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(serene music) (cheerful holiday music) - [Announcer] This program is sponsored by Sue and Tim Tewalt.

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(pleasant guitar music) (ladybug flying) (pleasant guitar music) (ladybug flying) (pleasant guitar music) - Welcome to "Live Green Tennessee: "Holiday Cooking Edition."

I'm Melinda Keifer, and joining me is my dear friend- - [Both] Grada Cacey!

- That's me!

- We are so glad you joined us again this year.

This is our fourth year of doing the Holiday Special.

Grada and I have some great things we're gonna share with you today.

We're gonna take some very basic ingredients, which are so available in your region and your locality, at your farmer's markets.

- That's right.

- And we're gonna create some fun things with them.

Some of them traditional, and some of them not so traditional.

- Non-traditional.

- Right.

So we hope you'll stay with us.

We've got some great things coming up.

(pleasant guitar music) So Grada, I'm really excited about this recipe.

So, I've always heard of Cornish hen, and I think it's one of the most beautiful dishes when it's fixed, but it can be a little intimidating.

- Tricky, yeah, yeah.

But it's very simple, Melinda.

And as I was thinking of what to prepare for a holiday meal with my granddaughters, who I cook with every Christmas.

- Yes.

- I thought this would be a perfect time to show them how simple and easy it is- - It truly can be.

- To do a nice holiday party.

So that was what I was thinking when we chose this.

- That's great, I'm super excited about it.

So the Cornish hen is gonna be stuffed with a wild rice stuffing, and we're gonna prepare that for you today.

Your wild rice is obviously something that the ingredients we're gonna use today, really, you can go back to the beginning of the Thanksgiving tradition and those are the very basics.

So we encourage you.

Today, we're gonna use a long grain and brown rice.

Right?

- That's right.

- And so we're gonna get that rice started.

- And to do that, I like to incorporate broth when I'm cooking rice.

So what I have here is the four cups of our... That's a water and broth combination.

- Yes, ma'am, okay.

- So homemade stock is the best.

- You want me to get your butter started as well?

Here we're gonna do that.

- That's gonna saute the peppers and onions.

- All right.

- But to get the rice going, we're going to just dump that in.

- Okay.

- That's two boxes of long grain and wild rice.

- Excellent.

- And that does half the seasoning pack in there.

- [Melinda] Okay.

- So while that's simmering away, we're going to get our ingredients ready to mix in.

(cheerful holiday music) - Okay, Grada, we've got our wild rice stuffing started.

So we've got two boxes of wild rice here, and that's getting started.

Grada has put about a half a cup of butter- - That's right.

- Fourth of a cup of butter?

And then we've added a cup, cup and a half of celery.

- And a cup and half of onions to the deal.

- And we're gonna saute these until they start to get really soft.

And that's always important, right?

- Exactly.

- As you go through there.

- And that will be added to our rice as soon as it's finished cooking.

And then we will add the goodies into the rice.

And I've made a generous amount here to stuff the hens.

- Yes, ma'am.

- And to use as a base to display the hens.

- Okay, that sounds great.

While these are cooking, why don't you and I go get the goodies?

- Sounds great.

(cheerful holiday music) Okay, Melinda, this is coming along very nicely.

I like to saute the celery and the onions to par-cook that a little bit, because we don't want that raw in our rice.

- That's right, it takes a little of that crunchy away.

- That's right.

- And we have so many other goodies we're gonna add into that, 'cause that's gonna give additional texture.

- [Grada] I'm gonna add some chopped apples, and it's locally available.

- [Melinda] For sure, just go to your local apple orchards, some granny smiths.

- Right, and what I'm doing here is just adding flavor to that dish.

- That's right, we're layering.

- And when I'm cooking this dish, I've doubled my recipe- - That's right.

- Because I have a big family, and love the goodies.

- That's right.

- And we want plenty to stuff in the hens, and then leftovers to serve as a side dish.

- Well, our rice is coming on beautifully.

- And this is fun.

This'll continue to cook.

- Yes, ma'am.

- When it goes in the birds.

- So the rice takes about 20, 25 minutes.

- That's right.

- Right?

- And this can be easily done ahead of time, actually.

- See, and that would be great.

- Yeah, if we had this made ahead of time, chilled in the refrigerator.

- [Melinda] Right.

- [Grada] And just goes right into it.

- [Melinda] And then it can go in the next day!

- [Grada] Exactly.

- [Melinda] So a great way to go ahead and start your holiday cooking.

- [Grada] These are the goodies going in.

