The Best Thanksgiving Ever

"The First Thanksgiving," oil on canvas

Foodie Jennifer Brule’ (www.findingtasty.com) is a classically trained chef, food writer and recipe developer who has written for Cooking Light, Swiss News, and various city magazines. In 2003, she and her family moved to Switzerland and ate their way across Europe. They later moved to northwest England, where they learned that French fries are called 'chips', potato chips are 'crisps'; dinner is served at noon and 'tea' is the meal you eat in the evening. After visiting far too many castles, (and eating far too many chips) Jenny and her family returned to the U.S. This year is the first in many years that Jenny will truly celebrate Thanksgiving, with all the fixings, family, and jocular feasting that comes with this warm, All-American holiday.

Sashay caught up with Jenny to chat about her culinary excursions, kitchen secrets and holiday memories. And don’t forget to scroll to the end, where we have posted three of Jenny’s unique holiday recipes along with her spunky commentary to help you have a little extra fun in the kitchen.

When did you know that you and food clicked?
There was never an, ‘aha!’ moment. Food and cooking is the one commonality that my four siblings, parents and I share; talking about food is an exquisite way that we’ve always connected. One food memory is of my father bringing me to a French bakery every Saturday morning. He’d time it so we arrived just as they were putting out French country boules (round loaves of crusty white bread).

In your travels, what has food taught you about people?
Great question! I sort of filter new places and cultures by looking at what their people grow, cook and eat: What is their comfort food? What do they prepare for a celebration? What do their grocery stores carry? This tells me so much about them. I have learned is that Italians, French, and Spanish take cooking and eating seriously—they take time to sit and enjoy a meal. Finding pleasure in life is very important in these cultures—more so than making a buck (or euro).

Do you have a most embarrassing or disastrous food moment?
I have not had too many disasters in the kitchen. Not every recipe I develop turns out good the first time, but I’ve not yet caught my hair on fire, or sliced off an entire finger (the tips of two fingers yes, but that doesn’t count—does it?)

What in your kitchen can't you live without?
My radio tuned to NPR.

What's the weirdest thing you've ever tasted?
Sitting in Jardin des Tulleries in Paris, with my children, we tried percebes. And they were delicious.

Do you have a new twist on a traditional Thanksgiving dish?
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. We didn’t really celebrate it for the past seven years because we weren’t living in the States. I would always get blue on Thanksgiving because, of course, that day is not celebrated anywhere outside the U.S. This will be the first Thanksgiving that we have celebrated since 2003. My menu will be very classic, but it is what I have been craving for seven years! I can’t divulge the dish that I am looking forward to, but let’s just say it involves cans of green beans and mushroom soup.

What spice do you feel is the most versatile?
Can I choose an herb? I’d choose dried thyme. There are three things that will bring up the flavor in food: salt, booze and thyme. All three enhance savory dishes. Thyme is just a good all around herb to keep on hand.

Is it hard to be a foodie and be waist conscious?
For me, it doesn’t seem possible to be a food writer/recipe developer and stay super thin. If something tastes good I have little sense of moderation. I tried Weight Watchers once and it wasn’t for me.

I justify my roundness by telling myself, ‘You’re a beautiful, barrel-chested, sailor-of-a-woman because you’ve had four kids (including twins) that ratcheted your bra size from a 34B to a 38C. You’re 42 and you don’t have a personal trainer— it’s okay to have a big bra and a soft belly.’ I just keep hoping that my husband agrees…

What food dish or flavor best describes you?
Salsa. It’s fresh, it’s spicy, it’s uncomplicated— and can, on occasion, cause heartburn.
 

Recipes

2-Hour Brine
Chef's Note: If you want the full flavor of brine, but don't have days to prepare, try this brine with thick cut pork chops. The chops emerge from the grill juicy and flavorful after bathing in this brine. Because it is strong, it takes just two hours to brine chops—any more time and they start to cure and get too salty. Larger roasts can stay in the brine for longer—the bigger the cut of meat the longer it can soak. I made this for a Greek dinner and added dry oregano to the brine, but that can be replaced with another dry herb.

½ cup COARSE sea or kosher salt (not table salt)
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon dry oregano (optional)
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 cups boiling water
2 cups ice water
6-8 pork chops, at least 1 and ½ inches thick

1. Place the salt down to the vinegar into a large, non-reactive bowl.
2. Pour the boiling water over and stir until the salt and brown sugar dissolve.
3. Allow to sit and steep for 10 minutes, then pour in the ice water.
4. Make sure the brine is room temp or cooler, before adding in the pork chops.
5. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, no more.
6. Remove from the brine, rinse, pat dry and grill.

Chicken Paprikash
This is so very easy and great to make on the nights between more complicated holiday meals. Use chicken thighs on the bone, as the bones make the sauce infinitely better. If you must, use boneless (you can even use chicken breasts, just don’t tell me).
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
3 tablespoons flour
2 and ½ cups chicken stock
1 tin chopped or cherry tomatoes (including juice)
10 chicken thighs, bone-in or boneless, skin removed
½ cup sour cream (regular or reduced fat but not fat free)

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a deep, oven-proof pot, sauté the onion in the vegetable oil until limp, then add in the paprika and continue to sauté for just a minute.
2. Mix or shake the flour with the chicken broth, until there are no lumps and add to the onions. Tip in the tin of tomatoes and snuggle the chicken thighs in there, making sure they are covered in the sauce.
3. Cover the pot and place into the oven. Bake for one to one and a half hours until the meat is falling off the bone.
4. Remove the chicken thighs from the sauce and shed the meat (discard the bones). Stir the sour cream into the sauce, then add the shredded chicken back into the pot and serve.

Serve with broad egg noodles, or if you are feeling adventurous, fluffy dumplings. Serves six.

Do-Ahead Holiday Hors d'eouvre
This is a great little hors d'oeuvre to keep handy. I developed it for a swanky birthday party I catered for a vegeratian. Although she and two of the guests were vegetarian, the other 60 guests were card-carrying meat eaters, so this had to satisfy both hungry groups. This is simple and an easy one to do ahead, keeping the hors d'oeuvre stashed in the freezer for when you have friends around over the holidays.

Cherry tomatoes, washed and left whole
Drizzle of olive oil
Store bought, refrigerated puff pastry
Tapenade (I made mine without anchovies so it would remain a vegetarian recipe), homemeade or store bought
Shredded or small cubes of Italian cheese, Parmesan, Fontina, Tellagio-- you could even use Brie

1.  Toss the tomatoes in olive oil (you need one for each hors d'oeuvre). Roast in a 400-degree oven until just limp and losing some juice. Set aside.
2.  Unroll the pastry. Use a 2'' round cookie cutter to cut out as many hors d'oeuvre as you want.
3.  Spoon the tapenade into a small plastic sandwich bag, and squeeze it into one corner. Cut off the tip of the corner, leave the top unsealed-- this is now your pastry bag. Squeeze a bit of tapenade into the center of each pastry round, then top with a bit of cheese.
At this point, all these little beauties can be easily frozen, ready to pop into the oven on a moments notice-- otherwise, carry on with the recipe.
4. Preheat the oven to 400. Place the pastry rounds onto a baking tray and bake until just golden and bubbly-- roughly 15 minutes. Top with a roasted cherry tomato and serve hot.