These crackers area bigdill
Pickle Saltines arequick,easy andaddictive
Ellen Daigle sent arecipe she says isn’tsomuch asignature dishasitisasignature snack used in wedding welcome bags or as agift for guests to take home.
Sheoriginally found the recipe for Dill PickleSaltines on arecipe websitecalledFake Ginger,but Daigle doctored up the recipe and improved upon what was already agood idea.
Daigle says that at her daughter’srecent wedding,the weddingplanner saidthatthe next time she has to makewelcome bags for awedding she plans to call Daigle to make the Dill Pickle Saltines. Daigle told the wedding planner thatthe shipping of the crackers would be prohibitive, but the planner assured her that people would be happy to pay for these crackers.
Iwill confess that Iwas skeptical. Imean, Iliked dillpickles in middle school,but I’ve moved on. After trying the recipe, I’m a believer.
STAFF PHOTO BY JANRISHER
Jan Risher baked Ellen Daigle’s Dill Pickle Saltines.The finished product is more addictiveand delicious than anticipated Recipe, 3G.
It is quick, easy and yields tiny flavor-packed crackers bursting with flavor that are completely addictive. Plus, they’re just cute. Ihad noidea Saltines made the mini versions until Itried this recipe. Daigle says she’sfound that most people like the crackers —and Imust say that, based on my experience after making them, Iagree. My husband and Ilove them. To get the crackers out of the house so we wouldn’teat them all, Itook them with me to Mississippi to visit my uncle in the hospital.
ä See THE DISH, page 3G
Festive
BY LIZ FAUL Contributing writer
Thanksgiving has all the elements of an ideal holiday,the main event beingsharing ameal with family andfriends.
But unlessyou aredoing apotluck meal,cookingall day and cleaning after the meal is hardwork. Not to mention, this year we will all be on one sideorthe other of adivisive election season. This makes planning holiday meals together all the more important.
Community is built around dinner tables —one meal at atime —so let’sbreak bread together with easy and friendly holiday meals.
To step into the holiday,it’sa fun idea to beginwith ano-fuss Friendsgiving. This doesn’thave to be a multicourse meal. Keep it simple and fun.
As kids, we all watched “ACharlie Brown Thanksgiving” by Charles Schulz.Thisanimated holiday
BY GRETCHEN McKAY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)
PITTSBURGH Most every restaurant
worth itssalt (and sugar) hasa killer dessert on themenu that assuresdiners will leave the table on asweet and happy note. If it’s prepared on-site, that often entails employing aprofessional pastry chef, which can prove expensive for places thatare newand trying to keep costs down while getting established. That was Cory Hughes’ quandary when he opened Fig &Ash in Pittsburgh withhis brother-in-law,Alex Feltovich, in 2020. Hughesknew he wanted an approach-
able dessert that would be easy to plate and, perhaps,lend itself to sharing. But withlimited staff, he also knew he couldn’tgosuper fancy.What he and his culinary staff endedupdeciding on after considerable deliberationwas a confection that mostpeople have loved sincethey were kids: an upscale version of athick and gooey chocolate brownie Or as he frames it, “Wewanted to do something nostalgic.” Originally,Hughes thought they might be able to create the dessert using the restaurant’s wood-fired oven. When that proved unsuccessful for various reasons, theyopted for the next best thing —making it “camping-style”bycooking it in individual cast-iron skillets.
While the first couple of batches were tasty enough, Hughes says the dessert didn’tprove great until he tweaked the batter with abetter chocolate —he uses Callebaut dark chocolate pistoles crafted in Belgium —and added alittle Kahlua,aliqueur made with rum, sugar and arabica coffee beans.
“It gave it the flavor Iwas looking for,” he says. “What goes better after dinner than coffee?” The result is agooey brownie with a cakey exterior that reminds Hughes of the chocolate batter he used to lick offa spoon whenhewas akid.
“It’sjust areally feel-good dessert,” says Hughes of the lovely salty-sweet combo.
