Category Archives: Turkey

Celebrations: Thanksgiving in our new home

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November flew by in a hurry, with our apartment coming together bit by bit. Last weekend, we finally bought a dresser so that I could put my clothes away (previously, they’d been stacked throughout, since Toni literally took over all of the shelf space in the closet. He’s European, ’nuff said), but the night before Thanksgiving, we were still frantically shoving things away to assume the semblance of neatness for our guests the next day, all the while prepping a series of serious Thanksgiving dishes (I’d gone to Fairway before work so that I could have everything ready when I got home on Wednesday… Thanksgiving is very serious business to me).

The final spread

To be frank, I’d been a bit bummed about my favorite holiday this year. It was to be my third year in New York. Unlike years past, however, I had wanted to go home; tickets were just too expensive by the time I got around to planning. On top of that, none of the usual suspects were around for me to cook or eat with. That didn’t keep me from putting a little something together with a few friends and my Croatian family. It ended up being such a lovely day, full of good food, great company, hours at the dining table, a few more on the couch, and then finally tucking in for an early night… all in our lovely new home.

Katie, Maya, and me, while the boys were upstairs,
watching the pie in the dormitory oven (Dubi and Ana live six floors up)

I’d been cooking since about 4pm on Wednesday, and when we finally sat down to eat on Thursday (around 3pm), there was plenty to go around. A few of the highlights below:

 Whole Cranberry Sauce and Pan Gravy with Amontillado Sherry

And the coup de grâce:
 Pumpkin Pie (which only the Americans ate)
and my aunt’s Cranberry Apple Crumble,
 which is quite possible my favorite thing ever

I tried to cook most of the meal using recipes from SAVEUR.com, with a few adaptations and personal inflections. The cranberry apple crumble, however, has appeared on my Thanksgiving table for as long as I can remember. It’s the easiest thing to prepare and can be served either with the meal or as dessert, as I did here. It’s also great with yogurt the next day.

Cranberry Apple Crumble

  • 3c tart apples, unpeeled and chopped
  • 2c raw cranberries (may be frozen and thawed)
  • 1c sugar
  • 1/2c butter
  • 1c uncooked oats
  • 1c chopped pecans
  • 1/2c light brown sugar

Alternate cranberries and apples in a 13×9 pan.  Sprinkle white sugar over the fruit. Melt butter in a medium bowl, add the rest of ingredients, and mix.  Spread over apples and cranberries.  Bake uncovered for 45-60 min at 350°F. Serve with vanilla ice cream for best results.

Here to a great day and many more. Cheers!

Party Favors: Turkey Pot Pie

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The day after Thanksgiving, I headed over to Stevie’s to make a big pot of stock from the turkey carcass, then a braised leek soup with the stock. Stevie’s idea was to do an American riff on the traditional French onion soup: roasting the leeks in the oven, then adding the stock and some leftover brussels sprout leaves, and topping it with toasted pumpernickel bread and blue cheese. This meal was deliciously filling, and the braising—which I decided to do with butter, olive oil, and sherry—inspired this recipe for turkey pot pie.

The pie filling.

In a 475-degree oven, I roasted leeks, parsnips, and kabocha squash in a little leftover white wine, sherry, and the reserved turkey drippings for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, I made the flaky pie crust and set it to chill in the refrigerator. The vegetables came out of the oven, and once cooled, I added the leftover turkey and peas to the pan to toss them all together. The filling was enough for two pie pans, so I rolled out the thin, buttery crust to cover both. I covered the pies with an egg wash, then baked them in a 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes.
Delicious pie, right out of the oven.

