Countdown to Thanksgiving

T-Day is here ... and gone. I think we sat at the table for 6 hours.

You know I love food that works for you while you’re doing anything else. Before I turn in for the night, I put the turkey carcass in my crockpot, fill it with water and let the stock become rich overnight. My friend Annie told me this years ago, and it never fails to make me happy.

Countdown to Thanksgiving

Day 9: Let’s talk turkey. For starters, Butterball turkey has a great site to help you get through cooking your first turkey or refresh your memory if you only do it once or twice a year. Use their tools to help you:

• Plan perfect portions. This tool allows you to indicate the number of adults, the number of children, whether you’re big eaters or light eaters and whether you want leftovers or not, then it tells you how many pounds of turkey you need and how many cups of stuffing. For 11 adults and 2 children (my teenagers are counted as adults, they eat more than I do, and we want leftovers), we need 24 lbs of turkey and 18 cups of stuffing. Bear in mind that the larger the turkey, the more bone you’ll get too, so you might want two 12-lb turkeys if you have the room in your oven.
  
  
• Figure out how long to thaw. This tool has the refrigerator option, or what I call the Last-Minute (or Oops!-I-Forgot-To-Put-The-Turkey-In-The-Refrigerator) option. The refrigerator option is definitely the set it and forget it method, the way to go for a stress-free holiday. But, we all forget sometimes, and it’s nice to have the specifics for the cold-water option too. My 24-lb turkey will take 6 days to thaw in the refrigerator, so I put it there yesterday because I want to brine it before I cook it on Thursday. (More on brining later.) Your thawed turkey can stay in the refrigerator for 4 days before you cook it.
  
  
• Figure out how long to cook. This tool gives you the amount of time it will take to cook your turkey if you roast it in an open pan in a 325° oven; it gives you the option of stuffed or unstuffed. My 24-lb turkey will take 5-5½ hours stuffed, 4-4½ hours unstuffed. That said, there are as many ways to roast a turkey as there are side dishes on my parents’ Thanksgiving dinner table (and, in case you’re wondering, that’s alot): Not just stuffed or unstuffed, brined or unbrined, breast-side-up, breast-side-down, start in a hot oven and reduce heat, start in a low oven and increase heat, cook steadily in a moderate oven, tent with foil at beginning, tent with foil at end, don’t tent with foil at all, cook in a covered roaster, rub with butter, rub with olive oil, don’t rub at all, put liquid in roaster, ... I prefer to start my turkey in a very hot (425°) oven for the first half hour, then lower it to 325° for the remaining time.

Brining a turkey is soaking it in a salt-sugar-water solution before roasting. The advantage it gives to the bird is that it moistens and flavors it on the inside, not just the outside. Cooks’ Illustrated magazine has a great “Basics of Brining” article online. When it comes to turkey, especially The Thanksgiving Turkey, I think simpler is better, so I use their basic brine, with minor modifications.

To brine my 24-lb turkey, I will use 2 gallons of brine, and allow it to brine for 8 hours. To make 2 gallons of brine, combine 2 gallons cold water, 4 cups kosher salt, and 4 cups brown sugar and stir to dissolve salt and sugar. You can add herbs and spices, peppercorns, rosemary or thyme sprigs, bay leaves, if you like, but I’m going the Taste The Turkey route this year.

If you’re brining a smaller bird, you can reduce the amount of brine accordingly, they guideline is to use 1 quart of brine for one pound of meat, but not to exceed 2 gallons of brine. Now clearly, I will not be able to find a container that will both contain the bird in the brine and fit in my fridge, so I will use a cooler, kept cool with ice packs while I’m brining.

Once brined, you’ll want to dry the turkey so that the skin will be crisp, not soggy, when roasted. If time allows, it’s best to air-dry the turkey, uncovered, on a rack on a baking sheet, in the refrigerator overnight.

If you stuff the turkey, you’ll want to stuff cold or room temperature stuffing into a cold or room temperature bird just before roasting, and once roasted, remove the stuffing immediately.

It’s a good idea to let the turkey come to room temperature before roasting it. You can let it sit on the counter for 2 hours to do this safely. When you’re ready to put the turkey in the roaster, tuck the wing tips under the body of the bird, and place turkey breast-side-up in a roasting pan. Season inside of bird with salt and pepper. If you’re going to stuff the turkey, do it now.

Cross the legs over one another and tie them with butcher’s string. Rub the turkey with butter and season salt and pepper. Place the turkey in a heavy roasting pan with sides at least two inches high. You can use a roasting rack to keep the turkey from sticking to the pan.

As I said earlier, I like to start at high heat, and reduce to low heat, to do so preheat your oven to 425° and roast the turkey for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, reduce the oven to 325°. Roast for another 4-5 hours. After 4 hours start checking the temperature of the thickest part of the thigh with an instant-read thermometer (avoid the bone). When the temperature of the thigh has reached 165°, it is safe to take the turkey out of the oven.

Let the turkey rest 30 minutes before carving. I move the turkey to foil on the counter or to a cutting board so I can make my gravy directly in the roasting pan while the turkey’s resting. This is also a great time to get all your side dishes into the oven to get them warm.

Martha Stewart’s web site has great articles on how to roast and how to carve a turkey. The USDA has good food — specifically, turkey — safety guidelines.

Countdown to Thanksgiving

Day 11: Plan your menu and order your turkey. Thanksgiving is 11 days away, if you haven’t given any thought to what you’ll serve (or bring with you, if you’ve been invited elsewhere), now is the time. Many supermarkets and specialty stores have a two-week sale that runs through Thanksgiving weekend, take advantage of that — and the relatively empty stores — now. (Mind, I say “relatively empty” because some of the shopping craze has already started, especially among the bakers. So if you can’t find something on the shelf, ask; chances are they have it, they just haven’t gotten around to restocking it.) If you need some inspiration for menu, check out my menu for both traditional favorites, and new ideas to shake things up a little. Also make use of cooking TV shows and web sites, such as www.foodtv.com, epicurious.com, and allrecipes.com.