PHOTOSBYLIZ FAUL
Friendsgiving is anontraditional Thanksgiving meal with friends. It can be no-fuss witha simple one-dish meal. It’s agreat waytoease into the holidays and spendmore time withfriends. With this in mind, Idecided to cook aquick turkey and white bean chili. It is not abeautiful meal,but after adding sliced avocado, grated cheese, limewedges and jalapeño slices, it looked like aparty in abowl.
This simplechili is easyto make and it has layersofflavors. The ingredients meld together to create ameal that leaves more time for sharing stories andsitting alittle longer at the dinner table together
If you want acrowd-pleasing simple cornbread, look no further.The followingrecipeisperfect for pairing withturkey chili to make your Friendsgiving meal a little more heartyand special. Therecipeincludes sugar,which you canleaveout, but Ifound the hintofsweetness in the muffins complemented thespices in the turkey chili.
Aseasonal cocktail is afestive and funadditiontoany gathering.Icreated an autumnal spritz with apple cider,prosecco and Aperol and it was abig hit. I thinkitwould add to any holiday gathering.
Amocktail version can be created bymixingapple cider and ginger ale. Throw in afew frozen cranberries to takeitupanotch. In either case, this holiday season Ihopewecan all toasttosimple meals that bring us closer
Turkey andWhite BeanChili
Serves6
1tablespoon olive oil
2pounds of ground turkey (a higher fat content version works best)
2-3 jalapeño chilis (depending on spice level)
2poblano chili peppers, stemmed, seeded and cut into large pieces
2Anaheim chili peppers, stemmed,seeded and cut intolarge pieces
2medium onions, cut into large pieces
4garlic cloves, minced
1tablespoon ground cumin
2teaspoons ground coriander (optional)
3(15½ ounces) cans of cannellini (white) beans, drained and rinsed
1can of hominy
2½ cups chicken broth
3tablespoons lime juice (or the juice of one fresh lime)
1bunch of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped finely
4green onions, sliced thin
Salt and ground pepper as needed for seasoning Garnish options: avocado slices, jalapeño slices, sourcream, grated Monterey Jack cheese, lime wedges and tortilla chips
1. Heat oil in alarge Dutch oven over medium heat. Addthe turkey and season with salt and pepper.Use a large cooking spoon to break up the ground turkey into bite-size pieces. Saute the turkeyinthe oil, continuing to break it apart until it is cooked and crumbled. This takes about 5-7 minutes. Take care to not overcook the turkey meat to ensure it stays moistand flavorful Turn off the heat. Remove the cooked turkey from the
pot andput into abowl.
2. In afood processor, placethe chopped onions poblano peppers, Anaheim peppers andjalapeño(reserve one jalapeño pepper to garnish and add extra spice).The onions and peppers mayhave tobechopped in the food processor in two batches, depending onthe size of the bowl. Process the onions and peppers to a finely chopped consistency
3. Turn the heat backon the Dutch oven, add the choppedonions and chili peppers, chopped garlic, cumin,coriander and a pinch of salt. Stir the pepper mixture together.Then coverthe pottoallow the vegetablestosoften. After about 5minutes, uncover the pot andstir
4. Scoop outaboutone cup of the cooked onions and peppers and transfer the softened vegetable mixture to the food processor bowl
Add one cup of white beans and one cup of broth to the processor bowl.Process until smooth. This mixture will serve to thicken the chili. Addthismixture back to theDutch oven with the softened onion andchilis.
5. Next add the reserved cooked turkeymeat, the remaining whitebeans, hominy and the broth to the Dutch oven. Bring the chili to alow simmer. Add the chopped cilantro, sliced green onions andlime juice. Taste andadjust seasoning by adding more sliced jalapeño andsalt.
6. Serve by ladlingchili into abowl and garnish with sour cream, avocado slices, grated Jack cheese and tortilla chips.
Easy Cornbread
Serves 12. ½cup butter melted (plus the butter to grease themuffintin)
2 3 cup granulated sugar
2eggs
1cup buttermilk
1cup cornmeal
1cup all-purpose flour
1teaspoon baking soda
½teaspoon salt
1. Preheat theoven to 375 F. Grease amuffin tin with butter
2. Melt ½ cup of butter on low heat.Inamedium bowl, combine the melted butter withthe sugar Next, beat in the eggs until the mixture is combined. Then addinbuttermilk andstirintothe wet ingredients until well blended.
