One World Thanksgiving

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 15, 2000

1. Stone Crab Strudels
2. Red Chile Mojo Roasted Free Range Turkey
3. Plantain Chorizo Cuban Bread Stuffing
4. Adobo Pan Gravy
5. Butternut Whipped Potatoes
6. Baby Green Beans With Warm Bacon Dressing and Crispy Shallots
7. Curried Pumpkin Chai Meringue Pie

Stone Crab Strudels

• 1 pound lump crab meat, picked over and free of shell
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons minced chives
• 16 spring roll or wonton wrappers
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• Kosher salt to taste

Not Grandma's turkey dinner SideBern's chef challenges Thanksgiving tradition with a turkey marinated in ancho chilies and citrus, a bread stuffing with plantains and chorizo and a pumpkin pie flavored with curry and chai tea. Click here if you missed last week's installment.

Thoroughly combine first five ingredients in mixing bowl. Place 1 tablespoon of crab filling on wrapper and roll to manufacturer instructions, brushing the edges with the egg to seal. Repeat until all are rolled. Preheat fryer or pot of oil to 350 degrees. Fry strudels until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and salt to taste. Serve with cranberry gastrique. (Recipe follows.)

Serves 6.

Source: chef Jeannie Pierola, SideBern's

Cranberry Gastrique

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 medium onion, fine julienne
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon whole mustard seed
• 2 cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups cranberries, rinsed and drained

Combine sugar, vinegar and onions in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add lemon juice and spices and reduce to a simmer and cook ten minutes. Add cranberries and simmer for five more minutes. Cool. Serve alongside stone crab strudel.

Serves 6.

Source: chef Jeannie Pierola, SideBern's

Red Chili Mojo Roasted Free Range Turkey

• 1 12-pound free-range turkey (see note)
• Red Chili Mojo, recipe follows
• Kosher salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Plantain Chorizo Cuban Bread Stuffing, recipe follows
• Adobo Pan Gravy, recipe follows

One day before turkey day, make Red Chili Mojo. Remove turkey gizzards and set aside for stuffing. Remove neck and wing tips and set aside for gravy. Rinse turkey thoroughly inside and out with cold water and pat dry completely. Brush cavity with Red Chili Mojo. Season the outside with salt and pepper and brush liberally with Red Chili Mojo. Wrap and refrigerate. Baste every few hours with additional Red Chili Mojo, and let marinate overnight.

Day 2: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Fill cavity loosely with Plantain Chorizo Cuban Bread Stuffing and truss. (If you don't want to stuff bird, bake the stuffing at 350 degrees in a separate pan for about 45 minutes.

Place the turkey breast side down on an oiled rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes. Turn turkey over breast side up, baste again and continue roasting for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 300 degrees and continue basting every 20 minutes. Roast until turkey reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees when tested in the thickest part of the thigh. Let rest for about 20 minutes before carving.

Note: Free-range turkeys are available at specialty markets or butcher shops. If you can't find one, a regular turkey will work fine. Look for one that is not prebasted.

Source: chef Jeannie Pierola, SideBern's

Red Chili Mojo

• 8 ancho chilies, soaked in 1 quart boiling water for 20 minutes, drained
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, washed
• Juice of 8 limes
• 1/8 cup sherry vinegar
• 2 Spanish onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons toasted and ground cumin seeds
• 2 cups olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Cracked black pepper

Place first seven ingredients in food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil until emulsified and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Source: chef Jeannie Pierola, SideBern's

Plantain Chorizo Cuban Bread Stuffing

• Fresh turkey giblets, one heart, one liver, one gizzard
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 thyme sprig
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chorizo, diced
• 2 cups turkey or chicken stock
• 12 cups day-old Cuban bread, medium diced
• 3 cups ripe plantains, medium diced
• Kosher salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Trim and clean the giblets. Heat a saucepan over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon butter to saucepan. When melted, add the giblets and brown on all sides. Remove liver and reserve. Add thyme sprig and 1/2 of stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 35-45 minutes until giblets are tender. Drain and reserve cooking liquid. Dice liver, heart and gizzard and return them to reserved cooking liquid.

