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Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
belbbmfan:
--- Quote from: Ellemeno on November 21, 2007, 01:49:50 pm ---
While I wouldn't really do it, I like that image: All the expectant upturned faces at the table, gazing at the closed kitchen door in hushed anticipation. Then the the door swings open and the chef comes in carrying the large platter with the whole turkey on it, the guests cheer its arrival. The chef makes a complete tour around the dining room, and goes back through the kitchen door. Before the last cheer has stopped echoing, back the chef comes, with an identical platter, but this time with elegantly carved turkey slices arranged on it. The guests gasp in wonder...
--- End quote ---
You wouldn't really do it?? Ow, come on Elle...think about all those gasps..the applause 8)
Let me know how it goes okay? ;) :)
MaineWriter:
--- Quote from: belbbmfan on November 21, 2007, 08:56:44 am ---According to the New York Times, this is how you do it!
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=c8e0efb6c6ee346c3c6bfc1c871d6f5c55e64f14
--- End quote ---
The butcher cum surgeon was on the NBC Nightly News Tonight...I guess he is right in the middle of his 15 minutes of fame. I thought he was rather attractive and something about his rings was ....alluring....LOL
L
belbbmfan:
--- Quote from: MaineWriter on November 21, 2007, 08:16:23 pm ---The butcher cum surgeon was on the NBC Nightly News Tonight...I guess he is right in the middle of his 15 minutes of fame. I thought he was rather attractive and something about his rings was ....alluring....LOL
L
--- End quote ---
I have to say I completely agree with you...I might just go and have another look. After all, we're learning something here aren't we? ;)
Front-Ranger:
For Thanksgiving dinner in previous years, I used to serve grilled peppers, marinated mushrooms, candied walnuts, antipasto, butternut squash and cider soup, roast turkey with oyster stuffing, sweet/sour brussels sprouts, red cabbage with blueberries, Mama Stamberg's cranberry relish, sweet potato puree, cauliflower gratin, beets with dried apricots and creme fraiche, spinach and strawberry salad, and pumpkin/walnut pie. Oh, and spiced peaches. This year, the spiced peaches was all I got to make.
:'(
MaineWriter:
When I was watching the carving video (see related post, from Fabienne), a second video on making dressing came on. This is the recipe and I made it yesterday...to rave reviews from my family. Since my mother is super-traditional (and likes stuffing stuffed in the turkey), I was thrilled with her strong endorsement of this! I made it with a 12 oz french baguette, fresh tarragon, and walnuts. I'll post the whole article for everyone's enjoyment....
November 15, 2006
THE MINIMALIST; To Stuff or Dress the Bird? James Beard Had It Covered
By MARK BITTMAN
STUFFING, as I've been informed by friends from the South, is properly called dressing when you cook it outside the bird. So I'm officially a big advocate of dressings.
Don't get me wrong: cooking a bread-based mixture inside a turkey is not a bad idea. It adds moisture and flavor to a concoction that can be sadly lacking in both. However, too often stuffing absorbs too much of the cooking juices and comes out of the bird a soggy, unappealing mess. So much for gracing the Thanksgiving table.
But stuffing -- excuse me, dressing -- is always crisp and light if you bake it outside the bird; it takes just a little effort and a few more minutes' work. Your guests will think you're brilliant, especially the vegetarians, because there will be one more dish (and a good one at that) that's vegetarian-friendly.
I'm not speaking as an inventor. The bread stuffing that's been the staple of my Thanksgiving table for 30 years is based on a James Beard recipe, and it was his suggestion to cook it outside the turkey that got me started. Now I'm hooked.
First you make fresh bread crumbs: just whiz a few cups of slightly stale cubes of decent bread -- crust and all, unless it's super-hard -- in a food processor. Keep the crumbs very, very coarse. Cook them with plenty of butter (yes, you can use olive oil) and good seasonings. Baked in a pan, this is delicious, with or without gravy.
From here, the ideas flow freely; this mixture can accommodate giblets, chopped apples, chestnuts, sausage, mushrooms, oysters or other traditional ingredients.
Or you can move in a different direction. Start with whole-grain bread, crumbled and flavored with barely cooked kale and dried fruit, to create what amounts to a bread salad, vinegar and all, that makes for a lovely warm side dish. For a sweeter dish, one that is a crowd pleaser if you are catering to children and real traditionalists, try corn bread with winter squash, cranberries and maple syrup. Finally, there's a rice and nut stuffing that does away with bread altogether.
These dressings have a couple of things in common. Most start with good bread, which is important. Most contain nuts (because some crunch is nice) and butter or oil (because fat is essential for flavor and texture). They can all be made in advance, until the final cooking. (They can even be nearly fully cooked, then returned to the oven for reheating while the turkey rests before carving.) Given these guidelines, they can also be varied almost at will; not only can any bread plug in for any other, you can substitute most of the other ingredients.
And you can cook them in the bird if you prefer, and call them stuffings.
Bread Stuffing
Time: 1 hour
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup pine nuts or chopped walnuts
6 to 8 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon or sage leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon or sage, crumbled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves.
1. Melt butter over medium heat in a large, deep skillet, Dutch oven or casserole. Add onion and cook, stirring, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add nuts and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
2. Add bread crumbs and tarragon or sage and toss to mix. Turn heat to low. Add salt, pepper and scallions. Toss again; taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add parsley and stir. Turn off heat. (You may prepare recipe in advance up to this point; refrigerate, well wrapped or in a covered container, for up to a day before proceeding.)
3. Pack into chicken or turkey if you like before roasting, or roast in an ovenproof glass or enameled casserole for about 45 minutes, at 350 to 400 degrees; you can bake this dish next to the bird, if you like. (Or you can cook it up to 3 days in advance and warm it up right before dinner.)
Yield: 6 to 8 cups, enough for a 12-pound bird.
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