use real butter

I know a lot of people are traveling today. I hope everyone got to or gets to their destination safely and without incident. We are staying put - the way we like it. Keeps things low key and stress free. I went to the dentist this morning to get fitted for a crown and realized that after an hour, I could feel my gums again. So I think that may be why I suffered such immense pain yesterday because my dentist was jamming the posts down my root canals about 2 hours after she numbed my mouth. *Great* I love it when that happens! Today was a walk in the park by comparison.

While most folks are preparing their turkeys, we have been contemplating the leftovers (there are a lot) as well as eating them. Those potatoes au gratin really do get better with time.

turkey reuben, anyone?

The salad I made was a very simple toss of mixed salad greens, orange slices (supremed), and pomegranate seeds. The dressing was inspired by my beautiful aunt, Elena, who is a KICKASS cook. When we were visiting just a few weeks ago, she gave me a bottle of lemon grapeseed oil before we left (she is also the one who provided me with truffle butter - I just love the woman).

so fragrant and delightful

Elena suggested making a simple vinaigrette with orange juice and the oil and a few other ingredients. I just stuck with the oil and juice: 1/2 cup fresh orange juice and 1/4 cup oil - I like my dressings on the watery side. A sprinkle of fresh ground pepper and it was good to go. A very nice and light contrast to heavier traditional Thanksgiving fare.

unplanned: butternut squash

So while I was gathering groceries for our dinner, I walked past the heap of butternut squashes and a moment later I had one cradled in my basket. I quite love butternut squash, but never seem to cook much with it. My last attempt at a butternut squash soup left me feeling “meh”. I wasn’t a fan of the sweetness from the apples.

roasted

puréed

This time around I decided to omit the apples and keep it simple: butternut squash, onions, bacon, chicken broth. Easy peasy. In this case, I quite prefer to let the butternut squash be the star of the recipe, not to mention it has been great to slurp down while I let my tooth recover.

sautéed onions

precious bacon

There are days when you go chunky and days when you go for smooth - this version was as smooth as my Cuisinart could get it. I puréed the roasted squash and onions with a little chicken broth until the big visible lumps were gone. A lot of recipes say to crumble the bacon, but I wound up chopping the hell out of it. Tasty.

stir in the bacon last

While I love the idea and the taste of adding cream to soups, I generally try to avoid it with butternut squash. I think the squash has such a nice texture and flavor that the addition of cream isn’t necessary (although it is admittedly delicious). Not to mention there was enough cream in the potatoes to last us a month… I found this version of roasted butternut squash soup to be far more satisfying than the last one without sending me over the edge toward food coma land.

plenty creamy on its own

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Simplified

4 lbs. butternut squash, quartered and seeded
2 tbsps olive oil
1 onion, diced
6 slices bacon, fried crisp
1 quart chicken broth
salt to taste

Roast the squash on an oiled baking sheet in a 400°F oven for 45 minutes to an hour until soft. Remove from oven and scoop the flesh from the skin. Discard skin. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan (or if you want to be naughty, use some of the bacon grease) and fry the onions until translucent and soft. Place the squash and onions in a food processor and process until smooth, adding chicken broth as needed to keep it fluid. Pour the contents into a medium saucepan and add enough chicken broth to achieve the desired consistency. Heat over medium heat until steaming. Crumble or mince the bacon and stir into the soup. Add salt to taste. Serve hot.

Before my parents left for Hawai’i, my mom called me up to find out if I would like her to ship me a Smithfield ham - the uber salty, delicious, country-style ham from my home state of Virginia. I said I’d love to have one and she made a note of it (her thing is to ship hams all over the country to friends and family). I asked if I could get one for Thanksgiving and she said, “No! They come out for Christmas and besides, everybody eats turkey for Thanksgiving.”