- [Melinda] So those are apricots.

You've got what, about a half a cup?

- [Grada] Half a cup.

- [Melinda] Half a cup of pecans.

- And these recipes will be posted on our- - WCTE website, that's right.

So we'll have all those.

Look at this, these colors are beautiful.

If that doesn't scream holiday cooking right there alone!

- [Grada] That's right.

And it improves the taste of the rice, for sure.

- It definitely does.

- Let's see if we can add this to our pot.

- All right, here we come!

- We'll just turn this off and let it sit and absorb that water, and it'll be ready to stuff in no time.

We're gonna set this aside, and continue with our preparation.

- [Melinda] Getting those hens ready.

- Of our hens.

- We're gonna put this lid on.

- Smells good.

- Let it work our magic.

- That's right.

- Does its work, it's good.

All right, so let's get those hens out.

- [Grada] All right, here we go.

- [Melinda] Here we go.

(pleasant guitar music) Wow, Grada!

- Doesn't that smell good?

- That does, that is absolutely beautiful.

So we've seasoned these Cornish hens really well inside and out.

And so now we're going to take this rice stuffing and actually stuff the bird.

Now, when we were going over recipes, we saw lots of variations.

- That's right.

- On this.

And so what were some of the other stuffing-type things that- - Well, you told us a sweet story about your cornbread dressing stuffing, right?

- Yes, yes.

- There are many, many recipes for cornbread stuffing in the South.

We use cornbread dressing with celery, very similar to this.

- That's right.

- But with cornbread dressing- - And we call it dressing.

- We call it dressing.

- We call it dressing.

This actually is stuffing, simply because we are stuffing the bird with it.

But the reality is, that's the only difference between the two.

Lots of family conversations about dressing or stuffing.

I'm married, my husband Randy is from Ohio.

So their family traditions are so totally different.

So it ended up before too long after we met, I was taking the ingredients to make my cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving, because theirs was different.

These look great.

- We do love that Southern cornbread dressing.

- We do.

- And this would be great in these hens.

But this is kinda fun.

It's just that a little twist on just something, a classic dish.

- That's right.

- [Grada] And this rice is a great accompaniment or side dish.

- Now what we're gonna do with these birds is we're gonna put them in the oven, 350, for about an hour, hour and a half.

- That's right, 170.

I'm gonna cook these a little bit longer than 160-65.

Once it gets about- - Degrees, 160 degrees?

- Yes, that one, probably about 170 degrees.

It'll take about an hour, an hour and a half probably, to roast them.

And they'll just be a nice roasted bird.

So from beginning to end- - Right.

- If this rice was prepared the day before, it takes, what, 30 minutes to cook the rice?

Let that chill.

Have your birds prepared and ready.

And then just stuff that cold rice in.

So it's a really, see how quick and easy this is?

- It really is quick and easy.

This comes together in less than an hour - A lot better than having all the steps you would need to go through to roast a big old turkey.

- That's right.

- So this is a nice little individual portions, then, when we're finished, and we'll save this extra rice.

- Just to serve it on the side?

- That's exactly right.

- That's great.

Okay, we're gonna get these in the oven.

(cheerful holiday music) (pleasant guitar music) Okay, Grada, so while those Cornish hens are working their magic in the oven, I wanted to share with you a recipe that I came across.

You know, the holidays can be so hectic.

So this is, we're gonna kinda feature the humble bean.

- Oh, I love it.

- You know, heirloom beans are readily available.

Today, we're gonna make a Southern cassoulet.

- When we were talking about heirloom beans and how to prepare them, I couldn't think, you know what?

Just a pot of beans is a pot of beans.

But this was a wonderful idea, Melinda, and I love it.

- This is so delicious.

- Yes.

- And so we're gonna start out by browning some bacon.

If you'll go ahead and chop up the rest of that bacon.

We're gonna say, maybe six, eight slices, to get this bacon going.

We wanna render that fat.

That really, again, is just starting to deliver all of the flavor that this is gonna have.

So also in this recipe is a pound of smoked sausage.

So are you, you're an Alabama girl, aren't you?

- I tell you what, I know where you're going with that!

(Melinda laughing) South Alabama is known for Conecuh sausage, and we were so delighted.

We've lived in Cookville over 40 years.

- Yes.

- But thankfully, they brought Conecuh sausage to the local grocery stores.

And now, it's just almost a household name now.

- It truly is.

So it is a very unique smoked sausage.

We're gonna slice that very thinly, and have that ready to go in the cassoulet after this bacon browns.

