Turkey Day

     Thanksgiving is tied with Christmas for my favorite holiday. Time with family, the cool weather, and the abundance of food make it something to be cherished. Growing up, Thanksgiving was always just with my immediate family and I loved that. My mom and I would spend all day in the kitchen perfecting our feast. I think it took us 4 or 5 years to finally get our turkey right. But the last year I lived at home, we perfected it! I have done my own turkey the last two years but still follow the method of preparation my mom and I discovered before I left for culinary school. We discovered the art of brining, the stuffing with citrus, and the butter-under-the-skin trick. I want to share our tips and tricks with the hope that you will put your own touches on this to make it a part of YOUR family feast.

I'm sorry I don't have pictures! I will be adding them as I complete my Thanksgiving dinner preparations. 

Even if you do nothing else to your turkey, brine it! Brining breaks down the fibers in the bird and gives it its best chance to be moist. Two things you MUST have to brine a turkey: lots of ice and a large pot (or clean sink). The ice is not so necessary if you have a large refrigerator and a pot that will contain your bird as well as enough liquid to cover said bird. I do NOT have a pot NOR do I have a large enough refrigerator. So I will be using my sink and a lot of ice. Also, this is to be done overnight so give yourself the proper amount of time.

What you will need:

2 cups Sugar
2 cups Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Whole Peppercorns
3 Bay leaves
1 large Onion, quartered
1 head of Garlic, halved across the equator
3 Tbsp Mustard seeds
2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar

In a large bowl or pot, mix together all the ingredients. You may need to alter the recipe depending on the size of your turkey but this will work for anything from 12-20 lbs. If you do alter it, just be sure to use equal parts sugar, salt, and vinegar. 
Place the turkey in whatever you will be keeping it in for the next 24 hours. If you are using a sink, be sure to stop it up. Pour the brine over the turkey and cover the rest of the way with COLD water. If you are not using the refrigerator you will need to periodically add ice to keep the bird from getting too warm and becoming unsafe to eat.

When you are ready to cook it, remove the turkey from the brine and dry it off with paper towels. Discard the brine; clean the sink with bleach before returning it to its regular duties. Not it's time to stuff the cavity.

What you will need:

1 Orange, halved across the equator
1 Lemon, halved across the equator
1 Onion, quartered
1 head Garlic, halved across the equator
1/2 bunch Thyme
1/2 bunch Sage
1/2 bunch Parsley

Place all the ingredients inside the cavity of the turkey. (Don't forget to remove the 'goody' bag.)

I know what some of you are thinking. Why not stuff the bird with the classic bread stuffing to be consumed later? I'll tell you why not. Because the stuffing has been in contact with the turkey, it needs to be cooked to 165 degrees. By the time the stuffing has reached a safe temperature you have cooked every last drop of moisture out of the meat! The stuffing may taste yummy but you will have a turkey resembling the meal from 'Christmas Vacation'. Stuffing it instead with citrus and aromatics adds moisture as well as another layer of flavor from the inside. Because you are not going to eat the stuffing, all you have to worry about is the turkey being cooked, maximizing the amount of scrumptious juices remaining in the finished product.

Once it's stuffed, it is time to love your turkey. Give your dinner a little butter massage and you will be the one feeling the love.

What you will need:

1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened
1/2 bunch Thyme
1/2 bunch Sage
1/2 bunch Parsley

Salt and Pepper

Chop the herbs and mix them together with the butter. Place on a piece of plastic wrap and twist shut into a cylinder (picture a giant Jolly Rancher made of butter). Place the butter in the freezer for about 10 minutes to let it stiffen. Remove it from the freezer and massage  approximately 2 tablespoons at a time under the skin of the turkey breast. You can easily loosen the skin buy going in above the cavity and gently pulling it away from the meat. It's okay to have some bulges of butter; they will melt and even out. Generously salt the outside of the turkey and massage 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture over the entire turkey.

Now it's time to cook! Follow the instructions for time and temperature listed on the package for the turkey. Generally speaking, 1 hour for every 4 pounds at 350 degrees is a good guideline. Be sure to check it often after about 2.5 hours to be sure it is not overcooking. I always turn the oven up to 425 for the last 45 minutes to crisp the skin. Keep a meat thermometer on hand, but a good indicator that turkey is fully cooked is if you can twist the leg easily off the body. If that happens, be sure to take the temperature. Always check for doneness in the THIGH, not the breast! 

This is a tried and true method for a moist and flavorful turkey. It is a little more work than just placing it in the oven, but it is well worth the effort. 

Pumpkin Pappardelle

      Thanksgiving is next week. News flash, I know. I promised you all my favorite Thanksgiving dishes and memories over the next week and they are coming. Before I break into the mindset of a huge feast for a dozen people, I wanted to share my "Thanksgiving for Two" recipe. Although people often find themselves surrounded by family on this holiday centered around food, there are some for whom thanksgiving will be just like any other day. Justin and I will be without family on Thursday. Although I will not be cooking a massive feast, I do want to make it feel special. This dish is not something I would make everyday but I also will not be tied to the kitchen all day. I wanted to incorporate things that speak 'autumn' to me. So I came up with a fresh made Pumpkin Pappardelle pasta tossed in a walnut and sage brown butter. It is rich, warm, nutty, and seasonal, and it makes me feel all the things I want to feel on Thanksgiving day. I will warn you that it does take a little extra time but it is well worth it in the end. So, to ring in the holiday season, I give you Pumpkin Pappardelle!

What you will need:

For the pasta:

2 large eggs
1/2 cup canned Pumpkin Puree
1/2 cup Semolina flour
1 1/4 cup A.P. Flour + extra to dust the pasta with when rolling
1 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Fresh Sage, chopped

For the sauce:

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
2 Tbsp Fresh Sage, chiffonade*
3 Tbsp Butter
Splash of White Wine (about 1/4 cup)

You are going to want to begin by making the pasta dough. It has to chill for 30 minutes before you roll it so you will have lots of time to get the sauce made then.

