For this year's Thanksgiving holiday, the Source reached out to a few of Bend's most talented chefs for some recipe ideas that are a bit off the beaten path.
For the main dish, Bryan Tremayne from Primal Cuts offered us Turkey Confit: a richly flavorful alternative to the usual slow-roasted bird, as well as Stuffin Muffins, which are exactly what they sound like: traditional style stuffing baked into muffin form.
For side dishes, Kurt Voorhees of Shred Town food cart offered Grilled Green Beans with Honey Yam Sauce, which bump grandma's green bean casserole off the table for us.
And, dessert? A sweet recipe for Quince Crumble with Spiced Fig Sauce shared by Nickol Cady from Foxtail Bakeshop. Or, if you're really willing to throw tradition to the wind, this recipe from Barrio's Steve Draheim for Baked Plantains with Cinnamon-Rum Crema. And, while you're at it, go ahead and mix up Steve's Oaxacan Hot Chocolate Cocktail to get the family feeling warm and fuzzy.
Turkey Leg Confit, from Bryan Tremayne at Primal Cuts
Ingredients:
2 ea – Turkey leg, skin on, bone in
2 Tbl – coarse salt
1 tsp – black pepper
3 sprigs – fresh thyme
3 ea – bay leaves, broken
6 ea – garlic cloves
2 Tbl – olive oil
1 ½ to 2 lbs – rendered duck fat
Directions: Mix salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic and rub thoroughly into the turkey legs. Put in the refrigerator overnight. Take out and scrape off all the seasonings and reserve. Heat olive oil in a heavy pan that can be put in the oven with a lid; a dutch oven is preferred. Brown the legs on all sides, skin side down first then all over. Add rendered fat and seasonings to the dutch oven, cover and put in the oven at 250 for approximately 2 hours. If the fat does not cover completely turn the legs carefully 2 or 3 times during cooking.
Stuffin Muffins, from Bryan Tremayne at Primal Cuts
1 ea – stick of butter
1 cup – heavy cream
4 ea – eggs
1 cup (or as needed) – chicken broth
2 ea – day old baguettes, cut into medium size squares
2 ea – yellow onion, diced small
2 ea – carrots, diced small
4 ea – celery, diced small
3 ea – garlic cloves,
1 cup – hazelnuts, chopped
3 or 4 sprigs – rosemary, chopped
2 Tbl – salt
1 Tbl – black pepper
Directions: Put butter in a pan and melt on medium until starting to bubble. Add the garlic, onion, carrot, celery and sweat until the carrots are soft and onions are translucent. When vegetables are done sweating add the rosemary and hazelnuts and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside and let cool. Cut the bread into crouton sized cubes and put into a large mixing bowl. Put the eggs and cream in a mixing bowl and lightly whisk until eggs and cream are incorporated. Add the egg and cream mixture as well as the vegetable mixture to the bread and mix well with your hands. If the mixture is too dry use the chicken broth to help it stick together. Get a muffin tin with 12 to 16 holes and grease it with a cold stick of butter. Pack the stuffing into the muffin tin about a quarter or half inch over the top. Bake the stuffin muffins on 350 for about 20 to 25 minutes. They will be golden brown on top when they are done. Use a butter knife to release them from the muffin tin and enjoy.