Then we're gonna add some yummy other good things, including our beans.

(pleasant guitar music) - All right, Melinda, are we getting close?

- Tell me what you think about that.

- I love it!

My question is, do we leave all of the drippings and the grease?

- We do - In the bowl?

Okay.

- We do.

So I can't say a whole lot about us fixing all healthy dishes this year, but it's absolutely delightful.

Now I'm gonna add chicken broth.

- Okay.

- About two cups.

That is going to get all those beautiful brown bits on the bottom.

- Exactly, yes.

Where the flavor is.

- Where the flavor is.

And so now we're gonna start building our cassoulet.

- Okay.

- Okay.

We're gonna start by adding two cans, and that's this one right here.

Two cans of green tomatoes with chilies.

They're readily available.

- [Grada] Oh, wonderful.

- So they have seasoning in it as well.

The recipe, which also will be on the website, calls for a can of stewed tomatoes.

Now, stewed tomatoes are not necessarily one of those things a lot of people keep, or even know about it.

- Or if you have canned tomatoes.

So that would be a great place to pull them from.

- So I pulled out a big jar of my canned tomatoes from my garden.

- Yes, I see.

- So we're add that this time.

And they have just a little bit of thickening in there, So it'll start to build that as well.

- I'm gonna rinse this with a little water.

Save all those good parts of the- - Put the rest of that in there?

That is brilliant.

- You worked too hard on those tomatoes.

- That's right.

- To not get it all out of the bowl, right?

- That's beautiful.

Okay, and then we're gonna add our bacon back in.

(pleasant guitar music) - Now, Melinda, is there where a place where you can get locally-produced bacon?

- Yes, absolutely.

There are several pork producers in our region.

At the farmer's market in Cookeville, we have a place called Walnut Street Market.

- I've seen that.

- And they're beef and pork producers that have meats there, and frozen available.

- Well, I need to check out that spot.

- So we got our bacon from them.

Obviously we try every chance that we can to support our local producers.

But I wanna encourage you all, we're in the season of the holidays, the fall and the winter is upon us.

This is a perfect dish just to curl up- - Sure.

- By the fire with.

- That's right.

- It's hardy, it's Southern, and we hope that you will try it.

(pleasant guitar music) - Okay, Melinda, we're back to using our local ingredients again.

- I'm excited.

What are we doing here?

- Yeah, well, when we talked about the fact that we have so much local producers here in Putnam County, and the whole Upper Cumberland, honey is a natural, isn't it?

And that is such an important part of the early Americana.

That was a sweetener when we didn't have sugar plantations or whatever.

So we're going to use local honey, and we're going to use local apples in this recipe.

- Oh, what are we making?

- Well, it's not apple pie, but it's close.

It's a take on apple pie, and it's a honey apple baklava.

And again, we're sort of bringing in that international food culture to our local.

- Can I just tell you I'm intimidated by phyllo dough, but you're gonna help me with that?

- [Grada] I'm gonna help you with that.

I am a little intimidated myself, but I've got a little trick I wanna share with you that I've put to good use.

- So what's our first step?

- Our first step is to prepare the sauce that will be poured over the baklava once it's finished.

So to that, we'll need to simmer it about 15 minutes.

- Okay.

- And we want to add the orange zest to a cup and a half of water.

And then we're adding sugar to sweeten our sauce, that will be poured over.

- So we're gonna do it like this instead of using a micro blade, because you really do end up with more of that orange flavor just using the vegetable peeler.

- And a little tip that I like to share is not to get the pith of the orange.

- Hey look, I did good!

- [Grada] I love that you've peeled it nice and close.

- Okay, now we're gonna add our honey.

And I'm super excited to share with you a local producer that we got our honey from.

- Oh, good.

- So this past year, my husband and I, we put our first two beehives out.

- My goodness, I'm impressed!

- How about that?

We're excited, we're super excited.

And so we've really tried to understand and know more about the honey.

This honey came from RidgeTop Apiary, Mr. Mike Haney.

He is a bee aficionado, and I think has been so very involved with the local beekeeping chapters.

And it's such an important thing for us with our agriculture and production.

So I'm happy to share with you, I'm gonna do about two thirds of a cup- - [Grada] That's right.

- Of this honey.

I can tell you the flavor of a local honey as well as its health benefits are so important, and are so beautiful.

So I'm happy.

- It's such a natural.

- Yeah, it is a natural, happy to share with you RidgeTop Apiary.

(cheerful holiday music) - So let me show you the steps to this.

- Okay.

