Gifts for Cooks: 'Get Cooking'

Mollie Katzen’s new book is aimed at young people who know precious little about how to cook – which doesn’t mean they’re ignorant about food. Quite the contrary.

“They know what spaghetti carbonara is but they don’t know how to get the scrambled eggs into the pasta,” she said.

“Get Cooking”speaks to people who “have grown up without seeing their mom in the kitchen or their dad making dinner” and who now want to cook, Katzen said in a telephone interview.

There could hardly be a more understanding guide to the kitchen basics than Katzen, who as a young person herself decoded the world of vegetarian cooking with her iconic Moosewood books.

“Get Cooking 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen” (the title is longer than some of the ingredient lists) was inspired in part by her 25-year-old son and his friends who are living on their own and trying to eat well and on the cheap.

“’You should write a book for me and my friends,’” he told her.

Your politically correct recipe for the day: Gingerbread people

Turkey digested? Good. Now, let's get on to the good stuff: Sugar.

Let the holiday baking begin with your recipe for the day: Gingerbread people.

-- Rene Lynch
On Twitter @renelynch

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Got leftovers? We've got recipes

 Thanksgiving dinner puts a lot of pressure on a cook.

But it's nothing compared with Thanksgiving leftovers.

Of course, you can just reheat and re-serve the whole meal over and over until the stuffing starts drying out and cracking. But a good cook is supposed to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving doing something wizardly with all those leftovers, right? Take the remains of the holiday and turn them into something supremely special, perhaps a turkey pot pie with a flaky homemade crust, with lovingly hand-crimped edges. Or a turkey mole. And it's a given that A Real Cook makes a rich turkey soup with a stock that was hours in the making.

But what if you'd rather be shopping? We've got some quick and easy recipes to empty out the fridge -- as well as a few more complex dishes if you are so inspired:

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Pie and pie and more pie. And still more pie. And cake for Thanksgiving

Key lime pie for Thanksgiving? Banana cream? Lemon meringue? Cake of any sort? These all sort of baffle Susan Sarich, the owner of SusieCakes bakery. She's a purist, and her shop expects to sell about 500 apple, pecan and pumpkin pies today.

That's not to say the popular Brentwood bakery will refuse to take your money for banana pudding or red velvet cupcakes. They also have layer cakes decorated with a turkey, and turkey-shaped butter cookies frosted for the day.

"People like variety," Sarich conceded Tuesday afternoon as the employees in the bakery piled pies in the front window, decorated cookies and baked batch after batch -- as many pies as they could get into their ovens for the holiday.

Sarich will miss being with her family in Chicago, where pumpkin pie will be on the menu for Thanksgiving. So why didn't she open her shop there? "That's a question my mother asks me every week when we talk," she said with a laugh. But it was her goal to spread the baked goods of the Midwest to California.

-- Mary MacVean

Photo: The pie-making at SusieCakes. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

 

More last-minute Thanksgiving options: Fraiche, Vermont, Agura, Oaks Gourmet, Kiss My Bundt

Last-minute bakery (for candied yams too): Kiss My Bundt will be open Thanksgiving Day so you can pick up side dishes such as candied yams, sweet potato souffle, sweet or savory cornbread and strawberry butter, and Big Ol' Bundts and mini and baby bundts for desserts. For pickup on Thanksgiving, the order deadline for side dishes and Big Ol' Bundts is Wednesday at 1 p.m. (Delivery also available). 8104 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (323) 655-0559; www.kissmybundt.net.

Thanksgiving at Fraiche: Fraiche will be serving family-style Thanksgiving with wood-fired mushroom salad or chestnut soup to start, followed by roasted turkey (or chicken), seared duck breast or flat-iron steak, served with mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac 'n' cheese, creamed spinach, green beans, glazed carrots and cranberry sauce. Pumpkin or apple pie for dessert. $35 per person. Noon to 8 p.m. 312 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 451-7482; www.fraicherestaurantla.com. (The Culver City location is closed Thanksgiving.)

Thanksgiving at Vermont: Order Thanksgiving a la carta at Vermont; choose from starters such as butternut squash soup, crab cakes or apple endive salad and mains such as organic roasted turkey, filet mignon, halibut or goat cheese and truffle ravioli. Pumpkin pie and apple tart are on the dessert menu. 1714 N. Vermont, Los Angeles; (323) 661-6163; www.vermontrestaurantonline.com.

