Wednesday, November 10

Basics and nothing but the traditional Thanksgiving basics

Sarah Fritscher

The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal

You can jazz it up, go trendy with gourmet side dishes and grilled, fried or otherwise frilly turkeys, but for Thanksgiving dinner, tradition often rules the day.

Here are the basics for putting a traditional feast on the table.

The Turkey

Before you roast, you might need to thaw. Thaw the bird slowly in the refrigerator. Allow one day in the refrigerator for every five pounds of turkey, then add an extra day.

If you must thaw at the last minute, submerge the bird in a sink of cold water. Allow 30 minutes per pound for thawing. Change water every 30 minutes to keep it cool enough to prevent bacterial growth.

All turkey - including turkey breasts - roasts at 325 degrees. Time is the only variable. Use a per-pound chart to help you plan the timing of your other dinner dishes. But for perfect meat, use a meat thermometer.

If you use a traditional thermometer that goes into the oven with the bird, place it in the thickest part of the thigh, not touching the bone. If you use an instant-read thermometer, remove the meat from the oven before you test the temperature, either in the thigh or in the thickest part of the breast. The thigh should register 180 degrees, the breast meat 170. (Note: All meat is safe above 165 degrees; experts recommend higher temperatures for palatability.)

To roast: Place the bird, breast up, on a flat rack in a pan no more than 2 inches deep. Deeper pans will interfere with browning the meat. Brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

To baste or not to baste: As you see fit. Studies show basting doesn't make the meat juicier, but does make for an evenly browned and crisp skin. However, opening the door periodically to baste lengthens the cooking time, which dries out the meat.

Don't stuff the meat: To get the stuffing to a safe 165 degrees requires overcooking the breast meat. Avoid dry breast meat by draping a piece of foil loosely over the breast after it is about two-thirds cooked.

For easier carving: Allow the turkey to stand after roasting for 15 or 20 minutes. Transfer it to the serving platter, and use pan juices to make the gravy.

Frozen turkey: It's safe to eat a turkey that has been frozen since last year. If it has been stored in a deep freezer (not the refrigerator freezer), it's good for up to two years. If the turkey has been stored at warmer than 0 degrees, it might have freezer burn or be dried out. But it should still be safe.

To keep leftovers: Refrigerate them within two hours after the turkey comes out of the oven. Turkey leftovers, stuffing and gravy can be refrigerated safely for three days, frozen up to six months (expect the gravy to thin considerably when it thaws).

Basic cranberry sauce

When the Pilgrims arrived in the Northeast, they found the cranberry vines creeping through the large, sandy bogs in New England.

The long-keeping qualities of cranberries kept available the taste of fresh produce and the nutritional value of vitamin C when little else might be available.

Cranberries are an interesting combination of tart and bitter, making them a perfect foil for the game that graced the tables of the first Thanksgiving and for the poultry that appears on ours today.

Easy directions for basic cranberry sauce are included on virtually every bag of fresh cranberries: Mix 2 parts (measured) cranberries with 1 part sugar and 1 part water (that is, 2 cups of berries cook with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water). Boil the mixture until the berries pop (5 minutes), then cool and chill.

To this mix you can add apple or orange juice, or add orange zest (or ground orange or chopped apple). Bring the berries to a boil, and when they pop, sweeten to taste.

Leftover whole cranberry sauce will keep until Christmas.

Gravy

The overriding concern of a gravy maker is to make a lump-free mixture. There are other concerns as well, including flavor and thickness.

Remove the bird from the roasting rack and the rack from the roasting pan. Measure the residual hot fat into a large glass measuring cup. Scrape the brown bits loose with a spoon, leaving them in the pan. (These will add color and flavor to the final gravy.)

Place the pan on a low fire - usually lengthwise over front and back burners. Stir equal amounts of turkey fat and flour into the pan (the proportion of ingredients is about 2 tablespoons each of fat and flour to 1 cup of liquid).

You always have more fat than you need for gravy. By pouring the drippings into a glass measuring cup, you can see exactly how much you use in gravy makings. If there seem to be two separate layers in the measuring cup, the top is fat and the bottom is broth; the broth can be used along with giblet broth in the gravy mixture. Discard excess fat or save it for another purpose.

