Flavors of Kentucky

It’s time to think about making those from-scratch pies we so dearly love at our Thanksgiving feasts. While going through your recipe box, pick out your best pie recipe and send a copy to us.

We’ll publish as many as possible in the Nov. 11 edition of A la Carte. Send recipes to swthompson@herald-leader.com or post below.

A free feast at Sal’s
Sal’s Chophouse is preparing a free Thanksgiving dinner.

LexTran will provide transportation to Sal’s in The Lansdowne Shoppes at these times and locations on Thanksgiving Day:

• Hope Center for Men, 360 West Loudon Avenue, 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
• Hope Center for Women, 1524 Versailles Road, 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
• LexTran Transit Center, 200 East Vine Street, 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• LexTran also will provide rides back.

Call Allyson Kissick at Sal’s, (859) 977-2606.

Feed yourself, others
Lexington Dream Dinners will have an open house on Wednesday to launch its Community Giving Tree. This is an opportunity to sample selections from the November and December menus. Also, for every customer who signs up for a session, Dream Dinners will donate a meal to several non-profit organizations in the Lexington area including the men’s and women’s Hope Centers, Chrysalis House, The Hope Lodge and Ronald McDonald House.

“In the 16 months that we have been open, we have established wonderful relationships with these agencies,” franchise co-owner Denise Nally said.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Dream Dinners, Todds Road and Codell Drive. The menus are available at www.dreamdinners.com.

Popular candy returns for a visit
See’s Candies is coming back to Lexington for the holidays.

The candy company from the West Coast will open a kiosk at Fayette Mall on Thursday and remain open through Dec. 26. Take a look at See’s sweets at www.sees.com. This is the only time See’s candies are available for purchase in this area.

B&B owner honored
Barbara Napier, owner of Snug Hollow Farm Bed and Breakfast, won the Estill County 2007 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Small Business Award. Several photographs in my cookbook, Flavors of Kentucky, were shot at Napier’s inn in rural Estill County. Visit www.snughollow.com.

Dessert memory lingers
Karen Beck of New Jersey is looking for a recipe for a dessert she had while living in Kentucky.

“For eight years, my husband and I had the wonderful experience of living in Lexington and Erlanger. While there, we often enjoyed peach cobbler, served warm in a deep dish and covered with an amazing, delicious white sauce. I have searched many recipes, and books, and cannot find a specific recipe for this sauce. We returned to New Jersey, which is our home. I could never find this dessert anywhere on the East Coast,” she said.

If you have a great peach cobbler recipe, e-mail it to me at swthompson@herald-leader.com or post it below.

A $2,000 burger
Brigitte Nguyen of Lexington was first runner-up in the Sutter Home Build a Better Burger contest. Nguyen entered Vietnamese five-spice pork burgers in the alternative (non-beef) category and won $2,000 for her creation. “I entered the recipe contest on a whim, after having watched the competition in past years on the Food Network,” she said. Here’s her recipe:

These burgers can also be served on baguettes, if preferred, in which case, the patties should be formed into oblong shapes. Hamburger buns are a bit softer and easier to manage, which is why Nguyen chose them for this recipe. If available, buy a peppercorn pâté, which adds a great hint of black pepper to the burger.

Vietnamese five-spice pork burgers
Pickled daikon and carrot:
1 1/2 cups julienned daikon
1 1/2 cups julienned carrot
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
Patties:
2 pounds ground pork
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeño chiles, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc man)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese 5-spice powder
2 tablespoons sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lime
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, for brushing on the grill rack

6 good-quality sesame-seed hamburger buns, split
6 tablespoons salted butter, softened
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
6 tablespoons spreadable pork or liver pâté
1 English cucumber, thinly sliced
2 jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced
18 fresh cilantro sprigs

To make the pickled daikon and carrot, combine the daikon, carrot, vinegar, and sugar in a bowl, tossing well to coat. Set aside to marinate.

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

To make the patties, combine the pork, garlic, diced chiles, ginger, fish sauce, soy sauce, 5-spice powder, sugar, and lime zest and juice in a bowl, mixing well to incorporate. Divide the mixture into 6 portions and form into round patties.

Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack and grill for 6 to 7 minutes per side, until cooked through. Turn the patties 90 degrees halfway through cooking on each side, to attain grill marks.

Spread the cut side of each bun half with 1/2 tablespoon butter and grill until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes.

Spread 1 tablespoon of the mayonnaise on the cut side of each bun bottom and 1 tablespoon of the pâté on the cut side of each bun top. Place the patties on the bun bottoms and top with the cucumber and chile slices. Drain the carrot and daikon pickles and pile a generous amount atop each patty. Add the cilantro sprigs and the pate-smeared bun tops. Makes 6 burgers.

Victoria’s back for more
Victoria magazine returns as an official guide to gracious living.

Hoffman Media, publisher of Cooking with Paula Deen magazine, has partnered with Hearst Magazines to reintroduce Victoria, a magazine that ceased publication in 2003. It was founded in 1987 by Nancy Lindemeyer. Victoria was about romantic living, including home and garden, fashion and beauty, food, home decorating, collectibles and profiles of outstanding women.

Hoffman Media CEO Phyllis Hoffman will be in Louisville next weekend at the Paula Deen Live event at The Louisville Palace. Victoria will be published bi-monthly beginning with a November/December issue. Cover price is $4.99. Hoffman also publishes titles such as Southern Lady, Tea Time and Taste of the South.