The Whole Dish: Southern Oregon Food Blog

Even though I’ve spent more time writing about holiday sweets than actually making them, I’m about to gag on the phrase “Christmas cookie.”

What I really need, like so many of the rest of us, amid this harried season is a cup of cheer — preferably brimming with something alcoholic. The newspaper’s A la Carte section and Holiday 101 page provided plenty of ideas over the past few weeks for festive wines, beers, cocktails and even local labels for gift-giving.

And, of course, there was a story on festive food-and-drink pairings. But why confine the concept to canapes and entrees? With all of those hard-won cookies on hand, how about some tips for maximizing their appeal with a little tipple?

Earlier this month, The Associated Press profiled Cookies & Corks, a Virginia-based company founded by two bakers who realized the appeal of cookies with wine. After selling gourmet cookies for several years, Leah Kuo and Laura Englander hit on a new marketing concept of cookies created for specific types of wine.

Gingerbead cookies are a nice match with riesling / AP Photo

Here are a few more pairing tips from the AP’s story:

Match gingerbread with riesling or gewurztraminer, both aromatic white wines. The spiciness of the cookie brings out the honey and peach notes of the wines, according to Pamela Heiligenthal, co-founder and editor of Enobytes.com. Lace cookies also are nice with late-harvest riesling, which complements the cookie’s delicacy.

Shortbread is a good match for sparkling wine or blanc de blanc Champagne (sparkling wine from France’s Champagne region made from chardonnay grapes). The light, dry flavors of the bubbles cut through the firm, crumbly, butteriness of the cookie, says Heiligenthal.

Sherry is a standby for sweet pairings, with amontillado-style sherry a choice that goes well with rich desserts. Between dry and sweet, it contrasts nicely with desserts without overpowering them.

Cheers!

Readers of this blog post either are relaxed and ready for Christmas while the rest of rush around and finish shopping, or are still browsing for last-minute, edible gift ideas.

If your interest is the latter, I don’t have to tell you that time’s running out to get in the kitchen and emerge with some treats. Happily, there’s a strategy that doesn’t involve turning on the oven or stove, comes together quickly and dirties just a few utensils. A food processor, however, is practically an essential.

I speak, of course, of the liquor-laced sweets known by whichever booze the cook chooses to infuse: rum, bourbon, whiskey or any flavored liqueur. If you known someone who likes to keep a flask handy, they’ll love these, as will many people who don’t often drink spirits on their own.

When my enthusiasm for all things rolled out, cut out and decked out was exhausted a couple of years back, I whipped up a batch of rum balls the night before a holiday party. In the time it takes to mix up cookie dough not to mention bake it off, I had enough rum balls to save some for tailgating at the next week’s Rose Bowl.

Here are a couple of classic recipes courtesy of McClatchy News Service, plus one that caught my eye for its coffee liqueur and instant coffee granules combined with chocolate wafer cookies. It should appeal equally to morning java junkies and the cocktail-hour set.

Whichever you choose, have some fun rolling these in colored sugar or crushed candies, like toffee or peppermint. 

MCT photo

 Bourbon Balls

1 (11-ounce box) vanilla wafers

1⁄3 cup granulated sugar (for rolling)

2⁄3 cup finely chopped walnuts

2⁄3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon, unsweetened cocoa powder

2⁄3 cup bourbon or whiskey

Finely grind the vanilla wafers in a blender or food processors. Place the sugar in a bowl and set aside. Place remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix by hand until all bourbon is absorbed. Roll mixture between palms of your hands to form a ball about the diameter of a quarter. Roll in granulated sugar.

Makes about 3 dozen quarter-sized balls

— Recipe from “Sugar, Sugar: Every Recipe Has a Story,” by Kimberly Reiner and Jenna Sanz-Agero (Andrews McMeel, $29.99).

Rum Balls

1 (11-ounce) package vanilla wafers, in fine crumbs

5 tablespoons rum

1 (11-ounce) package chocolate chips

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Finely chopped nuts, for rolling

In a medium bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and bourbon. Melt the chocolate chips and stir in the sweetened condensed milk until mixed; gradually add cookie-crumb mixture. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Shape into 1-inch balls and roll in the nuts. Store tightly covered.

Makes 51⁄2 dozen-plus quarter-sized balls.

