12.13 – Yuletide Feast

We decided to host one last Sunday Dinner before 2009 winds down. A small dinner for the few nearest and dearest friends who’ve attended loyally the whole year through, in order to ensure plenty of good food and comfortable seating for all.

My plan was to create a traditional and comforting meal for a rainy late-fall evening in NYC, and to keep things simple so I could spend more time with my friends and less time in my currently dishwasher-less kitchen. (Hint Hint Santa)

~The Menu~

To begin…
> Mom’s Sweet Pepper Jelly over Creamed Cheese
> Bacon wrapped dates, stuffed with Manchego (the crowd-pleaser)
> Venison Meatballs in Brown Gravy

To Feast…
> Roast Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Cider Vinegar
> Company Potatoes
> Chestnut Dressing
> Cranberry sauce
> Roast Pork Shoulder (Prochetta-Style)
> Pork Gravy

To finish…
> Ginger Snaps, Boobie Cookies and White Chocolate Chip Cookies
> Peppermint Bark
> Irish Coffee with Real Whipped Cream

Venison Meatballs
———————–
Meatballs
1 lb ground venison (beef or lamb are fine if you can’t find Deer)
1 1/2 cups dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Dry Sherry (not cooking Sherry)
1/4 cup cream
1/2 tsp mace
Salt and Pepper to taste

Gravy
1 can double-strength beef broth (Campbell’s)
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup cream
1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 tbsp flour
Salt & Pepper to taste

To make meatballs, combine all ingredients in a bowl and roll into bite-sized balls.  Bake on a lined cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until browned.

To make gravy, add broth and bay leaf to a medium sauce pan.  Do not turn on the heat or you will get little balls of dough in your gravy. Combine remaining ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well to mix.

Whisk milk/flour mixture into broth until combined. Turn heat on medium and continue to whisk until gravy comes to a boil and thickens. After bubbles appear, turn off heat and whisk one minute more as gravy cools slightly.

Combine baked meatballs and hot gravy in a serving bowl or chaffing dish.

Serve hot with toothpicks.

Company Potatoes
———————–
2-3 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes (I leave the skins on, but you can peel if prefer)
1 8 oz package of cream cheese softened to room temperature
1 16 oz container of sour cream
4 tbsp diced fresh chives
Salt & Pepper to taste
Paprika and Cayenne to garnish
1 tbsp room-temperature butter

Dice potatoes into roughly 1 inch cubes. Place in a large pot and cover with cold water and 2-3 tbsp salt. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes and poke with a fork to confirm potatoes are cooked through.

Drain potatoes and move back to the pot, or to the bowl of a Kitchenaid mixer if you’re lucky enough to have one.

Add cream cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper to the potatoes and mash to desired consistency. Taste and adjust salt as needed.

Stir in chives and pour into an oven-safe casserole dish.

Distress the top of the casserole with a fork to create uneven peaks and valleys. This will help to brown the top of the casserole as it bakes.

Sprinkle paprika and a pinch of Cayenne (if you like a kick) over the top of the potatoes and dot with small pieces of butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (1 hour if you’ve refrigerated over night) and serve.

White Chocolate Chip Cookies
———————–
Wanting a simple sweet and salty compliment to the ginger and peanut butter cookies I already had baked, I made these up.

1 cup margarine (2 sticks) at room temperature
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup roasted, salted macadamia nuts, chopped into pieces
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

In a food processor, pulse margarine and 2 sugars until creamed. Add eggs and vanilla and pulse till combined. Add salt and baking soda and pulse to combine. Finally, add flour and pulse until just combined.

Turn dough out into a large mixing bowl and stir in white chocolate chips, nuts and berries.

Drop 1 1/2 tbsp scoops of dough on to cookie sheets lined with parchment  (2 1/2 inches apart) and bake 8-10 minutes until puffed but still a little moist.

Set on racks to cool before serving.

The Results
———————–

Carlos, our one new attendee, has been watching his carbs lately.  This was obviously a night to cheat as he polished off 3 helpings of stuffing, and at least 15 cookies before we lost count.  Sadly I can not report on the winning cookie, as he made sure to eat them in full cycles of all three each time he got more.

11.28 – Resch Family Thanksgiving

I’ve made it a tradition of going home to my mother’s house every year for Thanksgiving.  Some families fight, and some families dread all the cooking.  My family fights over who gets to cook what.  We do our feast over the weekend giving us more time to prep and enjoy every minute of the process together.

For my contribution this year I asked to take on two of the most iconic courses; beloved in theory and typically  underwhelming in practice – the Turkey, and my nemesis, the Apple Pie.

Turkey – the recipe that will change your mind about white meat
———————–

I’ve done a considerable amount of research.  A class on roast birds at ICE, conversations in bars with anyone who mentions they like food, Alton Brown… and I’m happy to say this bird proved my efforts have paid off.

My mother bought a 20lb bird for the three of us (mom likes left overs).  We invited 5 friends for the the Thanksgiving feast (giving us 8 total) and ate half the bird.  By Monday when I returned to NYC, we had about 1 lb left, and I nearly extended my vacation to keep eating.

The main secret – Brine It.

