Kids Dish

Starting where I left off yesterday.

On Thanksgiving, after waking up at five and spending three hours trying to get Sam back to bed, I went back to sleep and slept too long. I woke up at 9.30 and groggily went downstairs to start the turkey. I took a quick look at the pie recipe and realized the oven temperature was higher than I thought and I’d have to cook the pie first, instead of later in the afternoon.

I peeled and sliced the apples then got to work rolling out the dough. It was a pain to work with. It was very sticky and hard to transfer even though I rolled it out between two sheets of parchment. But I finished it and got it into the oven. About an hour later I had baked my very first pie and set it aside to cool.

While the pie baked I prepped the turkey. I drained the brine, rinsed the turkey and patted it dry. I cut my herb butter into half inch rounds and pushed it under the skin. I lightly salted (no need for too much salt when you brine) and peppered the turkey all over and started the stuffing. I cheated with the stuffing. I didn’t buy any bread to make my own cubes so I used a bag of Pepperidge Farm stuffing, the bag with the least amount of sodium. To make it taste better I sauteed an onion and a few celery stalks in butter and used homemade chicken stock to moisten the stuffing instead of water. I also added a bunch of herbs from my garden. While the stuffing was still steaming hot I filled the body cavity of the turkey and put the remainder in a buttered baking dish to heat separately later. I tossed a few chopped carrots, a few chopped celery stalks, a few sprigs of thyme and a chopped onion at the bottom of the roasting pan then put the turkey in the rack breast down and put it into the oven.

That’s one of the secrets of juicy turkey. Roast it breast side down at 425 for the first hour then flip it and reduce the oven temperature to 325 until the turkey is cooked through. When you roast it upside down the juices collect in the breast. It doesn’t make a picture-perfect turkey, but it makes a tasty one. I also cover the turkey with foil and don’t remove it until the last hour or so. That way it gets crisp, but the skin doesn’t get too dark. Another tip, now that the holiday is over, is that you shouldn’t baste too often. Every time you open the oven heat escapes the temperature lowers. Basting every 45 minutes to an hour is plenty for a brined turkey.

The only other thing I had to do was start the gizzards for the gravy. I don’t actually put the gizzards in the gravy, but I do saute them with onions, carrot and celery then add chicken broth to make a stock. After it simmers for a couple of hours, drain the chunks and the remaining stock can sit until you’re ready to add pan drippings.

After a few hours of down time I caramelized the shallots for the green beans and added chicken stock to the butternut squash puree and brought it to a simmer. Not too long later the turkey and stuffing had both reached the necessary temperature and I was ready to finish up.

While the turkey rested (it should rest for at least half an hour.) I made the carrots, finished the green beans, put the sweet potatoes, extra stuffing, and the dishes contributed by my aunt in the oven to reheat, and finished the gravy using deglazed pan drippings (which were nicely flavored by the veggies I’d thrown in the bottom of the roasting pan) and the gizzard stock thickened with a bit of flour browned in butter. I hate the word gizzard. It makes something so good sound so terrible.

I had my friend help serve the soup while I carved the turkey. I’m a terrible food photographer, but I’ll show you some pictures anyway.

Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Bisque topped with sour cream and chives from my garden (hello, global warming!)

I know it’s not the prettiest picture, but here’s the turkey resting. The green stuff under the skin is the herb butter.

Apple Pie, the first pie I’ve ever made.