Chocolate-Coffee Snowballs

1⁄3 cup coffee liqueur

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

1 (9-ounce) package chocolate wafer cookies, finely crushed

3⁄4 cup sifted powdered sugar, plus more for rolling

3⁄4 cup chopped almonds, toasted

Combine the liqueur, corn syrup and instant coffee granules. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes. Stir until granules dissolve. Combine the cookie crumbs, 3⁄4 cup powdered sugar and chopped almonds; stir well. Pour coffee mixture over crumb mixture, stirring well. Shape into 1-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar twice to coat well. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Makes about 4 dozen.

— Recipe from “Southern Living: 1001 Ways to Cook Southern” (Oxmoor House, $34.95).

It’s almost as anxiously anticipated in Oregon’s winter as snowfall on the Cascades — Dungeness crabbing’s return to the coast.

The commercial season officially opened Thursday after a few weeks’ delay to let the crabs pack on a few more pounds. That’s good news for everyone who celebrates their holidays with a crab feed.

My family already got its fix the weekend before Thanksgiving. Recreational crabbing is open in bays year-round, and we enjoyed a red-letter day. While sun was scanty, the region was experiencing a daylong lull between winter storms, and there was hardly a whisper of wind to mar the surface Coos Bay — almost as calm as glass.

Although some crustaceans were still a bit soft in the legs, we caught plenty with the help of friends — crabbing newbies — for the classic crab-crack with plenty left over for our a favorite family recipe: Creamy Crab and Egg Bake, mentioned in a previous post.

As usual, my dad cooked the crabs in salted water over a portable propane burner in our driveway. The method not only keeps the stench and mess outside, but adds a festive air to the year’s first crab boil.

Even if you don’t catch your own, it’s well worth it to buy live crabs and cook them yourself. Copious tips for purchasing, cooking, cleaning and picking crabs can be found at the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission website.

Our young friends eagerly took to the unfamiliar techniques for excising all the meat from the shells. Too bad our fingers were too messy to shoot some video footage of the fun.

If your family cooks up some special recipes or makes its memories around the dinner table, we’d love to get in on the action. Post the video to our Cooking on Camera page and enter the recipe in our Recipe Box, and you’d be eligible to win a gift certificate to The Kitchen Company in Grants Pass.

Strangely enough, an East Coast lover of that region’s blue crabs responded to our video query. While we didn’t find it particularly useful to Rogue Valley readers and it wasn’t really relevant to our contest, this short film does furnish some ideas for producing your own online cooking show.

If you lack recipes for crab, here’s a new one from The Associated Press, billed as ideal for holiday entertaining. It borrows the flavors of creamy crab dip and adds some veggies and starch to turn it into a meal. If your crab is already picked, Creamy Crab and Rice Casserole takes just 25 minutes to assemble and 20 minutes to bake. 

AP photo

Creamy Crab and Rice Casserole

1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, peeled and minced

1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3⁄4 teaspoon salt, divided

1⁄2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

3 cups cooked long-grain white rice

1 pound Neufchatel cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup mayonnaise

1⁄2 cup milk

2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

2 pounds lump crab meat

1⁄4 cup chopped, fresh chives or scallions

3 tablespoons butter

1 1⁄2 cups panko breadcrumbs

1⁄2 teaspoon paprika

Heat oven to 400 F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a food processor, pulse together the red pepper, celery and red onion until finely chopped.

In a large skillet over medium-high, heat the olive oil. Add chopped vegetables, the garlic, black pepper and 1⁄2 teaspoon of the salt. Saute until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the corn and rice, then spoon into bottom of prepared baking pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, milk and Old Bay Seasoning. Gently stir in the crab and chives. Spoon over rice mixture.

Return skillet to burner over medium heat. Add the butter and melt, then remove skillet from heat. Add the panko, paprika and remaining 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, then stir until well-mixed. Sprinkle evenly over top of crab mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 16 servings.

I blame those cute, little star, snowflake and tree shapes for tempting me to embark on cookie baking at possibly the most hectic time of the year.

Surely this year will be different, I always think. I diligently assemble ingredients, equipment and packaging, follow recipes and set to work decorating with years of art classes to my credit, no less. But my cookies always are disappointing — amateurish and not particularly appetizing.

The fault, I’ve realized, lies with rushing the process a bit. Baking is not one of the ways I unwind, certainly not as the clock closes in on midnight with the counters still covered in flour and sugar slurry.

