eG Foodblog: slkinsey's Thanksgiving Week Diary

[slkinsey]

Next:

Toasted Corn And Stilton Soufflé

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts With Guanciale and Chive/Oregano Vinaigrette

Bourgogne Rouge, Domaine Alain Hudelot-Noellat, 2000

Again.... this was pretty good. The corn and stilton soufflé wasn't exactly what I would have wanted though (a little too much like eggy cornbread), and it's a pain to make these at the last minute. This time, I think I am going to build a course around brussels sprouts. I was thinking something like "Brussels Sprouts four Ways." It would be something like:

1. A tiny little "brussels sprout crème brûlée." I have a lot of tiny ramekins from the soufflés last year, so it would be easy to make up some brussels sprouts custards, chill them in the refrigerator and then do a thin burnt sugar topping a la minute. I think it adds extra interest in the form of contrast that this would be cold.

2. Little servings of brussels sprouts and cheese (gruyere?) gratin. Easy to make in a large baking pan and then punch out circles for service with a cookie cutter. In this dish the brussels sprouts will be cooked until completely tender.

3. A few halved brussels sprouts fried cut-side down in guanciale fat until well browned, served with tiny pieces of crisp guanciale. These will be cooked, but still with some considerable bite.

4. Raw brussels sprouts shaved micro-fine on the mandoline and dressed with a light vinaigrette. I'll have to QA this to make sure that raw brussels sprouts are palatable. Otherwise, I'll blanch them for around 2 seconds to get out the raw taste and shock them in ice water.

The only element of this dish that really has to be done a la minute is to brûler the custards. For the halved brussels sprouts, I'll probably pre-brown the cut sides by iceing down the halved brussels sprouts and frying the cut sides on very high heat. That will give me nicely browned surfaces with not too much cooking of the brussel sprout. After that, I can warm them up to temperature over low heat during the preceding course without overcooking them.

[slkinsey]

Next:

Lemon-Thyme Sorbet

"Vigneto Biancospino," Azienda Agricola Dante Rivetti, Piemonte, 2002

This is always a winner, and it gives me some breathing room before the main event. I think it's also the right time for something light and refreshing that isn't the least bit filling. This allows the diners to rest for around half and hour, and get their second wind.

The recipe is simple: combine two pints Fairway lemon sorbet with the leaves from one bunch of thyme. Chill. Serve. The only difficulty is in making sure that the thyme leaves are tender. I've tried various methods, and haven't been entirely satisfied to-date. This time around, I'll try poaching the thyme leaves in a little farigoule thyme liqueur and then pureeing the whole works.

Sparkling Moscato d'Asti works perfectly with this, so I don't anticipate changing that either. In years past, I've served this out of frozen hollowed-out lemon halves (using the juice for the ceviche). My mother recently decided I couldn't live without some antique footed glass sorbet dishes, so guess what I'll be serving it in this year?

[slkinsey]

Last of the savory courses is:

Turkey Two Ways With Cornbread Dressing, Foie Gras And Black Truffle Carpaccio

Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup "Le Rollier," Domaine Mas Foulaquier, 2001

Sonoma Valley Red Wine "Albarello," H. Coturri & Sons, 2001

There was a fair amount of interest in the Turkey Two Ways recipe last year, and much to my delight several eG members duplicated the recipe for their dinner with great results. Since RecipeGullet is still in development, I duplicate the recipe here:

Ingredients

1  14 - 18 pound turkey

1  Bottle port

1  Bottle dry red wine

2  Large carrots

5  Ribs celery

2  Medium yellow onions

1  Bouquet garni

1  Large head cabbage

1  Jar "Black Truffle Carpaccio"

1  Cylinder foie gras

1 lb Butter

Process

Debone the Turkey -- 1-2 Days Before

1. Using a sharp knife, remove the legs from the turkey. Remove the skin from the legs and discard. Cut the meat from the bones in large pieces. Reserve the bones. Cut all other large pieces of dark meat from the turkey and place with the leg meat. You may want to cut out the large tendons from the drumstick meat.
   
