This is the first Thanksgiving since I was married that my wife and I have been apart. Filial duties to her mother, by our mutual agreement, this year trump marital tradition.
But I didn't have to take pot luck in a shelter for homeless guys. I was invited by one of my son's in-laws to share the holiday feast with them. Asking what I could bring, they suggested mashed potatoes. I'm pretty good at these, although my wife usually restrains my use of animal fat. In her absence, I was unrestrained.
I peeled about 3 pounds of Idaho potatoes. Cut them in large chunks. Barely covered them in cold salted water. Brought them to a boil, then simmered for about 25 minutes, when they were just getting soft. Drained and returned to pot to dry. Meanwhile I had scalded a pint of half and half. I started mashing the spuds by hand (a food processor makes them gummy sometimes). Gradually added the hot cream, three sticks of unsalted butter, and 6 ounces of cream cheese. (Okay, it's just once a year!) Added salt and pepper to taste, also freshly grated nutmeg. Put them in a heavy casserole and kept them in the oven at 200º for about half an hour.
Then came brussel sprouts. I had three little tubs of fresh sprouts. Removed outer leaves and trimmed stems slightly. Steamed them until bright green, about 10 minutes. In a dutch over pot, melted two sticks of unsalted butter. Added the sprouts, stirred and salted and put in a 250º oven for braising, covered. After 30 minutes, removed cove, and cooked another 30 minutes. The sprouts were still intact, but crispy and brown. Spooned them out of the pot into a small ovenproof casserole dish, then heated the remaining butter in the dutch oven t brown and added 3/4 cup of slivered almonds, allowing to toast for 5 minutes until light brown. Added almonds to sprouts. Added juirce of two limes, lime zest, salt, and a couple of pinches of Asian 5-spice mix. Reheated for serving. Everyone except my son pronounced them delicious. (He doesn't like Roquefort cheese, either--gene didn't get passed down somehow.)
Again, it's once a year. Usually I simply stream most cole vegetables
__________________
"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in an argument." William Gibbs McAdoo. US Vice-President under Woodrow Wilson.
You had me till you started in on brussel sprouts... UGH! I'm reminded of a particularly traumatic experience I had as a 5 yr old, when I was forced to eat my sprouts. I had the final say on it though, when I proceeded to throw them up on my parent's bed!
Where's the "NOT healthy" part? Sounded very tasty to me and, if eaten in the right proportions, not bad at all!
I had turkey & dressing... and more dressing.. and gravy! Chips. There was a row of desserts that stretched the entire length of the counter and I made repeat trips! Then there was the wine... lots of wine!
That was Round 1. Round 2 will be Saturday when redo all of this with MY side of the family!
My theory is, if you cram it all in within a short period of time, your body can't absorb it all so you don't get the FULL negative impact... hope I'm right!
Maybe I should add one word about the downside of yesterday's meal.
The hopitality was great and much appreciated, but ...
My hosts are northern-born. My thanksgivings have always given a
strong nod to Texas, particularly as regards dressing and gravy.
Here’s what I missed this year.
The dressing , well, first it's not stuffing. I like to stuff a turkey with moist fruits and root vegetables, and lightly. Putting a gob of starchy stuff inside the bird increases cooking time, not a good idea, since turkey white meat is as terminally dry as... never mind. Dressing gets stuck together and it may never reach a safe temperature. Anway, my dressing starts a week before T'gving, when corn
bread is made. I use a mixture of yellow corn meal, flour, baking
powder, buttermilk, eggs, salt, and some finely chopped onions, with
lard used generously as shortening. The cornbread is cooked in a big,
well-cured and blackened cast iron skillet. I start it on the top of
the stove to get a crusty bottom, then bake it at 450º. It then sits
in the oven for several days to get stale. When it's time to make the
dressing, I crumble the corn bread. No food processor. I want a mix
of small particles and chunks. Various things go in depending on my
mood. Chopped onions for sure, also thinly sliced celery--maybe some
lovage leaves to increase the celery aroma. Pecans crumbled up. A
little thyme or oregano and very light sage, not enough to overpower
everything else. Maybe dried cranberries. I moisten it with consomme
or beef broth, not too wet. It goes in the oven in a covered
casserole about an hour before the turket is done. 30 minutes or so
later, I uncover the dressing and add some of the juices from the
turkey pan.
Now, for the gravy. Earlier I have hardboiled 8-10 eggs, until just
hard, not green-tinged. I've also simmered the heart, and gizzard and
neck until done, and thrown in the liver for the last 8 minutes and
allowed to cool.
The gravy starts with fats and other pan juices from the turkey, and
some flour...go slow, for this gravy is thickened mostly by the
tidbits it contains, but some flour is needed to bind everything. (If
too thin, you can correct with Wondra at the very last.)
Chop the giblets, and dice the egg, in fairly coarse chunks. You want
the golden egg yolk pieces to show up in the final product. Sirring
slowly, add a quart of half and half. then the gible ts and chopped
egg whites and yolks. Use Wondra to get a final flowing consistency
close to New England clam chowder. Salt and pepper to taste, add
marjoram or thyme or oregono judiciously.You can increase the flour
and add milk if you wish.
I make a large skillet, brim full--there’s got to be enough for leftovers!
And Christmas Eve I cook for the entire family. Probably capon... with dressing and cream giblet gravy.
__________________
"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in an argument." William Gibbs McAdoo. US Vice-President under Woodrow Wilson.
Mmmmm... I love cornbread dressing. And those potatoes sound wonderful, too. I'm reminded of Julia Child, when someone asked her about making mashed potatoes if they have to use so much butter. Julia replied, "Well, no, you don't HAVE to use all that butter. You can use cream instead."
I don't think I've ever had gravy with boiled eggs in it. That must be a regional specialty. Sounds good, though.
I agree with JP -- I'm not at all inclined toward brussels sprouts.
Next year, I'll invite you to my house, Gardener!
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
B Sprouts are easy. Cut them in half, steam. WHen done, melt some butter in a saute pan. When it melts, add some chopped pecans, cook until they're starting to brown. Toss in the sprouts, toss a few times. They're good this way.
For mashies:
Peel a bunch of yukon gold. Cut up into chunks, then cook until tender (I steam mine). Put into a mixer, add an egg, mix. Then add some butter and a bit of heavy cream then season to taste. I add nutmeg to mine.
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