eG Foodblog: Marlene Maple Leaves, Bacon & Pecans - A Canadian go

[Gifted Gourmet]

Merry Christmas to you and your family, Marlene!

Your pictures and blog have made this season an even brighter one for us here at eGullet!

Greatly appreciate your sharing this cooking experience with us who hunger for all manner of things southern

Enjoy the fruits of your labor, kick back, and relax with those who love you!

[peppyre]

Merry Christmas Marlene and the egulleters around today!

Everything looks fantastic. Can't wait to see the dinner post!

[Marlene]

The turkey is now "dressed" in bacon and a soaked EVOO cheesecloth and has gone in the oven. I put two cups of turkey stock in, as recommended, although I must confess, I had to use stock that I bought at Bruno's. Monday will be my first stock making attempt ever!

What a wonderful Christmas, cooking related gifts included:

2 and 4 qt all clad stainless steel pots

a belgan waffle maker (can anyone say breakfast tomorrow? )

a pizza stone of all things!

3 bottles of wine: 2 - 1999 Brunellos and a 1998 Barolo

a nut tray

Cook books:

Les Halles

Bouchon

All about Waffles

William Sonoma's Pies and Tarts

William Sonoma's Soups and Stews.

I also got a half day at a spa, a new lighter, a Robert Bateman limited edition signed print and a book to go with it, and wait for it - a diamond tennis bracelet.

My men take good care of me

Now it's off to set the table, peel potatoes, and think about the stuffing. I've taken the Prime Rib for tomorrow out to thaw. Back with more pics later.

[Marlene]

I did forget to mention that the gumbo recipes I need must include Turkey since I'll have a ton of it left!

[Pan]

Congratulations on your gifts, Marlene, and Merry Christmas!

[Swisskaese]

Merry Christmas Marlene. You got some very nice gifts.

[Swisskaese]

I did forget to mention that the gumbo recipes I need must include Turkey since I'll have a ton of it left!

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I have never made Gumbo because I keep Kosher and it has too many things I can't have, but maybe I will try making the duck gumbo. I hope you bought or are buying some andouille sausage:

Turkey and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

This one sounds good to me. You can leave out the mushrooms and substitute turkey for duck:

Duck, Duck, Goose Rustic Country Gumbo

Can you get Gumbo File powder in Ontario?

[lovebenton0]

Nice Christmas, Marlene. What a haul!

I'll be back later with some gumbo suggestions, but I need to get back to our dinner preps too. File powder is definitely called for if at all possible. I imagine Brooks will have something to say about gumbo too. One point first, plan on about an hour or so to make a good dark roux to start.

Just about any gumbo you can do without okra, we just know better than to leave it out.

Looking forward to your turkey dinner pics.

[Marlene]

I am not at all sure I can get file powder. What is it?

[highchef]

ground sassafrass leaves. It's a thickener, usually put a bit on my bowl after serving. It's not absolutely necessary, but is usually the icing on the cake for me. Turkey is a fine (and traditional) gumbo recipe w/sausage. Make the roux (or buy it and don't tell), add the trinity and cook until soft (adding the veggies to the browning roux stops the browning). slowly add a good stock, chicken or turkey if you made some w/the carcass. let it simmer w/ a bay leaf for an hour or so, then add the 1/2" sliced, browned sausage. let it cook another 15 minutes or so and add the pulled off leftovers from your turkey, ground thyme, sage, rosemary to taste. add some chopped (depends on how big a pot you're making) green onions at the end, and file if you have it. Salt and pepper to taste.

Edited December 26, 2004 by highchef (log)

[Swisskaese]

I think you should serve Sweet Potato Pone as a dessert !

Sweet Potato Pone

[Dave the Cook]

Merry Christmas, everyone! Very nice haul, Marlene. Sounds like you were treated like the princess you are.

I've made both of the gumbo recipes that Michelle linked to, and they're excellent. Unfortunately, they assume you've already got stock and so forth, rather than working from a carcass, like you'll be doing. Let's try and work through that. I'm hoping you have some smoked sausage left over from the dressing. Eight to 12 ounces is optimal, but this kind of cooking is about making do with what you have. You can supplement with ham, or peameal bacon (Cajun-Canadian fusion!), for that matter. (If you use the bacon, adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly.)