2. Place the dark meat in a refrigerator container or ziplock bag along with the red wine, the port, the vegetables and the bouquet garni (4 parsley sprigs, 4 thyme sprigs and 1 rosemary sprig, tied together). Place in refrigerator and marinate 1-2 days.
   
3. Using a sharp knife, remove the breasts from the carcass, each in one large piece. Keep the skin on, Place in a refrigerator container or ziplock bag and completely submerge in brine (1/2 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt per quart of water). Brine 1-2 days. (See Dave the Cook's eGCI Brining Course for more information in brining.) Reserve all bones.
   

Make the Turkey Stock -- 1-2 Days Before

1. Using the reserved turkey bones, make a turkey stock. Refer to Fat Guy's excellent eGCI classes on making stocks for an overview on making stocks. Since this will be a single purpose stock that will later be combined with many other ingredients that have a lot of flavor, just make a "white stock" and don't bother with any vegetables or aromatics.
   
2. Reduce the turkey stock to <1 quart and reserve.
   

Braise the Dark Meat -- 1 - 0 Days Before

1. Strain the wine marinade and reserve.
   
2. Separate the turkey leg pieces and the vegetables and pat them dry with paper towels. Set a large pot over medium heat, brown the turkey meat in butter and set aside.
   
3. Add the vegetables to the pot with some butter and cook until caramelized. Sprinkle on a little flour and cook 2 minutes, until flour is toasted. Add the wine and stir to release any browned bits.
   
4. Return the dark meat and bouquet garni to the pot, add turkey stock and barely simmer until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours. Skim any scum that rises during the first 30-40 minutes.
   
5. Drain meat and vegetables, reserving liquid. Discard vegetables and bouquet garni. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and set aside. When the turkey meat is cool enough, pull it into rough shreds by hand into a bowl. Mix with enough of the reserved liquid to moisten it and set aside.
   
6. Simmer the remaining reserved liquid until it coats the back of a spoon and set aside.
   

Prepare The Dressing -- 1 Day Before

1. Cook a batch of your favorite dressing in a baking dish and cool. Keep it simple. I prefer cornbread, sturdy white bread, the "Scarboro Fair herbs" (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme), onion, stock and cream. This should be a fairly moist stuffing.
   
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add cabbage leaves and cook until tender. Remove leaves and shock in ice water. Trim the ends of the tough central rib from the leaves. Place a cabbage leaf on a cutting board (use two if they are small) and place several tablespoons of the stuffing at one end. Roll up like a burrito into a little bundle. Place in a buttered baking pan, seam side down. Cover with foil.
   

Roast The Breasts -- A La Minute

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a roasting pan over medium high heat and add butter. Season the breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. When butter is sizzling, add the breasts, skin down. Sear about 5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast breasts to 155 degrees F (around 45 minutes). Remove and let rest for 10 minutes covered with foil.
   

Prepare the Sauce -- A La Minute

1. While the breasts are in the oven, bring the wine/port reduction up to a simmer on the stove.
   
2. Mount with copious amounts of butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the saucepan to a corner of the stove to keep warm. (You may want to refer to Jack's excellent eGCI course on Non Stock-Based Sauces for background.)
   

Reheat The Dressing And The Shredded Dark Meat -- A La Minute

1. 20 minutes prior to service, moisten the stuffing packages with broth and reheat still covered, in a 350 - 400 F oven. You can do this is a separate oven from the breasts, or together in the same oven if you only have one (put the dressing in the oven for the last ten minutes or so the breasts are cooking, then keep it in there while the breasts are resting).
   
2. While the sauce and dressing coming up to temperature and the breasts are roasting, reheat the dark meat using the method of your choice. (I do it in a small saucepan on the back of the stove, but you can just as easily do it in the microwave.)
   

Plate The Course -- A La Minute

1. Slice the breasts across the grain into medium-thick slices.
   To do one plate:
   
2. Put down a base of the wine/port sauce.
   
3. Place a small mound of shredded dark meat in the center of the plate (I am going to use a ring mold for this), and cover with  two slices of breast meat.
   
