the text read: “do we want a free Turkey?” Thumb typed response: “Yesssss.”
When the Butterball appeared, it did not seem prudent to let it languish in the freezer indefinitely, so we had an impromptu pre-Thanksgiving turkey feast. Liberated from any particular tradition with only ourselves and a few guests – all adult, enthusiastic and without expectation – to please, this is the feast we created; may it inspire your holiday meal and its leftovers:
* Intimate Impromptu Brooklyn Thanksgiving *
Turkey – butterflied & slow roasted with Cranberry Molasses Glaze
Pan Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter & Sage
Panzanella of homemade Sourdough Bread, Pesto and Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes & Pomegranate Seeds
Mixed Greens with Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette
Cranberry Bundt Cake
The whole meal feels both of the season and fresh. Some flavors switch spots. Cranberries move to dessert and pomegranate seeds plays the role of juicy, tart and sweet alongside the fowl and earthy veggies. The sweet potatoes eschew their candy coating for nutty browned butter and a good handful of minced fresh sage, a crucial Thanksgiving flavor typical to the stuffing. We made no stuffing at all! The Italian peasant bread salad delivers satisfying breadiness with fresher flavors like a basil & almond pesto, chopped parsley, and a mix of multicolored cherry tomatoes seared and split in a hot hot pan with olive oil, sea salt and rosemary. And we butterflied the bird so there was no cavity to stuff anyway.
Cracking the large bird in half likewise halves the roasting time, and makes the beast easier to wrangle generally. We had a bird so absurdly big that we served four people and still had a whole half untouched and meat still on the bones of the first half. We made a beautiful turkey pot pie and two kinds of turkey salad: one curried with golden raisins and one plain with pomegranate seeds. We put together a full plate for the upstairs neighbors along with gravy in a jar. The gravy – made with runoff from the turkey roasted with a molasses, cranberry, apple cider and apple cider vinegar reduction – is astounding.
We also had some red wine. If you are worrying about what wine to pair with your Thanksgiving meal then just remember: when Julia asked Jacques what wine they ought to serve on their Thanksgiving special, he said, “A lot of wine…and all kind of wine.”
***
May you find much to be grateful for during this latest spasm of insanity here in this American country. Which may need, in addition to a massive grounding in gratitude, a truth and reconciliation process.
Glitter Sweets 