Well, not everybody. It’s been a while since we’ve had turkey for Thanksgiving. I always get waylaid when planning the Thanksgiving menu because other mains sound so much better. This year, I decided that no, we wouldn’t be having turkey for Thanksgiving, but yes, I would roast a turkey. Remember that organic bird I picked up at Whole Foods last week?

dry brining the bird

It was a little frozen ten pound hen. I figured I would try dry brining which I had read about on The Bitten Word. I used a quarter cup of coarse sea salt with a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper as my dry brine. Last night, I rubbed the defrosted (took 3 days - I think our fridge is really cold) turkey down with the salt mixture both inside and out, set her on the rack in the roasting pan, and let her chill out in the refrigerator uncovered for 10.5 hours (she weighs 10.5 pounds).

separating skin from the breast

After the 10.5 hour chill out, the turkey was rinsed in lukewarm water to rub off the brine (inside and out) and patted dry (inside and out). I referenced my Fine Cooking November 2007 issue which recommends separating the skin from the breast and rubbing butter underneath. I had some truffle butter that my aunt had given me and decided to use that on the bird.

heady smelling truffle butter - gets under the skin

It’s actually easier to place little pats of butter under the skin and then moosh them around from the outside. I then rubbed softened regular unsalted butter around the outside of the whole bird, tying the legs together and tucking the wings under.

trussed, more or less

I normally like to stuff my turkey, but so many sites and references say not to stuff the turkey - so I didn’t this time. I put the turkey on the rack, breast-side up, but since I wasn’t stuffing the bird, I should have tried cooking it breast-side down, but forgot (Elise says it gives a moister breast meat). Once the bird was ready, I covered the pan tightly with aluminum foil and baked at 350°F. After 2 hours, I removed the foil and baked for another 45 minutes. What I should have done was bake under foil for 1.5 hours and then bake uncovered for another hour. But the skin came out crispy and golden and juices were pouring out.

a little tan goes a long way

While the turkey rested, I drained off the drippings and poured them into a ziploc bag. I cut a hole at the bottom corner of the bag to collect the juices and discarded the fat. I love that trick!

turkey goodness

I made a quick roux with butter and flour. After the roux thickened and browned, I strained the turkey drippings into the pan.

adding turkey juices

I added ground pepper, poured in some chardonnay and a little chicken broth to achieve the proper taste and consistency. The wine really turns it from bland “meh” to a lively and tasty gravy. There wasn’t much need for salt since the drippings were already a little salty from the brine.

a little wine

So we had our turkey dinner today rather than Thanksgiving Day. The turkey was good as turkeys go. While neither of us are fans of white meat, Jeremy enjoyed it and said it was rather juicy. I stuck to the dark meat, which was reminiscent of duck (mmmm, duck…). We paired it with a lovely Gewürztraminer. Here is what we had:

roasted butternut squash soup with bacon
roasted turkey
turkey gravy
stuffing
potatoes au gratin
salad greens with orange and pomegranate in lemon-citrus dressing
crustless pumpkin pie with whipped cream and crystallized ginger

The turkey and gravy instructions are at the bottom of this post. I’ll post some of the other recipes over the next few days and link to them from here as well. The stuffing was plain old ordinary stuffing (onions, celery, cubed herbed bread, chicken broth, and minced gizzard). I always prefer a green salad to mushy vegetables if at all possible - it’s lighter and more refreshing on the palate.

roasted butternut squash soup with bacon

dinner plate

crustless pumpkin pie with whipped cream and crystallized ginger

The beauty of the crustless pumpkin pie is that 1) I don’t have to make a crust and 2) I don’t have to eat the crust. I’m all about the pumpkin part of pumpkin pie. Now if it’s apple pie… gimme crust!

such a good girl: waiting for the okay

Verdict on dry-brining: much better than wet brining.
Verdict on the turkey: not bad.
Verdict on making this turkey again: If I’m going to spend that much time on preparing a critter, it had better taste as good as crab or lobster…

This turkey didn’t taste as good as crab or lobster to us. We just aren’t crazy for roast turkey. I don’t care HOW WELL you roast it, it won’t tickle my jollies the way pork, beef, or seafood can. Still, it’s always good to learn how to do things.