4. Cut a stuffing bundle on the bias and stand it up at 12 o'clock.
   
5. Cut a thin "coin" of foie gras from the cylinder. Place in the middle of the breast slices.
   
6. Put a small spoonfull (I use around 1/2 a demitasse spoonfull) of the truffle carpaccio on top of the foie gras.
   
7. Serve!
   

Once everything is hot and ready to go, you can plate everything fairly quickly -- especially if you have help. Note that most of the "a la minute" items can be done without being watched or in a very short period of time.  Warm plates (just throw them in the oven for a few minutes) can make a big difference.

[slkinsey]

Really loved the Coturri Albarello last year. A super-powerful, funky different wine. I always think it's fun to go out with a wine that is not only very powerful, but also unusual. This fit the bill. Not sure whether we'll have the same one this year, but I'm certainly looking for something like it.

[slkinsey]

So, that does it for the savory courses. Major things to improve this year: better presentation/use of garnish, smaller portion sizes.

[bleudauvergne]

Continuing to look down the menu, we have:

Cauliflower Soup With Seared Diver Scallop And Curry Oil

Saumur Blanc "La Papareille," Domaine Saint-Vincent, 2002

This was the surprise hit of last year.  It's literally nothing more than a large head of cauliflower cooked until just tender in milk, then pureed and enrichened with a little cream and chicken stock.  The curry oil is made by heating good curry powder in olive oil and infusing the oil for several hours, then straining it all through a coffee filter.  Last year, each dish was garnished with a single seared diver scallop and drizzled with the curry oil.

The nice thing about this soup is that it can be made several days in advance and then warmed up on the stove for service.  I've tried it cold, and it just doesn't work.

I'm going to be keeping this dish more or less intact this year, with a few modfications.  I'm reducing the size of the serving and switching from a wide shallow bowl to a tall narrow bowl.  I'm eliminating the scallop.  I'd also like to do another layer of something hidden underneath.  I've been thinking of putting a spinach puree on the bottom of the bowl and then filling the rest of the way with the cauliflower puree and garnishing with the curry oil.  Spinach goes with curry flavors, right?  Any thoughts?  It would also be nice to think of one other garnish element for the surface of the soup.  Something like a single leaf of chervil laid down flat on the surface.

←

Sam, your garnish sounds nice. As for the under layer, when I think caulifower, I just don't know about the spinach, I think it might get gritty on the teeth. I'd instead do something la little different like a chevril /parsley soup, with bunches - I'm talking several of finely minced chevril & some parsely, the herbs parboiled so they keep their color, and then pureed with just a little potato, salt & white pepper to give it body and enriched with whole butter and cream. You could try this too with spinach but I'd try it first.

[slkinsey]

That's an interesting idea, Lucy. The two conditions I absolutely need to meet for the underlayer are: 1. has to be denser than the cauliflower soup so it stays on the bottom and doesn't mix too much; and 2. I don't want to have to thicken it with additional starch (e.g., potato) because that is too filling. If this works with chervil, parsley and cream, it could be a nice idea.

[bleudauvergne]

That's an interesting idea, Lucy.  The two conditions I absolutely need to meet for the underlayer are: 1. has to be denser than the cauliflower soup so it stays on the bottom and doesn't mix too much; and 2. I don't want to have to thicken it with additional starch (e.g., potato) because that is too filling.  If this works with chervil, parsley and cream, it could be a nice idea.

←

Don't forget the butter!

[Abra]

For your cauliflower soup, I think I'd do a little layer of fennel and shallot sauteed in butter, maybe with a crumb or two of pancetta. Then either fennel pollen or a little fennel frond as garnish.

The turkey sounds divine. I'm doing two Thanksgivings this year, and wish I could try your recipe for one of them.

[reesek]

Stephen brings up a good point about the moisture. Cukes are really wet to start with (even the English ones), and when you freeze them and damage the cells, it's only going to get worse. You might try salting them for an hour or so as part of your prep. This draws out a lot of moisture, and has surprisingly little effect on flavor (if that matters, since it's a garnish that might not get eaten anyway).

←

Right. Well, there are two things at play here: 1. the cucumber cup is not meant to be eaten, and 2. if the cucumber cups freeze well and they are sitting on a block of frozen slate, melting will hopefully not be an issue. But it's definitely something I should QA.

