Erica De Mane

Olives to go with Thanksgiving dinner.

Recipes:

Black Olives with Chilies and Cognac
Almonds with Rosemary, Salt, and Sugar
Fennel Baked with Parmigiano and Moscato
Carrots with Marsala and Capers
Pear, Pancetta, and Fennel Stuffing
Endive and Watercress Salad with Pomegranate Seeds

When I was a kid my grandmother always made Thanksgiving dinner into a very complicated affair. Like most Italian-Americans she felt obligated to work homeland dishes like ravioli, lasagne, or stuffed artichokes into the day, out of a subconscious need to inject it with an alternate patriotism, I think. And I still in 2005 feel a strong desire to include garlic, Parmigiano, and olive oil in my Thanksgiving meal, more for spunk than for patriotism.

But this desire skipped a generation in my family. Once Nanni was too old to remember what Thanksgiving was, my mother was working full time and not interested in taking over the duty of turning out such a huge, confused meal (she liked to cook, but not when she had no choice). In fact we’d often get Thanksgiving food “delivered”-actually brought home by my father-from the country club where he worked as a golf pro. Strangely this was more exciting than depressing for me as a kid. It seems like a hip catered party. It was kind of weird not having the smell of roasting turkey fill the house yet still having a turkey big enough for 12 with all the usual American accompaniments laid out on our table like a Good Housekeeping photo shoot.

Nonetheless my grandmother’s gatherings are the ones I remember best, mainly for their abbondanza. Unfortunately when most families add a lot of Italian stuff to the mix they do so without leaving out any of the traditional American dishes, and they wind up with two gigantic meals that taste terrible together. My grandmother served Waldorf salad on the same plate as sausage-stuffed artichokes. Even when I was nine I knew this was somehow not correct. My solution now is to Italianize traditional American dishes and not add any other ones (what a genius!). I guess I view Thanksgiving partly as another excellent opportunity to get together with friends and available family and have a big Italian meal.

What I usually do is pick a few key flavors and then build the menu around them. Limiting my flavor options really helps me produce a meal with harmony, one that doesn’t cause palate fatigue. This year I’m going with rosemary, fennel, garlic, and a hint of hot chilies, working them into my turkey and stuffing preparations and into appetizers and vegetables as well (not every flavor in every dish, but picking and choosing). Since blandness is often my complaint about American Thanksgiving food, I think it’s important to add unexpected flavors. People tend to think they don’t want unexpected flavors at Thanksgiving; they like the familiar ones. But I really feel the need to break out, adding more crunch, less mushiness to the dinner, and a little spiciness.

I’ve decided to open the meal with black olives flavored with hot chilies, and almonds flavored with rosemary and a little sugar; little bites, good with a glass of dry rosé wine, I’m thinking. After that there will be turkey stuffed with garlic, rosemary, and lemons, and lots of vegetables, probably including something with a touch of bitterness such as broccoli rabe seasoned with more garlic and a sprinkling of fennel seeds and chili flakes, or baked fennel topped with a good grating cheese (Parmigiano or a mild Pecorino), or carrots sautéed with capers, which I love with turkey.

I’m a sucker for Beaujolais Nouveau and I love drinking it on Thanksgiving, since it seems so celebratory (and I, unlike most winos, believe it goes very well with turkey), but I do realize that everyone else disdains it, so I usually offer Chianti too (which goes great with rosemary and garlic). I always serve a salad after the turkey, and I hear everyone saying, ‘Oh, no, no more food’, but then they always dig into it and really appreciate it, realizing what a good palate cleanser and waker-upper it is. This year I’m serving a salad loaded with pomegranate seeds, very festive, a little sour, but nice and crunchy.

One thing I’ve discovered is that usually nobody is much interested in cheese after all this, so I’ve gradually dropped that course from the menu. Personally I’m happiest with pears and young Pecorino, or fresh figs and gorgonzola, or apples and fontina (or all three), instead of a sweet dessert (I like having a sweet wine instead of dessert, a stunt you can pull off only if you don’t have any children coming for dinner). Maybe I’ll try the cheese course again this year and see how it goes over.

Here are a few of the Italian flavor-infused dishes I’ll be serving this year.

Buon giorno del Ringraziamento!

Black Olives with Chilies and Cognac

(Serves 6 as an appetizer)

2 cups mixed olives, black, dark-brown, and/or purple
Extra-virgin olive oil
A few garlic cloves, peeled
A few thin strips of orange peel
1 fresh red chili, thinly sliced
A generous splash of cognac or brandy
The leaves from a few thyme sprigs

Drain the olives-I like to toss together the little Niçoise type, Italian Gaetas, and the big black Cerignolo olives from Puglia, a nice play of sweet and pungent-to remove excess oil or brine. In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, orange peel, and chili. Red jalapeno provides the perfect amount of heat for this dish (seed the chili for less kick, if you like). Sauté for a minute to release these flavors. Add the olives, shaking them around in the pan until they’re warmed through, about 2 minutes. Add the cognac and thyme, and let everything bubble for a few seconds. Pour the olives, with all the pan juices, into a serving bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature (warm is really nice if you can fit it into your schedule).

