Recapturing A Regional Flavor For The Holidays

By Nancy K. Crevier

After all of the thinking, planning, shopping, wrapping, shipping and giving of presents, after all of the cocktail parties and balls, the office gatherings and festive galas, who has time to plan a family holiday dinner? But what would the season be without gathering together those we love around the dinner table?

In a day and age when families are swamped by the demands of work and home and school, and separated by vast distances, getting everyone together in one place is a feat in itself. In this context, the meal has become a uniform exercise defined by the media’s version of the traditional holiday meal. Facility trumps tradition as heavy advertising and marketing is geared toward making food preparation easy for the harried consumer.

A Butterball turkey surrounded by dressing or a crown roast prepared by the butcher takes center stage, and side dishes of mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed broccoli (sprinkled, perhaps, with a few toasted almonds) and glazed baby carrots complement the meal. A nice big salad, fresh from the bag, spills over the edge of the bowl. The jellied cranberry sauce quivers in its bowl, the telltale ribs of the cans exposing its origins. Dinner rolls popped out of their package are piled high in a basket to round out the main course.

A Bouche de Noel cake could be the piece de resistance that ends the feast, but more than likely, it is apple pie or holiday cookies purchased from the bakery.

There is nothing wrong with this picture, yet it is a little sad that busy lives have eaten away at the perfect holiday feast, with not enough time to give it further thought. Once upon a time, not so long ago even, the menu at the table was more varied and reflected the flavor of our region.

Whatever happened to succotash and corn pudding? Where are the baked apples and Indian pudding? Oyster stew, clam chowder and nut cakes made use of native New England foods, and provided a hearty start to the meal. Real cranberry sauces (more relish-like than the gelatinous blob from the can with which we are most familiar), nuts from bushes and trees in our forests, squashes, greens and beets were turned into festive fare for the holiday.

Oyster fritters, parsnip stew or chestnut soup might have started off the meal, and “Pass the Pleasant Pudding,” and “I’ll have another serving of apple cornbread,” were familiar cries at the dinner table in years gone by.

The centerpiece might have been a wild goose or turkey, newly plucked and roasted, or just as likely, other small, wild birds, duck, a venison roast, or Atlantic bluefish baked to perfection.

Imagine molasses-sweetened brown bread, each piece slathered with rich apple butter or beach plum jam. Mashed turnips, baked squash and wilted lettuce certainly would not have been left off the menu, nor would the cook have forgotten to begin slow cooking the Boston baked beans the night before, as this was a favorite side dish.

Not just apple pies and cookies would have bent the dessert board, but mincemeat pie, vinegar pie, cider cake, and maple pie would have made use of New England resources. Plum pudding and gingerbread would not be left off the dessert menu and who didn’t hold out their plate for blackberry flummery, Plum duff, blueberry slump or Rhubarb roly-poly?

Hot buttered rum, mulled cider and eggnog once were the potables of choice. A true New Englander would not have considered sparkling water or California wines, surely.

Of course, all of this preparation of native foods took much more time than many modern day chefs can devote to the day. Tracking down what are now considered exotics, such as beach plums and local oysters, is a time-consuming quest. For those who lack the time or know-how, but desire a true taste of New England in the gala repast, local specialty stores and the Internet can be of great aide.

At www.LegalSeafoods.com, customers can order fresh oysters and clams, lobster, scallops and mussels, as well as several varieties of chowders.

Try www.TheAppleBarn.com for regional apples, cheeses, unique fruit butters, local honeys and maple syrup. Pies of all kinds and homemade preserves can also be purchased through The Apple Barn, located in Bennington, Vt.

If you have a bit of time to shop yourself, Stew Leonard’s in Danbury is a terrific source for native foods that have become gourmet groceries, as is Trader Joe’s at Exit 2 in Danbury.

Connecticut-raised organic turkeys from Connecticut can be found at Caraluzzi’s in Bethel, but it is not even necessary to trek out of our own village to find plenty of regional foods. Beets, turnips, squashes, and greens can be purchased at The Big Y or Super Stop & Shop, and cornmeal, dried beans, maple syrup and Cape Cod cranberries are stocked at both stores. For Connecticut honey, Drug Center on Church Hill Road, believe it or not,  is a source of this native sweetener.

Venison steaks and wild turkeys pose more of a challenge, unless you have a hunter in the family. Check out www.GourmetFood.about.com to find purveyors of wild turkeys, venison, and all other varieties of wild game.