When you’re planning your menu, keep in mind the following:

• The food doesn’t need to be fancy. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it’s all about the family and the food, but you don’t need to go overboard. People look forward to your signature dishes, don’t apologize for making the same menu as last year, or just throw one new recipe in the mix.
  
  
• It’s a long day of eating, don’t go overboard on the appetizers. Something to tide people over is fine, but don’t make a meal of it.
  
  
• The turkey will be large and will be in the oven the longest, and until the last 30 minutes before you carve it and serve it. Plan side dishes that can make use of that half hour of turkey resting time to be cooked or reheated in the oven.
  
  
• If you’re making gravy, that will be happening during that 30-minute turkey resting time as well, so don’t plan on a lot of hands-on sides.
  

Finally, if you’re planning to serve a fresh turkey, order it today.

Second (or third or fourth) time around

Bridget asked:

What are you doing/did you do with the leftover turkey? I tried some different recipes, I'll post them later. Thanksgiving Strata for Brunch on Sunday, it was tasty, a good change. Turkey Enchiladas and of course Turkey Divan.

I just made the best—and one of the easiest & quickest!—leftover turkey meals I've ever made! I served it with white rice—to which I added leftover mashed butternut squash & a can of drained, rinsed black beans just before serving. It was adapted from www.cookinglight.com.

(BTW, I still have more turkey & a great stock (for this, I just put the carcass in my crockpot Thanksgiving night, fill with water & let it simmer for 12-24 hours), any ideas for a different soup or stew?)

Turkey Picadillo
Turkey matches well with the flavorful ingredients of this Cuban dish: tomato, chiles, cinnamon, and cumin. Serve with baked tortilla chips.

1 t olive oil
¼ c finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 c chopped tomato
2 T chopped jalapenos
1 T dark brown sugar
½ t ground cinnamon
½ t ground cumin
½ t black pepper
¼ t salt
2 T golden raisins
2 T capers
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T dry sherry
2 c chopped skinned cooked turkey
8 flour tortillas

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chopped tomato and green chiles; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, and salt; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to low. Stir in raisins, capers, vinegar, and sherry; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring often. Add turkey, stirring to combine. Remove from heat.

Warm tortillas wrapped in foil in oven. Spoon about 1/3 cup turkey mixture onto each tortilla; roll up.

Makes 4 servings.

Leftovers by any other name …

During a large family dinner my sister-in-law announced, “My husband doesn’t like leftovers.” To which my mother responded, “Oh, I don’t believe that.” (Mom meant, my brother pretty much eats anything that doesn’t move and we always ate leftovers growing up.)

My brother sat in the middle of the two women looking sheepish. How else can you look when your mother & wife are disagreeing on your dining preferences over your dinner plate? In my mother’s defense, my brother was devouring Turkey Pot Pie, made with the leftover turkey and any and all fixings from the previous day's dinner, clearly leftovers. In my sister-in-law’s defense, we always ate leftovers growing up. My house was really like that joke about no one actually remembering the original meal. And when there was an original meal, it was already dry and overcooked, so you can imagine how much we all looked forward to those leftovers, even my brother who was fairly indiscriminate about his food.

Anyway, we took pity on my brother and hijacked the conversation to discuss how we each deal with leftovers in our own homes — truly a great strategy for getting a quick meal on the table. One of my sisters said her family actually looked forward to “Make Your Own Plate Night.” She puts out whatever’s in the fridge, and — this is the important part — her only rule is you must choose one protein and one vegetable, other than that, you can choose whatever you like. I do the same thing, but I call it “Leftover Night.” When I tested out “Make Your Own Plate Night” tonight, it was met with much better results. Go figure.

The other thing I try to do is make a new meal out of an old meal, thus the turkey pot pie that was being eaten during the conversation in question. It's easy and healthy and my family always eats it with gusto.

Turkey pot pie
Tender turkey with vegetables in a creamy sauce and a flaky crust—ultimate comfort food!

1 puff pastry sheet
6 T butter
6 T flour
½ t pepper
1 14½ oz can chicken broth
½ c milk
1 thyme sprig
salt and pepper to taste
4 c turkey, cooked and diced
2 c carrots*
1 10 oz. package frozen peas and onions*

Preheat oven to 425°.

Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, stir until combined and cooked into a roux, about 5 minutes. Slowly add chicken broth and milk and continue stirring. (If you’re making it from a leftover turkey dinner, add any leftover gravy at this point too.)

Once all the milk and broth have been incorporated, add thyme sprig. Simmer until sauce has thickened. Place turkey and all veggies into 2-qt casserole dish. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour over turkey and veggies. Top with puff pastry. (Can be wrapped in foil and plastic at this point, and frozen to cook at a later date. To cook after freezing, defrost in the refrigerator the day before you plan to eat, and continue with baking.)

Bake at 425° for 30-35 minutes.

Cover with aluminum foil if crust starts to get too brown.

Serve with mashed potatoes and green salad.

*Whenever possible, I use leftover veggies of any kind. That’s what makes it a true pot pie. When prepare it for clients, I have to use fresh or frozen veggies because I have no leftovers.

Variations: Chicken Pot Pie: Use leftover roasted chicken from your own oven, or from your grocer’s rotisserrie.
Crustless Pot Pie: Rather than using puff pastry as a top crust, use mashed sweet potatoes. It’s a yummy, low-carb alternative.
Dairy-free: Omit the milk, and increase the chicken broth by ½ cup.