Bake the potatoes at 400° for about an hour. Once done, slice potatoes in half lengthwise, being careful to leave the skins intact. Gently scoop out the flesh into a mixing bowl.

While the potato is still hot, add cheese and butter and mash until smooth. Add milk and tarragon; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Scoop mashed potatoes back into skins and place on baking sheet. Raise oven temperature to 450°. Sprinkle tops of potatoes with the Parmesan or Romano cheese and bake until the tops are golden brown, 20-30 minutes.

Sausage lentil soup

grated romano cheese, for topping

Cook the lentils until soft. I usually add the pasta near the end of the cooking time because I don’t like to put uncooked pasta in my soup. In a stockpot, brown the sausage. Add the onion and escarole and cook about three minutes. Add the broth and simmer 15 minutes. Add lentils, pasta, pepper flakes and tomato sauce and simmer about 5 minutes more.

Escarole soup with chicken and rice (from the Quick from Scratch Italian cookbook)

3 T. olive oil
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
7 1/2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup rice, preferably arborio
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 lb. escarole, washed and cut into ribbons
1 lb. chicken breast, diced
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
6 T. grated Parmesan (we used pecorino romano)

Heat the oil and cook the carrot, onion, celery and garlic until the vegetables start to soften.  Add broth, rice and salt.  Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
Add the greens to the pot until almost tender.  Add the chicken and pepper.  Bring to a simmer and continue simmering for just 1 minute.  The chicken should be done.
Remove the post from the heat.  Stir in the parsley and cheese.

Variation:
Stir two well-beaten eggs into the pot along with the parsley and cheese.

Hoppin’ John Soup (from Betty Crocker cookbook)

1 cup dried black-eyed peas or red beans
8 cups water
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp. very finely chopped jalapeno chili or other hot chili (or 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 ham bone
1/2 cup rice
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green or red pepper, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 lb. greens, coarsely chopped

Heat peas and water to boiling.  Boil 2 minutes uncovered; remove from heat.  Cover and let stand 1 hour.

Stir in chili, garlic and ham bone.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until peas are tender.  Remove ham bone.  Cut ham into pieces and reserve.  Stir rice, onion, bell pepper, salt and pepper into soup.  Simmer until rice is tender.  Stir in ham and greens.

• turnip greens
• salt pork
• 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• dash of sugar (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook salt pork in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat until crispy and brown. Add about 1 1/2 cups water, turnip greens, onion, salt, pepper and sugar and bring to a boil for about 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 40 minutes or so until greens are nice and tender.

Delicious served with cornbread.

*Notes: if using traditionally cured salt pork, you may not need additional salt. Also, greens can be blanched for 1-2 minutes and the water poured off to get rid of any bitter taste. Turnip greens may react with aluminum.

Cream of Sorrel Soup

Clean, shred from the midrib and chop:
1/2 cup sorrel leaves
1 1/2 cups leaf lettuce

Saute them until wilted in:
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
When they are sufficiently wilted, there will be only about 3 tablespoons of leaves.

Add:
5 cups poultry or vegetable stock
Simmer about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add a small amount of the soup to:
1/2 cup cream
3 beaten egg yolks

Combine all ingredients and heat until the soup thickens slightly, but do not boil. Makes 5 to 6 cups.

Source: Joy of Cooking

We’re really enjoying everything.

To prep the bird, I’ll rub it down with just a bit of olive oil to help crisp the skin quickly, but goose is a fatty enough bird that it doesn’t need much. I’ll prick the skin in several places with a fork to allow the fat to drain out into the deep roasting pan, which I’ll drain several times during roasting. The goal is to pierce the skin and underlying fat, but not the meat.

What ever you do, save the fat from the cooking process! Cooking a Christmas goose is a wonderful tradition for this alone. I siphon mine off with a bulb baster into a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup where it can safely cool before I fill whatever containers I might have handy and pop it into the freezer. All year long, I’ll be able to pull out the pristine white goose fat, shave off some chunks, and roast vegetables and potatoes to golden brown perfection. Goose fat is one of the most delicious cooking oils you’ll ever taste! Europeans are known to use duck and goose fat instead of butter on slice of toast.

Be sure to drain the fat for two reasons: 1) you don’t want your bird swimming in fat as it cooks, and 2) it’s highly flammable and no one needs a holiday meal to remember from that standpoint!

I’ll likely stuff my goose with fresh herbs, apples, onions, and garlic, since I won’t be doing a dressing this year. I’ll also reserve some of that stuffing to encircle the goose in the roasting pan, which will caramelize down nicely at the end of the roasting process. Adding about 1/4″ of water in the bottom of pan will help keep the fat from igniting as it drips from the bird; just be sure to skim the fat off the water when siphoning it later.

I’ll place my bird into a 425° oven for about 30 minutes or so to sear the skin, after which I’ll drop the temp down to about 325° to continue cooking until done. Folks can use a meat thermometer to test for doneness, though I generally cook until the leg bone begins to loosen and pull away a bit from the body when gently tugged. Be sure to baste and drain the fat several times during cooking.

