A Recipe for Thanksgiving

John and I have 12 guests for Thanksgiving every year, and we occasionally have some “drop ins” too. I’ve just about got Thanksgiving down to a science; this how I do it.

November 1st

If you’re having a fresh turkey this year, place your order. (I just placed mine this morning, as a matter of fact.) If you’ve never had one, fresh turkeys are wonderful; they’re not injected with saline solution, unlike many frozen store-bought turkeys. If you live in Maryland, you can find a list of turkey farms here. I get mine from Whispering Pines. Butterball suggests that you purchase one pound of bone-in turkey for each person, but I actually order two. John’s family is a collective eating machine. By the time we have the dishes done and put away, someone will be taking a peek at the leftovers. We have an early dinner (around 1pm) and everyone stays until 10pm or so playing cards and watching TV. By the time We’ve eaten, eaten again and had reruns the next day there’s typically almost nothing left. Since your family’s habits may be different than ours, your mileage may vary.

A note about fresh turkeys: The process of killing a turkey isn’t a pretty one. Just be aware that a fresh turkey will likely have some bruising when you pick it up. Instead of injecting it with saline solution like the big turkey factories do, you’re going to brine it the night before you cook it. Brining gets rid of some of the bruising and also helps to keep the meat nice and juicy tender.

T-Minus Three Weeks

Plan your menu and create your shopping list. The best way to keep people out of your kitchen (and your way) is to create a distraction. I put out olives, peppers, marinated mushrooms, cheeses, crackers and dipping sauces (sweet pepper relish, hot mustard, etc). Make sure all of these items end up on your shopping list. Let your guests know what dishes you’d like for them to bring.

Here’s my menu:

Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Sausage Dressing
Green Bean Casserole (Mom will bring this)
Roasted Asparagus
Corn
Sauerkraut
Dinner Rolls (the Pillsbury frozen kind)
Dessert (I’m making Pumpkin Cheesecake — who knows what everyone is bringing?)

T-Minus Two Weeks

Pull out your table linens and make sure they’re all present and accounted for and that they’re in good condition. Wash anything that needs washing, repair anything that needs repairing and replace anything that needs replacing. Iron all of your pieces and fold them neatly onto clothes hangers. Hang them in the closet where they won’t get wrinkled or dirty.

Check your menu and make sure that you have enough serving pieces. Borrow what you need to borrow — yes, now. If you wait until the day before Thanksgiving, the person you’re borrowing from might discover that it’s lost or broken. Buy all of the non-perishables required for your menu and store them in a place where they won’t be accidentally used. Buy any perishables that you have room to keep and won’t use in the meantime.

While you’re shopping, pick up a couple of jars of turkey gravy. You’re going to make beautiful lump-free turkey gravy on Thanksgiving day but it always helps to have a backup on hand just in case you run out.

T-Minus One Week

Clean out your refrigerator; I mean, seriously clean it out. Get rid of all of your leftovers, half empty jars of this and that, and anything that you’re either not going to use for Thanksgiving or consume beforehand. Wipe down the shelves. You’ll want to do all of this to coincide with the last trash day prior to Thanksgiving. With dozens of people coming over I like to have plenty of space in the trash cans.

Check your menu against your supplies — do you still have all of the non-perishables that you need? Do you have enough of each of the following (which are non-menu items that you might forget about): butter, salt, pepper, sodas, tea bags, coffee, creamer, sugar, wine, bread. Get a shopping list together for one last trip to the store. Make this one count! Buy all of your perishable items and anything that you might have forgotten or used up since your previous trip.

Spot clean the house — make sure the kitchen is extra clean since that’s where people will congregate. Wipe off all cabinet fronts and handles. Wipe off the refrigerator doors. Clean the floor. Put away all items that have homes, and find homes for those who don’t have one. Give the bathroom a good cleaning; wipe down the baseboards, mop the floor, clean the mirror, clean the shower. Make sure there are plenty of towels and supplies in bathrooms that overnight guests will be using. Dust the guest rooms and put fresh linens on the beds.

