Thanksgiving Update

I don't know about you but I had an awesome Thanksgiving holiday. I ate so much that I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to wear my Wonder Sauna Pants for at least a week.

I'm not sure how this will fit in with the office dress code....however knowing my co-workers I doubt I will be the only one wearing a pair. I had the pleasure of not cooking a darned thing for the dinner. Let me tell you it felt mondo weird but my big gay boyfriend Craig had it all covered, including this beautiful table setting with a tablecloth he threw together himself.

BACK OFF LADIES, HE'S MINE.

Craig actually had the dinner catered. I'm not telling you who did the catering because it was so freaking delicious that I don't want the secret to get out.

By the way, if I'm ever in a coma and my mom's gravy is unavailable, this is the 2nd in line turkey gravy to plug into my IV in order to revive me. Even though we had plenty of food, Craig decided to deep fry his own turkey.

He was testing out Butterball's new indoors turkey fryer. He had the small model but it worked so well on this little turkey he went right out and bought the larger version the very next day.

Good food, good friends, children telling embarrassing stories about their parents, and plenty of libations to keep the mood festive. Even the weather had a good time and busted out with the low 60's that allowed us to sit outside and snack before dinner. But the icing on the cake? A soft, adorably cute, 10 week old Brittany puppy named Dusty.

Really, if you want to make your party a total success, rent cute puppies and let them loose on your guests. Especially if you to see me turn into a goobering idiot.

Hi, my name is Dusty and I want to whisper secrets in your ear...

Meanwhile back in the kitchen, a tragedy is about to happen. Turkey carcasses were about to be thrown out. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm fairly certain Craig thought I was crazy but just like making fish stock, meaty carcasses make the best stock. Since I hadn't cooked anything before the meal, I rushed home to cook after the meal. First I cleaned off a lovely pile of meat from the two turkey carcasses I rescued. Next I arranged all the bones into a big roaster and let them get good and brown. Then I hauled out my big blue granite ware canning pot and dumped the hot bones in some water with some onions, celery and carrots and a little bundle of fresh herbs. A couple hours and a lot of skimming later we have turkey stock.

So I've got plenty of white meat, dark meat and stock. What to do? Actually our weather helped me decide. Currently we have been yoyoing between winter-like temps and Indian Summer. The day after Thanksgiving swung back to the cold side so soup seemed like a good idea. I'm not a white meat aficionado so finding a way it more palatable was necessary. Tortilla Soup seemed like a winner.

Since this was basically a leftovers meal, I didn't want anything too complicated. The Pioneer Woman Cooks had just the right Tortilla Soup recipe. I only had a couple of changes to her recipe. First, didn't have to roast any chicken breasts since I had the turkey. I did sprinkle some of the spice mix over it and then stir fried the white meat in a little bit of oil to give it some depth.

Followed the rest of the recipe except that I added some finely diced jalapeno and a can of hominy to the soup. As for the toppings, I went with fresh onion, cilantro, avocado and lime. Many recipes call for sour cream and Monterey Jack cheese but frankly, with the avocado, who needs it?

Oh so the right choice. Earthy flavors of cumin and garlic with the brightness of lime and the crunchy yumminess of corn tortillas. Really this is almost a stew but who's complaining. It's the Thanksgiving that keeps on giving.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you should remember that we had a Pie Off not too long ago. One of the pies in the running was Momofuku's Crack pie. Froggy over at her blog has a Thanksgiving family tradition of making a Mystery Pie and yep, you guessed it, she made Crack Pie. Go on over and look at it's loveliness. By all accounts Crack Pie goes into the win column.

My last duty of Thanksgiving is to give Dani of Gardening Under the Florida Sun her Thanksgiving Holiday turkey.

Mr. Dani should be thankful that I'm only giving her a digital turkey because we all know she wants a real one.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving

Extra credit...

If you have the time to make rolls from scratch, these are about the best ever! (At least to my way of thinking!) Be sure to stash a couple away to make little sandwiches with leftover turkey!

Gommie's Butterhorn Rolls
1 cake yeast dissolved and proofed in 1/4 c. sugar water
1 c. milk scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1/2 c. sugar
3 well beaten eggs
1/2 c. melted butter
4 1/2 c. or more flour
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. melted butter

Mix first six ingredients together. Knead. Let rise twice. Divide dough into 2 parts. Roll out dough as you would pie crusts, brush with melted butter and cut into 16 wedges (as you would cut a pie). Roll from wide end to the point. Cover and let rise again. Bake in a moderately hot (375 degree oven) about 12- 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with more melted butter before serving if desired.

Never Fail Turkey Gravy

4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cognac
4 c. good chicken or turkey stock
finely chopped giblets (optional)
salt and freshly ground pepper (optional)

Melt butter in small saucepan. Add flour all at once, whisking until the flour is completely incorporated into the butter. Cook for about three minutes (this will take the raw flour taste out of the roux without giving it too much color - you want a pale blond roux). Transfer to a glass measuring cup, cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate.

