Show 40 Food Tuesday November 23 1999 Standard-Examin- Snowbird winding up for Winterfest- Don’t pucker pruneburgers please palate The Baltimore Sun runes and hamburgers H Jj may seem as unlikely a U couple as David Copperfield and Claudia Schif- - J JL ‘ !fer But the Quik ’N Juicy Burger ’also known as the pruneburger has unified the maligned fruit iand the American classic for the jfirst time Mary land’s Montgomery County school district just introduced this alternative to the all-be- ef I patty But students don’t know w hat they’re eating The amount of puh of rree is so minuscule that the burger per prune jone one-tent- i Turkey From ID iGreen Bean Bake "I love it but it wasn’t included until 1955” In 1985 the San Francisco native started a catering company Cuisine Americaine He special-ize- d in cooking regional Amen-Jca- n foods “What’s more American than Thanksgiving dinner?” Ihe asks I His customers loved his holi-da- y spreads Then in 1990 one of the East ’Coast’s largest poultry producers hired him to be a media spokesman Rodgers said he learned evthere is to know about erything I turkey He even wrote a cook-'boo- k devoted to the big bird Since then Rodgers has heard - and answered - just about every' turkey question imaginable “What are the icky things in the bag?” is one of his favorites Rodgers was 24 w hen he pre-- ’ pared his first Thanksgiving meal An actor he had just moved to New Y ork “I learned that year that pot-lucaren’t such a good idea” he said noting some friends didn't bring what they said they would bring while at least one brought a failed experiment Rodgers has been “home” for Thanksgiving only once in the past 20 years although he says he can still taste his mother's Thanksgiving dinner One year he went home because his mother wasn’t feeling well “My brothers made me promagain’ ” he said “I rocked the boat too much I have my own traditional feast that my friends line up around the block to eat” in Jersey City Instead of his mother’s Green Bean Bake he makes sauteed green beans While she makes candied yams with marshmallows he whips up scalloped yams with praline topping Following are some of Rick Rodgers' favorite Thanksgiving recipes including his turkey roasting method which he teaches at cooking classes around the country The stuffing has a zesty Mediterranean flavor and Portobello mushrooms add a meaty flavor to the green beans The recipes are in “Thanksgiv ise ‘never tried-and-tr- school s stem sees no reason to publicize the added fruit If kids knew says Kathy La-zdirector of food and nutrition services for Montgomery Count they’d most likely “make a funny face and not like it” But judging from a taste test held at The Baltimore Sun prune prejudice is learned We assembled our own group of experts - a family of four from Hampden Md a chef and a nutritionist - all of whom knew exactly what they were getting into The youngest critic Andrew Nelson was the most enthusiastic He ate three pruneburgers Between bites he de scribed the 3 1 patty as “good spicy and wonderful” Then he paid the pruneburger the ultimate compliment proclaiming it better than McDonald’s Hello McPrune Such reviews thrill Peggy Cas-talspokeswoman for the California Prune Board She blames the news media for giving prunes a bad rap After all the media first dubbed these “pruneburgers” continuing the long history of ridicule that the fruit has endured since being marketed as a laxative in the ’20s About three years ago a surplus of prunes left members of the board dreaming up new ways ing 101” (Broadway Books $15) skim off and reserve clear yellow fat that has risen to top Measure 34 cup fat adding melted butter if needed Add enough turkey stock to skimmed drippings to make 8 cups total Place roasting pan on two stove burners over low heat and add turkey fat Whisk in flour scraping up browned bits on bottom of pan and cook until lightly browned about 2 minutes Whisk in turkey stock and bourbon if desired Cook whisking often until gravy has thickened and no trace of raw flour taste remains about 5 minutes Transfer gravy to warmed gravy boat Carve turkey and serve gravy and stuffing alongside Makes about 18 servings with about 7 cups gravy or Perfect Roast Turkey With Best Ever Gravy fresh turkey (18 pounds) 12 cups (about) ofyour favorite stuffing 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter room temperature Salt and freshly milled black pep- per 2 12 cups homemade turkey stix k or purchased chicken stock or as needed Melted unsalted butter if needed 34 cup flour 13 cup bourbon port or dry sherry (optional) Position rack in lowest oven position and preheat to 325 degrees Reserve turkey neck and giblets to use in gravy or stock Rinse turkey inside and out with cold water Pat turkey skin dry Turn turkey on its breast Loosely fill neck cavity with stuffing Using thin wooden or metal skewer pin neck skin to the back Fold turkey's wings behind back or tie to body with kitchen string Loosely fill large body cavity with stuffing Place any remaining stuffing in lightly buttered casserole cover and refrigerate to bake as side dish Place drumsticks in hock lock or tie together with kitchen string Place turkey breast side up on rack in roasting pan Rub all over with softened butter Season with salt and pepper Tightly cover breast area with aluminum foil Pour 2 cups of turkey stock into bottom of pan Roast turkey basting all over every 30 minutes with juices on bottom of pan (lift up foil to reach breast area) until meat thermometer inserted into meaty part of thigh (but not touching bone) reads 1 80 degrees and stuffing is at least 160 degrees about 4 1 2 hours Whenever drippings evaporate add stock to moisten them about 1 12 cups at a time