So last year, I skipped sugar cookies altogether. While helpful and timely, not even this week’s A la Carte story on decorating tips and techniques could spur me to action. Yet feeling a rolling pin under my palms and fitting the cookie cutters onto a slab of dough like so many puzzle pieces are as linked to the season as the smell of pine or the sound of crinkling wrapping paper.

Thanks to The Associated Press, I think I’ve found a way to satisfy the urge to cut out a few cookies. I ran across this recipe last year for a peppermint-spiked chocolate tart that uses sugar-cookie dough for the shell and to decorate the top. Combined with other elements, the cookies make for an interesting dessert that justifies the baker’s effort. Best of all, the tart filling is a simple ganache, and the whole thing can be prepared ahead of time and easily transported to holiday gatherings.

I happen to love peppermint, particularly with chocolate, and would be inclined to try even more sweet suggestions from a new story posted to our Holiday 101 page. But this tart also would be delicious with orange or almond extracts, even plain, old vanilla.

Likewise, cookie shapes could range from elegant holly leaves to playful snowmen. I plan to use a delicate dove-shaped cutter for the cookies, which never seem to look right with icing but would be lovely dusted with powdered sugar.

AP photo

Chocolate-Peppermint Snowflake Tart

1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1⁄2 cup sugar

3⁄4 cup (1 1⁄2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1 1⁄4 cups heavy cream

8 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 1⁄2 teaspoons peppermint extract

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Heat oven to 375 F.

In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, cocoa powder and sugar. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and process until mixture forms a dough, about 30 seconds.

Remove dough from processor and break off about a third of it. Set this aside.

Press remaining dough into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Use a fork to prick bottom of crust all over. Freeze for 15 minutes, then bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until center of bottom feels firm.

Meanwhile, make snowflake cookies. Roll out reserved dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to 1⁄8 inch thick. Move dough to a baking sheet, including parchment paper, then refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Use 1- to 2-inch cookie cutters to cut out 8 to 10 snowflakes (of multiple sizes, if desired). If dough becomes too soft, you may need to chill it in refrigerator as you work. Once all cookies are cut, transfer them to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Bake snowflakes for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on size of cookies), or until firm. Cool cookies on baking sheet.

To make ganache filling, in a small saucepan over medium, heat the cream until simmering. Add the chocolate and let sit off heat for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Stir in the peppermint extract, then pour into baked tart shell. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

When ready to serve, dust snowflake cookies with powdered sugar, then arrange them on top of tart.

Makes 8 servings.

For all the creativity possible with Christmas cookies, the classics just can’t be beat.

My family can’t do without Mexican wedding cookies. Chef Constance Jesser always makes peanut-butter blossoms with Hershey’s Kisses while her compatriot in cookie-baking, chef Sandy Dowling, continues the tradition of her Slovenian grandmother.

“If I don’t make them, it’s not Christmas,” says Dowling of her family’s Hrustule, a fried, anise-flavored dough. “I literally dream about these in the off-season.”

Anise, the topic of this week’s A la Carte edition of Since You Asked, is wildly popular in Europe and somewhat unappreciated in America. The column conjured up memories for Libby Pfaff, of Central Point, who makes an anise-flavored bread for the holidays. The recipe came to Ellis Island with her parents from Czechoslovakia in late 1800s.

“My mother always made it,” says Pfaff. “I’m 91 years old, and I’ve made it for umpteen years.”

Because she and her children try to spread the sweets around, Pfaff says she divides the bread dough among muffin tins. She suggests buying anise oil from pharmacies, which stock the most authentic flavor.

Dowling approves of McCormick brand anise extract but also uses Anisette, a licorice-flavored liqueur in her favorite holiday treat.

“Oh, my gosh, with coffee, it’s just amazing,” she says.

Here is the recipe, courtesy of Dowling and her Willows Cooking School in Central Point.

Hrustule

4 eggs

2 tablespoons oil

5 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1⁄2 teaspoon orange zest

1 pinch cream of tartar

2 teaspoons anise extract

2 ounces brandy (may substitute Anisette liqueur, omitting anise extract)

4 cups unbleached flour

4 to 6 cups pure vegetable or canola oil, for deep-frying

2 to 4 cups sifted, powdered sugar, for dusting

Beat the eggs with the 2 tablespoons oil until they are light and fluffy; gradually add the sugar, then the orange juice, zest, cream of tartar, anise extract and brandy. (If Anisette is available, use that instead of brandy but omit extract.) With a spoon, add the flour gradually to batter, 1 cup at a time, until it forms a dough that does not stick to your hands.

