THANKSGIVING 101 : Part 3/3 The Feast

The TG-day is here but good news is, you can afford to wake up a bit late since you are a prepared cook this time around. Today we are preparing all the things that make the thanksgiving table what it is. A family feast!

Thursday : (Start around 10AM)

First thing to do is to set out 2 sticks of butter and one 8oz pack of cream cheese to bring those to room temperature. 

Slice 7oz of mushrooms, chop 1tsp each of parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary and set aside. Crush and chop 3 garlic cloves. This is also the time to chop 2 onions, 2-3 celery sticks and some parsley if you are not using pre cut (~24oz) mix from the store.

Take out all shelves from the oven except one. Keep it in the middle for all cooking except for the turkey when it should be in the last slot.

Bring out the roasting pan and fat separator. Prepare some fresh sprigs of sage, rosemary and thyme for the turkey.

Corn Bread

Since we want the oven to be free for the turkey, most of today's activities are with this in mind. Make corn bread from the box following instructions. Krusteaz is my new favorite brand for corn bread. Soft and delicious every time. 

Mash Potatoes & Stuffing

While corn bread is in the oven, start boiling the pot of water from yesterday. And start peeling the potatoes. Cut each into 2 or 3 pieces, add to the boiling water after adding enough salt. Cook uncovered  on medium heat, set timer for 20 min and go on to the next step.

While potatoes are cooking, brown 1lb. of sausage in a large pan on medium heat for ~7 min and set aside in a plate. Melt 3 tbsp of butter and add 24 oz. of onion-celery-parsley mix and cook uncovered for 10-12 min. 

If the first 20 minutes of potatoes are done, then cover and cook for another 15 min or longer until you are able to come back to it. Keep an eye on the corn bread timer.

Add garlic-sage-thyme-rosemary and sliced mushrooms to the stuffing and cook uncovered for another 12 min. Add about 2 tsp each of salt and pepper to taste. Grease a large baking pan with 1 tbsp of butter and set aside for stuffing.

Add 1/4 cup sherry, roasted chestnuts and mix well together. Add back in the sausage, and 10-16oz stuffing mix and mix together with 500-600ml of chicken broth. Add to the greased pan, cover with foil and set aside. We'll come back to it after the turkey is roasted.

Remove corn bread from the oven once done and set the temp to 425F for roasting beans/asparagus.

Drain the potatoes and add back to the same pot, mash on low heat if too moist for 6-8 min and turn off heat. Add 1 1/2 sticks of butter, 8oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup half and half and mash together. Add 1/2 tsp seasoned salt, enough pepper and fresh herbs if any, mix together and set aside in serving dish. Mashed potatoes are done!

Roasted Beans/Asparagus

Cut off the edges of beans, lop off an inch or two of the asparagus, wash, drain and dry on paper towels. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, place in single layer on a foil lined cookie sheet and cook at 425 for 3-5 min on each side. Keep covered in foil and set aside in an oven safe serving dish. Set oven temp to 500F which shouldn't take long since the oven was in full use up till now.

Turkey

The breast meat weighed about 7 lbs this year. First combine the herb mix that came in the brine pack with some canola oil and set aside. Now it is time to take out the brining turkey, clean and pat dry it with paper towels. Rub generously with the oil mix and tack on as many sage, rosemary sprigs as possible. Cover with foil to get the shape in for later stage and remove foil. 

Then roast as usual at 500F for 25 min uncovered with 1/4 cup water in the pan. 

Bring oven down to 350F, add another 1/4 cup of water and insert thermometer so that the temp is measured at the lowest point in the meat (~50-60). 

Cover with foil and roast again for 1 hour 45 min till the thermometer reads 160.  The 1/4 cups of water added to the pan helped retain moisture and also helped to create some semblance of drippings at the end. I think I will take it out around the 1.5 hour mark next time when the thermometer showed 142 and it can continue to cook outside the oven to retain even more moisture. During this time when turkey is roasting in the oven you can quickly clean the kitchen, take that much needed shower and even start to set the table. Once turkey is done, remove thermometer, keep covered and let rest before carving.

While turkey is resting, add the stuffing pan to the oven and set to bake for 20 min. Start the gravy step at this time.

Gravy

Remove the turkey to cutting board and place the pan on the stove. Will need two burners in parallel on medium-low heat. Whisk the drippings and add 8 oz red wine and 24 oz chicken broth at the same time to the pan. Continue whisking for 2-3 min and transfer to a 4cup fat separator with stopper inserted. Discard any extra liquid. Wait 5 min for the fat to settle on the top. Turn off the heat.

Check on stuffing and if the 20 min are done, remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 20 min. Add the beans/asparagus pan to the oven towards the last 5 min to warm it up. Even the mashed potatoes can be warmed up here if it is in an oven proof dish.

Back to the gravy. Once the fat is settled, remove the stopper and pour out the bottom liquid to another container bringing the fat to the bottom. Add 1-2 tbsp of the fat back to the pan and discard the rest. At medium heat, add 1/3 cup all-purpose flour by sprinkling around the pan and whisking vigorously. Now add the liquid back in small amounts and continue to whisk until blended well. Do this for 5-6 min, add salt and pepper to taste and herbs if any for flavor. Remove from heat and pour into serving container.

Crescendo!

Remove all the items from the oven, carve the turkey and finish setting the table. You are ready to enjoy the most delicious meal ever!