Post-Christmas Oakville Gumbo

1 turkey carcass, stripped of most of its meat (including the wings in the stock is a really good idea)

1 bay leaf

1/2 t rubbed sage

1/2 t salt, plus additional for final adjusting

8 ounces (by weight) or 1-1/2 C all-purpose flour

1-1/4 C vegetable oil (peanut, if you've got it)

8 to 12 ounces smoked sausage (andouille preferred, but kielbasa works well, too), in 1/2-inch slices

1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)

1/2 cup chopped red (preferred) or green bell pepper (about 1/2 medium)

1/2 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)

1 tablespoon chopped garlic (3-4 medium cloves)

3 or 4 green onions, chopped, divided into white and green (the green is for garnish, so it's best to leave them intact until you're ready to serve, or they'll wilt)

1 pound turkey meat, cooked and shredded I prefer mostly dark meat for this, and I bet Brooks does, too)

1 bay leaf

Seasoning mix:

1 t kosher salt

1 t ground white pepper

1/2 t ground black pepper

1/2 t cayenne

1/2 t dried thyme

1 t rubbed sage

1/4 t mustard powder

Rice (de rigeur with gumbo)

1. Break the carcass down as far as you can: remove the wings and break them into sections (don't forget the tips); cut or tear the breastbone from the backbone; break the backbone into three or four sections; save the thigh and leg bones from dinner -- crack (or hack) them in two.

2. Put the bones in a large pot. Add 1/2 t salt, a bay leaf and sage, and cover with water. Bring slowly to a simmer, and keep it there for two hours or more, adding water to keep the bones covered. The longer you can let this go, the better, up to the point where the bones themselves start to fall apart.

3. Strain the stock through four layers of cheesecloth and chill it. Skim the fat off, and reduce the stock to two quarts.

4. In another large pot, heat the oil (supplement with up to 1/2 turkey fat) until shimmering. Brown the sausage over medium heat and remove to paper towels with a slotted spoon.

5. Add all the flour at once. Stir to combine into a roux, lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until it's the color of peanut butter.

5. Add the onion, celery and bell pepper, along with half of the seasoning mix. Saute over medium heat until the vegetables are slightly soft, about five minutes. Add the other bay leaf, the white part of the green onion and the garlic. Stir to combine.

6. Add the stock, about a half-cup at a time to start, whisking constantly. (As you incorporate more stock, you can add larger amounts.) Bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for about an hour.

7. Check the seasoning. Add more of the spice mix to taste. Add the sausage and the turkey. Simmer for another 30 minutes, until the sausage is tender and heated through. Remove bay leaf. Adjust salt and pepper.

8. Serve over rice in a soup bowl. Garnish with the green onion, er, greens.

[Marlene]

Very nice Dave, thanks! I need step by step stuff! Maybe I'll need to start the stock tomorrow while I'm prepping everything else.

dinner pics, but first a couple of presents:

Waffles for breakfast tomorrow!

Wines:

and woman does not live by food alone!

On to dinner:

Placing the bacon and the butter:

shroud en turkey, cheesecloth soaked in EVOO

Squash casserole ready to go in the oven

Dressing ready to go in:

Turkey's done! We've already eaten the bacon

Squash is done:

The pan drippings make an awesome gravy!

For some reason, I don't have a picture of the stuffing coming out of the oven.

A few observations:

The turkey. I may never cook turkey any other way but this ever again, it was that good. Don and I ate the bacon in the kitchen standing up while the turkey was resting. The skin was crisp and flavourful,and the turkey was as moist as I've ever got it. A definate winner

The Squash Casserole

The surprise hit of the night. I did not expect either of the guys to like it, and generally I'm not a fan of squash. However, everyone pronounced it wonderful with the caveat that I need to cook the squash a bit more next time. Who knew?

The Gravy:

some of the best gravy I've ever made, bar none, and I make a lot of gravy. The bacon and butter add a great deal to the mix of gravy making drippings here.

The Stuffing

Um, I must say, this was not a hit. I don't know what I did wrong, but no one liked it particularly. Maybe it was the cornbread, Don said it was dull and needed "something", and maybe it was just one too many new things for everyone.

The Pecan Pie.

Again, I wasn't expecting either of the guys to like this, particularly Don, who hates nuts in anything. Both of them devoured their slices. I was way impressed with the crust myself, . The crust was flaky, tender and not dry or tough at all. Who knew I could actually ever make a decent pastry crust?

All in all, for my first Southern Christmas dinner, it was a huge success.