3. In another medium bowl, add the cornmeal, flour,baking soda and salt. Then stiruntilthe dry ingredients are combined.
4. Pour the mixed dryingredients into the wetingredients and stir together.Donot over-mix. Pour the batter into the greased muffin tins.
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Serves 1.
1. Fill acocktailglass withice.Add Aperol, prosecco, apple cider and ginger ale (or soda water).
Garnish with sliced
acinnamon stick.Iadded asprig of fresh rosemary,but it is optional.
CiderAperol Spritz
appleand
Easy Cornbread
PHOTOSBYLIZ FAUL
Cider Aperol Spritz
Turkey and White Bean Chili
Dill Pickle Saltines
Yields about 15 servings. This recipe, by Ellen Daigle, was inspired by arecipefrom Fake Ginger
211-ounce boxes of mini Saltines
½cup (1 stick) unsalted butter,melted
1(1ounce) ranch dressing drymix
2tablespoons olive oil
2tablespoons dill pickle juice (from apickle jar)
1 tablespoon dried dill
1teaspoon garlic powder
1teaspoon of onion powder
About ½teaspoon cayenne
1tablespoon Maldon sea salt
1. Preheat oven to 250F.Lineone full sheet rimmed baking pan (or two half sheets)withparchment paper
2. Place Saltines in alarge mixing bowl.
3. Whisk together melted butter,ranch dressingmix,olive oil, dill picklejuice, drieddill, garlic powder,onionpowderand cayenne.
4. Pour the butter mixture over theSaltines and gently toss to coat all the Saltines
5.Transfer to the prepared baking sheet(s).
6. Sprinkle Maldonsea salt over the top of crackers.
THE DISH
Continued from page1G
My mother,cousins, aunt and friends all loved them as much as Idid.
Daigle says her nephews’ 2-year-old loves them, but her 70-something brother doesn’tlike themashe
pre-baking,covered with thebuttery flavor mixture.
7.Bakefor 30 minutes, stirring gently every 10 minutes.
8. Cool completely before serving or storing.
doesn’tlikepickles or the dill pickleflavor much.I wondered if he actually tried them, because even though the dillflavor is there, it’snot theoverwhelming taste.
Daigle, her husbandand theirtwo daughters moved from Baton Rougeto Tampa, Florida, in 1998, but her family and friends are still in Baton Rouge and she
reads thefood section in the newspaper each week.
You, too, can send in your signature dish. Ipick a new dish each week to try at home and then compare notes with thecook who sentit. If you’ve got a great dish you thinkothers would love, email me at Jan.Risher@theadvocate. com.
Fig& Ash Cast-Iron Kahlua Brownies
Serves 8. Recipe is by Cory Hughes, Fig &Ash. This dessert requires individual-sized (10-ounce) cast-iron skillets. Pistoles look like slightly larger,slightly flatter chocolate chips. They melt more quickly and don’t need to be chopped.
1 pound butter,diced 18 ounces chocolate pistoles
8eggs
½teaspoon vanilla
½tablespoon salt
2cups white sugar
1cup brown sugar
2cups all-purpose flour
1tablespoon Kahlua coffee liqueur Vanilla or coffee ice cream, for topping
Flakysaltfor garnish, such as Maldon
1. Melt butterinsaucepan. Once melted, stir in the chocolate pistoles. Let sit untilyou
have ameltypool of chocolate.
2.Inlarge bowl, whiskeggs completely.Fold in vanilla,salt, sugar, brown sugar and melted chocolate, and whisk until incorporated.
3. Add in flour and stir until fully incorporated.
4. Spray 8individual-sized (10-ounce) cast iron skillets with shortening to prevent sticking.
5. Divide batter among skillets.
6. Bake at 350 Ffor 22 minutes.Remove from oven and top with ascoop of vanilla or coffeeice cream and asprinkle of flaky salt, suchasMaldon.Serve immediately
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STAFF PHOTO BY JANRISHER
The mini Saltines,
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