Cobbling together post-Tgiving weekend meals

All thanks to Julia Turshen, whose new book and beautiful charts teach us "What Goes With What"

Hello! Hello!

I know that we’re still two days out from Thanksgiving and that for lots of us our brains are still packed with pumpkin. We may still even be deciding between Brussels sprouts or green beans — I’ve been known to change my mind about what I’d be serving as late as T-giving morning. (When I lived in NYC, I was a 3-minute walk away from a supermarket that never closed — a great convenience, but one that allowed me to indulge my maybe-this/maybe-that indecision.) For others of us, we may be looking to the weekend, thinking of what we’ll do with the leftovers or, if we weren’t in charge of the holiday meal, what we’ll make for the days after. This year, I’m off-duty on Thursday and full-on for all the post-event meals. For me, it’s a happy spot to be in, especially since I found someone to keep me company as I cook through the weekend: The fabulous Julia Turshen and her newest cookbook, What Goes With What.

If you’re already a Turshen fan — maybe you’ve made her Pear, Polenta + Almond Cake (the recipe’s here) or maybe you’re a subscriber to her newsletter — then you know how exciting it is to have another book from her. And if you’re a Julia-newbie, then welcome to her world — it’s a good place to be. Julia is open, welcoming, generous, optimistic and loving and, no surprise, so is her food. Everything that Julia does is designed to help us appreciate the pleasures to be had making food and eating it with others. Of course, we share this with Julia. It’s one of the reasons we gather around this virtual table every week.

Photo of Julia for What Goes With What: Natalie Chitwood

Off the charts

This is Julia’s fourth cookbook — the oldest sister of Small Victories, Now & Again and Simply Julia — and the fourth that includes Julia’s hand lettering and charts. In fact, this book is built on her now-famous, very useful charts. Look at a few of them and you might have an ah-ha experience, a moment when you realize what you need to make things. Take for instance, a sandwich. Here’s Julia on the subject:

Do you need my guidance on how to make a sandwich? Probably not. But understanding the components of a single great sandwich unlocks the formula of all great sandwiches.

The components are: Bread, Main Thing, Creamy Layer, Crunchy Layer, Extra Acidic Thing. As an example, to make Julia’s “Favorite Veggie Sandwich” she lists Toasted Whole Wheat Bread, Sliced Cheddar, Hummus, Cucumber, Grated Carrots with Oil & Vinegar. A good springboard, right?

Photo: Natalie Chitwood

As are the charts for vegetables and soups, stews and braises, grain bowls (love this chart and the recipes), one-bowl rice dishes, pastas and baked goods. They are mini cooking classes and delicious prompts to freestyle cooking.

And into the kitchen

I was riffling through What Goes With What, thinking about which recipes you might like to have, and the next thing I knew, I was baking a cobbler. I couldn’t help myself! I loved the way the recipe sounded, knew that I had all the ingredients within reach — knew that my friend who was coming to dinner that night would love it — and knew that if I liked Julia’s recipe, it would open the door to lots of playing-around variations. The recipe, Raspberry + Chocolate Cobbler, has a base of frozen raspberries (lightly sweetened and mixed with cornstarch to help jam-ify the fruit in the oven) topped with a one-bowl chocolate batter that bakes into a kind of devil’s food cake. Is it a true cobbler? Nope. Is it truly delicious and the kind of recipe you’ll be making over and over again, yes! yes! yes! (Scroll for the recipe)

Photo: Julia Turshen

Because you really should have something before dessert

I was stopped by a pork shoulder with apricots and olives, by cacio e pepe potatoes, by a chicken potpie, by so many recipes, but with Thanksgiving on the horizon and more holidays behind it, I chose quick and easy. That the two that turned out to call my name have ground turkey is inexplicable — I hope you don’t mind — but handy: it’s an easy-to-get ingredient that welcomes bold flavors. The two recipes I’m loving for the couple of weeks ahead are: Turkey + Green Chile Chili and Italian Sausage + Ricotta Meatballs. (Scroll for the recipes.)

Thank you, Julia and Flatiron Books for sharing these recipes with us.