When turkey is done, remove from pan and tent with foil. While the turkey rests, pour out all pan drippings, leaving only the brown crusty bits (fond) on the bottom.

Deglaze the roasting pan with the cognac (be sure to scrape up all of those crusty brown bits!)and allow to reduce by about three quarters (pan should be nearly dry). Add stock and bring to a simmer (if you're making giblet gravy, add those in now!)

Place the cold roux in a large saucepan. Slowly add the hot stock mixture to the cold roux, whisking constantly, and simmer until the gravy reaches the desired thickness. If you want a richer gravy, whisk in a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream). Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary before serving.

Thanksgiving Recipes - The Brine Divine

If you want your Thanksgiving turkey to be the star of the meal, you might considering brining. Brining will not only produce a turkey that is moist beyond compare, it also improves the texture of the meat, and imparts amazing flavor to a bird that, let's face it, has a tendency to be a tad on the bland side. And best of all, it's neither expensive nor terribly complicated.

1 gallon vegetable stock
1 c. kosher sea salt
1/2 c. sugar
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp. juniper berries
1 whole head garlic, cut in half to expose cloves
1 medium onion, cut into eighths
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs fresh rosemary, bruised
6 sprigs fresh sage, bruised
6 sprigs fresh thyme, bruised
6 sprigs fresh savory, bruised

1 gallon ice water
2 large trash bags (not made from recycled materials) or
brining bag
ice chest
ice
16 - 20 lb. turkey
additional herbs for roasting (see above)
1/2 medium onion
1 lemon, quartered

Bring stock to simmer in large stockpot. Add salt and sugar, and stir until completely dissolved. Add next 9 ingredients. Cover and allow to simmer for half an hour. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 24 hours prior to actually brining the bird.

24 hours before roasting, remove the giblets and rinse the turkey thoroughly. Line the ice chest with one of the bags, placing the other bag inside of it. Add one gallon of ice water, and the chilled brine mixture and stir a bit. Place turkey in brine, making sure it's completely submerged. Secure the bag and cover all with ice. Set ice chest in a cool place and allow turkey to soak in the brine for 24 hours before roasting.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove turkey from brine, and rinse and dry (you won't get crispy brown skin unless the turkey is dry!) thoroughly. Place in large roasting pan. Stuff the cavity with fresh bunches of the same herbs used in the brine, 1/2 an onion, and a lemon that has been cut into quarters. Tie legs with kitchen twine. Brush entire turkey with butter, and cover the breast with foil. Roast, basting with butter (be sure to baste under the foil), until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh reaches 135 degrees. Remove foil, and continue to roast until skin is browned, and internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Transfer turkey to a platter, and tent with foil (it will continue to cook). Allow turkey to rest while you make the gravy (but no less than 15 minutes) before carving. This allows time for the juices to redistribute.

I guarantee that you will not regret the little bit of extra work - it will pay off in the tenderest, juiciest bird you have ever cooked!

Just a note - the drippings from a brined bird can be very salty! Tomorrow's recipe...gravy!

It's just around the corner...

Food traditions are an interesting and highly personal thing; especially at Thanksgiving. Some balk at yams without toasted gooey marshmallows on top, stuffing without oysters, or a feast that lacks that ubiquitous green bean casserole. My sister-in-law absolutely must have "corn and oysters" on her Thanksgiving menu. I have a friend who cannot bear to celebrate this holiday without peas with pearl onions. As for me, no matter how I tweak my turkey, diversify my dressing, convert my cranberries, vary my vegetables, or doctor my desserts, it's just not Thanksgiving unless my Grandmother's butterhorn rolls are on the table. They remain sacrosanct.

So, how did the mainstays of Thanksgiving food tradition come to be? Well, New Englander, Sarah Josepha Hale seems to have been the driving force behind inventing the Thanksgiving myth of turkey and stuffing with all trimmings. She wrote a highly idealized account of just such a fictional Thanksgiving dinner in her novel Northwood (1827), which included roasted turkey, stuffing, preserves, and pumpkin pie. A far cry from what experts speculate to have been the original pilgrim meal of venison, lobster, wild birds, corn puddings and currants.

But the fact is, everyone has had their fingers in the Thanksgiving pie, starting with the pilgrims who adapted newly discovered foods to fit the recipes they brought from England; creating new dishes that were perhaps destined to become tradition in their families (with various tweaks and modifications occurring through the generations). Then there are other immigrants who had not celebrated Thanksgiving in their native lands who readily adopted the holiday and the dinner. In the process, they also added to and modified the "traditional" Thanksgiving menu. And of course, there are my traditions, and yours...

Over the next few days, we'll be posting some of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes. Some are old, some are new, and some are in between. We hope that you like them, and we also hope that you will take a minute to share some of your Thanksgiving food traditions (and how they became so) in our comments section!