Stir fat and flour so the fat coats all the flour particles and eliminates lumps. Add a teaspoon of salt and stir with a whisk. (A spoon works, but a whisk breaks up lumps better.)

The liquid usually is stock from boiling the giblets (the neck, heart and gizzards but not the liver), but canned chicken broth or even water will do. Add it gradually to the hot flour mixture, stirring constantly, or it will seize up into a clump. Keep adding liquid, a little at a time, and keep stirring. The gravy will loosen and resemble a sauce. Be sure to let the gravy boil for a few minutes, stirring (or whisking) constantly to prevent scorching.

The gravy will thicken upon standing. Make it thinner than you want so it's the perfect consistency when it comes to the table. Add salt if necessary to heighten the flavor.

Mashed potatoes

There are only a few challenges to making perfect mashed potatoes: lumps, viscosity and, of course, the time to do it.

Avoid lumps by using the right tools. Try a ricer. A ricer looks like a giant garlic press, with a metal plunger that presses potatoes through a metal basket with holes in it. You can find ricers at some cookware shops and hardware stores.

There are other ways. Very tender potatoes can be whipped lump-free with an electric mixer but then are fairly compact.

Add liquid and butter after the potatoes are mashed (they'll get lumps if you do it before).

For classic mashed potatoes:

11 medium potatoes

2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup milk, skim milk or potato-cooking liquid

pepper, to taste

Peel potatoes and cut each into 6 chunks. Boil them in water to cover, adding 1 teaspoon of salt. When they are tender (15 minutes or so), drain, saving liquid if desired.

Mash the potatoes by desired method, then add another teaspoon of salt, butter, milk or potato-cooking liquid and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Serves 6 to 8.

Stuffing

Homemade dressing is a cinch to make, and a cinch to make delicious using your own combination of seasonings, liquids and other additions.

Stack six pieces of good-quality sandwich bread (whole wheat or white). Use a serrated knife to cut through the stack to make one-half-inch cubes.

Repeat with another stack of 6 (or so) slices. For every six slices of regular, supermarket-purchased bread, you will get roughly 5 cups of bread cubes. Ten cups of dressing will serve about 15 people, depending on how many side dishes you have and how much your family likes stuffing.

Health professionals say the safest way to prepare dressing is not to stuff the bird, but to bake dressing separately. Connoisseurs agree; a stuffed bird takes longer to cook and increases the chance that the breast meat will dry out.

Add your own touches and dressing becomes something special.

For an easy bread stuffing:

3 strips bacon

1 large red or yellow onion, diced (about 2 cups)

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons butter

10 cups fresh bread cubes

chopped giblets (optional)

a little turkey stock or water

Cook bacon until crisp in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Remove from pan and chop fine. Add onion to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion no longer is sizzling but is beginning to brown. Add wine, salt, thyme and pepper and turn heat to high. Boil wine rapidly until it has all but disappeared.

Add butter. When it melts, add bread cubes and cook over medium-high heat to toast them. Add chopped giblets, if desired, bacon bits and as much turkey stock as it takes to get the texture you like (one-half to 1 and one-half cups). Warm through in a 350-degree oven, adding more liquid as desired.

Serves 12 to 15.

Sweet potatoes

These can be made ahead and reheated.

6 sweet potatoes

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 to 3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup miniature marshmallows

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a two-quart baking dish.

Peel sweet potatoes, cut in quarters and place in a large pot of water. Cover, bring the water to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the sweet potatoes and mash or whip.

Add butter, sugar and eggs and beat to blend, scraping the sides of the bowl often. Add orange juice concentrate, salt and spices and stir to blend. Spoon into casserole and sprinkle marshmallows over the top. Bake 30 minutes.

Serves eight or more.

Easy pumpkin pie

Have milk and eggs available at room temperature.

1 pound canned pumpkin

1 and one-half cups cream, half-and-half or evaporated milk

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

prebaked pie shell

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Move oven rack to bottom rung. Combine all ingredients and pour into pie shell. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes longer, or until a knife inserted between the edge and the center comes out clean.