thanksgiving recap
Friday, November 28

yours truly rocked an awesome thanksgiving dinner.

turkey:
take out giblets. wash turkey in lukewarm water. chop off wing tips (no one eats these guys, so they should go into the stock pot). pat turkey dry.

rub down with a spice mix (sorry, it's a secret) & butter. loosely stuff with garlic, celery, onions, and carrots (the aromatics, baby. BAM!). place on rack with aluminum foil shield on breast to prevent breast meat dry-out. put in preheated 375 oven. turn 3X over 3 hrs, constantly basting with turkey stock, and then the drippings (when they become considerable).

mashed potatoes:
roast 1 bulb of garlic (yeah, that's a lot of garlic. BAM!), then puree garlic in a bit of melted butter and milk. boil peeled potatoes until soft. drain and pat dry. mash potatoes with fork. whip garlic mix into mashed potatoes. add melted butter and/or milk as needed. salt and pepper to taste. keep warm.

asparagus:
simple blanch (put in boiling water for a few minutes, then take out and rinse in cold water), then quick stir fry in butter/garlic. (wanted to put bacon in this, but family vetoed. bah!)

stuffing:
pull apart huge loaf of french bread (they ran out of sourdough at the market), toast in oven, then let the breadcrumbs rest.

brown spicy sausage, add chopped carrots (they take a bit longer to cook), and then chopped onion and celery. after several minutes, add 1 cup of turkey stock (homemade. more on this later). when everything is brown and onions are translucent, pour mixture over toasted breadcrumbs. mix. add toasted almonds.

cranberry sauce (jimmy made):
boil 1 bag of fresh cranberries + 1 cup orange juice + .5 cup brown sugar + chopped (finely) pineapple. let simmer, then take off heat and chill.

turkey stock:
chop up turkey neck and steal wing tips from turkey. brown in stockpot over medium heat... in a bit of butter (man, i'm beginning to sound like the 2 fat english ladies. "and then, we're going to ahhd a litte bit of butta.... and then, a little bit of lard..."). season meat minimally as they brown.

add quartered onion, 2 halved celery and 2 carrots. brown these guys for a bit, then pour water in stockpot (as much as it can take. turkey stock gets used up quickly).

bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for 2 hrs.

skim off foam, then strain entire stock, leaving a nice, flavorful warm brown stock, ready to be used as basting juice for turkey, as binder for stuffing, and base for gravy.

gravy:
after turkey is done, plate it. take the roasting pan over to the burners. drain fluid drippings into cup, remove oil. put the aqueous part of drippings back into pan. put 1 cup of stock into pan over medium heat, and scrap off the browned drippings from the bottom. whisk the bits until everything is consistent. add flour, a little at a time, whisking constantly, cooking the flour in the delicious mix. you want this sucker to be thick, but not too thick, since the gravy will be too thick if you don't have enough stock. (this is the roux (sp?))

add the rest of your stock, whisk briskly.

if you follow all the steps properly, gravy comes out smooth, with no lumps (the lumps come b/c of a poor job of separating out the fat. the flour likes to go to the fat, hence, the lumps.) season to taste.

it's all about the gravy, baby. :D

in conclusion, it was a hit. i surprised even myself. i think i'm getting pretty good at this. (last year's was ok, but the turkey, stuffing, etc, all tasted like the same thing. this yr, there were distinct flavors running around)

in fact, no one touched the gal-bi and other korean stuff that mom prepared. amazing.

things to improve for next yr:
presentation- the turkey's legs were spread out like it was having a baby. looked pretty funny to me, but not so amusing to other ppl.

dessert- heating up a store bought pie in the oven is a little sad. (although it tasted pretty darn good with vanilla bean ice cream. mmmm....) gotta make own dessert next year.

to cap the evening, my parents and i enthusiastically sung hymns until 1am. these moments are priceless.

thank you, Lord. although i am thankful for many things, and have many more things to be thankful about, this weekend, the things i am most thankful for are my family (this little nuclear fam + one that is becoming a part of us, + one that may soon become a part of us), and that we all know you as our God.

yakob at 12:28 PM

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