Knead dough 4 to 5 times on a floured surface and divide in half. Roll out half on floured surface, until it is very thin, about 1⁄8 inch. Cut dough into long, thin strips with a pastry cutter, about 1 thick and 3 to 4 inches long. Make a slit in center of each ribbon and loop 1 end through slit. Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

Heat the 4 to 6 cups oil in heavy pan or deep fryer to 350 F. When all dough has been rolled, cut and looped, fry ribbons, gently dropping each into oil with tongs. Do this in small batches of 3 to 5 ribbons, depending upon size of your fryer, until cookies float to top of oil, puff slightly and become light golden in color. Remove each cookie from pan with tongs, drain well on paper towels and repeat process until all ribbons are cooked.

When cookies are just cool enough to handle, roll each in the powdered sugar to coat. Cool completely; may be stored and loosely stacked in a large, airtight container for several weeks.

Makes 50 to 60 cookies.

It’s that time of year, again. Time to break out the baking sheets, round up the cookie-cutters and don the aprons.

The newspaper’s food section started pushing holiday sweets last week with a story on edible gifts. But the season wouldn’t be complete without our annual Christmas cookie spread.

As in previous years, we tapped into a dozen delicious recipes developed by The Associated Press. Although the Rogue Valley has plenty of baking experts, who host classes and perennially dole out tips for our stories, we can’t beat the AP’s gorgeous photos and online interactive features. That’s why they’ve anchored our Holiday 101 page since its inception four years ago.

Holiday 101 started as a way to use all the holiday-related food stories at our disposal that we wouldn’t otherwise have room for in the paper. But it’s been met with such enthusiasm (“cookie” is the most popular search term on our website in December) that we’ve put more energy into it as the years passed. We posted at least a dozen online-exclusive stories to the page in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

We’re by no means done. After a brief breather the week following Thanksgiving, we plan to update the page weekly through the new year. And just to keep fueling your appetite, here’s another cookie recipe, making it a baker’s dozen.

This one come from the Chicago Tribune’s annual Holiday Cookie Contest, which tested and judged 11 recipes from its readers. Maureen Yamashiro, of Glenview, Ill., took a similar approach as the AP, turning a classic dessert into a cookie.

In this case, Yamashiro started with cheesecake, miniaturized it and jazzed it up with “the poor berry long relegated to a Thanksgiving side dish slightly more sentimental than the ubiquitous green-bean casserole.” Her cranberry topping produced a “little jewel” that earned an honorable mention in the contest and approval of at least one Tribune judge who “would be proud to bring (it) to a party.”

I’ve blogged before about my fondness for cranberries and habit of buying extra at Thanksgiving to stock the freezer. This recipe is right up my alley, too, with its use of a mini muffin tin, my go-to equipment for producing cute, sweet and savory appetizers. If you don’t have two 24-cup pan, make the tartlets in batches, waiting for the pan to cool completely between each.

MCT photo

Cranberry-Cheesecake-Chocolate Tartlets

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature and divided

1⁄4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1⁄4 pound stick margarine, at room temperature

1⁄4 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 cups flour

1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries

1 cup fresh orange juice from 3 large oranges

Grated zest of 2 oranges

1⁄4 cup agave syrup

1⁄2 cup, plus 3 tablespoons, sugar, divided

1 cinnamon stick

Pinch kosher salt

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

48 dark-chocolate Hershey’s Kisses

3 ounces white chocolate

For pastry, cream the butter and margarine with 3 ounces of the cream cheese with an electric mixer in a bowl; mix in the confectioners’ sugar and flour. Once fully incorporated, roll into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

For relish, combine the cranberries, orange juice, zest, agave syrup, 1⁄2 cup sugar, the cinnamon stick and salt in a saucepan. Heat to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a steady simmer. Simmer until reduced to consistency of a good preserve, 30 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick.

For filling, cream together remaining 5 ounces cream cheese and 3 tablespoons sugar with an electric mixer in a bowl; add the egg and vanilla. Mix until blended. Set aside.

Heat oven to 350 F. Roll pastry out to 1⁄8 inch thick. Cut out circles with a round 21⁄4- to 3-inch cookie cutter. Place dough circles into cups of nonstick mini muffin pan. Gently push down dough. Place 1 teaspoon cheesecake filling in each. Place a Hershey’s Kiss in center of each. Top with 1 teaspoon cranberry relish.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes. When cheesecake filling starts to rise and pastry slightly colors, they are done. Let cool completely, about 1 hour. Melt the white chocolate in a saucepan over low heat and decoratively drizzle over top.

