Now that you know how to correctly carve your turkey, here are a couple side dishes for dinner shared by Chef for the Frederick News Post.
The great thing about these sides is that I know you already have all of the ingredients at home. Now get cooking.
Chef Bryan Voltaggio’s Brussels sprouts:
1/2 pound double smoked bacon “lardon,” cut into one-inch pieces
1/4 cup sliced blanched chestnuts
2 pounds Brussels sprouts, blanched and split in half
1 medium red onion julienne
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cup chicken/poultry stock
For the water, use four times Brussels sprouts’ volume. Place in a pot large enough to accommodate Brussels sprouts and water, leaving room to be separated and easily stirred. Salt the water so it tastes like seawater.
Separately have 50 percent water and 50 percent ice in a bowl or casserole dish. You will “shock” or stop the cooking process with the ice bath.
Bring salted water to a rolling boil. Add Brussels sprouts, cook until tender but not too long (one to three minutes, depending on how large the sprouts are) — make sure all are still the bright green color. Remove to shock the sprouts in ice bath. Leave in ice bath until cool, then immediately remove from ice bath and reserve for later use.
In a large sauté pan, sweat onions until translucent. Remove and reserve in a bowl.
Render bacon in the same pan. The fat should render and bacon should crisp. Remove the bacon and keep fat in the pan.
Add Brussels sprouts to pan and place on medium heat. Slowly cook sprouts in bacon fat until lightly browned, add chestnuts and toast lightly.
Add onions and bacon to pan. Then add aromatics, butter and stock.
Reduce stock until it creates a sauce consistency, season and serve.
Yields six servings.
Chive biscuits:
1 and 1/2 pound all purpose flour
2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoon salt
1 cup lard or unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chives, minced
In a food processor, cut fat into flour. It will have a sand-like appearance. Add all ingredients but buttermilk and stir, then slowly add the buttermilk.
Roll out until one-inch thick and cut out with a round cutter.
Place onto lined baking sheets, brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with celery salt.
Bake at 350 degrees, about 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Yields 12 biscuits.
Chestnut and chanterelle dressing with chive biscuits:
1 pound double smoked bacon “lardon,” cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound chanterelle mushrooms (or another wild mushrooms)
1/4 cup sliced blanched chestnuts
1 1/2 cup parsnip, diced
1 1/2 cup Spanish onions, diced
2 cups celery peeled and diced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped sage
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
5 cups chicken stock
2 eggs
12 chive biscuits, cut into 1 1/2 cubes (see recipe)*
Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 250 degrees. If using convection, preheat to 225 degrees and set the rack in the middle of the oven.
Spread the biscuits out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until lightly browned, 35 to 45 minutes. Set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
In a deep sauté or sautoir over medium-high heat, render the bacon until crisp, seven to nine minutes. Keeping the rendered fat in the pan, remove the bacon and reserve for later use.
Set the pan over medium heat and add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and become translucent. At this stage the onions will start to caramelize, caramelize lightly, about 10 minutes.
Add the celery and parsnip, sweat both for five to six minutes or until tender. Remove the vegetables and reserve.
Place the pan back on heat and add 1 tablespoon butter, brown the butter and add mushrooms. Once the mushrooms have browned and cooked until tender, add the arromatics — parsley, sage, thyme — and cook until the herbal aroma is present, about five minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a large bowl. Add bacon to the bowl and caramelized vegetables, season with salt and pepper. Add the biscuits and stock and stir to combine. Toast chestnuts in a small sauté pan until lightly brown. Add to the bowl.
Butter a casserole dish with the remaining butter, transfer the dressing to the baking dish and cover with aluminum foil, or supplied lid. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid/foil and bake until the dressing is lightly browned, about 15 to 20 more minutes.
Yields eight to 10 servings.
* Voltaggio suggests to make his chive biscuits, but it isn’t required. One could use pre-made biscuits and add minced chives while making the stuffing.
Receipts by Chef Voltaggio. News Post Article by Adrienne Lawrence. Copy and Paste by Hilda.
