Two of the best side dishes for the holiday I’ve ever made came from “Fresh From the Farmer’s Market” by Janet Fletcher, a San Francisco Bay Area writer and chef. The book makes use of the region’s seasonal foods. I have made several recipes from her book and they are always fabulous.

The book was out of print for a while, but was reissued this year. Here’s a link to the book at Amazon.com.

A can’t-miss pair of side dishes is brussels sprouts with walnut oil and mashed potatoes and parsnips. I am a huge fan of parsnips’ complex flavor and the vegetable pairs well with potatoes in this recipe. It’s a bit heavy on the milkfat, but what the hey — it’s Thanksgiving.

They go very well with turkey, especially if you roast the bird generously wrapped in bunches of rosemary and/or sage.

These two dishes are sinfully easy to prepare. And you will swoon over them, I guarantee.

Brussels sprouts with walnut oil

Ingredients
1 lb. brussels sprouts
1 T. unsalted butter
1½ T. walnut oil
2 T. chopped Italian parsley
2 T. minced fresh chives
salt and pepper

Directions
Place butter, walnut oil, parsley and chives in a serving bowl.

Trim sprouts and cook in a pot of boiling salted water until tender, but not falling apart and mushy — say 10 minutes. Drain and return to pot.

Cook over low heat for a few minutes, until water evaporates from pan but don’t burn the sprouts. Shake the pot or stir while heating.

Place sprouts in the serving bowl and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Whipped parsnips and potatoes

Ingredients
1 lb. parsnips
¾ lb. russet potatoes
½ C. heavy cream
2 shallots, minced
1 T. chives, minced
2 T. unsalted butter
salt and pepper

Directions
Peel potatoes and cut into ½-inch pieces.

Cut the parsnips lengthwise and remove the core, then cut into ½-inch pieces. Cook until tender in a large pot of boiling salted water — say 8 to 10 minutes.

Simmer cream, shallots and chives in a small pan for a minute, then keep warm without simmering while potatoes cook.

Drain parsnips and potatoes and place in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer, adding cream mixture and butter. Season with salt and pepper.

This just in from the news wires.

After a year of rising food prices and household budgets strained by the insane price of gasoline, many people are apparently rediscovering the much-maligned food born of the Great Depression.

That’s right. Spam.

According to a recent New York Times article, the Hormel factory in Austin, Minn., is working two shifts seven days a week to crank out the stuff. Here’s a link to the Times story so you can see for yourself.

I must admit an occasional hankering for Spam and eggs or a grilled cheese sandwich with fried Spam inside. The Times article mentions pizza with Spam and pineapple. I’m not sure I could stomach that.

Anybody want to share their opinion of Spam? Have any good recipes you’d like to share?

Here’s a site called Spamrecipes.net I found. The enchilada breakfast casserole, fritatta, Spam Reuben and Spam spaghetti carbonera all sound interesting.

I wonder if I can get the girls to eat it?

A traveling Smithsonian Insitution exhibit, “Key Ingredients,” about America‘s diverse food traditions, is opening this weekend at the Skagit County Historical Museum in La Conner. It runs through Jan. 4.

According to the museum Web sit, the exhibit: “examines how culture, ethnicity, landscape and tradition influence the foods and flavors we enjoy across the nation. The exhibition looks at the evolution of the American kitchen and how food industries have responded to the technological innovations that have enabled Americans to choose an ever-wider variety of frozen, prepared and fresh foods.”

The exhibit features artifacts, photographs and illustrations.

The museum: is at 501 S 4th St., La Conner. Phone: (360) 466-3365.

Hours: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Sunday

Admission is:
Museum Members: Free
Adults: $4
Seniors: $3
Children 6-12: $3
Families: $8
Children 5 and younger: Free

Here’s the Web page describing the exhibit. It features a link to a PDF brochure and an interactive site connected to the exhibit.

If you love jerky or salimi stix, you have to get over to the Community Food Co-op to try the Hempler’s pepperoni they’re now carrying.

At $2.99 for five snack-size sticks, it’s a steal. And it’s Hempler’s.

I like to take one of these with a slice of gouda and an apple for a quick snack on duty or at the office.

More post-election stuff to get off my desk:

The Mittendorf-Sauter clan had its annual “Orange Food” open house the week before Halloween. It’s a get-together we started in Surf City as a potluck fall harvest party/pumpkin-carving party.

It also marks Rebecca’s birthday, depending on how serious she is about playing that up.

For more than a decade, I have served the same squash soup with yellow split peas. That’s because Rebecca loves it, and it’s her party, after all. It goes great with big hunks of buttered Avenue Bread sourdough or Italian peasant.

We usually serve Martinelli’s cider or an herbal tea with it. And it freezes well (I always make too much).

Maybe they’re being kind, but guests always rave about this soup. Even though Halloween is past, this is a wonderful soup for a light lunch or early dinner on a brisk fall or winter day. It would make more of a meal if paired with some grilled sausage or a hearty starter to a dinner that revolves around grilled lamb chops (yum!).

It would also make a nice lunch Thanksgiving lunch or a starter for the main meal.

Here’s how I do it:

Squash soup with kale and yellow split peas

Ingredients
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 six-inch spig of fresh rosemary
2 T butter
3 T olive oil
2 to 3 oz. pancetta (or good bacon, like Applegate Farms), minced
½ pound firm yellow squash, such as Kubota, in 1-inch cubes
2 C. chicken broth
2C. water
2 C. dried yellow split peas
½ pound kale
1 14-oz can of whole peeled tomatoes, drained; or 6 whole Roma tomatoes, skinned, seeded and coarsely chopped
salt and pepper

Directions
In a stockpot, start frying the pancetta or bacon over medium-low heat.