←

sam, i have used english cucumber cups as vessels before - salting and then draining is exactly the way to go...i had mousse in mine for hours with no problems. frozen you'd have even less to worry about.

by the way - get an extra chair...i'm coming over!!

[slkinsey]

sam, i have used english cucumber cups as vessels before - salting and then draining is exactly the way to go...i had mousse in mine for hours with no problems. frozen you'd have even less to worry about.

←

Cool. Thanks for the info. I hope to evaluate several different strategies this weekend. Will post pictures and comments if I can.

[rooftop1000]

hi hi

just another suggestion for the cucumber cups....forget em and use zucchini ....or try making scoops of the granita and toss them in the freezer on a plate or cookie sheet then just slide into cukes.

T

[maggiethecat]

For your cauliflower soup, I think I'd do a little layer of fennel and shallot sauteed in butter, maybe with a crumb or two of pancetta.  Then either fennel pollen or a little fennel frond as garnish.

←

I'm loving this idea. Thanksgiving and fennel are inextricably linked for me and those fronds are about as pretty a garnish as it gets. Hmmm. I've never pureed fennel. This is well worth a shot.

[Marlene]

Sam, I don't have any suggestions for you, but I just wanted to say I'm awed by the complexity of this. I can't wait to find out how you do this and spend time with your guests. I'm really looking forward to learning a few things here.

[Jake]

Sam, it sounds like your menu is coming together beautifully, thank you for sharing the plans with us. I look forward to seeing some pictures.

[slkinsey]

For your cauliflower soup, I think I'd do a little layer of fennel and shallot sauteed in butter, maybe with a crumb or two of pancetta.  Then either fennel pollen or a little fennel frond as garnish.

←

I'm loving this idea. Thanksgiving and fennel are inextricably linked for me and those fronds are about as pretty a garnish as it gets. Hmmm. I've never pureed fennel. This is well worth a shot.

←

This is an appealing idea. I've made a fennel puree soup before for Thanksgiving, and it worked very well. The fennel would, I think, have to be pureed as I am looking for a denser but still smooth texture for the hidden element. Fennel goes with cauliflower, I think. How well do we think fennel goes with curry flavors?

I can't wait to find out how you do this and spend time with your guests.

←

I'll get into this a bit later, but there are two key elements: 1. Plan as many dishes as possible that can be largely cooked ahead of time and can be easily reheated with little monitoring. If they can be completely or partially plated ahead of time, that helps too. 2. Plan out the logistics of the meal. Literally write down a list of what has to happen when. Plan out where things will be stored, account for stovetop and oven real estate, and consider and where pots, dishes, glasses will be placed when you're done with them.

Once you go through these steps, it is a small matter to simply execute the plan. Looking at my menu, for example, the only element that is really time-sensitive is cooking the turkey breasts. The granita in the first course will be pre-portioned, and I can open the oysters right before we sit down. Meanwhile, the soup elements are coming up to temperature on the stove and the brussels sprouts gratin and soup bowls are in the oven. While one person clears the oyster settings (demitasse spoons into a bus bin and the rest raked into a trash can, then the slates stacked out of the way), I can prepare the soup settings (1 small ladle of "hidden element TBA" in first, then 1 larger ladle of cauliflower puree, then place the garnish on top and give it a drizzle of curry oil from a squirt bottle -- I estimate around 15-20 seconds per serving; should have 10 to 12 servings banged out by the time the oyster settings are removed and the wine poured). And that's the way it goes. I also have the advantage of having an kitchen that is open to the dining room, so I can stay in touch with everyone even during these brief periods of work.

[bleudauvergne]

For your cauliflower soup, I think I'd do a little layer of fennel and shallot sauteed in butter, maybe with a crumb or two of pancetta.  Then either fennel pollen or a little fennel frond as garnish.

←

I'm loving this idea. Thanksgiving and fennel are inextricably linked for me and those fronds are about as pretty a garnish as it gets. Hmmm. I've never pureed fennel. This is well worth a shot.

←

This is an appealing idea. I've made a fennel puree soup before for Thanksgiving, and it worked very well. The fennel would, I think, have to be pureed as I am looking for a denser but still smooth texture for the hidden element. Fennel goes with cauliflower, I think. How well do we think fennel goes with curry flavors?

