Thanksgiving 2012

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Roast Turkey (Steph & Dad)

Oyster Stuffing (Steph & Dad)

Candied Sweet Potatoes (Mom)

Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Missy)

Cranberry-Riesling Compote (Missy)

Gravy (Mom)

Roast Green Beans (Missy)

Roast Brussels Sprouts (Missy)

Sugar Pumpkin Pie (Missy)

Cooking Schedule

 

Night before

Prepare pumpkin pie (Missy)

Brine turkey (Steph & Dad)

Prepare vegetables (Missy)

Thanksgiving Day

9:00a Make mashed potatoes (Missy)

10:30a Prepare and roast turkey stuffing (Steph & Dad)

12:30p Take turkey out of fridge, prepare turkey
1:30p Prepare cranberry compote (Missy)

2:10p Put turkey in oven
3:40p Flip and baste turkey
4:00p Start gravy
4:00p Prepare vegetables and sweet potatoes

6:10p Dinner

Turkey

(adapted from 2009 Sunset Magazine)

14 lbs. fresh Diestel Ranch free range turkey from Guerra's

Brine the night before in a large pot:

Dissolve 1 cup sea salt + ½ cup honey + 2 tsp Herbs de Provence in 2 cups hot water, then add ice cubes to cool down

Clean and place turkey in large pot

Add cold or room temperature water to cover turkey

Place covered pot in refrigerator over night

Remove from refrigerator 1 hour before roasting.

Rinse off brine and place on rack in deep pan, breast side up.

Place quartered small onion and lemon inside turkey, pin legs together.

 

Rub turkey with olive oil and pepper.

Flip turkey breast side DOWN.

Do not cover turkey.
(Next time, place turkey on foil or on nonstick pan so skin won't stick to pan.)

Preheat oven to 350 F and remove all racks except bottom rack.

Roast turkey breast side down.

After 1 ½ hours, flip and baste turkey.
Cover breast, wings, and ends of legs with foil.

Roast another 1 ¾ hours (this was too much - next time 1 1/2 hours for 14 lb. turkey)

Check temperature 15 minutes before it should be done: 

- Place thermometer into the fleshy part of each thigh (test both, close to but not touching the bone).   

- When fully cooked, turkey should register 175F.

Let turkey stand at least 30 minutes. Temperature of thigh meat should eventually rise to about 180 F.

Oyster Stuffing

(adapted from the Time-Life Holiday Cookbook, 1976)

Saute in Le Creuset 1.5 cups olive oil (strong and grassy)

3 large onions, chopped

2 teaspoons black pepper (freshly ground)

2 teaspoons sea salt

Add 2 lbs pre-washed fresh spinach, saute until wilted

Turn off heat

Mix in 2 cups fresh chopped parsley

grated lemon peel from 3 lemons

1 egg + 1 egg white

2 lbs small fresh croutons from Andronico's

Then 30 oz. of fresh oysters (jars from Guerra's), not cleaned or drained, with juices, cut into half

Finally just enough chicken stock to make all of the breadcrumbs moist (but not wet)

Put mixture into 2 foil baking pans (9" x 12" x3")

Bake 375 degrees for at least 1 hour 15 minutes, uncovered. (Stir after the first 45 minutes.)

Notes: Fill pans with a shallow layer of stuffing. If it’s too thick, it will have to roast longer, and then the oysters will overcook.

Cranberry-Riesling Compote

(Adapted from Brian Voltaggio, Range in DC)

½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup sweet Riesling
2 pounds fresh cranberries, cleaned and picked through (any wrinkled or discolored cranberries discarded)
1 medium whole orange, quartered and deseeded
½ cinnamon stick
2 whole allspice berries
1 dried bay leaf
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the sugar and wine. Stir to combine, bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar dissolves and the mixture simmers with thick, slow bubbles, 6 to 8 minutes (the temperature will be between 234° and 240° on an instant-read thermometer).

2. Add the cranberries, stir to combine and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 3 minutes, then squeeze the juice from the orange quarters into the pan and add the squeezed orange quarters along with the cinnamon stick, allspice berries, bay leaf and salt. Cook, stirring often, until the cranberries begin to burst and the sauce thickens, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the orange quarters, cinnamon stick, allspice berries and bay leaf, and set the compote aside to cool completely. The cranberry compote can be left as is or transferred to a blender and puréed until smooth. Store the compote in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Candied Sweet Potatoes

(adapted from the Time-Life Holiday Cookbook, 1976)

2 oranges' squeezed juice

1 lemon’s squeezed juice

4 large sweet potatoes, cut into disks and then quartered

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Dissolve orange juice, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in Le Creuset pot

Put sweet potato disks in layers in the pot.

Simmer over stovetop, covered (frequently baste potatoes in the orange juice)

Continue to cook until almost done (30 minutes?) and finish in oven if juice won’t congeal.

After turning off the heat, stir in lemon zest

Gravy

(adapted from the Time-Life Holiday Cookbook, 1976)

Neck, gizzard, heart and liver of the turkey

1 medium sized carrot, peeled and cut

1 large onion, peeled and quartered

4 sprigs fresh parsley

3 dried bay leaves

4 cups water

1 cup of turkey drippings

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

Combine everything (except turkey stock and cornstarch) in a small saucepan

Bring to boil, and then simmer covered for 1 – 1 ½ hours

Remove everything but the broth

Stir cornstarch into a small amount of cold water, add mixture to gravy

Add turkey stock

Cook under high heat until the sauce thickens and is smooth

Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes

Garlic-Parsley Mashed Potatoes

(adapted from Alton Brown)

    3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
    2 tablespoons kosher salt
    16 fluid ounces (2 cups) half-and-half
    6 cloves garlic, crushed
    parsley

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan, add the salt, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.

Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture and parsley; stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve.