Food: Thanksgiving

I figure since Christmas is this upcoming week I need to get organized and finally post my Thanksgiving entry! Where are all of these weeks going?!? Seriously!

This year turkey day was a bit unusual for Jonathan and I because instead of traveling and enjoying a meal at one of our family's houses, we decided to host dinner...not only for our immediate families but for twenty-two people! I was a little bit nervous since I had never cooked a whole turkey before. And with my crazy travel schedule for work I didn't have time to do a trial run. So, after looking at a ton of turkey recipes, I decided to bite the bullet and experiment on our company. I suppose being brave in the kitchen can be a good thing as long as you have a back-up plan (we also prepared a ham just in case...).

The recipe I ended up using is more of a technique than an actual recipe and I discovered it in an old issue of the LA Times. Basically the article describes Judy Rogers' method for roasting turkey which is pretty similar to a trick she uses for her famous Zuni roasted chicken. Since I've made her chicken before and the dry rub technique so far has been pretty fool-proof, I decided this was the safest technique to attempt on my company. And I was not disappointed. The vote's in and the results were awesome - a moist, wonderful turkey and I did it on the first try - on two birds! Thank you Judy Rogers!

Luckily I did have some help over the weekend with Jonathan and my family bringing many of the side dishes - things like fluffy and sinfully delicious cinnamon rolls, sweet, salty and tangy broccoli salad, flaky, buttery crusted pecan and apple pies, creamy mashed potatoes, crisp green beans, steaming sweet potatoes with a crunchy sweet topping and a simple lettuce salad. We definitely had more than enough food to feed twenty-two and then some. So in the end, I felt like what I was responsible for wasn't unreasonable since all I had to do was reheat the ham, brine and cook two turkeys, prepare and bake the stuffing and, of course, make the cranberries.

I talked about the perfect turkey but the other thing that received rave reviews was the cranberry chutney. The recipe I selected is an unusually spiced combination of cranberries, pistachios, golden raisins, dried apricots, mustard, cinnamon and ginger. The surprise ingredient, ginger, gives the entire dish a nice bit of heat to go along with some sweetness and tang. So in other words, it's a true treat for your tastebuds. And, BTW, it's great on toast or pumpkin pancakes the day after.

You'll find the recipes for my turkey and cranberries below. And who knows, maybe you'll find some inspiration from them and want to experiment with these on your next holiday crowd too. Let me know if you do :)

Cranberry Chutney with Ginger

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• 2, 12-oz bags of cranberries
• 3 c sugar
• 2 whole, medium tangerines, diced (DO NOT PEEL but remove any seeds) (MM tip: If substituting, pick an orange that has a thinner peel to avoid some of the bitter white pith)
• 1/2 c jumbo golden raisins
• 1/2 c toasted, shelled pistachios
• 10 dried apricots, finely chopped
• 2 T freshly grated peeled ginger
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 t dry mustard
• 1 t salt

Directions

• Cook all ingredients in a non-reactive pan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.
• Increase heat to a boil and cook until cranberries pop (takes about 3 minutes)
• Cool and refrigerate - the chutney will keep up to 6 months in fridge if you keep it tightly covered

Dry Salt Brined Turkey

Adapted from Judy Rogers/LA Times

Ingredients

• 12-16 lb turkey (MM Tip: Fresh is best but if buying frozen, look for one that does not have much solution/salt added)
• Smoked Salt (MM Comment: Can also use kosher salt but I think smoked gives the turkey more depth in flavor and a sense that it was cooked in a brick oven instead of a regular stove. You can also experiment with other flavored salts too)

Directions

• DAYS 1 & 2
• Wash the turkey inside and out and pat dry
• Measure out 1 Tb of salt for every 5 lbs of turkey
• Sprinkle the inside of the turkey lightly with salt and then rub the remaining salt all over the outside of the body
• Place the salted turkey in a plastic bag (MM Tip: I used kitchen size garbage bags but you can also use 2 gallon sealable bags if you can find them) and wrap/seal tightly, placing the turkey breast-side up in the in the refrigerator
• Chill the salted bird for 2 days