Place diced Cuban bread on cooking sheet and place in 250 degree oven. Slow bake until crisp but not brown. Melt butter in large saute pan, add celery and onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic, giblets, their cooking liquid and chorizo. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Combine toasted bread and diced plantains in large mixing bowl. Pour giblet and chorizo mixture over bread mixture and combine thoroughly. Add parsley and cilantro and enough stock to moisten, and chill thoroughly before using.

Serves 6.

Source: chef Jeannie Pierola, SideBern's

Adobo Pan Gravy

• 1 tablespoon butter
• Wing tips and neck from fresh turkey
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 sprigs oregano
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 ancho chili
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 clove
• 3 cups turkey or chicken stock
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
• Kosher salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste

Melt butter in large saucepan; add wing tips, neck and onions and brown. Add spices and stock; bring to a boil. Skim, reduce heat and simmer for an hour; strain and cool. When turkey is done, remove it from roasting pan and keep warm. Skim and remove most of the fat from roasting pan. Whisk together flour and cold stock and add to pan over medium heat. Stir with wooden spoon, scraping up any bits left in pan. Lower heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes until thickened. Add cream, parsley and cilantro. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.

Serves 6.

Source: chef Jeannie Pierola, SideBern's

Baby Green Beans With Warm Bacon Dressing and Crispy Shallots

• 11/2 pounds haricot vert or baby French green beans, blanched
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 pound bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled, and fat reserved warm
• Kosher salt to taste
• Cracked black pepper to taste
• 3 shallots, sliced thin, separated into rings
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed chili flakes
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Oil for frying

Combine vinegar, shallot and mustard in small mixing bowl. Whisk in warm bacon fat a drop at a time until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Preheat fryer or oil in pan to 350 degrees. Soak shallots in buttermilk and chili flakes. Combine flour, cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt in a shallow dish. Dredge shallots in seasoned flour. Fry until golden and season with salt. Reheat green beans and toss with bacon dressing; top with crumbled bacon and shallot rings. Serve immediately.

Serves 6.

Source: chef Jeannie Pierola, SideBern's

Butternut Whipped Potatoes

• 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Kosher salt
• Cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Split butternut squash and place cut side up on baking sheet. Place a 2-ounce piece of butter in center of squash halves and roast in the oven until tender. Cool. While squash is roasting, cover potatoes with water in large sauce pot. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Scrap pulp from roasted butternut squash and whip with hand mixer. Keep warm. Rice or mash potatoes and fold butternut squash into potatoes.

Heat heavy cream in a small sauce pan until hot. Cut remaining butter into pieces and whip into potato mixture one piece at a time. Fold in cream a drizzle at a time, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Serves 6.

Source: chef Jeannie Pierola, SideBern's

Curried Pumpkin Chai Meringue Pie

• 3 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 41/2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
• 11/2 cups pecan pieces
• 1 all-purpose pie shell, unbaked
• 16 ounces pumpkin pie filling
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon chai tea (see note)
• 3 egg whites
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine eggs, yolk and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Blend in butter, vanilla and maple syrup until well incorporated. Sprinkle pecan pieces evenly over the bottom of the unbaked pie shell. Pour pecan filling into pie.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool to room temperature.

In a small sauce pan, bring the heavy cream and chai tea to a boil, remove from heat, cover and let steep for 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Whip pumpkin filling in a medium bowl with the curry powder, infused chai cream and set aside. In another large bowl, beat the 3 egg whites until frothy. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until whites form stiff peaks. Fold meringue mixture into pumpkin mixture. Gently spoon pumpkin mixture on top of pecan pie and smooth topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until filling is firm. Remove from heat and cool. Serve cold and garnish with unsweetened whipped cream.

Serves 6.

Note: Chai is a spice tea from India lightened by milk and usually flavored with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and pepper. Chai can be bought in many forms, tea bags, liquid concentrate or powder, at many whole foods stores.

Source: chef Jeannie Pierola, SideBern's

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