Gearing Up for the Holidays
The big day is coming. For us at the Cottage Kitchen, the Thanksgiving holiday means taking long walks together through the forest and across the meadow. The air is crisp and fresh and the leaves crackle beneath our feet – sending up puffs of dust and the irresistible scent of fall. My kids, Phil and Liza, will join us. My cousin Zeph and his significant other, Susan, will drive up from Indianapolis. My sister and her family have especially requested crème brulee for dessert, even though it lacks tradition. Spencer’s girlfriend Tara will be there, too, tossing the salad and helping to keep the wine glasses full.
For those of you who may be cooking a turkey for the first time, here are a few suggestions that may take some of the fear out of this “rite of passage.”
• When shopping for your turkey, choose one that’s larger than you need for dinner. There’s nothing better than having enough left over to send home with your guests.
• Thaw your turkey gradually over a period of several days, in the refrigerator. This will prevent the growth of bacteria that can make you and your guests ill.
• Most turkeys come with instructions. Check them ahead of time and calculate the cooking time based on the weight of your turkey, the minutes per pound, and the temperature of the oven.
• Choose the time at which you want to serve dinner, count backwards, and calculate the time at which to put the turkey in the oven. Allow a minimum of 15 minutes for the turkey to “rest” after it’s removed from the oven.
• To prepare your turkey for cooking, remove the wrapping, then remove the giblets. Rinse the turkey under cold running, both inside and out. Salt the inside of the turkey lightly.
• Fill the turkey with the stuffing of your choice. At the cottage kitchen we love sausage stuffing, but this year we’re thinking about a good cornbread stuffing instead. Never stuff your turkey ahead of time. Wait until just before you’re ready to pop it into the oven. Do not pack the stuffing. It will need room to expand.
• Brush the outside of your turkey with vegetable oil to help prevent it from drying out.
• Place the turkey in a roasting pan on a rack, so that it isn’t resting directly on the roasting pan.
• If the turkey browns on the outside before it’s done cooking, then tent it with aluminum foil.
• In addition to the great sandwiches you can make from leftover turkey, the turkey carcass itself makes an exquisite soup. Save all the bones, all the skin, all of everything. Put it in a soup pot, cover it with water, add salt and pepper, some carrots, onions, and maybe a parsnip, and let it cook slowly many hours. Strain it all and chill the broth so that the fat rises to the surface. Skim the fat off the top and what’s left is a delicious homemade turkey broth. Freeze it or heat it with noodles.
By the way, it’s worth mentioning just a word about gravy. What sane person would consider serving a Thanksgiving dinner without it? If you want to jazz your gravy up just a little, then add something interesting that will give it depth and interest and maybe even just a touch of panache. Interested in a suggestion? Try Aromont’s Red Wine Sauce from Earthy Delights. Just add a tablespoon of it to your gravy and see what happens. You may want to add another tablespoon.
For those of you who may be cooking a turkey for the first time, here are a few suggestions that may take some of the fear out of this “rite of passage.”
• When shopping for your turkey, choose one that’s larger than you need for dinner. There’s nothing better than having enough left over to send home with your guests.
• Thaw your turkey gradually over a period of several days, in the refrigerator. This will prevent the growth of bacteria that can make you and your guests ill.
• Most turkeys come with instructions. Check them ahead of time and calculate the cooking time based on the weight of your turkey, the minutes per pound, and the temperature of the oven.
• Choose the time at which you want to serve dinner, count backwards, and calculate the time at which to put the turkey in the oven. Allow a minimum of 15 minutes for the turkey to “rest” after it’s removed from the oven.
• To prepare your turkey for cooking, remove the wrapping, then remove the giblets. Rinse the turkey under cold running, both inside and out. Salt the inside of the turkey lightly.
• Fill the turkey with the stuffing of your choice. At the cottage kitchen we love sausage stuffing, but this year we’re thinking about a good cornbread stuffing instead. Never stuff your turkey ahead of time. Wait until just before you’re ready to pop it into the oven. Do not pack the stuffing. It will need room to expand.
• Brush the outside of your turkey with vegetable oil to help prevent it from drying out.
• Place the turkey in a roasting pan on a rack, so that it isn’t resting directly on the roasting pan.
• If the turkey browns on the outside before it’s done cooking, then tent it with aluminum foil.
• In addition to the great sandwiches you can make from leftover turkey, the turkey carcass itself makes an exquisite soup. Save all the bones, all the skin, all of everything. Put it in a soup pot, cover it with water, add salt and pepper, some carrots, onions, and maybe a parsnip, and let it cook slowly many hours. Strain it all and chill the broth so that the fat rises to the surface. Skim the fat off the top and what’s left is a delicious homemade turkey broth. Freeze it or heat it with noodles.
By the way, it’s worth mentioning just a word about gravy. What sane person would consider serving a Thanksgiving dinner without it? If you want to jazz your gravy up just a little, then add something interesting that will give it depth and interest and maybe even just a touch of panache. Interested in a suggestion? Try Aromont’s Red Wine Sauce from Earthy Delights. Just add a tablespoon of it to your gravy and see what happens. You may want to add another tablespoon.
posted by JTH at 12:00 PM
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