- And keep your fingers crossed.

- I'm ready, I'm ready.

- Because it doesn't always work the way you would want it to, but it doesn't mean you can't use it.

- Keep trying.

- Keep trying.

- That's right.

- I'm gonna reach here and grab some paper.

So my little hint for this, Melinda, is to go ahead and assemble all of the layers.

- So rather your five, your four, your four, your six.

- That's right.

- Okay.

- Rather than buttering each layer and lay it in the pan.

- Yes ma'am.

- And then do this.

- [Grada] I'm getting all of my ingredients here and assembled.

- That makes so much sense.

- So it's quick, it's easy.

Then when we get ready to put it together.

- And so we just hope everything cooperates?

- That's correct.

- And isn't that how it is in the kitchen?

And especially at the holidays.

These are the kind of things that we wanna encourage you to try.

Give it a try, and if it doesn't work, grab another sheet!

- [Grada] That's right.

- [Melinda] You can just keep going for it there.

- And if you have some little hands in the kitchen, this is so much fun.

- Oh, I bet that is for them!

They can brush the butter, and really get those sheets going.

- So just pick these sheets up.

This one's cooperating today.

But if it didn't, we would just- - That's beautiful.

- Make use of it anyway.

- And so the layers of that phyllo, phyllo really can... Those layers, the pastry flavor is what it truly brings.

It brings that pastry flavor.

The bottom and the top then are also very crunchy.

And ours is gonna be topped with this beautiful orange honey syrup, and I can't wait.

- A little tip that I found useful was to sprinkle a little crumb, because this apple mixture is a little moist.

- Okay.

And so those were breadcrumbs?

- That's breadcrumbs.

And it will absorb some of that moisture and keep our baklava a little bit crispier.

We don't want it gooey, necessarily.

- [Melinda] That's right.

And as you layer and add all of that moisture, I see where that could definitely happen.

So by throwing in those breadcrumbs, it really kinda acts as a sponge, if you will.

- There's our three pieces, this is number four.

And then our fifth piece will be placed in the bottom of our casserole dish.

How are our apples still coming along?

- Our apples are doing really well.

We're basically down to no moisture.

So I think I am going to turn them down.

- And you can add the nuts.

- Okay.

- And just turn it off.

- Add all the nuts, Grada?

- We're about ready to go.

- So if you all remember this, this was walnuts and pistachios.

- That's right, correct.

There's my five layers, I had to count, I forgot where I was.

So now we have this first layer.

- Our first layer's done!

- This is the bottom.

- The bottom of the phyllo is done, yay!

- So I'm gonna sprinkle it with a little bit more of this crumb just to absorb that moisture in the apple.

So there's my bottom layer.

- So Grada, so the nuts cook in here also?

Or do you just wanna mix?

- They don't have to cook.

Yeah, I just want a nice dry mix.

And so I just have, this is a perfect sized casserole dish to fit this baklava.

- The one that everybody has in their house?

- It's your nine by 13.

- It's your lasagna, casserole dish.

- Or this might be a little bit bigger, actually, but it fitted our base.

So here we go, this is our crust.

- Oh my goodness!

- In it goes.

And now, you can cut this off to fit, but I say why waste it?

Leave it.

- Gosh, no, let's go.

It's just more crispy edge.

- That's exactly right.

- Okay.

- If you'll spoon some in there, and I want a thin filling.

I want it fairly thin because I'm gonna- - [Melinda] Just scoop it.

- [Grada] That's right.

- [Melinda] And then?

- I need this in three parts.

So give me enough.

Can you spread that out?

And I'll get the next layer going here.

Just very thin layer.

We may have to use our fingertips.

- I was gonna say, Grada, that's probably too warm.

Are you okay with that?

- Yes, clean hands are, to me, the cook's best friend.

I just don't know what- - 100% agree!

- [Grada] What I would do without clean fingers in the kitchen.

- [Melinda] Maybe a little more?

- [Grada] A little more.

- [Melinda] Okay, excellent.

- And that's looking good.

Doesn't that look good already?

- Looks great.

- And then we layer again, and this is the layer I had done previously.

This is the six sheets on top.

- [Melinda] Okay.

- [Grada] See how easy that is, if you've done that ahead of time?

- [Melinda] It's great, and they don't tear.

- [Grada] It just comes right off.

I like to give it a little bit of pressure.

- [Melinda] A good amount of pressure?

- [Grada] Yeah, give it a good press.

And I need the knife, because our next step- - [Melinda] Okay, I'm ready.