For the dough:
  • 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and diced
  • 1/8 – 1/4 cup ice water
  • 1 egg beaten, for egg wash
For the filling:
  • 4 leeks, quartered lengthwise
  • 1/2 medium kabocha squash, diced
  • 4 parsnips, peeled and diced
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1/4 cup sherry
  • 4 tablespoons turkey drippings or cooking oil
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
  • 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
  • 1 cup turkey, cooked and shredded
  • 2 teaspoons flour
  • Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 475-degrees. Place vegetables in a baking dish and cover with wine, sherry, and turkey drippings. Add fresh thyme, salt, and pepper for seasoning and place, uncovered, in over for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove from the oven and reduce heat to 400-degrees.
For the dough, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the shortening and butter, and combine with your fingers until the fat is the size of peas. Add a small amount of water at a time, just enough to work the dough into a ball. Place in refrigerator for a half hour to chill.
In a frying pan, add the vegetables in their cooking juices and slowly stir in a bit of flour to make a sort of roux. Then add the turkey and peas, toss together, and place filling in the bottom of a pie pan. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, roll it out to a 1/8-inch thickness, and place over the pie pan. Crimp around the edges if desired and pierce with a fork several times to allow the air to escape while cooking. Brush with the beaten egg and bake for a half hour.
Recipe inspired by Wai Hon Chu, Whole Foods Culinary Center Educator

Dinner Party: Thanksgiving in New York

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This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for great wine, delicious food, and wonderful friends, both new and old. A group of nine New York City “orphans” spent all day cooking, sipping, and noshing, in preparation for the big feast, which consisted of sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, collard greens, brussel sprouts, stuffing, Wondra bread rolls, and the pièce de la résistance, the beautifully-brined 20-lb. turkey that graced our table.

Along with the turkey (and more), Stevie and Josiah provided a fantastic celebratory Jeroboam: a 2009 Clos de la Roilette Cuvée Tardive, which we let evolve in the bottle and a decanter throughout the day. In addition to the Jeroboam, Bryan and Kelly provided the extensive wine selection for the day. Some of my favorites included the crisp N.V. François Pinon Vouvray Brut (2006), a delicious 2007 Weingut Hirsch Riesling Gaisberg (perfect with pumpkin bread), and a 1993 red from the Jura, an Overnoy Poulsard Arbois Pupillin.

We finished off the meal with three kinds of pumpkin pies, an apple tart, and some nutmeg ice cream. Alexxa provided a beautiful bourbon, as well as the photos of the day, featured below. A lovely day all around!

Snacks to start the day

 A roster of wine, including a Jeroboam of 2009 Clos de la Roilette Cuvée Tardive
The 20 lb. turkey, fresh out of the oven

Serving and carving.

 A toast.

Desserts to end the night.

Syrah

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Since I was making a simple turkey and roasted pepper stir-fry for dinner, I wanted a special wine to accompany it. I headed over to ABC Wine to ask the experts. A few recommendations later (after we’d ruled out Chardonnays, even un-oaked ones), we hit upon a Cotes-du-Rhone made entirely of the Syrah grape. The prefect crowd pleaser, I was told–smoky when you want it to be, spicy when you need it to be, fruity for the fruit lovers…

So today, I decided to do a little research into what this grape is all about. Syrah is a dark-skinned grape that is grown all over the world, primarily in France, the US, and Australia (where it is known as Shiraz). It can stand alone, as it often does in the case of wines from the northern Rhone region of France, but it is also used as a varietal as it gives structure to weaker varietals.

But why is it so versatile if it’s such a powerful, full-bodied wine? Its age matters a lot in this regard, as does the climate and soil in which it was grown. Syrah is a wine that can be drunk young or aged–the older wines are a little more mellow and complex, as age tempers the high tannin content. Its characteristics are wide-ranging, from dark berries to chocolate to espresso to black pepper.

And the difference between Syrah and Shiraz? Other than the names, which both come from the grape’s disputed origins (some say France, others say the ancient Persian city of Shirazi, and the Sicilians claim that it comes from their city Siracusa), the wines offer different things. The French Syrah is typically more elegant, tannic, and smoky, with a restrained fruit component. Shiraz tends to refer to the more New World wines of Australia and Chile, amongst others. Made from riper berries, a Shiraz is more fruit-forward and peppery, less tannic, and higher in its alcohol content. So, depending on what you like, Syrah/Shiraz really does seem to have a variety to please.

And by the way, it went perfectly with my meat. Although it might have been a little too drinkable…