Dry-Brined Roast Turkey
from Epicurious and Fine Cooking November 2007

10 lb. turkey (preferably organic), fresh or defrosted if frozen
see article for adjusting quantities for larger or smaller birds
1/4 cup coarse sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp each of any herbs you want to use (I didn’t)
1/2 cup butter (I used truffle butter and unsalted butter), softened

Make sure to defrost the turkey according to food safety recommendations (i.e. not on your counter top). Remove giblets and neck from cavity (reserve). Cut off fatty end at the tail (reserve). Mix sea salt and pepper and any herbs together. Rub the salt over the entire bird including inside the cavity. Set on a rack in a shallow pan and refrigerate 1 hour for every pound, uncovered. Remove bird from refrigerator and rinse off the brine in lukewarm water. Pat dry. Preheat oven to 350°F. Carefully separate the skin from the breast by sliding hand under the skin. Place pats of butter under the skin. Push the butter around evenly from outside of the skin. Use remaining butter to coat the entire outside of the turkey. Tie the legs together. Tuck the wings down. Place turkey breast side up on rack in shallow roasting pan. Toss the turkey neck and tail piece into the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1.5 hours (2 hours if 14-16 pounds) on a low rack in the oven. Remove foil and bake for another hour for the skin to brown. Target temperature is 170-175°F in the thickest part of the thigh and the juices run clear when you remove the thermometer. Remove from oven and let rest under foil for 20 minutes before carving.

Turkey Gravy
adapted from Fine Cooking November 2007

pan drippings from roasted turkey
4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chicken broth (or more)
1/2 cup dry white wine
pepper

Pour the cooled contents of the pan into a ziploc bag. When the fat layer settles out, poke a hole in the corner of the bag and let the turkey juices flow into a vessel. Stop the flow when the fat layer approaches the corner. Discard the fat. Melt butter in a large shallow pan over high heat until it foams. Whisk in the flour and continue whisking until the roux darkens to a caramel color (couple of minutes). Pour the wine into the roux and whisk to incorporate. Add the pan drippings and stir in chicken broth. Add more chicken broth to achieve desired consistency. Season with pepper to taste and serve with turkey.

I’ve been thinking about our Thanksgiving menu a lot and not doing much about it, until today. So after watching weather reports and reading up on some climate modeler’s predictions, I made the decision to have an early Thanksgiving dinner à la turkey. I’m still playing around with various components, but one thing is for sure - we are having potatoes.

organic yukon golds

But we aren’t having mashies. While we both like mashed potatoes, we both love potatoes au gratin. It happens to be one of those dishes that benefits from an extra day of sitting around. The flavors mature with time.

slice them up uniformly

parcook in milk

So I started on the potatoes today as we will nominally have the bird and the works tomorrow. Honestly, when I think of the number of sides that are served at a “traditional” Thanksgiving dinner, it makes me feel a wee bit sick in the tum. Is it me or is that an obscene amount of food?

adding hot cream and spices to the potatoes

The recipe comes from Fine Cooking, but I’m not sure which issue as it has appeared a number of times over the past several years. In the November 2008 issue of Fine Cooking, you can find a nice variety of gratins, but this one is fairly straightforward and delicious… and decadent.

layer cheese over the potatoes

The potato slices are parcooked in milk (I like them a little more than parcooked) and then hot cream is added along with some pepper, salt, and nutmeg. I personally love the combination of yukon golds with nutmeg and Gruyère cheese.

pour the remaining cream over the dish

I typically bake the potatoes until most of the cream becomes gooey and thick, the potatoes are soft, and the top is golden brown. The cream will continue to thicken as it cools. A nice way to serve it up is to take a biscuit cutter and slice out columns of potatoes au gratin (it should be cooled to warm so that it doesn’t fall apart). This is a definite crowd pleaser when entertaining.

this little serving packs a lot of flavor

Potatoes au Gratin
adapted from Fine Cooking

2.5 lbs yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
1 pint milk
1 pint heavy cream, hot
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch nutmeg, ground
8 oz Gruyère cheese, shredded
4 oz Parmesan, grated
3 oz bread crumbs (optional)
3 oz butter (optional)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Add the potatoes and milk to a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer the potatoes until they are parcooked. Add hot cream and season the potatoes to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Layer a fifth of the potatoes in a buttered baking dish. Layer a fifth of the Gruyère over the potatoes. Layer a fifth of the Parmesan. Repeat the process and finish with cheese on top. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and dot with butter. Bake the gratin for 45 minutes or until cream thickens, potatoes are soft, and the top is golden. Let cool to warm before serving. (Jen’s Note: Flavor improves if left to sit for a day).