Thanksgiving feast on ‘Jayni’s Kitchen’

Join “Jayni’s Kitchen” this week for “Thanksgiving Feast.”

Host Jayni Carey and her guest, Lora Wiley, owner of Au Marche, will prepare the following recipes: Squash and Chestnut Soup, Roast Chicken with Chestnut Stuffing and Pumpkin Ice Cream with Ginger Chocolate Sauce. Those recipes are available below.

A new show airs at 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6. The show also is broadcast at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday; 9 a.m., 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Wednesday; 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday; 9:30 a.m. Saturday; 10:30 p.m. Sunday; and 10 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Monday.

Squash & Chestnut Soup

1 acorn squash, about 2 1/2 pounds

3/4 pound fresh chestnuts in the shell

1/4 cup olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

Salt & black pepper, to taste

3 to 4 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons whipping cream

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Cut the acorn squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Pour 1/2 cup of water into a large baking dish. Place the squash halves cut side down in the baking dish and bake in a 350-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until very tender. Scrape out the flesh and reserve. You should have about 2 cups of cooked squash.

Roast the chestnuts as directed below, peel, chop and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrot and celery, and season with salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for approximately 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and chopped chestnuts and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the chestnuts and vegetables soften.

Pour the chestnut mixture and the cooked squash into a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Return the mixture to the pan and heat over low heat. Stir in the cream. Heat the soup until hot, but do not allow it to boil. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley. Serves 4 to 6.

To roast and peel the chestnuts: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a sharp knife, cut a small, shallow “X” on the surface of each chestnut. Place the chestnuts in a shallow baking dish and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the chestnuts from the oven and cool for approximately 30 minutes. Using your thumbs, pull apart the chestnut shells. At the “X” the shell will have started to pull away from itself, making it easy to strip the shell from the nut. Coarsely chop the chestnuts.

Roast Chicken with Chestnut Stuffing

3 1/2 to 4-pound whole chicken

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Chestnut Stuffing:

1 pound fresh chestnuts in the shell

1 1/2 cups uncooked wild rice

4 ounce slice Jamon Serrano (Spanish ham)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cups celery, chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

40 red seedless grapes, sliced lengthwise

1 teaspoon dried sage

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the cavity with sea salt and black pepper.

Chestnut Stuffing: Roast and peel the chestnuts and cook the wild rice as directed below. Chop the serrano ham into 1/2-inch dice. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat and fry the ham until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onion, celery and parsley and saute for 5 minutes more. Stir in the chopped chestnuts, cooked wild rice, grapes, sage, thyme and marjoram. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Spoon the stuffing into the cavity of the chicken, reserving the leftover stuffing. Place the chicken in large, shallow baking dish and sprinkle the breast with coarse sea salt, if desired. Roast the chicken in a 375-degree oven for approximately 1 3/4 hours, or until an inserted thermometer reads 180 degrees. About 25 to 30 minutes before the chicken is done, spoon the reserved stuffing into the baking dish around the chicken and return it to the oven for the remaining cooking time. Serves 4.

To roast and peel the chestnuts: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a sharp knife, cut a small, shallow “X” on the surface of each chestnut. Place the chestnuts in a shallow baking dish and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the chestnuts from the oven and cool for approximately 30 minutes. Using your thumbs, pull apart the chestnut shells. At the “X” the shell will have started to pull away from itself, making it easy to strip the shell from the nut. Coarsely chop the chestnuts.

To cook the wild rice: Wash 1 1/2 cups of wild rice in cold water. Place the rice in a saucepan with 4 cups of salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir, cover and simmer the rice over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until tender. Uncover the pan, fluff the rice with a fork and simmer for 5 minutes more. Drain excess liquid if needed.

Pumpkin Ice Cream with Ginger Chocolate Sauce

Pumpkin Ice Cream:

1 1/2 cups half & half

1 vanilla bean

6 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 15-ounce can solid pack pumpkin

Ginger Chocolate Sauce:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup Droste Dutch processed cocoa powder

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled

Candied ginger for garnish (optional)

Pour the half-and-half into a large saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half, lengthwise. Scrape the seeds into the half-and-half, then add the bean. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until scalding, then remove it from the heat. Remove the vanilla bean.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in medium bowl. Gradually stir the egg mixture into the half-and-half. Add the pumpkin pie spice. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until thickened, approximately 10 minutes. Do not boil. Remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk the heavy whipping cream and canned pumpkin into the cooked custard. Cool, cover and refrigerate until well-chilled, at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Transfer the chilled custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Makes about 1 quart.

Ginger Chocolate Sauce: Place 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream in a saucepan and heat over low heat. Prick the surface of the peeled ginger with a fork and add it to the cream. Warm the cream for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the cream from boiling.

In another saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa powder and just enough additional cream to make a thick paste. Remove the ginger from the heated cream and slowly pour the cream into the cocoa mixture, blending with a large spoon over low heat. Cut the butter into several small pieces and add it to cocoa mixture one piece at a time, stirring until melted. Remove the pan from the heat.

Scoop the pumpkin ice cream into dessert glasses or bowls and drizzle the Ginger Chocolate Sauce over the ice cream. If desired, garnish with pieces of candied ginger. Serves 4 to 6.

Tip: The Ginger Chocolate Sauce can be prepared ahead and refrigerated until ready to use (reheat over low heat), or it can be prepared about 15 minutes before ice cream is ready to serve.

– Recipes by Lora Wiley, owner of Au Marche.