An Orphan’s Thanksgiving

November 28, 2013 by Beth Shepherd

For many years I spent Thanksgiving solo. After I graduated from high school, I left home, went to college, and then moved 3,000 miles away from my family. I spent many-a-Thanksgiving as an “orphan,” wandering from household to household. Here are a few glimpses from some of my more memorable orphan Thanksgivings:

“Kentucky-themed” Thanksgiving: Suffice it to say that most of the dishes contained bourbon. But the turkey—oh that mouth-watering turkey—the best I’d ever had. I talked about that turkey, dreamt about that turkey, for years, until I met Big Papa and we made it ourselves: brined turkey smoked on wood chips and glazed with maple syrup. In my (very biased) opinion, there is no finer way to cook your bird.

Gourmand Thanksgiving: How can you go wrong when your two hosts are chefs? Hand-made knotted dinner rolls that melt in your mouth, every dish cooked to perfection, each course perfectly paired with something to imbibe. It was like I had died and gone to Thanksgiving heaven.

Vegetarian Potluck Thanksgiving: My hosts did not eat meat. Nor did they want meat cooking in their oven. One of the guests—who could not envision Thanksgiving without turkey—cooked and carved a turkey, and brought it over for dinner. I believe I remember some discussion about whether it could be reheated in the oven, and I do not recall how that debated ended. But in the end, those of us who ate meat had our bird.

The family-who-were-thankfully-not-my-family Thanksgiving: I had Thanksgiving at a friend’s house. She was married. They were well off, and their home had an amazing view. Her tony and well-coiffed mother was visiting from California. Our meal was elegant and delicious. There may have been other guests. I do not recall. What I do remember were the heated arguments between my host and her husband…all evening long. They are no longer married.

Hollywood Thanksgiving: One year, I was dating a guy who worked in the film industry. He was filming a major movie in California, and I flew to visit him on several occasions. One of those occasions was Thanksgiving. We headed to a remote mountaintop near Santa Cruz to have dinner with the family of one of his film-industry friends. If I remember correctly, our host was the friend’s uncle and a movie producer. Both the friend’s mother and grandmother attended. When we arrived the air was filled with a haze of pot-smoke. The hosts were all stoned, and the friend’s mom forgot to put the turkey in the oven. We sat around a large table and people passed a pipe around. Everyone took a hit, except me. Everyone. Including grandma. Grandma regaled us with stories of the days when she lived in San Jose and took her pet Wallabies for walks in the neighborhood. Neither apple nor pumpkin pie was served for dessert. However, pot brownies were.

Wine Country Thanksgiving: Okay, I wasn’t an orphan, but Big Papa and I spent two non-traditional Thanksgivings in the Willamette Valley, wine country. We stayed at a B&B, ate Thanksgiving dinner out a restaurant, and spent the rest of the weekend tasting wine at dozens of regional wineries, many who only open over Thanksgiving weekend. No fuss, no muss and a few caseloads of wine made for a relaxing holiday.

These days, my Thanksgivings look a tad more traditional. Big Papa has cousins who live thirty-minutes south of us. They like us and we like them. For the past two years, we’ve converged for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone makes a few dishes (I bring Cinnamon-clove ice cream, herbed goat cheese, and a bottle of wine). We sit around, chat, laugh, eat, drink and fawn over Baby Bird, and I feel thankful—so very, very thankful.

Wherever you are spending your holiday, whatever might be on your table, and whoever may be by your side, may you enjoy a day of thankfulness: Happy Thanksgiving!

Take the road less traveled,

Beth

Turkey Leek Risotto Recipe

December 7, 2011 by Beth Shepherd

Thanksgiving has a few time honored traditions for those of us who cook a turkey: first, you eat your turkey. Next, you have seconds. Later, you wrap up all the turkey leftovers. Then, for the remainder of the week, or for as long as you can mentally gear up, you make turkey sandwiches for lunch, and turkey soup and casserole for dinner.

It doesn’t take long before you’re wailing: That’s it. I’ve had it with turkey leftovers. And then, miraculously, Thanksgiving slips from memory as you head into the rest of the holiday season. A blissful eleven months pass, thoughts of turkey forgotten, until Thanksgiving rears its once-a-year head again.

I’ve been in this boat. But this year I discovered a recipe for Turkey Leek Risotto.

