Turkey Burgers with Tomato-Onion Jam

I've been doing quite a bit of home cooking since I got home from my trip a few days ago, and these Turkey Burgers with Tomato-Onion Jam are the latest.  But can I tell you how I ate like a king last week?  I had such a great time at the Asian American Journalists Association's annual convention in New York City.  I caught up with so many old friends, made some great new connections, and got some ideas to think about.  I've never stayed at a hotel in my hometown before, and I figured if I'm going to eat out, I'm going to eat out.

Top row: Bouchon sweets and Havana Central shrimp mofongo. Bottom row: Pie Face hand pies and Ippudo ramen.

And boy, did I!  I had the lamb burger at The Breslin with my friend Bao, dinner with my mom and sis at Havana Central (not my favorite), and sweet treats at Bouchon.  I went to a dinner for 50 "fascinating" people at Zengo (good food, but terrible and rude service), and amused myself by wondering how I'd scored an invite.  I braved the summer heat for a bowl of the Akamaru modern ramen at Ippudo Westside, and made repeat visits to Pie Face.  The beef with tomato chutney, the pear with ricotta, and the chocolate hand pies make me swoon.

When I got home, I was faced once again with my surplus of garden tomatoes.  I had bookmarked the turkey burgers to try, and thought the tomato-onion jam would be a great use for my little orange tomatoes.  The recipe calls for plum tomatoes, but these tiny tomatoes worked just as well.  It will look like they've released way too much water, but that will evaporate by the last few minutes of cooking.  It's like ketchup meets caramelized onions, but chunkier, fresher, and naturally sweeter.  I'll be making more jars of this stuff as my garden gives us tomatoes faster than we can eat them.

And you can see while the burgers were still raw just how much stuff was packed into them.  They don't quite hit the spot for me like a red meat burger can, yet they're super moist and loaded with flavor.  Look at the herbs, chunks of feta, and chipotle pepper.  And if your spice tolerance tends to be mild, I would halve the amount of chipotle.  They're also a bit fussier to make than your ordinary burger, since they're seared and then baked, and you have to cook some onion and garlic first.  But they're well worth it.  Turkey can be plain and dry, but all the steps and ingredients ensure a juicy and flavorful burger.  And don't skip making that tomato-onion jam.  You'll miss out, big time.

10 Recipes for Thanksgiving

Sweet Potato Biscuits with Honey Butter

I'm really excited about this Thanksgiving!  I'm a traditionalist when it comes to the menu, so I've got to have my roast turkey, gravy, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and stuffing.  And lots of apple cider.  The vegetables and desserts can change.   One odd tradition my family has is fried shrimp.  That's right, batter-fried shrimp, on Thanksgiving.  I once asked my mom where the recipe came from, and she said she heard it on a Chinese-language radio program.  You know, back in the old days when folks  used the radio for entertainment.  But my siblings and I demand the shrimp.  And I always make an effort to watch the parade.  The Macy's parade in New York, of course!

Cranberry-Apple Relish recipe follows jump

One other tradition is what my twin sis and I called "Dinner Number Two" as kids, long before I heard of Second Breakfast.  My mom used to insist on serving dinner at 2 p.m. so she could clean up and enjoy the rest of Thanksgiving.  Weird, I know.  By the time night came, sis and I were hungry again.  We would eagerly reheat another plate full of Thanksgiving dinner and eat it in front of the TV, in the later years with reruns of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Ah, good times.  These days Joe isn't really up for a second dinner with Fresh Prince reruns, but we still make all our favorite dishes.  What are some of your quirky Thanksgiving traditions?

But you came for the recipes, not to listen to my babble.  Here are a few I've blogged, and a few tried and true that I recommend.  They're not terribly fancy, since I like the classics.  Happy eatins'.

1. Maple-Glazed Apple Crostata. For apple pie goodness that's quicker to throw together.

2. Pumpkin Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting. Seasonal and lightly spiced.

3. Chocolate-Covered Pecan Bars. When you're feeling super indulgent.

4. Sweet Potato Biscuits with Honey Butter. Don't skip the honey butter. You'll be sorry you did.

5. Pecan Tassies. Not as eye-catching as the pecan bars, but way better and lighter.

6. Dry-Brined Turkey. I'm not a fan of finding a vat big enough to hold a turkey and gallons of liquid. And refrigerator space is prime real estate on Turkey Day. This dry brining from the LA Times is much easier and gives you a flavorful, moist bird.
7. Country Bread and Sage Dressing. I've made this Bobby Flay recipe on a few Thanksgivings. The sausage gives it nice flavor, but I've also omitted the sausage and swapped the chicken stock for vegetable stock for vegetarians. I like to add a diced Golden delicious apple, and toast the bread briefly in the oven first before proceeding with the recipe.
8. Dorie's Pumpkin Pie (or Tart). I haven't had the chance to do a new photo for this one, but don't be put off by my awful photography from 2008. This is my all-time favorite pumpkin pie, and I've made it many times. My mom prefers it warmed in the oven, but I like it cold from the fridge and dolloped with whipped cream. You decide.
9. Foolproof Turkey Gravy. It sounds so simple to make, but gravy is also easy to mess up.  This Mad Hungry recipe helps you get it right.
10. Linda's Cranberry Apple Relish.  I'll admit it.  I love canned cranberry sauce.  Previous attempts at homemade cranberry sauce didn't wow me, but this relish is good enough to eat alone by the spoonful.  Recipe after the jump!

Mixing Up the Chicken Pot Pie

This idea was born out of Thanksgiving leftovers.  After a few days of eating the same-old, I made a pot pie filling and threw in the turkey with the roasted butternut squash and spinach I had served on the holiday table, then topped it with pie dough and baked.  Sounds weird, I know, but it's incredibly good.  So good that I've roasted whole chickens and butternut squashes a few times since just to have the pie all over again.

The squash is a nice change from the carrots that often feature in pot pies.  And the idea of spinach in the filling may wrinkle noses, but it's a nice contrast for the richness, and the taste and texture are surprisingly mild.  Joe really loved it.  After this, I'm not sure we'll ever go back to ol' peas-and-carrots chicken pot pie again.

Flour is stirred into the cooked onions, carrot, and celery, and then chicken stock is added to make the creamy sauce.  The chicken, butternut squash, and spinach are added.  Rounds of dough are cut for the pie tops, and holes are made in the top to let steam escape.

This thrown-together recipe makes a lot.  As in a 10-inch deep-dish pie plus two individual pies.  You can eat them for days, freeze them, or halve the recipe.  It's nice to be able to pull a homemade pot pie out of the freezer on a hectic day, far better than anything you can buy from the frozen section.