Almonds with Rosemary, Salt, and Sugar

(Serves 6 as an appetizer)

Extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 cups whole almonds, blanched
The chopped leaves from 5 rosemary sprigs
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar

Turn the flame under a large sauté pan to medium. When the pan is hot, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the almonds, rosemary, salt (sea salt, if you have it), pepper, and sugar. Shake the pan around to coat the almonds with all the flavorings and keep it on the heat until the almonds are very lightly golden and fragrant, about 3 or 4 minutes. Pour into a large serving bowl, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Fennel Baked with Parmigiano and Moscato

(Serves 6 as a side dish or first course)

Extra-virgin olive oil
4 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and thinly sliced lengthwise (keep the core intact so the slices hold their shape)
A small palmful of fennel seeds, ground to a powder
A few large thyme sprigs, the leaves chopped
Salt
Black pepper
1/2 cup Moscato wine (or any sweet white wine, such as a Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise)
1/2 cup low-salt canned chicken broth, or fresh turkey broth if you have it
A squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a large baking dish with olive oil. Place the fennel slices in the dish in a slightly overlapping fashion. Season with the fennel seed and the thyme, salt, and black pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Pour the Moscato over the top and then squeeze on some fresh lemon juice. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven until tender, about 40 minutes (a knife poked into one of the pieces should go in easily). Take the pan from the oven and sprinkle on the grated Parmigiano. Bake uncovered for another 10 minutes or so, just until the top is lightly browned. Serve warm.

Carrots with Marsala and Capers

(Serves 6 as a side dish)

Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly crushed
2 bunches of carrots, peeled and cut into not-too-thin rounds
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
1/2 cup dry Marsala
Freshly ground black pepper
A large palmful of salt-packed capers, soaked in cool water for 20 minutes, rinsed, and drained
A few large sprigs of flat leaf parsley, the leaves lightly chopped

In a large sauté pan heat a tablespoon of olive oil and the butter over medium heat. When it is hot and foamy, add the garlic and the carrots. Add the sugar, and a generous pinch of salt, and sauté until the carrots are lightly caramelized, about 3 minutes. Add the Marsala and let it bubble for a minute. Add a big splash of warm water and cover the pan. Turn the heat down to medium low, and simmer until the carrots are just about tender, about 6 minutes (check the pan a few times during cooking to make sure there’s still a little liquid in it; if it gets dry, add a splash of water). Uncover the pan, and let it simmer about a minute longer, just until most of the liquid is evaporated and there’s a light glaze on the carrots. Add the capers, and stir them into the carrots. Season with fresh black pepper and, if needed, a pinch more salt. Add a drizzle of fresh olive oil and the parsley. Serve warm.

Pear, Pancetta, and Fennel Stuffing

(Serves 6)

4 cups cubed day-old bread
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/8-inch-thick slices of pancetta, cut into small dice
3 shallots, cut into small dice
2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut into medium dice
3 firm pears, unpeeled, cored and cut into medium dice
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
10 large thyme sprigs, the leaves chopped
5 small rosemary sprigs, the leaves chopped
A big splash of Calvados or cognac
1/4 cup dry Marsala
2 cups low-salt canned chicken broth or turkey broth

Lay the bread cubes out on sheet pans and let them dry out overnight (if you don’t have time for this, put the pans in a low oven until the bread has dried through).

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Rub a large baking dish (or two, if needed) with olive oil, and place the bread cubes in it (or them).

In a large skillet heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the butter over medium flame. Add the pancetta, and sauté until it’s crisp, about 4 minutes. Add the shallot and fennel, and sauté until the fennel is tender, about 5 minutes longer. Add the pears, and season with salt, black pepper, and nutmeg. Add the thyme and rosemary, and sauté until the pears are tender but still firm enough to hold their shape, about 4 minutes. Add the Calvados or cognac, and let it bubble a few seconds. Add the Marsala, and let it bubble a few seconds longer. Add a cup of the chicken or turkey broth, and let everything simmer for about 4 minutes, just to blend all the flavors. Pour the fennel and pear mix, with all the skillet juices, over the bread cubes, and give everything a good mixing (which is easiest to do this with your fingers). The bread cubes should be moist but not runny. If they seem dry, add a little more of the broth. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt, black pepper, or fresh herbs, if needed. Drizzle with a generous amount of fresh olive oil and bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

Endive and Watercress Salad with Pomegranate Seeds

(Serves 6 as a palate cleanser between the turkey course and cheese or dessert)

2 large endives, pulled apart into separate leaves
2 bunches watercress, well-stemmed
1 shallot, thinly sliced
The seeds from 1/2 small pomegranate
1 teaspoon Spanish sherry vinegar
A pinch of sugar
A few gratings of nutmeg
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Place the endive leaves in a large salad bowl. Add the watercress, shallot, and pomegranate seeds. In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, sugar, nutmeg, and olive oil. Pour the mixture over the salad. Toss gently and serve.