Grilled Green Beans with Honey Yam Sauce, from Kurt Voorhees at Shred Town food cart
Ingredients:
· 2 lb green beans
· 3 tablespoons olive oil
· 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
· 1 cup yam
· ½ cup onion
· ¼ cup honey
· 2 cloves (or 1 pinch ground)
· 1 t salt
· 1/3 cup Cotija cheese
· ¼ cup pecans, chopped and toasted
Juice of 2 limes
· Tajin
· Paprika for topping
Honey Yam Sauce: Dice the yam into medium cubes and boil in 1½ cups of water until soft. While the yam cooks, dice the onion and lightly caramelize it in oil, until the onion turns light brown .Combine cooked yam, water, onion, honey, cloves and salt in a high-powered blender and emulsify. *If you do not have a high-powered blender, make sure the cloves are broken down in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle before adding them to the sauce. (If you want to spice things up, add toasted and dehydrated chilies to the blender before emulsifying.) Check to see if the sauce is at the right consistency. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (nappe consistency). If the sauce it too thin, reduce over heat. If too thick, add water to the sauce
Green Beans: Wash and pick the stems off of the green beans. Turn the grill on high heat. Preheat a grill basket by placing it on the grill. Mix the green beans, olive oil and vinegar together in a large bowl. Add the green beans to the grill basket. Make sure to leave the excess olive oil and vinegar in the bowl. Set the bowl aside. Stir the green beans in one-minute increments, until they are slightly charred with small black spots, 3-4 minutes. Make sure not to overcook the green beans, as you will loose your crunch! If you don't have a grill, you may sauté the green beans. Once the green beans are done, add them back into your mixing bowl. Mix in the lime juice, half of the Cotija cheese, half of the pecans and ½ cup yam sauce to the green beans and season heavily with Tajin. Plate the green beans, and top with the remaining Cotija and pecans, and drizzle with desired amount of yam sauce. Garnish with a small amount of paprika.
Quince Crumble with Spiced Fig Sauce, from Nickol Cady at Foxtail Bakeshop
Quince Crumble:
1/2 c Sugar
1/2c Unsalted Butter, Diced Small
1/2c Flour
1/4c Almond Flour
1/4c Cornmeal
1/2 tsp Chopped Rosemary
1 Large Quince, Peeled and cut into small cubes
4 T Orange Juice
3 T Creme Fraiche
Spiced Fig Sauce:
2 Tbs Sugar
1/4 c Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
1/2 c Chopped Fresh Figs
1 Star Anise
3 Whole Black Peppercorns
Method:
To make the streusel: Combine 1/4 cup sugar, The butter, flour, almond flour, cornmeal, and Rosemary in a food processor, pulsing until crumbly. Spread mixture on a sheet pan and bake at 325 Degrees for 25 min, or until gold brown. Let cool slightly and break into small pieces.
To make the Quince filling: Cook quince, water, orange juice and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar over medium heat while stirring until water evaporates and sugar gets a golden brown. Remove from heat and add the creme fraiche and mix throughly.
Assemble: Place quince mixture in a ring mold in the middle of your plate add and press down with back of spoon. Add streusel to the top and press down. Lift off ring mold and top with vanilla bean gelato.
To make the spiced fig sauce: Cook the sugar in a sauce pot on medium heat for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Add the orange juice and bring to a boil. Add the figs, star anise and peppercorns and bring to a boil, and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and strain the solids. Add a little port to thin.
Baked Plantains with Cinnamon-Rum Crema, from Steven Draheim at Barrio
Ingredients:
4 Plantains
1 teaspoon salted butter, softened
1 cup crema
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
1 teaspoon spiced rum
1/3 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/3 cup shredded coconut, sweetened
Instructions: Preheat oven to 350° F. Cut plantains lengthwise and dab butter on the cut sides of the plantains. Place plantains, cut side facing up on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, remove from oven and set aside. In a separate medium mixing bowl, add crema, sugar, cinnamon and rum. Whisk until combined. Test for sweetness. Add more if you prefer your crema sweeter. On 4 serving plates, scoop 1 tablespoon each of crema. Place plantains on plates over crema, drizzle with remaining crema, garnish with chopped pecans and shredded coconut.
Oaxacan Hot Chocolate Cocktail, from Steven at Barrio
Ingredients:
8 oz. Milagro Anejo Tequila (or Spiced Rum)
Oaxacan Hot Chocolate
6 oz. good Chocolate sauce
4 Cups Whole Milk
1 Cinnamon Stick or 1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
¼ Vanilla Bean or 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 tsp. Ancho Chile Powder
Pinch Salt
A little agave nectar (optional)
Heat above ingredients in saucepot till hot and melted. Add 2 oz. tequila into each serving mug. Top with hot chocolate mix and a little agave nectar. Top with whipped cream, cinnamon dusting and orange zest.