Fennel would go with curry, no question. A subtle and interesting flavor transition from the cauliflower to the fennel as well. Please tell more about the bowls and the experience of reaching the bottom layer. Are the bowls see though so you can see the layers? Should the color be distinct to emphasize the experience of reaching the under layer? Have you devised a plan to keep people from stirring their soup?

[Abra]

Ah, I'd assumed that you were ditching the curry oil along with the scallop. Instead of curry oil, perhaps a lemon-infused oil? Or if you're wanting more color contrast, maybe a little saffron oil?

Do you have enough dishes for all of these courses? That's always a huge issue in my menu-planning, not enough dishes, no desire to wash between courses, and hating to use disposables.

[slkinsey]

Fennel would go with curry, no question.  A subtle and interesting flavor transition from the cauliflower to the fennel as well.  Please tell more about the bowls and the experience of reaching the bottom layer.  Are the bowls see though so you can see the layers?  Should the color be distinct to emphasize the experience of reaching the under layer?  Have you devised a plan to keep people from stirring their soup?

←

The bowls I am going to use are small, narrow bowls. Something like this bowl from Ikea, but a little smaller. Remember, the idea is that it's not a very big serving. The whole thing will only be maybe a cup and a half in volume.

For reaching the bottom layer, I think I will just have to hope that no one stirs up their soup, although I might say something to the effect that it's not meant to be stirred. Obviously there will be some mixture of the two ingredients as the diners reach the bottom of the bowl. I do want a big color contrast, and I also want a big texture contrast. This is one reason I had originally thought (and am still leaning in the direction) of a sort of dense, creamed spinach puree. To be honest, the "spinach puree on the bottom" idea is ripped off from something Doug Psaltis made at Mix which had a layer of spinach puree on the bottom, and below that a few poached oysters. I'd love to have one more secret under the bottom layer, but can't think of anything that would work as well as oyster, and I'm already serving oyster in the previous course.

Ah, I'd assumed that you were ditching the curry oil along with the scallop.  Instead of curry oil, perhaps a lemon-infused oil?  Or if you're wanting more color contrast, maybe a little saffron oil?

←

I'm definitely keeping the curry oil. That's what made the dish such a hit last year. Curry spices and cauliflower go together very well. Although the oil does provide a very nice color contrast, more importantly it provides a lot of really nice flavor. It's especially nice to incorporate the curry flavor as an oil drizzle, because some spoonfulls will have a lot of curry flavor, some will have none, etc. This year, I just want to remove the shellfish element, refine the dish a bit and -- dare I say it? -- kick it up a notch.

Do you have enough dishes for all of these courses?  That's always a huge issue in my menu-planning, not enough dishes, no desire to wash between courses, and hating to use disposables.

←

I'll get into plates later, but I think I have enough to do every course with a fresh, clean plate without having to rely on washing in between.

[slkinsey]

Okay... so, I think I have settled on the salad course. bergerka expressed a preference for tuna, and since she will be doing most of the dishes, keeping her happy is always one of my primary goals.

So it's going to be tuna carpaccio with the herb salad on top and maybe a few capers. I've made tuna carpaccio before. It's pretty easy to do, and has some distinct advantages for a meal like this. The big advantage is that I can pound out and plate the tuna sometime in the afternoon, then keep the plates in the refrigerator until service. When it comes time to serve these dishes, I can simply dress the herb salad in a large bowl, place a small handfull into the center of each plate and garnish. Easy to do the whole works in the amount of time it takes to clear the table of the soup bowls and pour the next wine.

[marie-louise]

Tell me more about your logistics. Who clears the table & pours the wine-one of the guests-or do you do that, then cook? Do you sit down and eat with them during each course? Do you have a written flowchart posted in the kitchen of what to serve next and all the steps/ ingredients for each course, or do you just remember? And do you drink wine during the course of the meal, or are you planning to stay sober?

