Taste Buds: Our Thanksgiving Feast

I must say, I was nervous beyond my wits for our Thanksgiving Celebration. More than the fact that this was our first time hosting and we were serving for 11 people, this was the first time I have ever prepared a Thanksgiving dish, and I went all-American with the turkey, the stuffing, and the potatoes. I was probably the most surprised that every dish, and I repeat, ALL THREE DISHES, were not just great, apparently, they were quite magnificent! Ask Ms C, because she even gave me a compliment, and, like me, she is not one to give compliments just to be polite. Brace yourselves, kiddos, this is a beefy Taste Buds post! Well, turkey-y lol!

Once again, thanks to Epicurious for being my one-stop resource for this occasion since I absolutely had no idea what to prepare other than a gigantic turkey.

The Bird: Salt-Roasted Turkey with Lemon and Oregano

For the turkey, I actually used more than the salt rub in this recipe for the brining process. I still prepared the rub only to rub on the turkey before roasting. For my brining, I actually bought a brining kit from Bed Bath and Beyond (obviously in the Beyond section) and really, that was what made the bird nice and moist in the inside. The brining kit included a bag of herbs, mostly thyme and oregano (so I was certain that the flavors would not clash), peppers, salt, and a bunch of other stuff that I don’t even know. I dissolved 1 cup of sugar in 3 quarts of water. Once that was cooled, I placed the turkey (rinsed, of course, with all the stuff inside the cavity removed) in the brining bag, added the mixture, added 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar, and 5 quarts of ice water. Needless to say, the 18-lb turkey doubled in weight when I had to place it in the fridge to brine for 18 hours (1 hour per pound).

Thanksgiving morning, I prepared everything else, and here’s what I used:

Rub:
1/3 cup coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano (you can use 2 tablespoons of fresh oregano instead)
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 14- to 16-pound turkey
3 coarsely chopped lemons
2 chopped celery stalks
1 chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth, divided

Mix all ingredients of the salt rub in small bowl.

To roast turkey, set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 350°F. Remove the turkey from the brining bag. As you are doing this, try to save the herbs. Chef helped me with this one and he just opened the bag a bit and used a strainer to collect the herbs. Place the turkey on your rack on your roasting pan, with wings tucked under. Rub 4 tablespoons of your salt rub inside the main cavity. Sprinkle remaining salt rub all over the bird. Also sprinkle your collected herbs.

Combine lemons, celery stalks, onions, fresh oregano, fresh thyme, black pepper, kosher salt, 1/4 cup of olive oil, and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice in a large bowl. Mix well and spoon into main cavity (this stuffing was really such a hit!). Whisk the remaining oil and lemon juice. Brush this lemon oil all over the turkey.

Pour 2 cups of stock into the roasting pan and roast for about an hour. Keep roasting and keep adding stock into the pan, making sure that the pan won’t dry and turning the pan around. We roasted for about 3 1/2 hours, until the thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registered 165°F. Actually, my turkey went up to about 200°F inside and I feared it was going to be dry. Thankfully it wasn’t. Transfer the turkey to your platter and cover it loosely with foil for about 45 minutes to let the poor bird rest. Done!

While all this was going on, we prepared the sidedish and the stuffing that wasn’t stuffed into the turkey.

The Stuffing: Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage, Apples and Golden Raisins

When I was looking for a stuffing recipe, I wanted something that had sweet elements in it, to combat and/or compliment the saltiness of the turkey. So, with apples and raisins, this was exactly what I was looking for!

1 1 1/2-pound artisan sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 13 cups) (The Epicurious recipe called for loaf sourdough bread, with the crusts removed. I prefer the artisan bread anytime and I kept the crusts because I wanted that crunch.)
2 pounds bulk pork Italian sausage
2 large onions, chopped
3 stalks chopped celery (about 5 stalks)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, divided
6 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled Granny Smith apples (about 28 ounces) – I didn’t peel my apples and I have no idea what kind I used. I just know I used half red apples and half green ones
3/4 cup golden raisins
2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
3 large eggs

Get your oven going at 350°F with the rack in the center. Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on large rimmed baking sheet. The recipe doesn’t call for it but I put some olive oil on the bread cubes and baked them for about 15 – 20 minutes. Transfer the bread cubes to a very large mixing bowl.

Sauté the sausage in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through for about 8 to 10 minutes. Then, transfer the sausages in to the bowl with the bread cubes. Cook the onions and celery using the sausage drippings in the same skillet (my sausages were so healthy it did not have much drippings at all so I added olive oil). After cooking onions and celery until they’re golden brown, add these to the bread and sausage mixture as well. In the same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and cook apples in it until the apples are tender (about 10 minutes). Add the apples to the bread bowl and toss in the raisins. Season this mixture with salt and pepper. (Apparently this can be prepared even a day ahead.)

Butter a glass baking dish. Whisk broth and eggs in a medium bowl and add this to the stuffing and mix very well. Transfer this to the baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until the top is golden. Then that’s it. Cool a bit and serve. I love the crunch of the crusts of the bread cubes that were on top. This dish is awesome with the different textures.

The Sidedish: Potato Gratin with Mushrooms and Gruyère

This perhaps may be my favorite. Maybe because even if this were a potato dish, it was actually light. Additionally, who doesn’t love Gruyère?!

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds 1/2-inch cubes assorted mushrooms (I used white and crimini.)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 pounds potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices (Use your mandolin peeps!!)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon (or more) salt
1/2 teaspoon (or more) freshly ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely grated Gruyère cheese

Heat 1/4 cup oil in large skillet over medium-high heat and add mushrooms. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper and keep cooking until the mushrooms are soft and when the liquid evaporates. Add the garlic and sauté a bit more. Season with more salt and pepper as necessary. Set this aside to stand at room temperature (apparently, this can also be made up to 4 hours in advance).

Get your oven pre-heated at 375°F. Pat potato slices dry with kitchen towel. In a large pot, combine cream, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add potatoes and bring to boil. Turn the head down and let it simmer. Cover it but mix it occassionaly. Simmer until cream is reduced by about half and potatoes are partially cooked, stirring often and watching closely to prevent mixture from burning. Season with salt and pepper.

Brush 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with oil. Transfer half of potato mixture to dish, spreading out in even layer. I would say, as even as you can get. It’s not that easy because the potatoes kind of stacked on each other while boiling. Spoon mushroom mixture over in even layer and spoon remaining potato mixture over, spreading in even layer. Sprinkle cheese all over and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes and uncover it to bake a bit more until the top is brown – 20 to 25 minutes longer. Take it out, let it rest for a bit, serve, and enjoy your light potato sidedish!

Well, that was our Thanksgiving feast everybody! It was an enjoyable and memorable one. I can’t wait to do this again next year for me to be able to call this a tradition!