an appetizer.

Do you like breakfast salad? Tell me about yours by tweeting @Randwiches.