Makes 48 tartlets.

I’m not one to rush the season, but Rebecca Hill assures me that the Mail Tribune food section is already behind the curve with this week’s story on edible holiday gifts.

Every year, Hill plans for several months to produce elaborate, edible sculptures in time for an event marked a full month before the traditional timing for gingerbread houses. But even Hill was surprised that customers in her Sweet Stuff baking boutique asked for Christmas supplies before Halloween. Really!?

But any handmade item, including one from the kitchen, takes more thought than speed-walking through the mall and power-shopping. Some ideas featured in this week’s story (vanilla extract and herbed vinegars) take time to develop their full flavors before depositing under the tree. So now’s the time to start making your lists, checking them twice (or thrice) and ramping up production in the kitchen. Thinking of it like Santa’s workshop sets the holiday mood.

Not every edible gift has to be elaborate, of course. I make a couple of traditional treats in a marathon baking session every year for gift-giving. But I’m all for simplifying. This year, a couple of families in our circle of friends will get gift bags of in-shell walnuts from trees on our property with a snazzy nutcracker, maybe a little figurine of the same name and a box of my favorite holiday tea: Celestial Seasonings’ Nutcracker Sweet. How easy is that?

While walnuts may seem like an odd gift, they have unsurpassed flavor, according to past recipients, who also appreciate something relatively healthy amid the season’s barrage of sweets. In the same vein, homemade granola is a gift that health-conscious recipients can enjoy. Hill rolled her eyes at the idea (who wants granola?), but premium granolas are expensive, and high-quality ingredients for making it at home aren’t exactly cheap.

Or simplify the theme to trail mix, sugared or spiced nuts or flavored popcorn. Package them in Mason jars with pretty ribbons and labels. Again, minimal preparation required, so it’s something you can do in hurry or let kids do all on their own.

Here’s a recipe courtesy of The Associated Press to inspire you. Find more ideas all month long on our Holiday 101 page.

AP photo

Handmade Have-It-Your-Way Granola

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1⁄3 cup packed brown sugar 

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1⁄3 cup canola or vegetable oil

1⁄3 cup maple syrup

Flavorings of choice (see below)

Heat oven to 250 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the oil, maple syrup and 2 tablespoons water. Bring to a boil, then pour over oat mixture. Stir until thoroughly coated. Spread mixture onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or until dried and lightly toasted. Allow to fully cool before packaging.

Makes about 5 cups.

FLAVORINGS

Dutch apple: Stir 1⁄2 teaspoon nutmeg, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1 cup of walnut halves into dry oat mixture before baking. After baking, add 1 cup chopped, dried apple and 1 cup golden raisins.

Jamaican: Stir 1⁄2 teaspoon ground mace, 1⁄2 teaspoon ground allspice, 1 cup cashews and 1 cup large-flake, unsweetened coconut into dry oat mixture before baking. After baking, add 1 cup chopped, dried pineapple and 1⁄4 cup chopped, candied ginger.

Chocolate-cherry: Stir 1⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder into dry oat mixture before baking. After dry mixture has baked and cooled, add 1 cup dried cherries and 1⁄2 cup mini chocolate chips.

It’s fitting that Thanksgiving and football go hand in hand in many households, considering the holiday is a home cook’s Super Bowl.

By now, you should have your game plan for the meal. Next up is leftovers, covered for a story in this week’s A la Carte. See Holiday 101 for a story posted today about wines to go with all those turkey sandwiches, soups and salads.

If you’re having some last-minute technical difficulties, consult the FAQ also posted today to Holiday 101. It address such sticky scenarios as an still-frozen turkey and cooking some dishes in advance. Holiday 101 also lists all the hotlines that frantic cooks can call Thursday morning. Many sources now have Facebook pages, mobile apps and YouTube videos, as well.

Here are the trimmings that go with Thanksgiving-themed toll-free numbers and websites:

Butterball Turkey Talk-Line: Follow on Twitter or go to Butterball’s Facebook page.

Crisco Pie Central: Go to YouTube and search for Crisco pie crust. The website www.crisco.com hosts a live chat with pie experts weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 14-23 and Dec. 12-22.

Land O’Lakes: Its Facebook page seems nimbly staffed for all sorts of baking questions.

