my cooking = a decent amount of skill
the best ingredients I can find. I like to work methodically, taking time for and paying close attention to each step, operating with the greatest care AND using the choicest ingredients possible -- from the primary components (turkey, for example) all the way down to the salt (kosher or French sea salt) and peppper (Tellicherry) -- cooking with that level of care makes a world of difference in the finished product. here’s the menu, complete with comments -- it's fairly standard, with a few flourishes from me:*roasted turkey with herbs (first brined in kosher salt and demerara sugar, then drained, with herb/shallot butter rubbed underneath the skin, roasted on a bed of carmelized onions, celery and carrots): this was great. I brined the turkey for two days ahead of time, which worked out beautifully. the butter mixture was compounded of finely chopped shallots, parsley, chives, salt, pepper and a pinch of poultry seasoning. I roasted it at 350 degrees F for about three hours (an eight-pound bird, I believe), which was not perfect, IMO. next time, I’ll try 375 degrees F for less time. the bed of caramelized veggies, however, was a complete success, adding flavor and aroma. yum!
*homemade gravy: made with roux, pan drippings and turkey stock. my twist was to add the caramelized veggies from the turkey roasting process to simmer in the gravy. I then used my food mill to puree a bit of the veggies into the gravy. GOOD STUFF.
*sourdough and cornbread sage stuffing with dried cherries: I ended up using a rustic country loaf, rather than sourdough (which was a good move), but the stuffing was still a bit too complex: onions, shallots and celery sauteed in butter with fresh parsley and sage, deglazed with sherry, with toasted cornbread and rustic bread shreds. I added a handful of delicious dried cherries, turkey stock, poultry seasoning and some of the turkey gravy to taste. it was very tasty, but next time I’ll use a white bread with less character and a softer crust, as well as a slightly higher ratio of white bread to cornbread. perhaps a bit less fresh sage, as well. still, it was very tasty.
*cranberry orange marmalade (made less sweet/somewhat tart to serve with dinner; I added more sugar to the leftover amount and finished it into a marmalade for toast, etc. afterwards): nice and fresh-tasting; a great accompaniment to the meal. a simple sauce of cranberries, frozen apple juice concentrate, sugar and lots of thinly sliced orange. I also used some plain (unsweetened) cranberry juice I had on hand. can’t wait to taste it on toast for breakfast, now that it’s real marmalade.
*roasted acorn squash (served with chive butter): just fantastic, but I should have started roasting it a bit earlier. it seems to take a little over an hour (to be on the safe side) to cook properly.
*scalloped potatoes (Julia Child’s old recipe with nothing but potatoes, cream, garlic, salt, pepper and a fine dusting of Reggiano on top): rich. too rich? possibly. good, but I wish I’d spread the potato mixture out a bit thinner in a bigger pan to broil the top. the more delicious browned area, the better.
*green beans: blanched in salted water. perfect and plain.
*cornbread muffins (per request): I made the cornbread from a mix! really!!! I used one envelope of Pioneer sweet corn muffin mix and one envelope of Pioneer cornbread mix. delicious!
*fresh lemon/toasted almond sponge cake with chocolate/orange ganache: this was the sleeper. I had wanted to make a buche de noel, but had no room in the fridge. the sponge cake recipe had 6 eggs (yolks and whites beaten separately), 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from an actual lemon, of course!), the zest of the aforementioned lemon, 1 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup of toasted almonds that had been mostly pulverized in a blender. I baked it at 325 degrees F for about 50 minutes, and it was delicious. rolled it around the ganache, I then covered that with Valrhona chocolate shavings and toasted cake crumbs.
all in all, a bit rich but good! I’d like to make simpler potatoes (mashed, probably) next time, and the aforementioned stuffing changes. this was a fabulous holiday meal; with the aforementioned adjustments, it may well come close to perfect.
