the holiday weekend

[cornerofmadness]

evil_little_dog got here thursday and we made dinner. a2zmom asked for recipes. I'll have to let ELD give up her own pumpkin soup recipe (delicious but a pain in the butt to make). Here's mine


Turkey with herbes de provence

1 (14 to 15-pound) turkey, neck and giblets reserved
1 orange, cut into wedges
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 onion, cut into wedges
6 fresh rosemary sprigs
6 fresh sage sprigs
6 fresh oregano sprigs
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons herbes de Provence
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
6 cups canned low-salt chicken broth (approximate amount)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
To make the turkey: Position the rack in the lowest third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Rinse the turkey and pat it dry with paper towels. Place the turkey on a rack set inside a large roasting pan. Place the orange and lemon wedges, onion, and 2 sprigs of each fresh herb in the main turkey cavity. Tie the legs together to hold the shape of the turkey. Stir 2 tablespoons of butter, the herbes de Provence, oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of each the salt and pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat just until the butter melts. Rub the butter mixture all over the turkey and between the turkey breast meat and skin. Place the turkey neck and giblets in roasting pan. (Recipe can be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before roasting.)

Cover the turkey breast with foil. Roast for 20 minutes. Pour 3 cups of broth into the pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining sprigs of fresh herbs to the pan. Roast the turkey for 40 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the foil from the turkey; pour 1 more cup of broth into the pan. Continue roasting the turkey until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F to 175 degrees F or until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer, basting occasionally with pan juices, about 1 hour and 30 minutes longer. Transfer the turkey to a platter and tent with foil. Let stand 30 minutes while preparing the gravy.

To make the gravy: Strain the turkey pan juices from the
roasting pan through a sieve and into a 4-cup glass measuring cup; discard the solids. Spoon off the fat from atop the pan juices. Add enough chicken broth, about 1 to 2 cups, to the pan juices to measure 4 cups total. Melt the remaining butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the broth. Simmer until the gravy thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the turkey with the gravy.
NOTE - to be honest, while the citrus gave good taste and juiciness to the turkey the lemons added a bit of a bitter taste to the gravy. Next year I think i'll use just onions and oranges.



Maple bourbon sweet potatoes

6 pounds sweet potatoes
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
Pecan Crumb Topping, optional
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the sweet potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until very soft to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel them by hand and put the flesh in the bowl of a mixer. Using a paddle attachment, mix in the lemon zest and juice, maple syrup and brown sugar.
Place the bourbon in a small saucepan and place over high heat. Let it come just to the boil and then tilt the pan slightly towards you to set it aflame*. Add to the potatoes along with the butter. Mix well. Add salt and pepper and transfer to a 13 by 9-inch oven-safe casserole dish. (Recipe can be made to this point up to 2 days before, refrigerated.) Sprinkle topping over potatoes and bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Alternatively, you may simply sprinkle the top of the casserole with a little bit of brown sugar and 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
*This method does not "burn off" the alcohol.
Pecan Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch dried thyme
1/2 cup chopped pecans
5 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into bits
Mix the flour, brown sugar, salt, pepper, thyme and pecans together in a small bowl. Add the butter and work with your fingers until a crumbly mass forms


DO use that crumb topping. it was wonderful.


Wilted spinach with wine and butter

3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 pounds triple washed spinach, coarsely chopped, tough stems removed
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 pinches of salt
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper
This dish takes only 5 minutes to prepare, so begin preheating the skillet 7-8 minutes before you are ready to sit down and eat.
Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat. With the flat side of your knife, make a garlic paste with smashed garlic and salt. Melt butter into pan. Add garlic paste to the pan and the spinach in bunches, adding more spinach to the pan as it wilts down. When all of the spinach is wilted, add wine and turn to coat. Let wine cook down a minute or 2. Season spinach with salt and pepper and serve.




Brussel Sprouts with pancetta

1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 ounces paper-thin slices pancetta, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
Partially cook the Brussels sprouts in a large pot of boiling salted water, about 4 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until beginning to crisp, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts to the same skillet and saute until heated through and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the broth and simmer until the broth reduces just enough to coat the Brussels sprouts, about 3 minutes. Serve.

The next day we went shopping. I know Black Friday but it wasn't crowded. I've been there on weekends with more people than this. We hit Borders (naturally), and the mongolia BBQ before heading into the large Asian supermarket near 161 and Sawmill in Columbus. First thing thru the door it was a game of 'what's that smell' (well obviously seafood but what?) The freezer section sucked me in and it was like goku had gotten free. Lotus buns, red bean paste buns, custard buns, then onto the teas (lotus and lapsang souchong, my favorite) and of course all the snacks. (the smell MIGHT have been the very depressed looking crabs stacked 5 crabs deep). Best part of the supermarket? It's cheap.

We went from there to Trader Joe's for stuff for the pantry and holidays gifts. I'm quite convinced foods and teas and the such make excellent holiday gifts especially at my age. We got a huge haul of stuff! We also hit the hobby lobby and another art store before dinner and chilis then home (oh and there were at least two more bookstores in there too)

Saturday we mostly watched anime and went up to the tea house in Jackson (and Big Lots, the bane of my wallet!) got lots of teas and Shrek wrapping paper for dad. And oh at Trader Joes i picked up a delicious holiday spice coffee filled with actual hunks of cloves, cinnamon and peppercorns. Yum.

The kittens told ELD a story, well many of them. Roy walked into the apt like he owned it on more than one occasion. ELD borrowed my Le Chevalier D'Eon dvds since she liked it too. We laughed a lot at the Saiyuki crack episodes in Gunlock and played who does this Voice Actor do in other episodes.

now to write like mad to catch up in Nano and do my exams for this week (yes, exams this week and then finals in two weeks. Sue me, I'm mean)

Comments

[0-mother-0.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you and ELD had a good time, and the food sounds delicious.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

we did and it was