Thanksgiving 101 (14 page)

9.
Discard the kitchen string. Slice the turkey into ½-inch thick slices. Serve immediately, drizzling each serving with the sauce.

Turkey Roulades with Prosciutto and Sage in Cranberry–Red Wine Sauce

There were only four of us for dinner that Thanksgiving. We had a full schedule of visiting friends, but we wanted to have dinner at home during a three-hour period between visits. Without any fuss, I prepared this spin on Italian saltimbocca, usually made with veal cutlets.
Saltimbocca
means “jump in mouth,” which is exactly what these tender morsels will do.

• Some turkey cutlets are one beautiful slice of turkey breast that is easy to roll. Other cutlets may look whole in the package, but separate into two or more pieces when taken out. Don’t worry. Just overlap the slices back into a cutlet shape on a piece of moistened wax paper. Top with another piece of moistened wax paper, and lightly pound the edges together with a flat meat mallet or rolling pin to help them adhere. When the cutlets are rolled and cooked, any irregularities will disappear.
  
• Turkey cutlets are lean, and should be cooked over moderate heat, for they toughen if browned over the high heat we typically use for other meats and poultry.
  
• If you want to double the recipe, use two 12-inch skillets—the cutlets should not be crowded in the pan.
  

1.
Place the cranberries in a wire sieve and rinse well under hot water to remove excess sugar. Drain well, place in a small bowl, and add the wine. Let stand for 1 hour. (Or cover with plastic wrap, microwave on High for 1 minute, carefully uncover, and let stand for 10 minutes.)

2.
Place a piece of prosciutto on each cutlet and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon fresh sage. Roll up each cutlet into a cylinder and secure with a wooden toothpick. Place the roulades on a wax paper–lined plate and cover with plastic wrap. (The turkey cutlets can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead, covered, and refrigerated.)

3.
In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until very hot but not smoking. Season the roulades with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add the roulades and cook, turning once, until lightly browned on both sides, about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook gently until the roulades are cooked through and show no sign of pink when pierced in the center with the tip of a sharp knife, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a warmed serving platter and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm while making the sauce.

4.
Return the skillet to medium heat. Add and melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 1 minute. Add the cranberries with their wine, the stock, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and hot red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid reduces by half, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Season with salt.

5.
Remove the toothpicks. Serve the roulades immediately, spooning the sauce over each serving.

Smoked Ham with Zinfandel-Orange Glaze

Sometimes you need to make your groaning board groan just a little more. A baked ham is a carefree and tasty way to feed a crowd, and it’s a natural partner to turkey. A bone-in smoked ham has the best flavor, which can still be improved by bringing it to a simmer in a large pot of water to extract the excess salt. Basted with a not-too-sweet marinade, this gets a light glaze that goes with just about any menu. In fact, this has become one of my favorite dishes for any buffet, and from the amount of requests I get for this recipe, my friends must agree.

1.
Place the ham in a large kettle and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. (This could take up to 45 minutes.) Drain the ham and cool completely.

2.
In a medium bowl, whisk the orange marmalade, wine, orange juice, and garlic. Place the ham in a jumbo self-sealing plastic bag or oven roasting bag, then pour in the marinade. Close the bag and place in a large bowl. Marinate for at least 8 and up to 16 hours, turning occasionally.

3.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.

4.
Remove the ham from the marinade, scraping off any bits of orange marmalade. Strain the marinade and set aside. Place the ham on a roasting rack in the pan. Bake, basting occasionally with the marinade, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the ham without touching a bone registers 140°F, about ½ hours. (Allow about 15 minutes per pound.)

5.
Transfer to a carving board or platter. Let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

Holiday Meatball Lasagna

For Italian-American families, pasta must be a part of the Thanksgiving menu, and usually lasagna plays just as big a starring role as turkey. Here, the meat for the sauce is rolled into little meatballs to make the dish extra special. It’s a simple process, and you don’t have to brown the meatballs—drop them into the simmering herb-scented tomato sauce.

