Not-too-fussy Thanksgiving dinner for five civilized adults:
Antipasto platter
Cocktails, sherry
Salad (brought by one of my guests)
Boneless rolled turkey breast with apple, shallot and sage
Gravy
Dressing
Gently candied sweet potatoes
String beans with chanterelle mushrooms
Cranberry sauce
Piper Sonoma Brut
Chocolate Chestnut Torte
Pumpkin dates squares
Decaf coffee
Being short of time and room, I did a lot of this beforehand. I even had the
meat guy at Andronico's bone out the turkey breast for me (I usually do it
myself) and had him pack the bones alongside. With some extra turkey wings and
a meaty back piece to roast, I made the gravy and some extra stock (for the
dressing) Tuesday night, along with the cranberry sauce. Wednesday I made the
pumpkin squares, roasted the sweet potatoes and blanched the string beans.
Made the chocolate torte yesterday, first thing in the morning. I wouldn't
ordinarily serve a chocolate dessert for Thanksgiving, but among my nearest and
dearest I count two chocoholics who aren't much interested in anything sweet
unless it's chocolate. And no one in this crowd is all that crazy for pumpkin
pie. The recipe for the chocolate-chestnut torte came from a fitness magazine.
I thought it had potential even though it's relatively low in calories (about
225 for a decent serving, and about 9 grams of fat). It was good! Not too rich
and just sweet enough. I served it with some softly whipped cream (very
slightly sweetened and vanilla'd) and it was a big hit.
I was planning to roll the turkey breast up with the filling (really just a
flavoring: a minced shallot and an apple chopped small sauteed in a little
butter, two teaspons of minced fresh sage and salt & pepper), but when I
slipped it out of its stretchy net bag, I discovered it was two breast halves
instead of one big piece. So I just sandwiched the filling in between the
halves and worked it back into its net. Gave it a good sear in a hot skillet
and then into the oven at 400F for about twenty minutes, then lowered the oven
to 350F for the rest of the two hours (the roast weighed 5 lbs). My Polder
didn't beep at 165F like it was supposed to and when I checked it after two
hours, it was already at 171F, so I pulled it out and let it sit tented with
foil. It was beautifully browned, and when I sliced it about forty-five minutes
later it was tender and juicy and very flavorful. It was still warm, and there
was plenty of hot gravy for it.
The dressing was a fairly simple onion-celery-herbs affair. The glaze for the
sweet potatoes was easy: juice and rind of an orange, a jigger of bourbon, two
tablespoons of brown sugar, two tablespoons of butter, a grating of nutmeg and
a pinch of salt. While it was bubbling for a few minutes over medium heat, I
peeled and sliced the sweet potatoes and arranged them in a (Pam'd) pie plate.
Poured the hot glaze over and they went into the oven with the dressing as soon
as the roast came out (they should be basted with the pan juices a few times).
Meanwhile, I put the gravy on to heat and put out the cranberry sauce.
The string beans go together fairly quckly: wash and slice thickly some
chanterelle (or other) mushrooms. Mince a shallot and put it to sautee in a
little butter. Add the mushrooms, and when they're nicely cooked, toss in the
blanched beans, stir them around, season with salt and pepper, cover and let
cook for a few minutes until done to taste. I like them tender.
It was a most pleasant afternoon! I love Thanksgiving.
Jen
San Francisco
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