Thanksgiving Notes

Thanksgiving cooking was a big success. We had total of 6 adults, 6 children, although only some of the children actually ate food. I got some requests for details, so here are my after-the-fact notes. "Recipes" are from memory so may not be perfectly accurate.


chestnut dressing
4x 350g fresh chestnuts, roasted -- good yield, about 75%
bread cubes: good sandwich bread, de-crusted, cubed, dried in oven
1 lb. sausage
approx. 130g butter
1 sm. bunch green celery
2 onions
6 cloves garlic or so
1 lg. bramley apple
fresh sage
homemade chicken stock

Verdict: excellent, one of my favorites to date. Good chestnuts this year. Did not use any mushrooms this time but they weren't missed. Due to my forgetting to check if I had any stock in the freezer until I needed it, stock was hastily made from uncooked chicken backs (backs, onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves) so not as luxurious as usual roast chicken stock, but worked fine.


turkey
6.5kg, fresh free range bronze, from the Ginger Pig
cut out the the backbone and flattened the whole thing a bit
successfully avoided pushing sharp rib ends through palm of hand
quick-roasted backbone, split into sections, wingtips, and gizzardy bits then made gravy out of them while turkey roasted
rubbed butter under and on top of skin and salted it
cut deep slashes across legs and thighs to encourage them to overcook (I like undercooked white meat, overcooked dark meat)
roasted at high heat on rack on broiler pan (oven too small to fit turkey in any other way) -- 220C for 30 minutes, breast-side down, then flipped over; ultimately finished last 20 minutes or so at 200C but with the convection fan on
don't remember how long it took in oven, 90 minutes maybe, maybe less
(next time try leaving back up for first 45 minutes at 220C before flipping)
pulled out when coolest part was at least 65C
rested a full 30 minutes, loosely under foil, before cutting
pulled breasts off and cut thick slices vertically (so everyone gets skin, middle, and inner sections in every slice)

Verdict: fantastic. Legs were overcooked just like I like them, breast meat was tender and really juicy (much remarked-upon). The size was plenty for everyone, and there was plenty leftover, too.

green bean casserole
600g green beans, cut, blanched(+) until just starting to get tender, then steeped in ice-water to
250g chestnut mushrooms (no particular reason for this choice, any should work), sauteed, but not overly so, in plenty of butter
thickish bechamel using about an imperial pint of milk
medium aged english cheddar

cold green beans into casserole dish (I used 8"x8"x2.25" glass baking dish), bechamel over top and stirred in, shredded cheese over top
cooked 180C with convection fan on, then finished briefly under the broiler to put a nice crispy attitude onto the cheese

Verdict: exceeded expecations! Was really good, a hit, and a bit of a triumph for the US midwest. Definitely put it on the menu next year.


brownies
Brownies Cockaigne (1931 recipe from Joy of Cooking)


All in one small oven:

• made the gravy from the back, wingtips, and gizzards while the turkey was roasting
• made the green bean casserole and the [non-]stuffing the night before
• cooked the stuffing the night before (no need for casserole), then reheated before serving
  
• if fridged, the casserole and stuffing need to come out early to go into the oven close to room temperature rather than cold
• casserole (uncovered) and stuffing (covered with foil) were popped into the oven at 180C, with convection fan on, right after taking turkey out -- 30 minutes of resting was perfect for getting them hot; casserole was bubbly on the bottom shelf, but popped it on top under the broiler just briefly after taking the stuffing out to serve
• garlic mash, fresh cranberry sauce, gravy all done on stovetop

Leftovers:

• turkey meat went into black bean & turkey soup
• turkey carcass made excellent turkey stock
• almost no leftover stuffing or casserole, will need to make more for larger groups