Thaw your Turkey, if its frozen, and using the largest pot you own (or a few clean garbage bags) cover your Turkey in brine and let cure a full 24 hours.  I used Tom Mylan’s head cheese brine this year to impart as much flavor as possible.  I also added 2 tbsp of smoked paprika and some fresh sage from mom’s garden.

Secret #2 – Season It.

The morning of your feast, take the Turkey out of the brine and rinse.  Place the Turkey in a roasting pan and very gently run your hand under the skin of the breast to dislodge from the meat.  Take care not to tear the skin (it looks bad).  You can also get your hand down the lower sides around the leg and thigh as well with a little maneuvering.

Using room temperate better (no margarine)  mix in your favorite aromatics and some salt and pepper to season the bird as it cooks.  I wanted a very earthy flavor this year so I made the following compound butter.

Combine:
4 tbsp room temperature butter
1 tbsp finely diced shallot
1/2 tbsp finely diced fresh sage
1 tsp truffle oil (it’s the holidays!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Spread butter evenly under the Turkey’s skin with hands.  Wipe any extra over the outside surface (never waste truffle oil).

Secret #3 – Do Not Stuff.

When you stuff your bird, you have to cook it until the stuffing reaches 165 (meaning your bird is already over-done).  Bake your stuffing on the side, or take Alton Brown’s advice.  [If you must have a stuffed bird, stuff it after both have baked separately and finish it with a blow torch]

Instead, stuff the cavity with  aromatics to help season the bird as it cooks.  My brother Will apparently is anti citrus and poultry, so I decided to stuff the bird with classic carrot, celery, and onion.  I also added a full head of garlic, cut in half, and a large handful of fresh sage leaves from the garden.

Truss the bird to keep the smaller appendages close to the body (this is key to even cooking) and place in a 450 degree oven, for 20 minutes.

Secret #4 – Low and Slow.

After 20 minutes the heat should have started to brown the outside of the bird.  It’s important to then lower the heat, almost to braising temperatures to bring the meat up to temperature slowly and carefully.  We got nervous about being ready for our guests (had a bit of a late start) so started at 290 for 2 hours, then 300 for an hour, 325 for 40 minutes and then 350 for the last 20.  If you can wait it out, not need to increase from 290.

As soon as the bird’s internal temperature reaches 165 remove from the oven.  Cover with foil and let sit at least 20 minutes to allow all the moisture to redistribute.

The result is an incredibly moist bird with an almost stock-like flavor of poultry garlic and onions.  The truffle oil comes through as added richness rather than as a strong mushroom flavor, which keeps you tasting the Turkey itself.

The Results
———————–
Our side dishes, usually the star of Thanksgiving, were hardly touched as the 8 of us continued to devour Turkey until we were uncomfortably full.

Mr. Will pulled a 4-bagger, completing a full plate at 3am to top off the night.

Dessert – A.k.a the first edible Apple Pie I’ve ever made
———————–

My last…20 attempts have been bland and under-cooked, and really not worth eating. But after watching Alton Brown make his Apple Pie, I suddenly became overly confidant that I should try just one more time.

~The following recipe is adapted from Alton Brown~
NOTE before you begin.  This Pie takes 2 days.  It’s worth it, but make sure you have the time to commit.

Crust
6 tbsp cold butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
2 oz vegetable shortening (Crisco), also chilled and cut into cubes
5-7 tbsp brandy, chilled
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

Filling
3-3 1/2 lbs mixed apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2″ thick slices
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (my own adjustment)
3 tbsp flour (Alton says tapioca flour, I had none so used all-purpose and it was fine)
2 tbsp apple jelly (I used mom’s crab apple from our tree in the back yard)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp Brandy
1/4 tsp kosher salt
I also added some spice (Alton does not)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
Fresh grated nutmeg

To make crust, pulse flour, salt, sugar, butter and shortening in a food processor till it’s the size of little peas.  Pour in 3 tbsp chilled Brandy and pulse.  Add more brandy as needed until the dough forms a nice ball.  Divide in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate over night.

To make the pie

Peel and core apples and toss in a bowl with 1/4 cup white sugar.  Move apples to a colander and let drain over a bowl for at least an hour.  Reserve liquid.

Pre heat oven to 425

Toss apples with brown sugar, lemon, Brandy, apple jelly, flour, and spices.

Pour reserved liquid into a sauce pan and reduce by half over medium heat.

Take dough from fridge and roll out into two large circles between 2 pieces of wax paper or parchment.  Place one round of dough in the bottom of a deep pie plate and set a vent in the center (looks like a ceramic bird.  You can just cut vents if you don’t have one, but the bird is a nice touch…).  Arrange apples tightly in concentric circles starting at the out side of the plate.  Cover with second dough round and crimp the edges to seal, trimming excess dough as needed.

Brush top of crust (avoiding the crimped edges) with the reduced apple liquid and sprinkle with a little cinnamon and sugar if you like.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until the crust is browned and you can small the apples.  Let cool completely before serving.

The Results
———————–
Mom was spotted stealing bites from the left-over pie the next two mornings. This wouldn’t be strange, except that mom never snacks, especially not on sweets…