I made it. Big Papa and I ate it. And I’ll be danged if there wasn’t a tear in my eye when we polished off the leftovers from the Turkey Leek Risotto made with our Thanksgiving turkey leftovers.

Trust me. After you finish your last bite of Turkey Leek Risotto, you’ll do two things:

Kiss the freezer where you’ve kept a few cups of frozen turkey stock (yes, yes…that stock recipe I was pimping last week!)
Rue the day you tossed the last of the leftover turkey and said: That’s it. I’ve had it with turkey leftovers!

Turkey Leek Risotto

Note: I served my risotto with Delicata squash (which I baked in the oven with a bit of butter, brown sugar and fresh sage.

Ingredients

5 1/2 cups Turkey Stock (okay, if you don’t have homemade, you can buy it at the store)
1 tablespoon butter, divided
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
3 cups thinly sliced leek (about 3 large)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1 1/2 cups uncooked Arborio rice or other short-grain rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a dry sherry)
2 cups chopped cooked turkey (light and dark meat)
1/3 cup grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How to:

Bring Turkey Stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.

Melt 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leek to pan; cook 7 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place leek mixture in a small bowl. Melt remaining 2 teaspoons butter and remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan. Add shallots to pan; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/2 cup stock and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of the stock is absorbed before adding the next (about 28 minutes total).

Stir in turkey and leek mixture; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, pecorino Romano cheese, thyme, sage, and pepper.

Want more deliciousness that’s not leftover? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

Stock up! Four tips and four tricks for making great turkey stock

November 30, 2011 by Beth Shepherd

Big Papa headed off to work with his turkey sandwich today, just like he’s done every day since we grilled our post-Thanksgiving turkey this past Saturday. I’m sure some of you, or at least those who eat turkey, have been scouring the internet looking for turkey leftover recipes. But, have you considered what to do with your turkey carcass, other than toss it in the garbage? I say, make turkey stock! If you don’t, you are missing out. Making stock is one of the best ways to use what’s left from your turkey. Plus, you’ll collect bonus points for stretching your precious food dollars even farther.

At this very moment I’ve got turkey vegetable soup, made with homemade stock, simmering on our stove. The kitchen smells amazing and I can’t wait to serve up our soup. I also plan to try a recipe I found for turkey-leek risotto.

How about you? What would you do with turkey stock?

Turkey Stock Recipe (Makes ~10 cups)

Note: You can use this recipe with a chicken carcass too.

Ingredients

1 turkey carcass (with meat picked off, chopped and reserved)
~10 cups water
TIP! Use 2 cups dry white wine for a nice rich flavor. It’s optional–if you don’t use white wine, add more water.
TRICK! (Thank you Auntie Kate) Save cooking scraps in Ziploc freezer bags. Onion skins, raw potato skins, raw or roasted sweet potato or yam skins, apple cores, bell pepper seeds and stems, leek ends, spinach or collard stems, wilted but not rotten veggies from the fridge are all candidates for stock.
Note: Do not ever use table scraps in stock. Ever. Use only cooking scraps.
Note: Citrus, melon and squash rinds don’t work well in stock because they are too bitter when cooked.

1-2 carrots, cut into large chunks
TIP! Chopped fennel bulb can be used in place of the oft recommended 2 stalks of chopped celery. I personally love the slight anise flavor. Again, large chunks.
TRICK! Leave the skin on when you cut 1 onion into quarters
3-4 whole garlic cloves
1 handful fresh parsley
Tablespoon of whole peppercorns
Handful of fresh or dried thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

How to:

Place your turkey carcass in a very large pot, breaking the bones into smaller pieces if necessary so that it will fit. Cover with white wine and water. Turn the burner on to medium heat. Add veggie scraps, carrots, onion, fennel or celery and garlic.

Just before water starts to boil turn the heat down to low. Use a spoon to scrape off any scum that rises to the surface (also little bubbles). These are all fat and other impurities and if you skim them off then your stock will be clear and even more divine. Let the stock simmer for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, checking periodically to skim off any scum. Add parsley and bay leaves and simmer for another 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

Use tongs to remove and discard the carcass. Pour stock through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl or Tupperware (TRICK! Do this in the sink in case there is spillage), and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Stock keeps two weeks in the refrigerator and several months (up to six) in the freezer. TIP! Freeze stock in 2-4 cup portions so you only have to thaw out small amounts to use for your recipes…much easier than trying to chop off a chunk of frozen stock (not that I have done this, mind you). TRICK! When reusing stock reserved in the refrigerator or thawed stock, pour through fine mesh strainer again to remove any fat that congeals at the surface.

