Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Shameless self-promotion . . .

One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest. We are currently 21 out of 373 photos. You can vote by clicking here.

Remember a 10 is good!

*smile*

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In my family we celebrate Thanksgiving on the Sunday rather than the Monday. I think it was so that the cook had a day to recover.  It works for me!

This morning I got up and had my usual secret Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sandwich held together with a bit of may and gravy. YUM The things Paul misses because he sleeps in. I didn't want to be too piggy so I only made myself half of a sandwich!

There is nothing low-fat or dietary about our Thanksgiving dinner. It is meant to be an indulgence  . . . and it was!

We cooked dinner for six. By noon the table was set and a good deal of the cooking was done. I selected recipes which could be made ahead of time and warmed up. This was a great idea, allowing for a more relaxed dinner.

We started off with cheese and crackers in the living room:

We had to keep everything wrapped because 'you-know-who' pictured above was eager to get into anything. We served five cheeses: a 4 year old white cheddar from the Empire Cheese Company, a brick cheese with jalapeno peppers, horseradish cheddar, and two cheeses from the Upper Canada Cheese Company (Comfort Cream and Niagara Gold).

With the cheese we served an assortment of crackers, antipasto, white bean dip, and kielbasa sausage. After our trip to Italy we have started serving jellies with cheese so last night we put out our strawberry jam with cracked black pepper and balsamic vinegar, our fig jelly with rosemary and balsamic, and a pear jelly. Paul rounded out the tray with some roasted pumpkin seeds.

The first course at the table was Cauliflower Soup with 7 year-old Cheddar. I confess that I don't have a recipe for this. I chopped up 2 large cauliflowers and cooked it in about 8 cups of chicken sock until it was tender. After it had cooled I pureed it in the blender. I then made a cheese sauce with the aged cheddar (about 300 g or cheddar and 1 l of milk) to which I added nutmeg. The cauliflower puree and the cheese sauce was combined to make the soup.

Just before serving I heated it up. It was a little thick so I added some more milk to thin it down a bit. We served it in our pumpkin bowls (which we only use once a year!  LOL And I wonder why I need a larger home) topped with some of the aged cheddar grated on top and some roasted pumpkin seeds.

We were going to serve a Fennel Apple Salad with Blue Cheese and Candied Pecans but at the last minute we decided that it would be too much food so this is saved for tonight. Paul originally made this salad a few months ago. I blogged about it here. Believe it or not it is low-fat!

For the turkey I did our traditional thing which is to stuff it, and cover it with bacon before it goes into the oven. I have the fondest memories of sneaking into the kitchen to pick off pieces of the bacon after my grandmother had taken the turkey out of the oven when I was a child. Needless to say I could never change this part. I did attempt a different cooking method:

This method for roasting differs from others because it is done on a high heat. I do not recommend cooking more than a 16-pound (7-kilogram) turkey this way. For larger birds, start at 400 F for the first hour and then turn down the oven to 350 F for the remainder of the time. The turkey is cooked when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the turkey reads 165 F.

To truss the turkey, the perfect thing is the new Food Loop Lace: an ingenious silicone needle and thread you can use to sew up chicken and just about anything else. Just wash and reuse. Available at kitchen stores.

1 14-pound (6 kilogram) turkey

Stuffing of your choice

Olive oil to coat skin

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F. Bring the bird to room temperature and stuff and truss.

Place on a rack over a roasting pan and rub skin with butter, salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes a pound for the first 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) and 7 minutes a pound (500 grams) for each succeeding one. Add an extra pound (500 grams) for the stuffing. After one hour, turn heat to 375 F.

Baste every half-hour if you remember.

Remove from oven when ready and let sit on a carving board, loosely covered with a tea towel, for 15 minutes to allow juices to retract. While it sits, make the gravy.

As you can see from the pic below, it worked!

Our family has always enjoyed a stuffing made with sausage meat. A few years ago I tried a new recipe: Sausage Stuffing with Leeks and Apple. It was a scary time, imagine trifling with tradition! However, everyone loved it and I have been making it ever since.

INGREDIENTS

12 cups white bread cubes

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1/4 cup butter

6 cups coarsely chopped leeks

2 tart green apples - peeled, cored and chopped

2 cups chopped celery

4 teaspoons poultry seasoning

2 teaspoons dried rosemary, chopped

1 cup dried cranberries

1 1/3 cups chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread bread cubes in a single layer over two baking sheets. Bake until slightly dry, about 15 minutes.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook sausage, crumbling coarsely, for about 10 minutes or until evenly brown. Drain off grease, and transfer sausage to a large bowl.
3. Melt butter in the skillet; add leeks, apples, celery, and poultry seasoning. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and dried cranberries.
4. Mix leek mixture and bread cubes with sausage in bowl. Spoon stuffing into turkey, packing loosely.
5. Bake remaining stuffing in a buttered baking dish, covered, at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes. Uncover, and bake another 15 minutes to brown top.