SAUCE AND MEATBALLS

1.
In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Stir in the tomatoes with their puree, 1 cup water, the tomato paste, tomato sauce, basil, oregano, and hot red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

2.
In a large bowl, mix the ground round, ground pork, bread crumbs, eggs, salt, and pepper. Using about ½ teaspoons for each, roll the mixture into small meatballs and place on a wax paper–lined baking sheet.

3.
A few at a time, gently stir the meatballs into the simmering sauce. Return to the simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and the meatballs show no sign of pink when pierced in the center, about 20 minutes. Set the sauce aside. (The sauce can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated, or frozen in airtight containers for up to 1 month.)

4.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the lasagna noodles, 2 or 3 at a time, and stir well. Boil, stirring occasionally to be sure the noodles don’t stick to each other, just until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. (The noodles can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead, tossed with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and stored at room temperature.)

5.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a
10 × 15-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the eggs, basil, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

6.
Using a large skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to a large bowl. Coat the bottom of the prepared dish with ¼ cup of the tomato sauce. Arrange 5 lasagna noodles (4 horizontally and 1 vertically), slightly overlapping and cut to fit, in the dish. Spread half of the ricotta filling over the noodles. Cover with half of the mozzarella slices. Scatter half of the meatballs over the cheese, then top with one-third of the remaining tomato sauce. Arrange another 5 noodles in the dish. Cover with the remaining ricotta filling, remaining mozzarella, remaining meatballs, then half of the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining noodles, and spread with the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup Parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil. (The lasagna can be prepared up to 1 day ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated, or frozen, wrapped airtight, for up to 1 month.)

7.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until bubbling throughout, about 30 minutes more. (If baking frozen lasagna, increase the initial baking time to 45 minutes, then uncover and bake for about 30 more minutes.) Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Butternut Squash and Rice Tian

Here’s a terrific dish that serves two purposes. It is a substantial main course for vegetarians in the group, and it can be a savory side dish for turkey lovers. I used to serve a dramatic-looking, rice-stuffed pumpkin, but now I make this casserole, based on a Provençal favorite. Large pumpkins, while great-looking, have the least flavor, and there is a very fine line between the pumpkin being tender and falling apart. Keep this dish in mind for a supper or brunch main course when it isn’t Thanksgiving.

1.
Using a sturdy vegetable peeler, peel the squash. Cut off the neck where it meets the bulb and reserve. Quarter the bulb. Scoop out and discard the fibers and seeds. Cut the squash neck and bulb into pieces about ½ inch thick and 1 inch long. You will have a variety of
shapes, but as long as they are relatively the same size, it doesn’t matter.

2.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat and add the squash. Cook until barely tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Set aside. (The squash can be prepared up to 1 day ahead, cooled, stored in self-sealing plastic bags, and refrigerated.)

3.
In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and red bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. (The vegetables can be prepared up to 1 day ahead, cooled, stored in self-sealing plastic bags, and refrigerated.) Cool the vegetables until tepid, about 10 minutes.

4.
Bring another pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the rice and cook until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold running water, and set aside.

5.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 10 × 15-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the rice, squash, sautéed vegetables, Gruyère, sage, salt, and pepper. Spread in the prepared dish. Mix the bread crumbs and Parmesan, and sprinkle over the top. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil.

6.
Bake until the center feels set when pressed lightly, about 45 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

The Stuff That Dressings Are Made Of…

I
f you live north of the Mason-Dixon line, you probably call the savory side dish baked inside of a turkey “stuffing.” If you are a Southerner, you probably know it as “dressing.” (In classic cooking, such a mixture is called “forcemeat.”) Until Victorian times, it was just called “stuffing.” All of a sudden, stuffing seemed a bit improper, and dressing took over, especially in the South, where morals in society were well defined.