Bonus TIP! (Thanks again, Auntie Kate) For even more flavorful stock, before you do anything else, heat ½ cup of water in a large, heavy stock pot, on high or med-high. Chop the onion into dime-sized pieces.

Put the onions into the hot water and spread them out across the pot with a wooden spoon. Allow the liquid to cook away, and watch closely to avoid burning. When the bottom of the pot is turning brown and the onions are sticking, pour in the rest of the water (and wine if using wine) and scrape the brown from the bottom of the pan. This gives the stock a depth and savory-sweetness you won’t get if you skip this step.

Hope everyone had a delicious Thanksgiving. Happy stock-making!

For more yummy tips and tricks, check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

Brined, smoked and glazed: the BEST turkey ever

November 16, 2011 by Beth Shepherd

About fifteen years ago, I attended a “Kentucky-themed” Thanksgiving feast (Thank you, Alice!). If memory serves, most of the recipes featured bourbon. At least that’s what I remember. That and the turkey.

This turkey was the best tasting turkey I’d ever had. Brined, smoked and glazed: it had that whole salty-sweet, moist-crisp thing goin’ on. That night I swore that if I ever had a chance to cook turkey in my own home, this was how I was going to do it.

For years I fantasized about that turkey, and talked it up every chance I got. Then I met Big Papa and when we had our first Thanksgiving at our house, I told him this way was the way. Thankfully, he was up for the challenge.

We’d gotten engaged some months earlier and invited our mothers to visit over the holiday so they could meet each other before our wedding.

When Big Papa carved our turkey and tried his first bite, the look on his face said it all. Of course he confirmed my suspicions by announcing: “That’s the best darn turkey I’ve ever had.”

And our moms? They were pretty impressed too.

So here’s the recipe we used, the recipe we will use again and again. Because brined, smoked and glazed turkey is the best turkey. Ever.

Cranberry and Zinfandel Brined Turkey with Maple Glaze

Serves 12 (Note: I bought a smaller turkey, about 10 pounds, and cut the recipe in half).

Brine:
2-750 ml. bottles Zinfandel wine (doesn’t have to be expensive Zin)
1 gallon apple cider
1 pound fresh cranberries
1 cup honey
1 cup kosher salt
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh sage
2 sticks cinnamon

Turkey:
1-18-pound turkey, preferably free-range and hormone free

Glaze:

Maple syrup, preferably Grade B which is a bit stronger tasting

How to:
To prepare the brine, combine the wine, cider, cranberries, honey, salt, rosemary, peppercorns, sage and cinnamon in a large pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Let the brine boil for about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, let cool and refrigerate until it reaches about 40-degrees.

Place the turkey in a very large container (or a plastic brining bag). Then pour the chilled brine over to cover. Refrigerate at least 24 hours and up to 48 hours. I brined ours in a bag and turned the bag every so often so that all parts of the turkey had their turn sitting in the brine. The turkey turned a lovely shade of pink.

We grilled our turkey (Thank you, Big Papa!) with cherry wood chips which impart a wonderful fruity, smoky flavor. About an hour before the turkey is finished cooking, I “painted” maple syrup on the skin using a pastry brush.

You could just as easily brine your turkey and cook it in a 350-degree oven. Either way, before you cook the turkey, remove it from the brine and drain well; then discard the brine.

If you are roasting your turkey in the over, roast it until it reaches an internal temperature of 155°F in the breast meat, tenting (draping foil over parts of the bird that are looking done, like the wings) it with aluminum foil (which we did) if it starts to brown too much, about 4 hours. We also checked our bird’s temperature whilst grilling. It’s uber important that turkey meat is cooked thoroughly.

Let the turkey rest 5-10 minutes before carving; internal temperature should rise to 165°F. Carve and serve warm.

Adapted from “Caprial and John’s Kitchen: Recipes for Cooking Together,” by Caprial and John Pence (Ten Speed Press)

Want to be thankful for more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!