Friday, December 8, 2017

Thanksgiving 2017

This year we had 11 adults, one five-year-old and a three-year-old for Thanksgiving dinner. With careful planning, and knocking off a couple of dishes a day, I was able to get a huge amount done in advance and actually had a pretty relaxed Thanksgiving day.

I made the turkey the same way as I have a number of times: deconstructed, then the breast cooked upside down in a saute pan, and finally all cooked over the stuffing. I dry-brined the turkey with salt for one day, instead of wet-brining the breast as the recipe suggests. It looked pretty good, and turned out to be the best I have ever made, moist white meat that held up even as leftovers the next day.
Turkey breast ready to be carved
Here's what I served (and cooked except for the Opera Cake):

Thanksgiving Dinner
 November 23, 2017
  • Slow poached garlic shrimp (from Tyler Florence's Ultimate TV show)
  • Mustard and tapenade batons (from Dorie Greenspan, Around My French Table)
  • Whipped feta with home made pita chips (from Milk Street)
  • Tuna and cannellini bean crostini (Bobby Jay)
  • Bar nuts (from The Union Square Cookbook)
  • Turkey with chicken sausage and sage stuffing, gravy (from Cook's Illustrated for Turkey, The Food Lab for stuffing and gravy)
  • Cranberry mostarda (from Food and Wine)
  • Sweet potato gratin with sage (from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook)
  • Hashed Brussels sprouts with poppy seeds and lemon (from The Union Square Cookbook)
  • Apple Tart Mémé  (from Essential Pépin)
  • Giant cannelé with pumpkin pie spices (from Atelier des Chefs cooking lesson, modified by Bobby Jay)
  • Chocolate espresso Opera Cake furnished by Payard (for mother's 95th birthday)
And here's what some of it looked like:

Hors d'oeuvres were served in the living room, around our old art deco table.
Mustard and green olive tapenade batons
Slow-cooked garlic shrimp
Then we moved to the dining room, spectacularly arranged as always by Joan, for a buffet style dinner.
Thanksgiving table
The turkey, deconstructed and carved:
Carved turkey
Sweet potato gratin:
Sweet potato gratin
Hashed Brussels sprouts:
Hashed Brussels sprouts
Finally, a chocolate espresso Opera Cake furnished by Payard to celebrate my mother's upcoming 95th birthday and two desserts that I whipped up the day before and the day of: Jacques Pépin's Apple Tart Mémé and a giant cannelé inspired by Michel Trama, with a recipe from Atelier des Chefs and added pumpkin pie spices (my [very good] idea).
Apple tart Mémé
Giant cannelé with pumpkin pie spices
Many commented that it was the best Thanksgiving meal I have ever served. Maybe true, maybe not, but when in doubt, say thank you.

Bobby Jay

1 comment:

Mimi said...

Divine! Bravo!