- [Grada] We have to score this baklava, bake it for a good 45 minutes.

- [Melinda] Okay.

- [Grada] Even to an hour.

- [Melinda] At 350?

- Yes.

We want it nice and crisp.

(cheerful holiday music) (pleasant guitar music) Melinda, the baklava has come out of the oven.

It's nice and crisp and brown.

And to finish it off, we need to put the sauce over it.

- Right, so this sauce is honey, water, sugar, orange zest, the juice of an orange, the juice of a lemon.

So you can just imagine what that's gonna taste like on your palate.

We can hear it bubbling over here, it's this beautiful goodness, is going all the way on.

You can smell that honey, literally.

That is delightful.

- And just a comment here.

People have, I think I mentioned this earlier, with nut allergies, any favorite nut can be added, pecans or- - Yes, like that.

- Yeah.

(pleasant guitar music) You can leave the nuts out.

- Leave the nuts out?

- Altogether, yeah.

So it's very adaptable.

It's your kitchen, make it work for you.

And this will sit till it cools.

Those juices will soak into this pastry.

And there you go.

It's almost like a apple pie.

- I can't wait to have it on my plate!

(pleasant guitar music) This cassoulet smells amazing.

I'm so excited about it.

You know, there's that fall nip in the air today.

So what I'm gonna do is just ladle us up a bowl.

I think I'm gonna get us a spoon.

- Oh, I know.

It's lunchtime.

- Yes.

Look at all that beautiful sausage right there on top.

And the best part, we're gonna top it with these cornbread croutons!

How fun is this?

I cannot wait.

- [Grada] There couldn't be a more Southern dish, right?

- I think you're right, I really do.

And I just think this will fit perfectly into my holiday routine.

Hope it does yours, and y'all's at home as well.

It's really hot.

- I'll have to be really very careful.

- Okay, here we go.

- You know, white beans are one of my favorite.

- You know, they really are mine too.

I love a pinto bean as well.

There's actually a bean called a cassoulet bean as well, which is a larger bean that you can do.

- It looks wonderful.

(pleasant guitar music) - That sausage sets the tone.

- It's the sausage.

That's a keeper.

- It sets the tone.

It truly is.

- That is so good.

- But you still get the bacon.

- Exactly.

- You get that creaminess of that great northern bean.

- Right.

- And together.

- I like the pepper flavor that has.

- That's right, the tomatoes.

- Yeah, that's a great one.

Very good.

- I'm gonna have to go in for another one.

(pleasant guitar music) - I'm so glad I could share!

- We're gonna check on those Cornish hens.

I know they're ready, but we're gonna put together an extraordinary plate for you to see and enjoy with us.

(cheerful holiday music) Oh, this is good.

- You might have a better idea about presenting this, Melinda, but- - No, you've done a great job.

- And I think that looks good.

- Again, you eat with your eyes, and so making sure that you finish your dish for presentation with the heart that you put in to cook with it.

- That's right.

And this has been so much fun.

- I've had the best time, we've learned so much.

- I've looked cooking this meal.

- I've learned new things today, too.

- [Melinda] Okay, there is our beautiful meal.

(cheerful holiday music) Our beautiful cassoulet.

(cheerful holiday music) And this incredible baklava dessert.

(cheerful holiday music) - [Grada] Using our good, local ingredients.

Isn't that fun?

To pick a theme, and then just to incorporate all of the items that we could to make it interesting, but yet, different too.

- You know, spending this day with you kicks off my holiday season.

- Oh, it is!

It's so much fun.

- It means so much to have you in the kitchen to cook together.

- Oh, I know.

I just love, it's not work is it?

When we get to do this with love.

- No, ma'am, it's not.

Again, all these beautiful recipes will be on the WCTE website.

We wanna thank you for joining us for the "Live Green Tennessee: Holiday Cooking Edition."

We hope you enjoy these recipes.

- Learn some new things.

- Learn some new tricks.

- Cook with family.

This would be fun.

- Absolutely.

- They get a lot of prep help in the kitchen.

Some little sous chefs around.

- Oh, it would be great.

- And you could be all together.

- So from our holiday kitchens to yours, thank you for watching.

- Happy holidays.

- Happy holidays.

(cheerful holiday music) (upbeat music) (cheerful holiday music) - [Announcer] This program is sponsored by Sue and Tim Tewalt.

To support local programming like this, visit WCTE.org/donate to become a member.

Or contact Tiffany McDonald at TMcDonald@WCTE.org for sponsorship opportunities.

(serene music) - [Announcer] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

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