We're stuffed. I've cleaned off the table and started to re-set it for tomorrow. Tomorrow is company day and there's lots of prep to be done between now and the time they arrive. I'm doing a Prime Rib which I can do in my sleep, but I'm going to attempt Dave's Molten Mashed Potatoes and I've nibbles to make etc. And don't forget, it's waffles for breakfast!

[Anna N]

Looks wonderful, Marlene. With any luck my daughter will be returning from Barrie tonight with a turkey carcass and that gumbo looks like just the thing to make the best use of it.

[Marlene]

Looks wonderful, Marlene.  With any luck my daughter will be returning from Barrie tonight with a turkey carcass and that gumbo looks like just the thing to make the best use of it.

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Oakville does Gumbo. You go girl. I think it looks like a great thing to make.

[Marlene]

Just about any gumbo you can do without okra, we just know better than to leave it out.   

Looking forward to your turkey dinner pics. 

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I can't get grits here, what makes you think I can get okra? (god is sometime merciful )

[Pan]

Marlene, I'm glad your meal was such a success!

I'm also impressed that you set the table for breakfast the previous night. I can't imagine ever doing that, but then again, I live in a very dusty location.

[Marlene]

Marlene, I'm glad your meal was such a success!

I'm also impressed that you set the table for breakfast the previous night. I can't imagine ever doing that, but then again, I live in a very dusty location.

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Um, no, I set the table for dinner tomorrow night. The only thing I don't put out the night before is the silverware. Breakfast we'll eat in the kitchen!

[Rachel Perlow]

The Squash Casserole

The surprise hit of the night.  I did not expect either of the guys to like it, and generally I'm not a fan of squash.  However, everyone pronounced it wonderful with the caveat that I need to cook the squash a bit more next time.  Who knew?

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Your squash was underdone because yellow squash would be done as the same time as the onions in the initial saute, winter squashes take a long time to cook. You could always micro/steam the butternut squash to parcook it, if you liked that in the casserole.

[Marlene]

The Squash Casserole

The surprise hit of the night.  I did not expect either of the guys to like it, and generally I'm not a fan of squash.  However, everyone pronounced it wonderful with the caveat that I need to cook the squash a bit more next time.  Who knew?

←

Your squash was underdone because yellow squash would be done as the same time as the onions in the initial saute, winter squashes take a long time to cook. You could always micro/steam the butternut squash to parcook it, if you liked that in the casserole.

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Ok, that make sense. I have more butternut squash, so on Tuesday I'm going to try this again.

[Ling]

What a beautiful turkey!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[Pan]

Marlene, I'm glad your meal was such a success!

I'm also impressed that you set the table for breakfast the previous night. I can't imagine ever doing that, but then again, I live in a very dusty location.

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Um, no, I set the table for dinner tomorrow night. The only thing I don't put out the night before is the silverware. Breakfast we'll eat in the kitchen!

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Where do you eat lunch?

Where I grew up -- a sizeable apartment for New York, but with the big room being the livingroom -- the kitchen was too narrow to set up a table, let alone put chairs around it. We ate our meals at the dining room/hall table (the room has both functions), as my parents still do today.

[Marlene]

Marlene, I'm glad your meal was such a success!

I'm also impressed that you set the table for breakfast the previous night. I can't imagine ever doing that, but then again, I live in a very dusty location.

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Um, no, I set the table for dinner tomorrow night. The only thing I don't put out the night before is the silverware. Breakfast we'll eat in the kitchen!

←

Where do you eat lunch?

Where I grew up -- a sizeable apartment for New York, but with the big room being the livingroom -- the kitchen was too narrow to set up a table, let alone put chairs around it. We ate our meals at the dining room/hall table (the room has both functions), as my parents still do today.

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Lunch? People eat lunch? Same thing. Dining room eating is reserved for 4 people or more. We eat at the island in the kitchen most times, and Ryan tends to eat in front of the TV when we let him.

[Jaymes]

Well! I cannot believe I JUST found this thread.

But I've zipped my way through it tonight.

One comment....Marlene, Darlin', you said you made Rum Balls. As any good ol' southern gal will tell you, you should have made Bourbon Balls!

Other than that, great thread. I do feel a little worried about the cornbread dressing, though. You said no one liked it.... Maybe I need to come up there.

Edited December 26, 2004 by Jaymes (log)

[Marlene]

Well of course you need to come up here Jaymes! I really don't know what went wrong with the dressing. I'm still thinking about that. And i'd have made bourbon balls if I'd had any bourbon! Of course, there's my New Year's Eve open house to cook for yet, after this blog is done. All is not lost yet.