Recipes
Brine Roasted Turkey
Makes 1-12 Pound Turkey
1-12 pound turkey
2 cups turkey stock
Brine:
1 cup sugar
1 cup kosher salt
3 tablespoons herbs de Provence
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 carrot, diced
1 leek, green parts only, diced
1/4 cup celery diced
1 large onion, diced
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
Herb Butter:
8 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped shallot
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped sage
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
1 teaspoon chopped tarragon
Brine: One or two days before serving, bring 2 gallons
of water in a large stockpot to a boil. Add salt and sugar and
stir until dissolved. Turn off heat and add brine ingredients.
Chill until cold. Place the turkey in a deep casserole dish or
something quite large and pour the brine liquid over turkey. If
turkey is not completely submerged, turn the turkey every few
hours. Refrigerate and let steep for 12 to 72 hours. Allow turkey
to come to room temperature before roasting.
Herb Butter:
On serving day, place all the ingredients for the herb butter
in a food processor and blend. Transfer to a pastry bag or a Ziploc,
and set aside.
Cooking the Turkey:
Preheat oven to 425° F. Remove turkey from the brine, rinse, and
dry with paper towels. Separate the breast skin from the meat
by slipping a spatula in between. Pipe in the Herb Butter. Rub
the remaining butter all over the outside of the bird. Fill the
neck cavity with stuffing and the cavity with a mirepoix
of vegetables and fruit (celery, carrots, onions and apples).
Truss the bird. Place
bird on a rack in the roasting pan. Pour two cups of stock into
the pan. Place roasting pan in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
Lower the temperature to 375° F and cook about 12 minutes per
pound. If the turkey is browning too fast, place tin foil over
the bird. Baste the bird every 30 minutes. Continue to roast until
thermometer inserted into innermost part of thigh registers 175°F
and the juices run clear. Check the temperature of the stuffing,
it should be 160°F, if it isn't then scoop it out and place in
a baking pan and cook until it reaches temperature. Take the bird
out of the oven and let rest for 20 minutes.
Tip: Brining
will make moist and juicy. If you don't have sufficient room in
your refrigerator, place the bird in a plastic cooler and keep
it on your porch if you live in a wintry area or place frozen
freezer packs in Ziploc bags in the cooler. Make sure the brine
water remains below 40° F.
Butternut Squash Apple
Puree
Serves 6
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 medium-size Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, quartered
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons water or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon hazelnut oil
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place squash and apples on a baking pan and sprinkle with nutmeg.
Bake until squash and apples are tender, turn once, about 1 hour.
Cool 5 minutes. These can be roasted 1 day ahead. Cover with foil
and refrigerate. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Pour half
of the butter, stock or water, and maple syrup into a food processor.
Add half of the squash and apples. Purée the first batch to reach
the desired consistency. Pour into a bowl. Then repeat with the
second batch. Season the squash purée with salt and pepper. The
squash purée may be made 3 days in advance, kept covered and chilled.
Re-heat before serving, adding additional water if needed. Spoon
the puree into a serving dish and drizzle the hazelnut oil on
top. Serve.
Tip: You can
prepare the squash or root vegetables ahead of time. Simply clean,
peel, chop or slice them. Potatoes, parsnips and celery should
be prepared the same day but kept in cool water to prevent discoloration
of the flesh. Squash, rutabagas, celery root, and turnips can
be prepped 2 days in advance and stored, uncooked in a plastic
bag in the refrigerator.
Good Old Gravy
Makes 4 Cups
1 cup white wine
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons water or stock deglazed juices
While the turkey is
resting, deglaze the pan on top of the stove by using some of
the stock. Pour out all the contents from the roasting pan and
strain the pan juices and remove the fat. Place the pan back on
the stove and melt the butter, pour in the strained liquid. In
a small dish, combine flour and water and mix until a runny paste
forms, add more water if needed. Add the paste, wine and rest
of stock to the pan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring
frequently, until it is very thick and brown. Watch it carefully
so that it does not burn.
Maple Carrots
Serves 6
1 1/2 pounds large
carrots
1 cup water
3 tablespoons salted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Place all of the ingredients
in a large pan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium;
cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes. Uncover;
cook until all of the cooking juices are reduced to a glaze, about
5 minutes.
Maple Cranberry Sauce
Serves 6
12-ounce package
fresh cranberries
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup water
Combine cranberries,
syrup, sugar and water in a medium saucepan, cover. Bring to a
boil for ten minutes. Remove from heat and add zest. Serve warm
or cold.
Tip: Cranberry
sauce can be made one week in advance and kept in the refrigerator.
Chestnut Puree
Makes 2 Cups
1/2 small onion,
sliced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups whole roasted chestnuts
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
In a saucepan over
low heat, cook onion in butter until softened, about 7 minutes.