Calculate, based on poundage, how long your turkey will cook so that you can adjust the 24-hour plan below as necessary.

T-Minus 48 Hours

Make the pumpkin cheesecake and keep it in the fridge for Thanksgiving day.
1 1/4 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (crush about 20 cookies in a plastic bag with a rolling pin)
1/4 cup unsalted butter — melted
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese — softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
4 eggs
3/4 cup chilled whipping cream (need to whip it with 2 teaspoons sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the cookie crumbs and butter. Press evenly on the bottom of a 9″ spring form pan inches. Bake 10 minutes, then let cool.

Reduce oven temp. to 300 degrees.

In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, the cinnamon and ginger on medium speed until smooth. Add pumpkin puree. Now add in the eggs, one at a time on low speed. Pour into the cookie crumb pie shell.

Bake your cheesecake until center is firm, about 1 1/4 hours. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

T-Minus 24 Hours

Leave work early and pick up the turkey from the farm on the way home. I usually buy a shoo-fly pie from them for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving, too. Once the turkey is safely in the fridge, perform a last minute cleaning effort in the public areas of the house — kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, guest rooms. You’ll want to dust, wipe down surfaces, clean any mirrors and put away any clutter.

Label a one gallon Ziploc bag “Turkey” and another “Gravy”. Put the following in the turkey bag: one washed carrot (cut in half), one large onion (cut in half), one celery stick (cut in half), one granny smith apple (seeded and quartered), a dash of thyme, and salt & pepper. Seal it up and keep it in the fridge until tomorrow morning — you’ll be stuffing the turkey with this stuff. Put the following in the gravy bag: a carrot (cut in half), a celery stick (cut in half) and an onion (quartered). Seal it up and keep it in the fridge until you start to make your gravy stock tomorrow morning.

Set out your serving dishes (on a counter or table if you have to) and place an index card (with the planned contents of the dish) in each one.

Go ahead and make your cranberry sauce and refrigerate overnight.

1 pound frozen cranberries
2 cups orange juice
3 cups ginger ale
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 orange, zested

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive saucepan (stainless steel), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 45 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.
Carefully puree with stick blender or blender until smooth. Check for seasoning and serve in small ramekins.If you’re cooking a fresh turkey, you’ll be brining over night. Since the brine needs to cool before you use it, now is the time to make it.

Make your turkey brine as well.

1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon iced water

Combine salt, sugar, stock, peppercorns, allspice and ginger in a stockpot and bring to a boil. Stir until solids are dissolved then remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until it is completely chilled. Around 10pm, wash the turkey inside and out. Remove the neck and gibblets and refrigerate them in a Ziploc bag for the gravy tomorrow. In a CLEAN five-gallon bucket or cooler, in a cool place (I use the back porch since it’ll be about 40 degrees overnight), combine the brine and about 1 gallon of iced water. Place the turkey in, breast side down. Make sure there is enough cold liquid to cover the turkey. Put the lid on and go set your alarm for 1:30am. When the alarm goes off, get up and turn the turkey. Add more ice if needed. Before you go back to bed, set your alarm for 5:00am.

Turkey Day Craziness

Now is the time when things start to get a little squirrelly.

5:00am Remove all but one rack from the oven; the rack should be at the lowest setting so that there is enough room for the turkey. Preheat the oven to 500� — before you roast the turkey, you’re going to sear it a bit and burn the fat off the bottom. This results in crispy skin and a juicy turkey. Remove the bird from the brine and rinse it inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Place the contents of your “turkey” Ziploc bag into the turkey.

Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. It’s very important that you use a rack of some sort — the bottom of the turkey needs to be elevated so that it will get crispy. Rub the whole bird down with a softened stick of butter; make sure to get some under the skin. Add a cup of water to the bottom of the pan.

You’ll notice that I haven’t said a word about stuffing the bird. That’s because you’re not going to — stuffing dries out the turkey meat. We’ll be making some dressing later.