I know I keep saying I’m going to get a round-up of new books to you — and I will. I have so many I want to tell you about, so many that I’m kind of stuck on how to organize it all. I wish Julia had a chart for that.

Wishing all of you a happy, peaceful, delicious Thanksgiving.

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RASPBERRY + CHOCOLATE COBBLER

• Adapted from What Goes With What. Copyright © 2024 by Julia Turshen. Reprinted with permission of Flatiron Books. All rights reserved.

• Get your copy at Bookshop.org | Amazon

• Click here for printable recipe

GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START

• Here’s Julia on her recipe:

I love this dessert so much. It’s basically like a dense chocolate cake, or a slightly cakey brownie, on top of juicy raspberries. Heaven! It’s wonderful with whipped cream. If you buy a pint of cream for the recipe, you’ll have an extra cup that you can whip and sweeten with sugar or maple syrup, if you’d like. Or just serve with a can of whipped cream! And/or ice cream!

The pan: I baked the delicious cobbler in a 9- to 9-1/2-inch deep-dish pie pan. The chocolate layer rose just to the top and the berries burbled prettily around the cake.

The baking sheet: I put the pie pan on a lined baking sheet as a just-in-case measure. The berries didn’t bubble over the sides of the pan, but it was close. File this under “better safe then sorry”.

The raspberries: My frozen raspberries were all smushed together and I was afraid that they wouldn’t work for the dessert — but they were fine. I put them in the pie pan, let them sit for 5 minutes, broke them up as best as I could with a fork and then sprinkled over and stirred in the sugar, juice, cornstarch and salt. It looked unpromising, but it turned out just right.

The flour: For those of you who weigh your ingredients, Julia says:

1 cup all-purpose flour = 125 grams

The cocoa: Julia says that you can use natural or Dutch-processed cocoa. I used Valrhona Dutch-processed cocoa and the cake was terrific. Choose a cocoa you enjoy.

Makes 1 cobbler (serves about 6)     

INGREDIENTS

For the raspberries

• One 10-ounce package frozen raspberries (no need to defrost)

• 1/4 cup sugar

• Juice of half a lemon

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

•  Pinch of kosher salt

For the topping

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (see above)

• 1/2 cup sugar, plus a tablespoon for sprinkling

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-processed both work), see above

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

• Pinch of kosher salt

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 375ºF. 

First, prepare the raspberry layer: Place the raspberries in a 9-inch pie dish (or anything similarly sized that can go in the oven) — see above. Add the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt and mix well — see above.

Next, make the topping: Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs and heavy cream and stir well to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips. The batter will be thick.

Spread the topping evenly over the raspberries. Sprinkle the tablespoon of sugar evenly on top.

Bake just until the topping is set (it should be firm to the touch), the raspberries are bubbling, and your kitchen smells wonderfully chocolatey, 50 minutes.

Allow the cobbler to cool for at least 10 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature.

DINNER BEFORE DESSERT

Photos: Julia Turshen

Here’s Julia on her Italian Sausage + Ricotta Meatballs:

I think the Turkey and Ricotta Meatballs from Small Victories might be the most popular recipe I’ve ever shared. This recipe goes a step further by using half ground turkey and half Italian sausage meat. I’ve tried making them with just sausage, but the meatballs were a little too tough — this combination is key for a sausage-flavored meatball that’s still tender. If you don’t want to chop a thing, leave out the parsley (honestly, it just makes them look nice). If you want to make the meatballs ahead, let them cool, refrigerate them in the sauce, and then just reheat in a pot over medium-low heat or in a baking dish in a 300 F oven. You can also freeze the cooked meatballs in sauce if you want them to keep even longer (defrost overnight in the refrigerator before reheating).

and on her Turkey + Green Chile Chili

I have made countless pots of chili and written numerous recipes for different types of chili. This is the one I keep coming back to, because it has so much flavor from the generous amounts of cumin, pi- mentón, and canned green chile peppers. Plus, it’s so simple to prepare. To make this vegan, just substitute an extra can of beans for the ground turkey. Serve with your favorite toppings (I’ve given you a few ideas below). To turn this pot of food into a more substantial meal, serve with cornbread, tortilla chips, warm corn or flour tortillas, quesadillas, or rice.