I'm not a huge fan of cranberry sauce but mom loves the stuff so I have to make it. Paul's idea of cranberry sauce is the lovely can-shaped 'mold' he had as a child. I few years ago I came upon this recipe in a Fine Cooking magazine so I have been using it ever since.

Rosemary Orange Cranberry Sauce

ingredients

12 oz. fresh cranberries, picked through and rinsed
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest

how to make

Bring the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, and rosemary to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 min. (Some berries will have popped and some will be whole.) Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the zest. Cover and let stand for 10 min. Let the sauce cool to room temperature and then cover and refrigerate. Return to room temperature before serving.

Make Ahead Tips

This sauce can be made up to a week ahead and refrigerated in a covered container.

From Fine Cooking 74, pp. 46

Our vegetables consisted of Sage Mashed Potatoes with Aged White Cheddar, Balsamic Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta, and Butternut Squash with Tangerine and Sage Glaze. I have been making the potatoes for a number of years now. They are rich and decidedly HIGH-fat. This recipe was originally in Bon Appetit magazine in November 2003. You can link to the recipe here.

The Balsamic Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta are a favourite of mine. I love the way that the flavours come together in this dish. The recipe was originally in Fine Cooking as well. The have recently changed their web site so that certain recipes can only be accessed with a membership and this was one of them. Needless to say I immediately took out a membership!

ingredients

2 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
1 to 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
10 oz. Brussels sprouts (about 18 medium sprouts), trimmed and halved through the core
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
Kosher salt

how to make

In a heavy 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan set over medium- low heat, slowly cook the pancetta in 1 Tbs. of the oil until golden and crisp all over, 10 to 15 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate lined with paper towels, leaving the fat behind. You should have about 2 Tbs. of fat in the pan; if not, add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Have ready 1/2 cup water. Put the pan over medium-high heat and arrange the sprouts cut side down in a single layer. Cook undisturbed until nicely browned, 2 to 3 minutes. When the sprouts are browned, add the water to the pan, cover immediately, and simmer until the sprouts are tender when poked with a fork or skewer, about 3 minutes. (If the water evaporates before the sprouts get tender, add more water, 1/4 cup at a time.) With a slotted spoon, transfer the sprouts to a plate.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and if any water remains, let it boil off. Add the balsamic vinegar and a few grinds of pepper. Boil the vinegar until it’s reduced to about 2 Tbs. and looks lightly syrupy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the butter, and stir until melted. Return the sprouts and pancetta to the pan and swirl and shake the pan to evenly coat the sprouts with the sauce. Season to taste with salt and more pepper and serve.

From Fine Cooking 74, pp. 30

The squash recipe was a new one. I wanted something that could be made ahead of time and this was the only one I could find. I am not a fan of squash so I never tried it but Paul tells me it was amazing . . . perhaps I should NOT have given the leftovers away! The recipe for Squash with Tangerine Sage Glaze originally appeared in Bon Appetit in November 2004.

 

And finally . . . dessert . . . Normally we have a pumpkin pie but I wanted something different this year.  I decided to make this cheesecake: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Sour Cream Topping It originally appeared in Gourmet magazine way back in November 1990. When the cheesecake was done I ran a knife through the sour cream topping to create a decorative checkerboard pattern. I also decorated it with rosettes of whipping cream to which I added Vietnamese cinnamon and a shard of pumpkin seed brittle. I must admit that I was quite impressed with how this turned out.

 

Chili

Today, in honour of the Superbowl, we are having a chili cook off in the lunchroom. Surprisingly I am not taking part. This is the first time I haven't been involved with a 'food' related activity at work but the thought of lugging in the makings of chili on the train frankly overwhelmed me! I can just imagine the looks I would receive from my fellow train commuters as I lugged all of the ingredients and the crock pot on to the train.

When Paul and I do make chili, this is our normal recipe (although I admit I don't often use a recipe, it isn't science and I may dump in more spice or some hot sauce as the mood hits me):

Chili Con Carne with Tomatoes

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup coarsely chopped celery
2-28 ounce cans tomatoes
8 ounce can tomato sauce
6 tablespoons tomato paste
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
15 1/2 ounce can kidney beans

Preparation Instructions:

In large skillet, brown the meat. Drain and set aside. Add onion, green pepper, and celery to the skillet and saute until just tender. Place vegetables and meat in a large pot with a tight fitting lid. Stir in tomatoes (with liquid) and remaining ingredients except kidney beans.

Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in kidney beans; heat through. 8 servings .

We serve our chili with grated cheddar cheese on top, a dollop of sour cream, a few slices of green chili pepper. A fresh, crisp salad to counter the heat and a loaf of warm bread butter completes this meal!

I had no idea that there was a chili lover's society and annual cook offs. You can find more information about them here: chilicookoff.com Some of the winning recipes look great (although I would only make them if you were feeding an army *smile*).