Stuffings are most commonly made with bread. While white sandwich bread is probably the favorite choice, other breads or starches can be turned into stuffing, depending on where the cook lives. On the West Coast, whole wheat or sourdough breads are often used, and the Amish can use rye bread (often with potatoes). Of course, in the South, few native cooks would dream of making their dressing from anything other than corn bread. Cooked grains make great stuffings, and again, the regional preferences come into play. Rice stuffing is a favorite in Louisiana and Texas, both big rice-producing states. Wild rice is used in the Great Lakes region, where it is abundant.

There is nothing wrong with packaged bread stuffing mix. In fact, the crisp texture of a mix ensures a moist, but not soggy, stuffing. If you want to use fresh bread (and I almost always do), it must be air-dried overnight. Use a firm sandwich bread like Pepperidge Farm or a high-quality, unsweetened bakery loaf. Crusty French or Italian breads make fine stuffing, too. With any bread, there is no need to cut off the crust. Don’t use fluffy sandwich bread, which soaks up too much broth and makes soggy stuffing. Using a serrated knife, cut the bread into ½-inch cubes (or slightly larger for crusty breads.) If using corn bread, just crumble it. Let the cubes stand at room temperature overnight, uncovered, to dry out.

If you don’t have the time to air-dry the bread, or you simply forget (which has happened to me more than once), bake the bread cubes to lightly toast and firm them. Spread the cubes on a baking sheet or two (they should not be crowded). Bake them in a preheated 350°F oven, stirring occasionally, until they are dry and beginning to crisp, 20 to 30 minutes. They do not have to color—they will crisp slightly upon cooling.

The amount of stock needed for the stuffing is variable, depending on the dryness of the bread. Be flexible, and stir in just enough stock to make a moist, but not wet, mixture. What is important here is the use of homemade turkey stock, and not canned chicken broth, for the stuffing. You want the stuffing to taste like turkey, not chicken. Even the most harried cook has the time to make the Small-Batch Turkey Stock from the neck and giblets of the bird.

Allow about ¾ cup stuffing for every pound of raw turkey (and for each serving). Never pack the stuffing into the bird, as it will expand when heated, and I have heard of birds cracking wide open because they were overstuffed. You do not have to sew up the openings. For the neck cavity, just pin the neck skin to the back with a thin metal or wooden skewer to enclose the stuffing. For the body cavity, cover the exposed stuffing with a small piece of aluminum foil.

You will rarely be able to stuff all of the dressing into the bird. Place the leftover stuffing in a buttered shallow baking dish and cover. Refrigerate the stuffing until ready to bake, up to 8 hours. To reheat, sprinkle the stuffing with about ½ cup turkey stock and bake in a preheated 350°F oven until heated to at least 160°F. The exact baking time, of course, depends on the amount of stuffing, but it generally takes about 30 minutes.

Bread Stuffing 101

Use this classic recipe, familiar in the best sense of the word, as the springboard for many equally classic variations. You can make your own variations by mixing and matching the different embellishments.

• Most cooks use packaged cubed stuffing, which will give your stuffing a “just like Mom’s” flavor. If you prefer crumb-texture prepared stuffing, use it. Skillet bread stuffings just aren’t special enough for holiday meals.
  
• The directions on most stuffing bags recommend using two sticks of butter, which is too rich for me. If you wish, melt the extra stick of butter, and stir it into the stuffing with the broth.
  
• Even though stuffing cubes are often label “seasoned,” they can be bland. If you think it needs it, add poultry seasoning.
  
• Homemade turkey stock makes the best stuffing, so make an effort to use it. In a pinch, you can use canned reduced-sodium chicken broth. The amount of stock needed will vary, depending on the dryness of the bread cubes and the moisture provided by the other ingredients.
  

1.
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and celery, and cover. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is golden, about 10 minutes.

2.
Scrape the vegetables and butter into a large bowl. Add the stuffing and parsley. Stir in enough of the broth to moisten the stuffing, about 2½ cups. Season with the poultry seasoning. Use to stuff the turkey, or place in a buttered baking dish, drizzle with an additional ½ cup broth, cover, and bake as a side dish.

