Melt butter in a saute pan over medium-low heat. Add chestnuts and toss to coat well. Season with salt and saute until dark golden brown on both sides. Sprinkle in the rosemary, remove from heat, let cool. Chestnuts can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Combine sugar and water in pan and bring to boil. Add cranberries and bring to boil again then take right off the heat. Let cool then add the almond extract.
In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pulse until very finely chopped. With the machine on, drizzle in the olive oil and process until the dressing is nearly smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Scrape the dressing into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until chilled, 30 minutes.
For the crudité
In a large bowl, whisk the lemon zest and juice with the olive oil, chives and parsley. Add the rutabaga, cauliflower, kohlrabi, apple, Pecorino and almonds and toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the crudités in the lettuce cups with the Green Goddess dressing on the side.
Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper, letting the ends hang over the sides. Spray evenly with cooking spray. Combine water, sugars and syrup in medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook until it turns an amber color. Remove from heat. In a 2nd sauce pan, combine the cream, butter, vanilla, and kosher salt. Heat over medium heat. Once the mixture reaches a simmer, remove from heat and set aside. Slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. It will bubble violently so be careful. Turn the heat back on and continue cooking until the mixture reaches 245 degrees on a candy thermometer. If your mixture becomes any hotter the candy will be too firm, any cooler – it won’t set. Watch it closely. It takes about 12 minutes. Pour out the mixture into the prepared pan and pop in the fridge for a few hours to cool. Once firm, turn the caramel out onto a cutting board and cut into 1 inch slices lengthwise. Roll into logs and cut ¾ inch pieces. Roll into balls and wrap.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Toast the walnuts in a large saute pan for 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, port, pepper and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the walnuts to the saucepan, stirring to evenly coat them. Using a slotted spoon, drain the nuts very well. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the walnuts on it in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 12 minutes, stirring once, or until the nuts are mostly dry; let cool. Separate any nuts that stick together. Meanwhile, simmer the syrup over low heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Set the Stilton on a serving platter and place the walnuts in a separate bowl. Drizzle the port syrup over the cheese and serve with the nuts.
Saute the sausage in a frying pan until cooked through. Remove the sausage and process in a food processor until finely chopped. Leave the oil in the pan you cooked the sausage in and add the butter and olive oil.
Finely chop the onions and celery in a food processor and add to oil and butter. Chop the sage leaves and add to pan with salt and pepper. Saute until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Put the bread crumbs into a large bowl. Add the turkey stock to the bread crumbs and toss until completely absorbed. Add the rest of ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Recipe Notes
If you are not cooking the stuffing in the turkey, add 1/2 cup of additional stock, butter a casserole dish and bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.
Place 2 large dill branches on the bottom of a deep glass dish. Place 1 piece of fish, skin side down on the dill. Mix salt, pepper and sugar together and rub half of the mixture into the flesh of the fish and top with 2 large bunches fresh dill. Rub the rest of the seasoning into the flesh of the other half of the fish and place it flesh side down over the fish in glass dish. Place remaining dill on fish. Wrap the whole thing in foil and put a cutting board on top and then a brick. Leave the fish in the frig for at least 48 hours. Turning every 12 hours. Scrape off al spices and the dill and clean with paper towels. Freeze for a couple of hours before slicing paper thin. Slice horizontally with a sharp filet knife. Serve with square black bread. Accompany with dill mustard sauce.
For the sauce
In a food processor mix mustard sugar and egg yolk. Slowly drizzle in the oil and process until thick. Add remaining ingredients and blend.
Fill a large bowl with cold water. Peel the potatoes and plunge them into the water as you finish peeling them. Fill a large saucepan half way with water. Cut the potatoes into ½ inch pieces. Add them to the saucepan as you cut to keep them from oxidating and turning brown. Bring the potatoes to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes or until they are fork-tender. Drain the potatoes in a colander. Use a Foley Food Mill for a light and silky consistency. Add the butter, cream and salt.
For the Gravy
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add 3 tablespoons of flour to the melted butter and cook it for a couple of minutes until it’s a light golden brown. Add 2 cups of chicken or turkey stock to the pan. Continue to cook and stir until the gravy thickens. Salt and pepper to taste. (if you are cooking a turkey or chicken, use the drippings from the bottom of the pan in your gravy.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Add lobster tails to a medium pan with the white wine and poach on low heat for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cook in the wine.
Meanwhile, combine the cream and eggs in a medium sized bowl. Whisk until smooth. Then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Top with about ½ tsp of red pepper jelly on each tart and bake another 5 minutes to melt the jelly. Serve.
Cut the lobster into bite-size chunks. Put one chunk of lobster in each tart shell. Pour the egg mixture into each shell evenly. Place the filled shells on a parchment paper¬lined cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown and set about 12 minutes. Top with about ½ tsp of red pepper jelly on each tart and bake another 5 minutes to melt the jelly. Serve.
