I have often said that I should make a Thanksgiving dinner at some other point in the year to try things that I wouldn't dare to try at the real Thanksgiving for fear of a failure at the all-important feast.
So when Joan invited a group of friends and family to dinner on Thursday, I determined that this was the moment. And, in contrast to the meal I prepared a few days before, everything went right, and I actually discovered a new turkey presentation that I will use next November: roast turkey breast, porchetta style. This roasted breast, which was seasoned and rolled a day ahead, proved to be incredibly juicy with the exact taste of Italian porchetta, as a result of the massive amount of sage and rosemary rub inserted in the center and under the skin.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWm4O369KgK54QGyTiI_9fkMJt_3c4o5Fa4ORT66bUL9jusP98c2fUWjyX9y7kCpUD1O2rROuqdFmijkKk_trFY3Cq78krfvImLDA5PAZnSKMxj1f0tlbu1oSuFZ5B78HypLKC4OStoc/s400/Porchetta+style+turkey+breast+1.14.16+-2.jpg) |
Roasted turkey breast, porchetta-style |
Before the meal, hors d'oeuvres consisted of the same sturgeon I had served on Sunday, my proprietary ricotta and sun-dried tomato spread and cheese gougères.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz33mdX1gIYkl8H4ZRdUGqD1UObKvrSAQagN0zL_WwdvdGrWvSaAP9LNhv8H4UzGmLEvj4cKP14-iCcEK9Eo5Lhk3kITC6pmdTRG_fJtpNzRP-36_MDMTmDCavLUfjKj1vuRZqBLKMmYc/s400/Ricotta+sun-dried+tomato+spread+1.14.16.jpg) |
Ricotta and sun-dried tomato spread |
The meal began with ginger beet soup with tarragon, a vibrantly gorgeous and foolproof recipe from Gordon Hamersley's Bistro Cooking at Home.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhya6VaXDNuFd6wfq7Oxx_wxViY5xuCNlquq3w5U7WC_rh7EZMCoDYy4dCCjMiMCKO7TG9gQwg2UkrWdiJDFLuvfe2LcBryTRKTlEvVmJ1WBbxd2aABhixOdpeKC14BwVYr25sNadKt0OM/s400/Ginger+beet+soup+1.14.16.jpg) |
Ginger beet soup with tarragon |
The turkey, described above, was accompanied by a sage and chicken sausage stuffing and classic gravy, both from Kenji Lopez-Alt's wonderful new book, The Food Lab (see my
post of October 10, 2015 for more on this book). The secret to the gravy was a deep dark brown turkey stock that I had made earlier in the week by roasting the hell out of turkey necks, onions, carrot and celery before making them into stock.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREXM6SUpUQAyINC6WhYq5D0nSM3oe4PNdqt8VsAxlg5t781_PQqxuzbh-4xfWEZ-HtRlXmPtgZK_ipBBvi1V-x6HgZTqDsxLI80hPC2P9bJBzUc5Gs4lWVT_t7D9-wMQ2_D6ofGYaKYk/s400/Chicken+sausage+stuffine+1.14.16+-+2.jpg) |
Sage and chicken sausage stuffing |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbsPuo5O4WFnnrKDifhfrr49XNQDLSalDe3L62A3Hyx_bCM7srybOT4ylWcyM_xH47aRNjIQTNJvxWYIVZjlcdKSUH4KsKqWcMLXeufu2DM55C85NSk3fBmodLXd22nGhj5vOaWoVFRA8/s400/Browned+turkey+wings+for+stock+%25281+of+2%2529.jpg) |
Roasting turkey necks and aromatic vegetables for stock |
I will repeat both the stock and the gravy at Thanksgiving.
Finally, a Tarte Tatin, made according to the recipe of the Confrérie des Lichonneux de Tarte Tatin, which came out perfectly. I will be doing a separate post on this tart, so enough said for now.
My advice, therefore, is to invite some friends to non-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving and experiment.
Bobby Jay
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