Nestle: The maker of Libby’s pumpkin-pie filling fields questions at www.verybestbaking.com. Click on “Thanksgiving collection” for a live chat from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline: 24-hour automated-response system asks “Karen” for food-prep advice.

Martha Stewart: Martha is available to solve viewers’ last-minute dinner dilemmas via email at martha@marthastewart.com or Twitter hashtag: AskMartha.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper: will host her annual “Turkey Confidential” on Thanksgiving Day; call 1-800-537-5252 with questions. For times, check the webpage at splendidtable.publicradio.org/turkey-confidential. Or follow the new Lynnebot on Twitter, twitter.com/!/Lynnebot. It’s worth it just to see Kasper’s icon looking like a Borg, a la Star Trek.

Forbes magazine noted these apps: iFeast, which helps “synchronize your meal prep work”; Thanksgiving planner, The Android version of iFeast; and Thanksgiving recipes from iPhone, which also has ideas for leftovers.

I spent a weekend not thinking about Thanksgiving. With previous plans, I had almost all my groceries purchased more than two weeks ago, a few stragglers on Friday.

But now it’s game on.

The turkey, of course, has been chilling out in the freezer. First thing this morning, it went into an ice chest in my mudroom, a cool part of the house just a wall away from the garage.

This is not a generally accepted way of thawing (experts say refrigerator or sink full of cold water) but I monitor the temperature inside the ice chest with a refrigerator thermometer for the three days or so it takes to thaw out. The method worked beautifully last year: The temperature never exceeded 40 F, and on Thanksgiving morning, there was just the slightest bit of frost inside the turkey cavity.

Temperature, not a spotless kitchen, is the most significant factor in preventing food-borne illness, which depending on the type can arise between two hours and six hours after eating contaminated food. It’s most problematic, of course, for the very young, the elderly, pregnant women and anyone in poor health.

People tend to point all their fingers at raw poultry and then leave their cooked bird out on the counter for hours. Cooks have a little leeway, but 20 minutes is the point at which bacteria start to multiply, how fast depends on the temperature of their environment. The “danger zone” in food-safety parlance, of course, is between 40 F and 140 F.

So have a plan before you start cooking for packaging up all those leftovers and getting them back in the refrigerator. This time of year when the temperature is below 40 degrees, simply placing wrapped food outside on a deck, porch or in an unheated garage often is easier than trying to cram it all back in the fridge.

The following tips may sound like a broken record, but even the most experienced cooks are tempted to relax standards when in a rush. Find more tips for safe turkey thawing and roasting in the Chicago Tribune story posted today to our Holiday 101 page. And if you haven’t started defrosting your turkey, get on it pronto!

1. Wash hands with soap and warm, running water for at least 15 to 20 seconds before preparing any foods and especially after handling raw meat, poultry, fish or eggs.

2. Use separate cutting boards for meats, poultry and fish.

3. Wash utensils between each use.

4. Store raw food below cooked food in the refrigerator so raw food cannot drip into cooked food and contaminate it.

5. Use a meat thermometer to confirm that meat and poultry are properly cooked.

6. Keep preparation and storage areas clean; this includes countertops, stovetops and refrigerators.

7. Do not prepare food if you are sick or have any type of nose or eye infection.

AP photo

If you haven’t completed your Thanksgiving grocery shopping, there’s time to add one more ingredient to the list.

Fall is the time to use fennel, a vegetable that also produces a spice from its seeds and herb from its green fronds. I’ve blogged before about braising the bulb in wine and stock for a subtly sweet, soft side dish with meats or on an antipasti plate. The Associated Press test-kitchen cooks add it to mashed potatoes for their holiday feast of fennel, featured on our Holiday 101 page.

Because the bulb also can be diced just like an onion and sauteed, it elevates soups, stews, pastas, quiches, frittatas, risottos and stuffings. The whole bulb also can be cut into chunks like and onion and placed around and inside the turkey for that aromatic, je-ne-sais-quoi quality that isn’t quite onion or apple but suggests both.

A popular vegetable in Italy, fennel pairs particularly well with Italian-inspired sides, such as stuffing with Italian sausage. Save the stalks and use them to make turkey stock a few days after the main feast.

The beauty of making your salad from thinly sliced fennel is the vegetable’s ability to withstand wilting when dressed ahead of time. I would forgo the out-of-season snow peas in the AP’s slaw and instead sprinkle the dish with some pomegranate seeds and walnuts.