To start, place the dry ingredients (excluding the sage) in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and pumpkin together. And yes, I am using canned pumpkin. Even this time of year it costs less than a dollar and it does not taste different enough to warrant all the extra work that goes into using fresh pumpkin - in my opinion. If you would like to use fresh, go right ahead, and know that you are a better person than I am. Add the eggs and pumpkin, as well as the sage, to the flour mixture.

Mix together until JUST combined. Too much mixing will cause the dough to become glutenous making it a little tough. Note: if you are using a food processor, the dough should come out as little pebbles of mixed dough. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes. When the dough is smooth, you are done! Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

You can get a lot done while the dough is chilling. Start by making the sauce. This sauce is SO easy! Chop the walnuts into small pieces. Next, cut the sage into ribbons (called chiffonade). *To do this, remove the leaves from the stem and stack them up, largest leaf on the bottom and smallest on the top. Roll them up and slice from stem to tip.

Once the ingredients are ready, heat a large saute pan on medium high heat. Add the walnuts to the pan while it it warming up to toast them. Toasting the walnuts releases their natural oils and will make the butter taste deliciously nutty. When you start to smell the nuts, add half the butter and the sage. As the butter begins to brown, add the wine. When the wine has cooked to the point of being almost gone, turn off the pan. We will finish it later.

The next thing I did was wash my dishes! I had extra time and there is nothing better than a clean kitchen after dinner.

Before we get the dough out, you need to attach the pasta sheeter to your stand mixer. What's that? You don't HAVE a pasta sheeter? That is an easy problem to fix. You can purchase one here: KitchenAid Pasta Sheet Roller Attachment. I know it seems expensive, but if you like fresh pasta it is a great investment. You can also use it for things other than pasta! Want to make croissants? Wish you could cover a cake in thin, beautiful fondant? It will flatten anything you can fit between its rollers.

Enough of that; let's make pasta!

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and plastic. Flatten it with your hand as much as you can, fold it into thirds, then flatten it again.

Cut the dough into thirds. Roll each piece through the first setting three times, folding it into thirds after each. The dough needs to be COVERED in flour. It will feel like you are over-flouring it, but trust me.  After the first three rolls, you can go up one notch at a time until you get to 4, folding into thirds after each, up to the last time through. This part you may want to do with a friend. As the pasta gets thinner, it also gets longer and more fragile, making it hard to handle on your own. 

Once the dough is rolled out, cut it into the desired length (I cut each finished piece into thirds), then cut the individual noodles about 3/4 of an inch wide. Use a sharp, floured knife to avoid ripping and frustration.  Flour a cookie sheet to keep the pasta on until it's all cut. 

Fill a large pot with water; salt generously. When the water is at a rolling boil, and no sooner, add the pasta. It should only take one to two minutes to cook. While it is cooking, turn the sauce pan back onto medium heat. Add the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter. Remove the pasta from the pot using a spaghetti spoon and toss in the pan with the sauce. Using a pair of tongs, twist each portion of pasta in a bowl. Top with the sauce and a light sprinkling of parmesan cheese. 

Pour some wine, sit back, and enjoy the time you did NOT have to spend in the kitchen cooking a huge meal!

Wine Pairing:

This Chardonnay from Contempo is the perfect companion to the Papperdelle. It is just acidic enough to elevate the flavor of the dish, while still having hints of butter and nuttiness from its oak aging. It is smoother than most Chardonnay's I have tasted and is very reasonably priced at $12. This is a delicious wine but be sure to drink what YOU like!

Sweetened Condensed Version:

What you will need:

For the pasta:

2 large eggs

1/2 cup canned Pumpkin Puree

1/2 cup Semolina flour

1 1/4 cup A.P. Flour

1 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Fresh Sage, chopped

For the sauce:

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

2 Tbsp Fresh Sage, chiffonade

3 Tbsp Butter

Splash of White Wine (about 1/4 cup)

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine semolina, flour, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs and the pumpkin. Add the pumpkin mixture and the sage to the flour and mix with the paddle attachment until just combined.

2. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a large frying pan over medium high heat. When the nuts become aromatic, add the butter and sage. When the butter begins to brown, add the wine and cook until it is almost entirely gone. Remove from heat.

4. When the dough is chilled, cut into three pieces, flatten each piece with your hands and fold into thirds. Roll through the pasta attachment on the stand mixer at level 1 three times, folding into thirds after each. Continue rolling once through each setting up to level 4, folding into thirds after each (except the last). Cut the dough to the desired length and 3/4 inch wide. Place on a floured cookie sheet until ready to cook.

5. Generously salt a large pot of water and heat on high. When the water comes to a rolling boil, add the pasta. While the pasta is cooking, place the sauce pan back on medium heat and add the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter. 

6. Remove the pasta after 1-2 minutes and toss in the sauce. Place the portions of pasta in bowls, top with sauce, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. 

Sit back and enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Memories

     Sorry for the long delay, folks. Life gets busy in the fall and the time change did not help! But I am back and gearing up for Thanksgiving. In the next two weeks I will be sharing my recipes for some of my most treasured Thanksgiving dishes. Before I tell you about my favorite holiday foods, I want to hear about yours! When you think Thanksgiving dinner, what do you think of? Green beans? Sweet potatoes? Overcooked turkey? Gravy? Pie? Does your family have any fun traditions?

The holiday season is all about connecting with the people in your life and I would love to get to know you all a little better through the next few weeks. Leave a comment below and be on the lookout for my stories and recipes coming soon!