[slkinsey]

Tell me more about your logistics. Who clears the table & pours the wine-one of the guests-or do you do that, then cook? Do you sit down and eat with them during each course? Do you have a written flowchart posted in the kitchen of what to serve next and all the steps/ ingredients for each course, or do you just remember? And do you drink wine during the course of the meal, or are you planning to stay sober?

←

I'll definitely be doing a logistics section here a little later on. For now, I will say that I do write the logistics down and keep the list in the kitchen. I usually have the help of two people in the kitchen, bergerka and ewindels. Three is about all there is room for. Typically bergerka clears the table, and ewindels does the wine while I do the plates. Then the two of them bring the plated dishes to the table while I do whatever has to be done to get ready for the next course. For the final course, I usually have the help of ewindels (an experienced and talented cook in his own right) with the plating.

As for the wine, I'll definitely be drinking. As others will tell you, my Scottish ancestry has endowed me with a remarkable capacity to tolerate alcohol without feeling the effects too strongly (perhaps high levels of alcohol dehydrogenase?). Since we will be giving small pours that are accompanied with plenty of food, I'm not worried about that.

[slkinsey]

So, here is what I have in mind:

Marinated Crudités

Cranbery Bellini

– – –

Raw Kumamoto Oyster With Cucumber Granita

Wine TBD

– – –

Cauliflower Soup With Curry Oil

Wine TBD

– – –

Tuna Carpaccio With Mixed Herb Salad

Wine TBD

– – –

Brussels Sprouts Four Ways

- crème brûlée

- gratin

- sautéed with guanciale

- shredded "slaw"

Wine TBD

– – –

Lemon-Thyme Sorbet

Wine: a sparkling Moscato d'Asti

– – –

Turkey Two Ways With Cornbread Dressing, Foie Gras And Black Truffle Carpaccio

Wine TBD

– – –

Bourbon Bread Pudding

Pecan Tart

Cranberry Cheesecake (?)

Sugarless Apple Pie (?)

Coffee

– – –

Palmiers and Chocolate Truffles

Grappa, Scotch, Bourbon, Etc.

[marie-louise]

As for the wine, I'll definitely be drinking.  As others will tell you, my Scottish ancestry has endowed me with a remarkable capacity to tolerate alcohol without feeling the effects too strongly (perhaps high levels of alcohol dehydrogenase?).  Since we will be giving small pours that are accompanied with plenty of food, I'm not worried about that.

←

I can cook while drinking, too. The only downside (at least for any guests who may still be hungry) is that I feel more like sitting & less like cooking as the evening wears on.

When you get to the logistics, I'm curious as to how long it takes you to eat all these courses??? Do you go out for a walk in the middle or anything? Clear the plates & have everyone put their heds down on the table for a quick nap? It sounds like so much food-but all so wonderful that if I was one of your guests, I'd eat every single morsel. Speaking of which, didn't you post pictures of this meal last year? I'd love to see the link.

[slkinsey]

When you get to the logistics, I'm curious as to how long it takes you to eat all these courses??? Do you go out for a walk in the middle or anything? Clear the plates & have everyone put their heds down on the table for a quick nap? It sounds like so much food-but all so wonderful that if I was one of your guests, I'd eat every single morsel. Speaking of which, didn't you post pictures of this meal last year? I'd love to see the link.

←

No pictures from last year, unfortunately. I'll take some this year, of course.

As for the timing, etc... This is in a "tasting menu" format, so each course is fairly small. Think something along the lines of "Thanksgiving dinner as Thomas Keller might do it... if he sustained a horrible head injury that knocked out most of his culinary talent." Understanding that, it's a long dinner. We typically sit down for the oyster course at 8:00 to 8:30 and finish the turkey course sometime around 11:00 -- around three hours. This corresponds roughly to the timing of an extended multicourse tasting menu at a restaurant. The small portion sizes and the length of the meal combine to (hopefully) make sure that no one is stuffed to the gills by the time dessert comes around (although I do remember getting an email from a guest after last year's dinner saying: "did you notice that Eric Malson went back for thirds on the turkey?! dude, that's insane!"). It's taken a few tries to figure out appropriate portion sizes, and I think I was largely sucessful last year. Nevertheless, one goal for this year is to reduce the portion sizes even a bit more compared to last year.