Perfect Chai

The leaves are falling, yellow and burnt orange, into oddly balmy air. It's not nearly as cold as "late November" suggests it should be. No scarf or hat for me - not even a real winter coat yet. Just a blazer, some low boots, and a hankering for the real chill to set in.

We spent thanksgiving in Michigan, where I was certain we'd have some seasonally appropriate weather. But folks, even Detroit was definitively mild. Aside from plenty of rain, the Michigan air barely even could be called brisk.

So yes, I'm impatient for real, honest fall. I'm sure I'll laugh bitterly if I chance to reread this post in February, but for now, I'm ready for real fall. In the meantime, I'm cheating the seasons a bit: well ahead of the weather's lazy schedule, I've busted out the tea leaves. Folks, I'm making chai.

The title of this post is a bit misleading, really. Chai recipes abound, and none is the universal favorite. Everyone makes chai a bit differently. I've long been a fan of Tazo. Theirs is a thick, strong chai, spicy from cloves and anise and black pepper. For many winters, I've been tucking my coffee grinder, beans, and filter into the throughs of my cabinet and turning to the Tazo tea leaves bags for my morning beverage.

But every once in a while, on weekend days during the colder months, I pull out my loose tea and my spices, and concoct my own chai tea. When I'm brewing from scratch, this here is my ideal recipe. It's got plenty of cardamom, which (I think) is the only ingredient other than tea in traditional chai. But it's also got cloves, which add an undercurrent of spice to the drink. If you're feeling you need that extra spice punch, you could add some black pepper, too - but when I'm making it from scratch, I keep things pretty mellow.

chai ingredients

Traditional chai is made with a majority milk. I can't handle that much dairy every morning, so I stick to a ratio of 50% water, 50% milk. Adjust the ratio according to your own tastes.

And like I said, finding your perfect chai is a matter of trial and error. Use this as your starting point. Hey - maybe you'll like it just as I do.

Hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving holiday. Onward to December!

perfect chai 2

This recipe has two variations. First comes weekend chai, when Chopin is on in the background and you don't mind dirtying a couple pots. Second is workday chai. One pot, five minutes, and it's in the mug. -R

Perfect ChaiServes 2

2 cups water 2 cups milk 1 1/2 tablespoons strong black tea (preferably Assam) Seeds from two green cardamom pods 1 clove 1 tablespoon honey

Grind clove and cardamom together in spice grinder (or crush with mortar and pestle).

In a small saucepan, heat milk until steamy but not boiling. Remove from heat. Add cardamom and clove, stir to combine, and cover.

In a medium saucepan, heat water and tea until boiling. You can do this either by putting the tea leaves directly into the water, or by putting them in a floating tea infuser like this one, or this one, both of which I own and love.

Boil the tea in the water for about 1 minute, then either strain or remove tea infuser. Add infused milk and honey, stir to combine, pour into 2 mugs, and serve immediately.

Weekday chai:

In a small saucepan, combine tea, water, and ground cardamom and clove. (if using a tea infuser, do not out spices in infuser - add them directly to the water.) Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook for about 1 minute, then add milk. Continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes until the mixture is steaming hot. Strain tea or remove infuser, pour into your mug, and get thee to the office, stat.

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

I'm back, in the nick of time, with one last side dish to grace your Thanksgiving table (because really, can you ever have enough sides?) By now, you're probably squared away with your stuffing, your Turkey, and those pies. So here's an idea for what to do with all those sweet potatoes. I wouldn't call it a traditional dish, but it's certainly a play on tradition.

I've always loved twice-baked potatoes, with their crisp skin and just enough potato inside to cushion the cheesy filling. So why not twice-bake sweet potatoes? Yes, their flesh is less starchy, and their skins are harder to crisp up. But when you succeed -- and you will succeed - you will reap the rewards of hot, sweet, crunchy, soft, sweet 'taters like you've never had'em before.

raw sweet potatoes

Here's the beauty of this dish. Have a favorite filling for twice-baked potatoes? It'll go great here, too. I'm talking sour cream and cheddar and chives, or parmesan and sage, or whatever you usually use. But you could also take these in a totally different direction, as I did last night. Instead of trying to balance the sweet flesh with a more savory filling, I succumbed to the sweetness. Boy did I ever.

sour cream and maple

Here's what we're doing: we're filling 'tater halves with a mix of sour cream, maple syrup, and crunchy demerara sugar. When I made them, I simply mixed the ingredients together - but I'm recommending that you sprinkle the sugar over everything else. That way you'll have a crunchy, burnt-sugary gratinee topping. You'll know they're done when you've had to fight yourself at least 3 times from opening that oven, pulling out the sweet potatoes, and eating every last one, right then and there. Now that's what I call a successful Thanksgiving side.

twice-baked sweet potatoes-2

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoesserves 4

4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed very well and left unpeeled 2 tablespoons sour cream 1 tablespoon maple syrup 2 tablespoons demerara sugar pinch flaky salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line the bottom of the oven with foil.

Prick sweet potatoes in several places, and set on a rack in the middle of the oven for about 35-40 minutes, until they do not resist when pricked with a knife.

Meanwhile, combine sour cream with maple syrup, and stir until smooth. (It's ok if there are a couple lumps.)

Halve sweet potatoes lengthwise, and use a spoon to scoop out most of the flesh, leaving a 1/4-lining of flesh on each of the skins. Transfer skins to a lined baking sheet.

Spoon the sour cream mixture evenly into each of the skins, and top with a generous sprinkling of demerara sugar and the tiniest pinch of flaky salt.