To re-create the old-fashioned dinner, old-fashioned recipes are necessary. The Yankee Cook Book, published in 1939 by Coward-McCann, Inc is a collection of New England recipes for dishes prepared the way your grandmother remembers. There are even recipes for squirrel pie and Coot stew, although the popularity of those dishes at any table in any era is questionable.

The Shakers, who once populated simple communities in New England and the Midwest, had a great love of growing and cooking foods suited to our region. In A Shaker Kitchen by Norma MacMillan has many of the beloved older recipes ideal for recalling days gone by, as does The Shaker Cookbook by Caroline B. Piercy, first published in 1953.

Locating the foods and finding the perfect recipe still doesn’t mean that the time exists to put out a truly regional holiday dinner from start to finish. But why not pick one or two New England recipes that will make this gathering a salute to fetes of the past?

Beets in Honey

1 pound small, raw beets

1 Tbs butter

3 Tbs cider vinegar

About 3 Tbs water

¼ C honey

¼ tsp grated orange zest

Salt and pepper

Trim and peel the beets, then cut them into thin slices. Melt the butter in a wide, heavy pan and add the beets, vinegar and water. Bring to a boil then cover and cook over  a low heat until the beets are tender, stirring occasionally. Add a little more water if necessary.

Stir in the honey and orange zest and season with salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, to evaporate any excess liquid.

(From In a Shaker Kitchen)

Oyster Stew

5 Tbs butter

2 small carrots, minced

1 young white turnip, minced

2 small white onions, minced

2 celery hearts, minced

2 Tbs flour

1 C scalded milk

12 shelled oysters and their juice

1 C heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Paprika

2 Tbs minced parsley

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet and gently sauté finely minced vegetables, stirring constantly, for about 20 minutes, until they just begin to take color.

In a saucepan melt another 2 tablespoons of butter, stir in the flour, and when this mixture is smooth and has cooked for about 2 minutes, stir in the scalded milk, blending well to make a smooth sauce.

In an enamelware saucepan, melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter and turn oysters into it, letting them plump up over heat before adding their juice. Season with salt and pepper, add cream to white sauce and stir in cooked minced vegetables before mixing with oysters.

Bring stew to point just below boiling, stirring constantly. Pour into hot soup tureen, dust with paprika, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

(From American Food, The Gastronomic Story by Evan Jones)

Goose Roasted with Apple-Onion Sauce, Corn Bread Stuffing

1 goose, 10-12 pounds

Salt

3-4 C crumbled corn bread

1 Tbs dried sage

12 juniper berries

1 medium apple, finely chopped

1 medium onion, sliced

1 Tbs salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 egg, separated

Sauce

2 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped

½ C good beer, ale or stout

1 small onion, chopped

2 Tbs sugar

2 tsp vinegar

2 Tbs bread crumbs

½ tsp dry mustard

½ tsp cinnamon

2 Tbs flour                                                                                             

Preheat oven to  400°.

Wipe goose with damp cloth and rub salt inside and out. Set aside liver and cook giblets and neck in water to cover, simmering for 30 to 40 minutes. Set giblet stock aside.

Put crumbled corn bread in a large bowl and toss with sage, juniper berries, chopped apple and onion, 1 tablespoon salt, and a few turns of pepper grinder. Chop liver and add with beaten egg yolk. Then beat white until frothy and fold into stuffing mixture.

Spoon into goose and sew up openings. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce oven to 325° and roast for 20 minutes per pound, basting frequently with a little water and drawing off fat with bulb baster.

Make the sauce: Simmer chopped apples with beer, ale or stout, chopped onion, sugar, vinegar, bread crumbs, mustard and cinnamon for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile heat 3 tablespoons of fat drawn from goose and stir in flour. When smooth stir in reserved giblet stock to make thinnish gravy, then combine with apple onion mixture.

(From American Food, The Gastronomic Story by Evan James)

Blueberry Slump

2 C blueberries

½ C sugar

1 C water

1 C flour, sifted

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ C milk

Stew blueberries, sugar and water. Mix and sift flour, baking powder and salt; add milk, stirring quickly to make a dumpling dough that will drop from the end of a spoon. Drop into the boiling sauce.

Cook 10 minutes with the cover off and 10 minutes with cover on.

Serve with plain or whipped cream. Serves four.

(From The Yankee Cook Book)