Homemade Poultry Seasoning:
Combine 1 teaspoon
each
crumbled dried rosemary, crumbled dried sage, dried thyme, dried marjoram, and celery salt with ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Crush together with a mortar and pestle or in a mini-food processor or spice grinder.

Giblet Stuffing:
Use the giblets from your turkey. With a heavy cleaver or large knife, chop the turkey neck into 2-to 3-inch pieces. Trim the liver and refrigerate (if added to the broth too soon, the liver will overcook and make the broth bitter). In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the neck, heart, and gizzard, and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add 1 quartered small onion and 1 coarsely chopped small carrot. Add one 1¾-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth and enough cold water to cover the giblets by 1 inch. Bring to a simmer, skimming off the foam that rises to the surface. Add ¼ teaspoon dried thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 8 peppercorns. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until the giblets are very tender, about 2 hours. During the last 15 minutes, add the turkey liver and simmer until cooked through. Strain, reserving the stock, if desired. Cool the giblets. Pull the meat off the neck. Chop the neck meat, heart, gizzard, and liver. Stir into Bread Stuffing 101 along with the bread cubes.

Sausage and Apple Stuffing:
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook 1 pound bulk pork sausage, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add to Bread Stuffing 101 with 1 cup (about 3 ounces) chopped dried apples.

Oyster Stuffing:
Drain two 8-ounce containers of oysters and reserve the juices. (Or shuck 24 oysters, opening them over a fine wire sieve placed over a bowl to catch the juices.) If the oysters are large, cut them into 2 or 3 pieces. Add to Bread Stuffing 101 along with the bread cubes. Add enough turkey broth to the reserved oyster juices to make 2½ cups and use to moisten the stuffing.

Mushroom Stuffing:
In a large skillet, melt an additional 3 tablespoons unsalted butter over medium heat. Add 1 pound cremini or button mushrooms, cut into quarters. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Stir into Bread Stuffing 101 along with the bread cubes.

Chestnut Stuffing:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Using a small, sharp knife, cut a deep “X” in the flatter side of each chestnut. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until the outer skin is split and crisp, about 30 minutes. The chestnuts never seem to be done at the same time, so work with the ones that are ready and continue roasting the others. Place
the roasted chestnuts in a kitchen towel to keep them warm. Using a small, sharp knife, peel off both the tough outer and thin inner skins. To loosen the peels on stubborn, hard-to-peel chestnuts, return to the oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or microwave on High for 30 seconds to 1 minute. You can also use one 15-ounce jar vacuum-packed chestnuts, available at specialty food stores. (Avoid canned chestnuts, which don’t have much flavor.) Stir the coarsely chopped chestnuts into Bread Stuffing 101 along with the bread cubes. If desired, substitute ¼ cup Cognac or brandy for an equal amount of the turkey stock.

Italian Stuffing with Sausage and Parmesan

When I asked a few of my Italian-American neighbors how they make their stuffing, they all shared what was essentially the same recipe. There’s nothing subtle about this stuffing—Italian sausage, red bell pepper, Parmesan cheese, and lots of herbs give a zesty Mediterranean flavor. Some cooks add 1 cup toasted pine nuts or 1 cup coarsely chopped black Mediterranean olives to pump up the flavor even more.

1.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, red bell peppers, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the sausage with a spoon, until it loses its pink color, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the basil, oregano, salt, and hot red pepper flakes. Transfer to a large bowl.

2.
Add the bread and Parmesan and mix well. Stir in the butter, wine, and enough of the stock to moisten the dressing, about 1 cup. Use as a stuffing. Or place in a buttered baking dish, drizzle with an additional ½ cup of stock, cover, and bake as a side dish.

Savory Sausage and Mushroom Bread Pudding

If you aren’t serving a stuffed turkey, this moist savory bread pudding will fill the bill. Seven cups of cubed seasoned bread stuffing can be substituted for the stale bread cubes.