A Month of…

Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of 30 Days of Food! Anne Young Albanese is best known as Small Town Mommy online. The reason for this, she says is because, “I am a mommy who lives in a small town.  These are probably the 2 most important aspects of me.”

Anne blogs at Small Town Mommy about whatever strikes her “fancy at the moment.” She writes a lot about family, sometimes about work, sometimes offering helpful advice, and often about minutiae. She says, “If I find a good discount or valuable information, I will share that.”

*Now for the Food Part*

The holidays are coming up. What food makes or breaks a holiday for you (as in if it isn’t on the table, it just doesn’t feel right)? Pick any of the following holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa.

Thanksgiving is definitely turkey and my mom’s recipe for stuffing.  Since we go to my sister-in-law’s house, I don’t actually get my mom’s recipe for stuffing, but I always make a turkey sometime during the weekend after Thanksgiving.

What is your favorite everyday food to make and why?

My favorite everyday food to make is oven-fried boneless chicken breasts.  It is really easy to make and my kids love it.

What is the best tip for cooking you ever got and who gave you the tip?

It is so hard to narrow all the tips I have received down to one favorite.  I guess it is probably to improvise and taste while cooking.  You can start with a recipe, but it is always better to add or change things to suit the tastes of your diners.  I learned this from my mom.

When you’re not feeling happy, what is the food you most crave and why?  When I am not happy, the food I crave most is mashed potatoes from scratch.  My mom used to make them for me when I was sick.

Share with our readers one of your all time favorite recipes.

My all time favorite recipe is for Salmon and Shrimp Ravioli.  It is a recipe from Pierre Franey and Bryan Miller in their cookbook, Cuisine Rapide.  Unfortunately, the cookbook is out of print, but if you can get it from the library, I highly recommend it.

Salmon and Shrimp Ravioli

¾ lb. medium shrimp

½ lb. salmon filet, skin removed

1 Tbls butter

8 scallions, minced, including some of the green part

Juice of ½ lemon

1 Tbls chopped fresh dill

Salt & pepper to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

72 wanton skins

1 quart fresh fish or shrimp stock (or lightly salted water) for poaching

Dill sauce (recipe follows)

1. Mince the shrimp and salmon with a large knife.  Sauté the mixture in the butter with the scallions and lemon juice over medium heat or 2 minutes, turning constantly with a spatula.  You want to remove the raw look, but not cook the fish thoroughly.  Remove from the heat and add the dill, salt, pepper and cayenne.  Cool to room temperature before using the wanton skins to make ravioli.
2. To make the ravioli: lay a wanton skin on a counter and place a small amount of filling in the center.  Brush beaten egg around the perimeter.  Place a second skin over the top.  Use the blunt side of a cookie cutter to seal the ravioli dough around the filling and give it a circular shape.  Trim the excess dough with a large cookie cutter or a sharp knife.  Cover the finished ravioli with a moist towel as you make them to prevent dryness.
3. Poach the ravioli in the simmering stock, 5 or 6 at a time, for about 1 minute or until they rise to the surface.  Drain well on paper towels and keep warm.  Serve with the sauce below.

Dill Sauce

2 stick plus 1 tablespoon of butter, cut into pieces.

3 shallots, minced

2 Tbls white-wine vinegar

½ cup fish stock or clam juice

¼ cup heavy cream

1 ½ Tbls minced dill

Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste (I always use black since I do not have white)

1. Melt 1 Tbls butter in a saucepan over medium heat and in it, sauté the shallots for 1 minute.  Add the vinegar and fish stock.  Reduce the liquid over high heat by half, leaving about ¼ cup.
2. Add the cream and reduce by half again.  Place the sauce in a blender and drop in the remaining pats of butter while pureeing.  Add the dill, puree briefly, and return to the saucepan to keep warm until serving.  Add the salt and pepper to taste.

Because it is so rich, the sauce should be used very sparingly.