Thanksgiving-The Finale

Thanksgiving Day dawned early.  I got the Maple Cornucopia Cake out of the freezer and decorated it with powdered sugar and paper leaves.  We had set the table after dinner on Wednesday.  I also got the rolls and mushroom turnover out of the freezer to thaw on a parchment lined baking sheet. 

I placed my brother in charge of making the Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail.    

Ingredients:

1 fl. oz. pomegranate juice

½ fl. Oz. Grand Marnier

Sparkling wine as needed

Cranberries for Garnish (They used pomegranate seeds)

Directions:

1.       Pour the pomegranate juice and Grand Marnier into a Champagne glass. 

2.       Top with sparkling wine and add the cranberries.  They will float and look great. 

Serves one.  These were a great hit with the ladies, the men switched to wine. 

I had a ton of appetizers.  I forgot the nuts, so I still have plenty in the freezer. 

Early in the day I made the Baked Mashed Potatoes with Peas, Parmesan Cheese and Breadcrumbs.  This recipe is from FoodTV, Giada De Laurentiis.

Ingredients:

Cooking spray for the pan

Potatoes:

1 T unsalted butter

2 t kosher salt, plus

4 # russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1” pieces

1 ½ C whole milk

¾ C freshly grated Parmesan

½ C unsalted butter, melted

Freshly ground black pepper

Peas:

2 T unsalted butter

2 C frozen peas, thawed

½ t kosher salt

¼ t freshly ground black pepper

Topping:

½ C freshly grated Parmesan

2 T plain dry breadcrumbs

EVOO for drizzling

Directions:

1.       This dish can be made 6 hours ahead of time.  When ready to serve, heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Coat a 13”x9” pan with cooking spray.

2.       In a large saucepan, combine the butter, salt and potatoes.  Add enough cold water to cover the potatoes by 1”.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Boil until the potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes.  Drain the potatoes and return them to the same pot.  Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until smooth.

3.       Mix in the mozzarella, milk, Parmesan and butter.  Season with salt and pepper. 

4.       Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking dish and make a 4” deep well in the middle of the potatoes.

5.       In a medium skillet, melt the butter over heat.  Add the peas and cook until heated through.  Add salt and pepper.  Fill the well with the peas.

6.       Make the topping by stirring the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend.  Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the mashed potatoes. 

7.       Drizzle the top with EVOO and bake until the topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes. 

The Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup were a pain in the butt for a last minute thing and really did not taste that good.  They were from the October Bon Appetite.    

Ingredients:

4T EVOO, divided, plus more for drizzling

2 # Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved lengthwise

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ C pure maple syrup

2 T unsalted butter

2 T chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 ½ T thinly sliced freak chives

1 T thinly sliced fresh sage

Directions:

1.       Heat 2 T EVOO in a large skillet over med-high heat.  Working in 2 batches and adding 2 more T EVOO between batches, cook Brussels sprouts, cut side down in a single layer in skillet until deep golden brown, 4-5 minutes.  Season Brussels sprouts with salt and pepper and toss, cook until tender, 3-4 minutes longer.  Transfer to a large bowl.

2.       Remove skillet from heat; add maple syrup, butter, and herbs to pan. 

3.       Once butter has melted, add Brussels sprouts to skillet and toss to coat.   

I left them in the pan on low with a cover, as they were still hard.  I really needed at this point an oven ready vegetable.  My friend Carole made ahead a green bean recipe that would have been better.   

Meanwhile Jim is grilling the turkey.  We brined the turkey in an Autumn Spice Brine from Williams Sonoma.  We also used their Pomegranate Glaze.  The turkey was perfect. 

 

Let’s talk gravy.  It turned out, but the directions did not work with my available equipment. 

Ingredients: 

Pan drippings from roasted turkey

1 C Madeira

6 T vegetable oil

1 # shallots, peeled and halved

6 T all-purpose flour

4 C turkey stock

2 bay leaves

4 large fresh sage sprigs

Kosher salt and pepper

Directions:

1.       Place the roasting pan with the pan drippings on the stovetop over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.  Pour in the Madeira and deglaze the pan, stirring with a whisk and scrape up the browned bits, until the liquid is slightly reduced.  About 2 minutes. 

2.       Carefully strain the contents of the pan into a gravy separator and set aside.  Already I was in trouble as this was more than my separator could handle.  I needed to get rid of the roasting pan as I needed the burner space.  I did the best I could to spoon off the fat and then just put the contents in a saucepan with the turkey stock and the turkey neck.

3.       In a sauté pan over medium heat, warm the oil.  Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 10-15 minutes.  Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in the stock and add the bay leaves, and sage sprigs.  Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes.  Right after I added the shallots to the skillet, I realized the “sauté pan” was going to be way too small.  The only pan within reach was my wok.  I dumped the contents into the wok and proceeded with the flour and then ladle by ladle added the stock-drippings mixture. 

4.       So now I have a wok full of gravy with all kinds of herbs and shallots that the recipe says to remove.  The best way to do this is with a strainer.  This is a lot of hot liquid you are dealing with and everyone is dressed up.  So you need one to hold the strainer who is strong enough to hold it as over a bowl that will have over a pound of molten vegetables dumped into it.  Then you need someone strong enough to hold the wok full of molten liquid over the strainer and pour slowly so that as each golf ball sized shallot falls it does not splash the person holding the strainer.  This all has to be accomplished near the sink as the sink is now full of oversized pots that will not fit in the dishwasher. 

I think forget the drippings and make the gravy the day before.  Keep it warm on the stove and if you have drippings that you want to add, have Jim take the roasting pan back to the grille with a small amount of liquid and make sure he has no more than a cup of liquid to put in the special gravy separator.  

So that is the sage of Thanksgiving from the cook’s point of view.  I liked the mushroom turnovers, the pomegranate champagne cocktail.  The turkey, gravy, rolls, cranberry compote, and potatoes were great.  The Brussels sprouts, not good.  The stuffing was disappointing. 

 

The desserts were good.  It is hard to ruin dessert.  The Cornucopia Cake makes a better decoration than it does dessert.  Quite frankly I was so exhausted, I drank the wine Jim served and fed my meal to Max.  He had a very good Thanksgiving.