A Thanksgiving Feast in Production

I started planning my Thanksgiving dinner several weeks ago.   It is still a work in progress.  Every year I try to do things just a little simpler - no stuffing the turkey breast with fruits or sausage or whatever, mashed potatoes from a package.  I look for recipes that I can prepare ahead and then throw in the oven to cook - sweet potato casserole.  I try to add something new - the roasted beet salad.  And everyone wants to know what is for dessert.  I have never made a plain pumpkin pie.  

Yesterday I made the cranberry chutney.  It has so much bourbon in it it will keep for weeks, lol.  I would love to do fancy appetizers, but I think I will assemble a dozen for the platter and then let everyone else assemble their own.  I would gladly throw the turkey in the slow cooker, but my boys like the skin so I'll do it in the oven the same way we had it last month.  I am only making a half recipe of dressing since I always have too much left over - and then I proceed to eat it all.  The Brussels sprouts are a favorite, but I am not doing the carrots everyone likes, maybe for Christmas (yes, I have a draft of that menu too). 

I have a layer of chocolate chiffon cake in the freezer and I am going to try a simpler pumpkin mousse made with Cool Whip.  Call me lazy, but the dessert will be so rich and everyone will be so stuffed (no pun intended) that I doubt they will notice.  Especially if I top the dessert with my Chantilly cream.  The pecan pie brownies will be a new item and I hope they work out.  Here is the menu:

Smoked salmon, cheese, and cucumber bites (I'm thinking a cucumber slice instead of the bread.  And I am not making my own pickled salmon, I'm buying it)

Roast turkey breast and gravy
Chestnut dressing
Sweet potato casserole with pecan topping
Mashed potatoes
Roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta and scallions
Roasted beet and goat cheese salad
Brandied cranberry chutney

Pumpkin mousse and chocolate chiffon trifle
Pecan pie brownies

Oh, I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

The Morning after the Feast Before

I don't usually do food reviews, but one item got so many raves yesterday that I decided to write a post about the meal. (Menu)  Besides, I had already promised to post the pickled salmon recipe (below).

The buttermilk-brined turkey was as wonderful as ever.  This is my go-to recipe for a moist and delicious turkey.  I got it in the oven early enough this year to allow it to sit for an hour before carving.  It was still 'too hot to handle'.  The hardest part about making the bird is that I keep buying larger birds as the family grows and lifting it out of a standard floor oven for basting gets harder and harder.  Still, well worth the effort.

The mushroom and leek bread pudding was just way too rich.  I even used half-and-half  for some of the cream.  But combine that richness with the Gruyere cheese and it was over the top.  Very good, but still...

The old standby pierogies and Polish sausage were 'gobbled' up.  A meal in themselves, let alone served as sides to turkey.

Nobody missed having a green vegetable.  My sister suggested that everyone could go home and have a salad.  But I will be eating a lot of baked squash and fennel which was our 'vegetable'.  I added some chestnuts to the bake and they proved to be a hit.

The cranberry chutney was a side dish I always make, even if not a favorite of everyone.  But imagine my surprise on Wednesday when I read our local paper and saw a recipe from one of the local restaurants that looked very familiar.  Yes, the one and same chutney with one single variation.  I am guessing that the chef there may have gone to the same culinary school that I did.

My sister always bakes the rolls and I make the orange butter.  Usually we have lots of rolls left over.  Yesterday, there were only three.  Seems that some of us (me included) ate the rolls just so we could slather the orange butter on them.  (As a child I remember my sister just eating the butter at the table and skipping the rolls.)

I must say that very often my desserts are what gets the raves and this year was no different.  While my pumpkin mascarpone pie has become a tradition, the Russian apple sharlotka was brand new. This recipe from Food and Wine arrived just in time for the holiday.  I really wanted to do a menu with Russian and Polish dishes and had originally planned to make kolaches, a dough filled pastry that takes a lot of time.

I jumped on this recipe as soon as I saw it.  It appeared easy enough to make and could bake while we ate.  We would then have a warm dessert.  The entire cake disappeared.  NEVER has this happened with a dessert.

The apples baked up wonderfully.  I used a combination of granny smith, honey crisp, and braeburn apples.  A moist cake developed over the top of the apples with a meringue crust on the top and sides.  It was like heaven on a plate.  I imagine that a scoop of vanilla ice cream would be a welcome addition.  I have more apples and am thinking I just might whip up another one for the weekend.

Now, if you are wondering where my pictures are, well, I forgot to take any.  And the turkey was perfection.  It just never crossed my mind what with getting everything together.  I even forgot to photograph the table, though I had taken this picture earlier this month when I started pulling out my dishes.  Use your imagination to fill in the rest.  (The centerpiece (I had two) was a steal at Michael's for nine bucks just after Halloween.)

And now to the salmon.  I have a beautiful oval platter that I use for the salmon.  I had it decked out with dill sprigs, chopped hard-boiled egg, red onion, capers, cream cheese, and the sauce for the salmon.  I have a lovely tray for the thin pumpernickel bread slices (about two-inches square) used for cocktail presentations.  I remembered that I was going to post my recipe long after we had cleaned everything up.  And so, here is what is left:

Here is a picture of this morning's breakfast, which is how our appetizers would have looked yesterday:

And here is the recipe from my instructor at Schoolcraft College for pickled salmon:

Pickled Salmon

1 Large salmon fillet, pin-boned and with skin on, (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)

Marinade:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Kosher salt
1 tbsp ground juniper berries
1 tbsp fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp fresh dill springs (enough to lay over the top of the salmon)
1 small yellow onion, sliced thin
1/3 cup brandy or cognac

Method:

Place the salmon on a layer of saran wrap.

Mix the dry ingredients for the marinade together and rub all over the salmon generously, covering both sides.  With the salmon flesh side up, place a thin layer of onions on top followed by a layer of dill springs.  Sprinkle with the liquor and then wrap tightly in the saran.  (I do a double layer)

Place the fillet in a dish large enough to hold it and weigh it down with something to keep it pressed (like large cans of tomatoes inside another pan).  Refrigerate for 48 hours turning the salmon over at least once.

Unwrap when done and save the liquid.

Lay the salmon skin side down and begin cutting the slices from one end.  Cut at a shallow angle, slicing the salmon off the skin.  Keep the slices together so that you can then lay them back on the skin for serving.

Mustard sauce:

Mix a small amount of the reserved liquid (it will be salty so do not overdo it, you can always add more) with about one cup of mayonnaise.  Add some Dijon mustard, white wine or lemon juice to the mixture.  Adjust for taste and season as necessary (salt?, pepper, sugar, liquid, you get the idea).

Suggested garnishes for serving:

Pumpernickel slices (small cocktail size), diced red onion (soak in ice water for 15 minutes to reduce bite, then strain), chopped dill, chopped parsley, hard-boiled egg, cream cheese, capers, mustard sauce

I made this once with homemade bagels, something I need to make again.  But the last time I did, my son took some home and his dog ate them all.  What a waste.

Any questions?