I'm going to be out all next week getting dinner prepped. Between the elections and being so sick it fell out of my brain until last Friday when I realized I'd done nothing. Normally I send my guests ballots so they can choose the food but it was late and I was "electioned out" so I said this year I'm going to be a dictator and cook what I want. I always invited Spud but she kept turning me down. At least my cat loves me. Menu: (asterisk * denotes something that came from my garden) Nibbles: Roasted garbanzos, hummus, salsa* and chips, Girl Scout mixed nuts (OK I'm a sucker, I bought some) Salad: Baby greens*, caramelized squash*, pistachios and goat cheese Entree: Grill Roasted organic cage free turkey, turkey gravy with white wine, dressing with *herbs, *chard and pine nuts Sides: Olive oil mashed *potatoes, sweet potato pudding, herbed *green beans, cranberry sauce with vanilla and chambord, Southern corn bread, Parker House rolls, maple *apple butter Desserts: *apple pie with double vanilla ice cream and warm caramel sauce, kahlua *pumpkin cheesecake with kahlua whipped cream, bourbon pecan poundcake Drinks: Easy, asked every guest to bring what he/she wants to drink. Saves having to schlep a bunch of heavy bottles from store Alka seltzer For the cats: Diced turkey giblets in turkey broth, cream We will drink a toast to marriage equality.
Wow. On a completely random note, what does the "free range"-ness do to the taste/texture/etc? If I'm deep-frying one, does it matter (other than the philosophical side)? How big is your garden? And do you have CSA's in the Bay Area? When I was part of one in WA the first time I'd ever heard of chard and kale was when I picked up my box one Tuesday.
Girl, you know I love you! It's just that my mommy would kill me and I'm in line for inheriting stuff from her. Happy Thanksgiving Crandc!!! Oh, and my mom and dad would welcome you to Thanksgiving with the family if you ever decide to brave the Siskiyous in November.
I'm making mashed potatoes and creamed swiss chard. probably some roasted cauliflower.....probably with some bacon fat or something in there.
Whether free range enhances taste is a matter of some discussion. The turkey's diet and overall handling definitely does. I find I can't eat supermarket poultry any more, it's so bland. Free range are a little less fatty but I brine so they are very tender. And yes, it does matter to me that the bird not spend its life in a cage so small she can't turn around. (not being sexist, a 14 lb bird is a female!) There are CSAs here but they often duplicate what I grow, so I stopped using them. My garden is big. Not sure of square footage because it's in pieces. The front is ground cover and roses, and a piece no hose can reach is the cactus garden. The side is a hodgepodge of fruit trees, some roses and bulbs, and vegetables. The back is more fruit trees, roses, and a raised bed vegetable garden. A perpetually shady area has shade tolerant drought tolerant ornamentals. I got this house for the yard (although the previous occupant just used it as a garbage dump for fast food wrappers, beer cans and other shit). The house actually sucks, but my cats & I love the yard. I grow stuff and they do rodent control. This being California I grow year round, in winter chard, kale, romaine lettuce & other hardy greens, beans, and all the root crops.
A very Happy Thanksgiving to you, crandc. We may have differences of opinion, but I've always really liked you and totally wish the best for you in all your endeavors. Oh, and I Hope you're feeling better these days. PS: The food fare looks inCREDible!!
Brian, I've been deep frying for the past few years, although I'm not doing one this year). For safety and for fun, build yourself a turkey derrick (although I passed on the siren): http://www.altonbrown.com/pdfs/AB_turkey_derrick.pdf
Given how much crow I ate for the election, I'm not sure how big my appetite will be for Thanksgiving, but I'm going to give it a shot. Anyway, due to the fact my turkey frying equipment is in a storage unit (due to home renovation), I thought I would smoke a turkey on the grill. Does anyone have any good recipes? I'll brine (as always) and I'd like to try some kind of dry rub. What kind of wood should I use? Temperature at which to keep my grill? Also, I was going to stuff the carcass with aromatics, but I wonder about its efficacy. Thanks in advance.
I've never built the derrick, but my friends and family laugh at how I take a nuclear safety approach to frying the bird. I pre-stage, fill with water first to determine the oil line, completely re-dry the bird and the pot, and have a candy thermometer both suspended in the oil and a dippable one to make sure I'm getting even flow. Among the "away from the house on the concrete pad" and "no alcohol" rules.
Being cooked on a grill meant no pan to block heat so turkey was even dark bronze crisp skinned all over, meat perfectly moist. But I only take photos of desserts.
Holy smokes did the rotisserie turkey turn out well. Literally, you can't mess it up. I made a really sweet brine (salt, honey, molasses, brown sugar, dried fruit, spices and herbs) and used applewood to add a slight smoke. I stuffed the turkey with wedges of apple, clove-studded orange, onion and sage leaves. I got the grill up to 350 (with indirect heat) and two-and-a-half hours later it was done. The rotisserie action self-basted the bird. From now on, the oven will only be used for side dishes. One turkey will be deep fried and the other will be put on the grill. I advise everyone to try a smoked turkey on a rotisserie.