Add butter and olive oil, then garlic and onions. Stir occasionally.

When the onions begin to grow transparent, add the split peas and fry a moment or two at medium heat.

Add broth, water and rosemary. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.

Simmer one hour; remove rosemary sprig after 30 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, wash the kale and cut the leaves off the tough stems, chop loosely and dry with paper towel.

After one hour, add squash, tomatoes and kale, stirring gently to combine.

Simmer about 30 minutes more, until squash is tender.

Salt and pepper to taste; serve.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Note: soup may be made ahead. When reheating, add equal parts of water and broth to achieve desired consistency.

Now that the election’s over, I have a little breathing room and can catch up on a few posts that have been piling up.

First, a shoutout to James Valentine, corporate executive chef for Haggen Food & Pharmacy stores, who won a nationwide competition and was honored at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival for his pear ravioli recipe.

According to a press release from Haggen, Valentine presented a demonstration of how to prepare his recipe – Northwest Anjou Pear Ravioli with Vanilla Chardonnay Buerre Blanc – during the festival at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla, in late October.

Here’s more of Haggen’s e-mail to me:

Valentine’s recipe won this year’s USA Pears recipe competition for chefs representing grocery stores.

His ravioli filling features Northwest Anjou pears with ricotta and mascarpone cheese. Valentine’s recipe includes directions for making ravioli pasta from scratch, as well as creating a buerre blanc that blends chardonnay wine with heavy cream and a whole vanilla bean.

It’s not surprising that the winning pear recipe came from the Pacific Northwest. Combined, Oregon and Washington comprise the nation’s largest pear-producing region. They produce approximately 84 percent of all fresh pears grown in the United States, and more than 94 percent of all winter pears (non-Bartlett varieties such as Bosc and Anjou). They also account for 92 percent of America’s fresh pear exports.

For more information about USA Pears, click on www.usapears.com.

Valentine is the corporate executive chef for Haggen Inc., which operates 33 supermarkets in Washington and Oregon under the Haggen Food & Pharmacy, TOP Food & Drug and Larry’s Market names. Headquartered in Bellingham, it is the largest independent grocer and sixth-largest private company based in the State of Washington.

For more information, visit www.Haggen.com.

NORTHWEST ANJOU PEAR RAVIOLI
WITH VANILLA CHARDONNAY BUERRE BLANC

4 Servings

Ravioli Pasta
1 Cup Semolina flour
1 Cup All purpose flour
¼ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Olive oil
2 Large eggs
1-2 Tbsp. Water

Filling
2 Ripe Anjou pears
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
½ Cup Ricotta cheese
½ Cup Mascarpone cheese
¼ Cup Watercress chopped
¼ Cup Toasted Hazelnut chopped
1 tsp.Salt
¼ tsp Black pepper

Vanilla Chardonnay
Buerre Blanc
1 Cup St. Michelle Chardonnay
¾ Cup Heavy Cream
1 Shallot (large) finely diced
¼ lb Butter Softened
1 Whole Vanilla bean split in 1/2
Salt & pepper to taste

Garnish
¼ Cup Toasted Hazelnut chopped
1 Cup Watercress Leaves
8 Anjou Pear Slices

Ravioli Pasta
1.Sift together flours & salt in a mixing bowl.
2.Whisk together eggs, olive oil & water.
3.Form the sifted flour mixture into a mound on a flat surface, then form a well in the center.
4.Pour ½ of the egg mixture into the well, begin mixing with 2 fingers while supporting the mound of flour with your other hand. When egg begins to incorporate add the remaining egg mixture.
5.When all egg mixture is incorporated, kneed dough 8 to 10 minutes until smooth, dusting surface with semolina flour as needed to keep from sticking.
6.Form dough into a ball & tightly wrap with plastic wrap.
7.Let dough rest in refrigerator for 2 hours.
8.Make filling while dough is resting.
9.Cut dough into 2 pieces & roll into thin strips using semolina flour for dusting.
10.Roll pasta to 1/16 inch thick then place small dollops of filling spaced apart enough so you’re able to close & completely seal each piece.
11.Whisk together 1 egg & 2 Tbsp of water for egg wash.
12.Using a pastry brush lightly brush egg wash on outer edge & in between each ravioli. This is the glue that will seal each ravioli.
13.Fold over the outer half of pasta & seal each ravioli making sure there is no air trapped inside with filling, press edges down for a tight seal.
14.Cut strips into individual raviolis.
15.Can be frozen until ready to use.
16.When ready to cook place ravioli into a pot of rapidly boiling water 4 to 6 minutes until tender but still firm.
17.Drain & rinse ravioli, gently toss ravioli with Vanilla Chardonnay Buerre Blanc. Place in serving dish, garnish with watercress, Anjou pear slices & toasted hazelnuts.

Filling
1.Peel pears, remove seed & dice.
2.Heat olive oil in sauté pan, add pears, sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften slightly Aprox. 2 minutes, remove from heat & chill down.
3.Once pears have chilled down combine pears with ricotta, mascarpone, watercress, toasted hazelnuts, salt & pepper.

Vanilla Chardonnay Buerre Blanc
1.Combine the chardonnay diced shallot & vanilla bean in sauce pan. Heat over medium heat, reduce by ½ add cream & reduce by ½ again remove the bean & set aside.
2.Reduce heat & whisk in butter in small pieces until it thickens. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean & add to sauce. Season with salt & pepper.

* Be careful not to boil sauce as this will cause it to separate & break down.