• DAY 3
• Turn the turkey on to its breast and chill for one more day


• Day 4
• Remove turkey from the bag and place breast-side up on a plate, refrigerating uncovered for at least 8 hours


• Day 5 - THANKSGIVING
• Remove from the refrigerator and leave at room temperature for around 1 hour
• Preheat oven to 425 F
• Place the turkey breast-side down on the roasting rack in a roasting pan and place in the oven (MM Comment: I was able to fit two, 14 lb birds into one large roasting pan. I recommend cooking the turkeys unstuffed to ensure proper temperatures and cooking times)
• After 30 minutes, remove pan from the oven and carefully turn the turkey over so breast is facing up (MM Tip: I recommend using silicone oven mits to do this)
• Reduce oven temperature to 325, return turkey to oven and roast until the temperature in the thigh reads 165 (~2 3/4 hours of total cooking time)
• Let turkey stand for 30 minutes prior to cutting to allow the juices to redistribute

Food: Shrimp Cakes with Spicy Sour Cream and Bok Choy

We're headed to the Carolinas on vacation in a few weeks and I've already started thinking about burying my toes in warm sand, finally being able to snuggle up with a book and read it cover-to-cover in one sitting, and spending time with family. I'm even looking forward to that salty crust the ocean water leaves on your skin and sunglasses and getting up entirely too early in the morning just to walk on the beach at sunrise. As a result of all of this, I've been craving food that reminds me of the sand and sunshine and relaxation.

For many of us, when we think of food from the East Coast, fresh crab and crab cakes come to mind. But, unless we live in that region, fresh, lump crabmeat isn't exactly easy to find at your local market/grocery store. As a result, when I saw a recipe for seafood cakes using shrimp, I was instantly intrigued. Maybe it's a fairly common thing for all of you in coastal towns, but being a mid-westerner, I can't say I've ever seen let alone tasted a shrimp cake before. I suppose I shouldn't feel too guilty about it though since even Bubba from the film "Forest Gump" left out shrimp cakes in his famous shrimp-this, shrimp-that spiel. Anyway, with that said, I decided to try out this recipe. The end result was a warm, fresh-tasting, lightly seasoned, crispy on the outside cake with a spicy, kick-in-the-mouth of a dip on the side. Saute up a little bit of baby bok choy with some freshly grated ginger and you'll have a perfect little meal. The cakes make great left-overs and can be either eaten alone or on a sandwich - but make sure you consume them within a day or two.

Shrimp Cakes
Adapted from a recipe by Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar (Maui) featured in Bon Appétit, September 2005

Ingredients

• 2 bags, frozen uncooked, peeled, deveined large shrimp (~2lbs), thawed, rinsed, and patted dry
• 2 large eggs
• 1 shallot, diced
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
• 3-4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 3 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 2 tablespoons (or more) vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 t hot sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

• Coarsely chop shrimp in processor.
• Add eggs, shallot, lemon juice, mustard, cilantro, hot pepper sauce. Blend in using on/off turns.
• Add 2 cups panko and blend in using on/off turns.
• Form mixture into 3-to-4-inch-diameter cakes. Roll cakes in remaining 1 cup panko; transfer to waxed-paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate 20 minutes. (Can be made up to 4 hours ahead).
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry cakes until cooked through and golden brown on both sides, adding more oil to skillet as needed, about 6 minutes.
• Spoon Spicy Sour Cream on to each cake or serve alongside for dipping.
  

Spicy Sour Cream
MM Original

Ingredients

• 8 oz container Light Sour Cream
• 4 Tb Chili Garlic Sauce (found in the Asian Foods Section)
• Zest from 1 Lime
• 1 t freshly grated ginger

Directions

• Combine all four ingredients together in bowl. Stir to combine.