Remove foil during last hour to allow breast skin to brown Transfer turkey to large serving platter and let stand at least 20 minutes before carving Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees Drizzle 2 cup turkey stock over stuffing in casserole cover and bake until heated through about 30 minutes Meanwhile pour drippings from roasting pan into heat-proglass bowl or large measuring cup Let stand 5 minutes then 1 of di Italian Stuffing With Sausage and Parmesan Cheese 2 tablespoons extra-virgi- olive n oil 1 medium onion chopped 2 medium celery ribs with leaves chopped 2 medium red bell peppers cored seeded and chopped 2 garlic cloves minced 1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage casings removed 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 12 teaspoon salt 12 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper 12 ounces day-ol- crusty Italian cubes (about d bread cut into 7 cups) 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces) 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter melted 12 cup dry white wine 112 cups homemade turkey stin k or canned reduced-sodiuchicken broth or as needed m In large skillet heat oil over medium heat Add onion celery bell peppers and garlic Cook stirring often until softened about 5 minutes Add sausage and cook breaking up meat with spoon until it loses its pink color 8 to 10 minutes Stir in basil oregano salt and crushed red pepper Transfer to large bowl Add bread and cheese and mix well Stir in butter wine and enough of stock to moisten dressing about 1 cup Use to stuff turkey or place in buttered baking dish drizzle with additional 12 cup stock and bake as side dish Makes about 10 cups al- ready being used to add moisture to brownies and other baked goods Someone suggested mixing it into school burgers long reviled for being dry Pruneburgers are manufacx a Dallas-base- d tured by meat processing company that also supplies to schools pruneburgers are healthier than their counterparts The burgers have 286 calories pruneburgers have 210 The are 224 percent fat the pruneburger 139 for the “It’s a schools” Castaldi says Quik-To-Fi- ’s Snowbird’s - of Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer staff Standard-Examm- to use the fruit’s puree It was Quik-To-Fix- er annual place Dec 2 to The event includes food and wine seminars meals and wine tasting with 40 wineries participating Chefs and food experts include Bill O’Block of the Grapevine Restaurant in Logan Gary Pankow of Cafe Diablo in Torrey Utah Mark Gould of Portland Ore Mickey McPhail Valley Alex Woodside of--— Snowbird Steve Rosenbeigd Liberty Heights Fresh a S&UH Lake City specialty market Kevin Lyman a Salt LakpCJty artist and chef and of Salt Lake City's Caputo’s "TLc Market Individual seminars and — meals range from $15 to $65 Packages of lodging skiing and seminars start at $395 Fqrp 0 formation call (801) Tony-Capu-t- o 933-2H- all-be- ef all-be- ef Christmas Tree Express E: all-be- ef Sponsored by Weber School District Foundation er Christmas Tree Express November 24 26 27 0 9:00 pm Note: Some cooks add 1 cup toasted pine nuts or 1 cup coarsely chopped black Mediterranean olives for even more flavor Event includes: Silent auction selling over 100 decorated trees with various themes and prices Sweet Shop Boutique with hundreds of holiday craft items District employee art sale Green Beans With Portobello Mushrooms and Bacon 1 to 12 pounds green am-9:0- beans cut in- lengths 4 large Portobello mushrooms One hundred percent of the proceeds go to the Weber School District Foundation to 1 (about pound) 3 tablespoons vegetable oil ed fund requests for equipment for childreit divid- with disabilities 'I 14 cupfinely chopped shallots 4 ounces sliced smoked bacon (usually 1 slice equals 1 ounce) 12 teaspoon 14 teaspoon Ogden Eccles Conference Center 2415 Washington Blvd Ogden 6 7 or for more information call II Be torn hed by an angel: visit Christinas Tree Express ami support the event that gives our children nit special needs n ings to soar K 476-782- salt freshly milled black pepper Bring large pot of lightly salted water to boil over high heat Add green beans and return to boil Cook until crisp-tendabout 3 minutes Drain and rinse under cold running water Cut off stem from each mushroom and slice crosswise into 1 rounds Using teaspoon scrape out dark brown gills from underside of each mushroom cap and cut caps into 1 strips (Scraping out the gills stops sauteed Porto-bellfrom giving off dark liquid which can ruin the look of a 476-789- er os dish) non-stic- k skillet In heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat Add mushroom stems and caps and cook stirring often until lightly browned and tender about 5 minutes Add shallots and cook stirring often until shallots soften about 2 minutes Transfer to plate and set aside Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet and tilt to coat pan Add bacon and cook over medium heat turning occasionally until bacon is crisp and brown about 5 minutes Using slotted spatula transfer to paper towels to drain Leave bacon drippings in skillet When bacon is cool coarsely chop and set aside Place skillet over medium heat and heat until bacon drippings sizzle Add green beans and mushrooms cover and cook stirring occasionally until heated through about 5 minutes Stir in bacon and season with salt and pepper Transfer to warmed serving dish and serve immediately Makes 8 servings 12-in- It's coming £ the biggest paper of the year!: Our Thanksgiving edition is traditionally the largest paper ot the year chock full of all the information you need for Holiday sales and shopping! - Don't miss it! 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