It's a Turkey Plate: The Oaks Gourmet is offering a Thanksgiving Turkey Plate for $19, for take-out or dine-in: roasted turkey with foie gras gravy; sage and chestnut dressing; roasted brown butter yams; grilled Brussels sprouts with pancetta and shallots; truffle mashed potatoes; and a slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Wine pairings and a beer selection available. Pre-order or same-day service. 1915 N. Bronson Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 871-8894; www.theoaksgourmet.com.

Turkey teriyaki rolls!?! Agura is offering a "Japanese-inspired" Thanksgiving feast. For $12, you can get roasted turkey breast with grilled vegetables and ginger-flavored Madeira wine sauce. The restaurant also has created a special teriyaki turkey roll (only in L.A. ... ) for $8. 514 N. La Cienega Blvd., Hollywood; (310) 289-1940; www.aguradining.com.

-- Betty Hallock

For a complete list of Thanksgiving to-go and dine-in options, click here.

Photo: Kiss My Bundt

Thanksgiving countdown: Scalloped oysters

How about something that's different -- yet still a classic -- this holiday? Here's your recipe for scalloped oysters.

-- Rene Lynch
On Twitter @renelynch 

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When you've had your fill of turkey and family, here's what you can do on Thanksgiving weekend.

And if you conveniently missed your holiday dinner with relatives, many clubs and bars are offering a special holiday menu.

Thanksgiving countdown: whole-grain mustard rolls

These rolls can be prepared up to three days in advance  -- or you can make them right now, and freeze them until Turkey Day. Here's the recipe:

And don't forget the butter.

-- Rene Lynch
On Twitter @renelynch 

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Pumpkin shortage could mean empty shelves after Thanksgiving

Someone needs to break the bad news to Times Test Kitchen Manager (and pumpkin lover) Noelle Carter:

Mother Nature may have sneaked off with a sought-after slice of Thanksgiving.

Recent heavy rains in the Midwest are putting pumpkin pie in short supply this holiday season. On Tuesday, food giant Nestle, which controls about 85% of the pumpkin crop for canning, issued a rare apology and said that rain appeared to have destroyed what remained of a small harvest this year and that it expected to stop shipping the holiday staple by Thanksgiving. Read more here:

-- Rene Lynch

Photo caption: Nestle has forecast a shortage of canned pumpkin as recent heavy rains in the Midwest have damaged much of the crop, including in Morton, Ill. Credit: Adam Gerik / Nestle 

 

Thanksgiving countdown: We've got classics, dinner to go, pie and the turkey readers love

Happy Thanksgiving!

OK, the big day is still a week away, but there's little time to waste. And we've got everything you need to make this the best turkey day ever:

-- North, South, East and West -- we all celebrate Thanksgiving. But we don't all celebrate it in the same way: Take a tour of some classic holiday dishes from across the nation, including scalloped oysters. (This dish was initially greeted with skepticism by some in The Times Test Kitchen. But that was before the first bite. Everyone who tried it went back for seconds....and fifths.)

-- Thanksgiving is all about tradition, and Times Food Editor Russ Parsons has one of his own: Writing about the dry-brined "Judy Bird." It's more of a technique than a recipe, and it yields what many say is the juiciest, tastiest turkey EVER. Is it any wonder that readers go nuts for it? So much so  that this recipe has its own list of frequently asked questions.

-- We all know that Times Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter is crazy about bacon. Turns out she's crazy about pumkins too. (She decorated her desk for the holiday with baby pumpkins.) So what's the logical next step? A pumpkin pie made with a bacon-and-bourbon pie crust. Plus: Pumpkins and squash come in so many varieties. Take a tour of this photo gallery and see how many you can identify.

-- Just interested in eating this holiday? Leave the cooking to someone else. Here's our list of places to dine out -- and take out -- this Thanksgiving.

-- Not sure what you want? Browse this, calorie free: 97 of our best Thanksgiving recipes

-- Still want more? Check out www.latimes.com/Thanksgiving

-- Rene Lynch

Photo: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times