MING TSAI’S THANKSGIVING RECIPES

TURKEY with CRANBERRY SWEET & SOUR WILD RICE STUFFING

Serves 4

1 turkey breast, brined overnight in sweet sea water*

1 pound spicy sausage (or sweet, if you prefer), casings removed

2 carrots, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch dice

5 ribs celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 medium onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 bulb fennel, cut into 1/4-inch dice, fronds reserved

1 1/2 cups Cranberry Sweet & Sour Sauce**

5 cups cooked wild rice, drained and chilled

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Canola oil for cooking

Pre-heat oven to 300°F. Rinse and dry turkey breast, season with freshly ground black pepper and a small amount of salt to taste. In a large saute pan coated lightly with oil over high heat, sear turkey breast until light golden brown, transfer to an oiled sheet pan and roast in oven for about 1 1/2 hours, until a paring knife inserted in the thickest part of the breast comes out hot (and a thermometer reaches 165 degrees). Meanwhile, add sausage meat to sauté pan and cook through, breaking apart large chunks with a wooden spoon. Transfer cooked sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off sausage fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in pan. Return pan to heat and add carrots, celery, onions and fennel. Sauté until softened and aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup Cranberry Sweet & Sour Sauce and mix well. Add cooked rice and sausage, stir to combine and heat through, stirring occasionally. Check for seasoning, and keep warm to serve with turkey breast. Slice turkey breast on bias. To serve, spoon wild rice stuffing onto platter, top with turkey, and spoon extra Cranberry Sweet & Sour sauce over turkey.

*Sweet sea water: 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup kosher salt to 1 quart water

**Cranberry Sweet & Sour Sauce

Makes about 3 cups

2 red onions, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

1 small pineapple, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 cup dried cranberries, such as Craisins

4 cups naturally brewed rice vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper

Canola oil for cooking

In a saucepan coated lightly with oil over high heat, sauté the onions, ginger and pineapple and season with kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper. Add the cranberries and naturally brewed rice vinegar. Reduce heat, simmer and reduce by 50%. Transfer the Cranberry Sweet and Sour Sauce to a blender and purée until smooth. Check for flavor and re-season if needed. When room temperature, store in an airtight jar.

CRANBERRY-ASIAN PEAR STAR ANISE CAKE

serves 6-8

1 cup sugar

8 ounces unsalted butter

zest of 1 orange

4 extra large eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Cranberry Topping:

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons ground star anise*

zest of 1 orange

1 Asian pear, peeled, very thinly sliced (between 1/8 and 1/4-inch thick)

For prepping pan:

2 tablespoons sugar

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

round of parchment

Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 325°F convection or 350°F standard. Prepare a 10-inch cake pan by greasing, lining with parchment round, greasing and flouring and coating with 2 tablespoons sugar. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together sugar, butter and orange zest. Add eggs one at a time, allowing each to fully incorporate before adding the next, and scraping continually. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and kosher salt. Add flour gradually and mix until just combined. Meanwhile, in a saucepot over medium-high heat, combine cranberries, vanilla, sugar, ground star anise and orange zest and cook until sugar has dissolved and sauce comes together, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange Asian pear slices in an overlapping layer on bottom of pan. Spoon cranberry sauce evenly over Asian pears. Spread cake batter evenly over cranberries. Bake in center of oven until top springs back when touched with fingertip, about 30-40 minutes convection or 40-50 minutes standard oven. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for about 5-10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve with ice cream.

*To make ground star anise, toast whole star anise in a dry pan until fragrant. Let cool and grind to a powder in a spice grinder. Sift ground star anise and use the finely ground product to in the recipe.

From the Public Television Series "Simply Ming" copyright 2008 Ming Tsai