Temporarily remove the batteries from any smoke detectors in the area unless you want to give the rest of your family a rude awakening. Take two sticks of butter out of the fridge and put them on the counter to soften (for dinner).

5:30am Put the turkey in the oven for 30 minutes. There’s going to be some smoke and lots of sizzling sounds. That’s ok as long as nothing is actually on fire. Keep an eye on it! Get out the gravy Ziploc bag and the turkey neck. Toss them into a large saucepan of water with some salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Let it boil for approximately 2 hours and add extra water as needed.

6:00am Turn the oven down to 325�. Keep an eye on the turkey; place a tent of foil over it when it starts to turn golden brown, if not already. Get ready for the next wave of cooking by cleaning up your work area and washing your tools and dishes. Have a nice cup of tea or coffee and a light breakfast. Relax. Read the newspaper.

7:30am Turn off the heat under the stock saucepan. Strain out the solids and refrigerate the stock. We’ll get back to it later.

Set the table, and set up any auxiliary tables that you’ll be using.

11:00am Make the sausage stuffing (recipe courtesy Leanne Ely) and set it aside for now.

1 box (2 envelopes) of Mrs. Cubbison’s Stuffing mix (on the East Coast, use Pepperidge Farm–NOT the cornbread kind, the regular bread kind)
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large onion chopped
1 good handful of parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 (14.75 oz.) can chicken broth (you won’t need the whole thing–as needed)
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage

First off, cook the sausage in a skillet with about an inch of water, over a medium high heat. You won’t be frying it-you’ll be poaching it. Use a potato masher to mash the sausage into smallish pieces. You want it thoroughly cooked and not browned and greasy, and not into tiny bits either. Poor any remaining water off. In a large mixing bowl, add sausage and remaining ingredients except the chicken broth. Toss everything together and add a little chicken broth a bit at a time to get a soft texture. You will use about a quarter of a cup of chicken broth or maybe a little more, depending on how dry your dressing is. You want it moist, not drenched. Definitely don’t soak the stuffing/dressing with chicken broth. Save any remaining broth for the gravy.

Place dressing in a casserole dish to be baked later.

12:00pm Remove the turkey from the oven. Let it rest in the roasting pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully move it to a carving board (with tunnels to catch the juice!). Cover entirely with foil and let it rest. Use a baster to periodically drain the juice from the board. Take a breath (or a shot of your favorite unmentionable) because now is the time when things start happening really fast!

As soon as the turkey is out of the oven, put the stuffing in (still on 325�) for about one hour.

Before you start making the gravy (below), set out your appetizers. Their purpose is to keep your guests OUT of the kitchen, so put them wherever you want your guests to hang out in the meantime.

Skim the big greasy globs of fat from the roasting pan and place in a medium sized saucepan (there should be about three tablespoons to five or so of fat, depending on the size of your bird). Next, take an equal amount of Wondra flour and add to that turkey grease. The heat should be about medium high and you need to whisk away to your heart’s content until the roux (pronounced ROO) is golden and thick, and naturally lump-less. This roux procedure will take you all of five minutes-very easy, you can’t mess this up. Set your beauteous roux aside.

Now back to the roasting pan. Add a cup of your reserved turkey neck stock to the roasting pan and turn up the heat (you will probably need two burners for the job) and bring it to a boil. Using your wire whisk, scrape up all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Those browned bits contain concentrated turkey flavor that will make your turkey gravy absolutely to die for. Don’t skip this step. Now add all the golden roux in the saucepan you just made and whisk like your life depended on it. In just moments, a beautiful, velvety bronzed gravy should be emerging and filling you with the joy of accomplishment.

12:45pm Carve the turkey using these nifty instructions.

1:00pm Remove the stuffing from the oven and put it into the serving dish. Start moving all of the other items to their serving dishes. Put the rolls (you did buy Pillsbury frozen dinner rolls, right?) in the oven. Fire up the microwave and heat up the corn and sauerkraut. Put the asparagus in the oven.
1:20pm Pull the rolls and asparagus out of the oven — Dinner’s on the table!!

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