A smaller goose like ours will take about 2 to 2.5 hours, depending whether it’s stuffed. When I’m about an hour away from being done, I’ll drizzle some of the drained fat over a medley of cubed gold potatoes and sweet potatoes, roasting them under a low broiler.

Once the goose is done, we’ll let it set for 15-20 minutes while making a gravy from the remaining pan drippings.

Links:

An NPR story acclaiming the wonders of goose fat

An illustrated guide to roasting goose

• 1 large batch of Swiss chard, about a pound, stems removed (cut into the leaves a little bit, till the stem is no longer rigid)
• Tablespoon butter
• Olive oil as needed (about 1 to 1-1/2)
• Coarse Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon of shallots or your favorite onion
• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup walnuts
• 2 oz. sherry or white wine
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar with the mother (we used a little more…)

Heat a large skillet at a low to medium heat, add the oil and butter, and then the chard stems, salt and pepper. When the stems have tenderized increase temperature to high. Once at temperature add Chard.

When the chard has reduced and starts to soften add the garlic, onion, and walnuts and sauté one more minute. Add the wine and the vinegar and cook on high until at least half the fluid has evaporated. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary and serve.

Other optional ingredients include diced bell pepper, or a sprinkle of nutmeg. Sauté the bell pepper with the chard leaves before adding the garlic. Nutmeg is added at the very end.

Enjoy!

• Dice yellow squash, green zucchini, and green zebra tomatoes
• Toss with balsamic vinaigrette

Balsamic Vinaigrette:

• equal parts of olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• pinch cayenne pepper
• pinch sea salt
• dollop dijon mustard
• minced garlic clove
• basil

Linguine with Swiss Chard and Garlic

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs coarse
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 box linguine, cooked according to package directions
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Swiss chard, stalks thinly sliced, leaves cut into large pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat.
• Add bread crumbs and cook, stirring constantly until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
• Scrape into a small bowl and stir in Parmesan cheese.
• Cook linguine in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes.
• While pasta cooks, wipe out skillet.
• Add remaining oil to skillet and heat over medium heat.
• Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes to taste.
• Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is golden but not brown, about 30 seconds.
• Stir in Swiss chard.
• Stir in salt and 1/4 cup water.
• Cook, stirring occasionally until Swiss chard is tender, about 8 minutes.
• Add additional water if chard becomes dry.
• Drain linguine and return to pot, add Swiss chard, and toss to combine.
• Serve sprinkled with crumbs.

Baked Cheese Polenta with Swiss Chard, adapted from Cooking Light

• Swiss Chard
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons water
• Polenta:
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can vegetable broth
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
• 3 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare chard, remove stems and center ribs. Discard stems and chop ribs; coarsely chop leaves. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add ribs and 2 tablespoons water; cover and cook 5 minutes. Add the leaves; cover and cook 5 minutes or until wilted.

To prepare polenta, place 1 3/4 cups water, salt, and broth into a large saucepan. Gradually add the cornmeal, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and cook 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cheeses, stirring constantly with a whisk. Spoon half the polenta into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray, spreading evenly. Top with the chard mixture. Spoon sour cream over chard, spreading evenly. Quickly add remaining polenta, spreading evenly.

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Shallots, adapted from Fork & Bottle

• 1/2 Tbsp Butter
• 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp chopped Shallot
• 1/2c Dry White Wine
• Chopped Swiss Chard

Strip Swiss Chard leaves from stems. Roughly chop stems into 1 inch pieces, set aside. Roughly chop leaves into 1 inch strips.

Add butter and oil to a deep pan set over medium heat. When butter foams add shallots and swirl. Add chopped stems and when they start to soften (2 mins or so) add white wine. Wait 1 more minute and add leaves stirring well so that they wilt evenly and then turn off the heat. Cover for another 1-2 minutes. You want it to be green but soft like spinach – if you leave it cooking or covered too long it will turn green/brown.

Sautèe thinly sliced leek until soft and transparent in 1 tbsp of butter. Continue cooking, if necessary, until all liquid evaporates, but do not brown. Remove leeks and set aside.
Melt second tablespoon of butter in same skillet over medium-low heat. Add beaten eggs, room temperature cream cheese, fresh tarragon, salt and freshly ground pepper and cook, stirring with a large whisk, until egg begins to set. Stir in leek and cook until mixture forms soft curds.

Add the crème fraiche—taste and adjust seasoning. Turn out onto heated platter.

Garnish with fresh tarragon springs and some toast.

• 1 1/2 Pounds new potatoes
• 3/4 Cup salad dressing or mayonnaise
• 1/3 Cup celery — sliced
• 1 Tablespoon fresh chives — chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 Teaspoons fresh tarragon leaves, chopped or 1/2 tsp dried
• 1 Teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 Teaspoon salt
• 3 Drops red pepper sauce

Directions:

• Heat 1″ water (salted if desired) to boiling in 3 qt saucepan.
• Add potatoes.
• Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat.
• Simmer 20-25 minutes or until tender.
• Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients in large bowl.
• Drain potatoes; cool slightly.
• Peel potatoes if desired.
• Cut potatoes into 1/4″ slices.
• Stir gently into salad dressing mixture.
• Cover and refrigerate about 4 hours or until chilled.