Return to the oven, and bake about 20 minutes more, until skins are crisp at the edges and sour cream mixture is bubbling. Serve hot.

Brussels Sprouts with Caraway Seeds

Ohh, brussels sprouts. The unsung hero of the Thanksgiving table. Have your turkey, eat as many sweet potatoes as you'd like; when the maple syrup is dripping down your chin, the marshmallows bursting from your jowls, and the cranberry sauce shmeared bright red across your plate, you will have a moment - everyone has a moment - when the sweetness of it all, the sheer quantity of sugar, exhausts you. At that moment, you'll reach for the bowl of brussels sprouts, grateful that something on the table that's purely savory. Thank goodness for brussels sprouts.

here's the thing about sprouts recipes, though. Lots involve that very maple syrup that coats your yams. Or apples. Or pears (guilty as charged). Those are delicious - I'm not criticizing! - but if you take your turkey in a sweet direction (here's one recipe I'm particularly excited about that looks pretty sweet), you'll want a foil for all that sugar. So if I were making Tday dinner this year, I'd go as simple as it gets. Just some olive oil, salt and pepper - and the secret star ingredient: caraway seeds.

Let's talk caraway for a moment. It's deeply savory, and a welcome break from the sweet stuff. It's distinctive on its own: when paired with caraway, brussels sprouts need little embellishment (let's face it: you're saving your juice for the perfect turkey and a slew of pies). And they provide a little crunch to those sprouts, always welcome on a day when mashed potatoes and candied yams reign.

Also - and the importance of the following is not to be underestimated - they're easy to make. Let's be honest: brussles sprounts are the fifth child of turkey day dinner. Toss 'em in the oven. Forget about 'em. If it's a good recipe, the sprouts will turn out just fine on their own, while you're fussing over your pie and basting that bird. And by the way? Cook's secret: these sprouts are shockingly delicious right out of the fridge the morning after the big day. The caraway will have permeated the vegetable completely; sneaky leftover nibblers, I aim to please you.

brussels sprouts caraway 2

Also, incidentally: these sprouts are good all year, not just on Tday. If you're making a smaller batch, you might try making them on the stove top, as I did the second time I made them. They certainly get more blistered and brown over in a hot pan, and while they cook a bit less evenly, I found it quite exciting to watch those caraway seeds crackle and pop over the flames, crazy chick that I am.

Brussels Sprouts with Caraway Seedsadapted from a recipe in Gourmet

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Caraway Seeds 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon caraway seeds salt and pepper freshly ground nutmeg (optional - if you only have the pre-grated stuff, skip it)

Preheat oven to 450°F and place a rack in middle of the oven.

Toss Brussels sprouts with oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and a very light dusting of nutmeg (if using) in a bowl until well coated. Transfer to a large 4-sided sheet pan in 1 layer and roast 10 minutes. Sprinkle caraway seeds over Brussels sprouts and toss, then spread out in 1 layer and roast until Brussels sprouts are crisp-tender and well browned in spots, about 10 minutes more.

Kale Salad with Avocado Dressing

This is the latest in NDP's Weekday Lunch series, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of my tupperware. For earlier Weekday Lunch posts, check this out.

I'm a big fan of kale salads. They're a pop of green in a season where not much is; they basically never wilt; and given how healthy they are, it's hard not to feel righteous eating one.

My usual kale salad combines lacinato kale - the long, bumpy leaves that are almost glamorous in texture, also known as dinosaur kale - with pine nuts, raisins or currants, and shards of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. It's the sort of salad that's good now, better later. My friend (and author of various guest posts on NDP) Jeremy pointed out that over time, as the kale wilts, it takes on a texture almost like seaweed, which is quite pleasant.

Last week, in the mood for kale salad, I opened the fridge to find I was fresh out of lacinato. I did have a bunch of regular curly-leaf kale, but I knew it would take a thicker, more serious dressing to tame those wiry leaves. Where did I turn? The humble avocado.

Avocado dressings are flat-out underrated. People talk of yogurt, of mayonnaise (the enemy of delicious - I can't stand the stuff), of buttermilk, but never of avocado. It's too bad: avocados are smooth and buttery, thick enough to make a beautifully emulsified dressing, and did I mention they're delicious?

DSC_0062

For this salad, I combined kale with those crunchy, juicy asian pears that I can't seem to get enough of. I added scallions for texture and bite, then dressed the mess with a dressing of soy, rice wine vinegar, and avocado, whipped into submission with the help of grapeseed and sesame oils. And now, I warn you: people, the combination is addictive. I really can't get enough. I've made this dressing three or four times over the past few weeks, tweaking it ever so slightly to get that perfect zestiness. I've eaten it on regular kale, on lacinato kale once I replenished my supply, and even used it as a dip for slices of asian pear as an afternoon snack. It's ridiculously good. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Kale Salad with Avocado Dressing serves 2

1 bunch kale (any kind - regular or lacinato are both great; mine was about 3 oz) 1 asian pear, halved, cored, and sliced 2 scallions, sliced 1 avocado juice of 1 lime 1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) soy sauce 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 1/4 cup grapeseed oil water if needed

Rip the kale into medium sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add sliced scallions and pear.

Scoop the avocado into a medium bowl and use a fork to mash it until totally smooth. Add all the remaining ingredients except the grapeseed oil and stir to combine. Then gradually add the grapeseed oil and whisk until fully combined. If necessary, add water by the tablespoon until dressing is thin enough to pour.

Add dressing to kale salad. Start with half, toss, and add more dressing if necessary. Allow the salad to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Salad will keep up to 1 day dressed; dressing will keep up to 1 week in the refrigerator.