Add chestnuts,
stock and half of syrup, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Puree in
batches. Can be made 2 days ahead. Re-warm in saucepan and season
with salt and pepper. Place on serving dish and drizzle with remaining
syrup.
Parsley Sage Stuffing
Serves 6
1 to 1 1/2 sticks
of butter
2 1/2 white or yellow onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage salt and pepper
1 1/2 loaves of bread, a day old
Melt butter in a large
saucepan. Break the slightly dry bread into big pieces. Add onions
and celery and cook over medium low heat until soft. Add parsley,
sage, salt and pepper. Place bread in a large bowl and pour onion
mixture over and combine until the bread is covered. Place in
a shallow roasting pan and cover with foil. Place in oven with
the turkey for 30-45 minutes. Be careful not burn the bottom.
Tip: The bread
should be a day old so it absorbs more liquid. If you forget to
place the bread out the day before so it dries out, simply cut
or break the bread into pieces and place into a preheated 300°F
oven on a baking sheet for 10 minutes.
Mashed Potatoes with
Garlic Cream
Serves 6
1 1/2 pound Russet
potatoes, peeled and halved
12 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup whipping cream
12 tablespoons butter
Salt
White pepper
Place potatoes in a
large stockpot. Cover with water and salt the water. Bring to
a boil over high heat, reduce to low and simmer until the potatoes
are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the water well and place two
clean kitchen towels on top of the potatoes and cover stockpot
with the lid and let rest about 10 minutes. This will absorb a
lot of excess steam from the potatoes enabling the potatoes to
be fluffy. Press the potatoes through a food mill, ricer or a
sieve. Meanwhile, place the garlic in a saucepan and about 3 cups
of water. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, strain the garlic
and rinse with cold water. Repeat this process two more times.
Chop the garlic finely or push through a garlic press. Place back
in the saucepan and add butter, and cream. Melt the butter over
low heat and stir to combine. Combine the garlic cream with the
potatoes and mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to
taste. Serve immediately.
If you make the potatoes
in advance, re-warm them in a double boiler. If you don't have
a large enough double boiler, then place the potatoes in a large
metal bowl that will fit part way in a large pot. Fill that pot
half way with water, or enough water so that it won't touch the
mixing bowl. Re-warm the potatoes over medium high, stirring occasionally.
Creamy Succotash
Serves 6
1 1/4 cup lima beans
1 1/4 cup corn
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon allspice, ground
Salt
Pepper
Put lima beans with
enough water to cover them and cook almost all the way through.
Then add corn and continue to cook until tender. Pour out any
remaining water. Stir in the butter until melted; add sour cream
and allspice. Then add salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine.
Perfect Pumpkin Pie
Makes 1 9-inch pie
Crust:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 cup apricot preserves
Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon (rounded) salt
1 16-ounce can pureed pumpkin
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup sour cream
3 large eggs, whisked until blended
To Make Ahead:
Both the filling and the crust can be made one day ahead but assemble
and bake it the day you will be serving the pie.
To Make The Filling:
Using a whisk, mix the first 6 ingredients of the filling in a
large bowl until no lumps remain. Blend in pumpkin, cream, sour
cream and eggs. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
To Make The Crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Blend first 3 ingredients for the crust
in processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cream and
process until clumps form. Gather the dough into ball, place on
plastic wrap and flatten into disk; chill 15 minutes. Roll out
dough on floured surface to 14-inch round and then transfer dough
to 9-inch glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1 inch and fold overhang
under. Crimp edge as desired. Freeze 15 minutes. Line crust with
foil and pour in baking beads or beans. Bake until sides are set,
about 10 minutes. Remove foil and beads. Bake crust until pale
brown, about 10 minutes more. Spread preserves over crust cover
and set aside until ready to use.
To Bake The Pie:
Preheat oven temperature to 325°F. Pour the filling into the crust.
Bake until filling puffs at edges and center is almost set, about
55 minutes. Cool on rack. Cover; chill until cold.
Tip: If you
don't want to use canned pumpkin, you should roast sugar pie pumpkins,
not the Jack O'Lantern pumpkins because they are too bland. Cut
the pumpkin in half. Bake on a baking pan, cut side down, in a
preheated 425° F oven for 60 minutes. Scrape out the seeds and
remove the flesh and puree in a processor until smooth. If you
want to put a topping on the pie, I suggest a dollop of ginger
or rum flavored whipped cream or finely minced crystallized ginger
scattered on top.
Back to Celebrating
the Bounty of Good Things<<
Gabriella
True has had a passion for cooking since the day her Mom let her
pound down the freshly risen dough created from her Grandmother's
bread recipe. In fifth grade she chose Julia Child as her hero
to write about in English class. Growing up in the heart of New
York City she was able to avidly explore the foods of the world.
Since then she has catered small parties and spent hours writing
and testing recipes to share with her loyal audience. She began
writing about food, its culture and history through her association
with Splendid Palate.
You can contact the author directly via email at Gabriella@splendidpalate.com
