Because it was just Lin and me, the menu was trimmed a bit:

-turkey breast roasted with oranges and ham
Rather than brining the turkey breast, I put ham fat under the skin a
couple days before. I also cooked the breast at a low temperature
(250°F) and I removed it from the oven when its internal temperature was
150°F. This was AMAZING. Beautifully moist and wonderfully flavored.

-turkey legs braised with persimmons, onions, and spices
I used Fuyu persimmons, and they stayed quite firm after cooking, but
that's not really a negative property. I like to cook the turkey legs
separate from the turkey breast because the legs need a lot more cooking
than the breast does.

-collard greens with turkey cracklings, ham, and garlic
I think this was my least favorite dish. It wasn't bad, but it just
didn't have the star quality the other items had.

-blanched broccoli slaw with extremely-spicy vinegar dressing
Shredded broccoli was blanched in boiling water for a minute, just long
enough to take away the raw taste and crunch. I made a kind of pickling
solution by blending white vinegar, habanero chiles, olive oil, and
salt. The blanched broccoli went into a bowl with the dressing poured
over the top, and the broccoli was tossed in the dressing about five
times over the next two hours. I wanted something like a very-spicy
pickle, very slightly reminiscent of kimchee. It was a great accent to
the rich food.

-sweet potatoes with Wild Turkey and pecans
The Wild Turkey was reduced to a syrup. Sweet potatoes were baked in the
skin, peeled, cut into thick rounds, tossed with the syrup, and topped
with roughly-chopped pecans. Then they were baked again to toast the
pecans and kind of set the flavor.

-savory bread pudding with sage and savory
I wish I'd made a lot more of this. It was intended to take the place of
stuffing, but I only made a two-serving gratin dish of it, and I would
have liked more leftovers.

-mashed potatoes with turkey-ham jus gras
Lin made the mashed potatoes, leaving the skins on them because we both
like them that way. The "jus gras" is from _Modernist Cuisine At Home_,
and is a kind of very rich gravy. To make it, you first have to make a
rich stock. I roasted some turkey wings, chicken feet, and halved onions
until deeply golden. The onions and half the wings were cooked with
water in a pressure cooker for an hour and a half. That stock was
strained back into the pressure cooker. The other half of the wings were
added along with the chicken feet, some thyme, and some dry sherry. That
cooked under pressure for another hour and a half. The resulting stock
was wildly rich in flavor and very strongly gelatinous. While the wings
and feet were roasting, I used the pressure cooker to render out a big
batch of turkey schmaltz. To make the jus gras, the stock is heated
along with a tiny bit of xanthan gum and the schmaltz is combined with
liquid lecithin. Finally, an immersion blender is used to combine the
aqueous stock with the fatty schmaltz: The lecithin allows the two to be
emulsified and remain stable.

-pumpkin pie with Grand Marnier ice cream
-pecan pie with (mild) chipotle diplomat cream
I followed Pam Anderson's recipe for a crust.
http://www.amazon.com/CookSmart-Perf.../dp/0618091513

Bob

I forgot to mention a couple things:

> -turkey breast roasted with oranges and ham
> -turkey legs braised with persimmons, onions, and spices
> -collard greens with turkey cracklings, ham, and garlic
> -blanched broccoli slaw with extremely-spicy vinegar dressing
> -sweet potatoes with Wild Turkey and pecans
> -savory bread pudding with sage and savory
> -mashed potatoes with turkey-ham jus gras

We drank a bottle of Gruner Veltliner with dinner.


> -pumpkin pie with Grand Marnier ice cream
> -pecan pie with (mild) chipotle diplomat cream

Lin took pictures which will be posted on Facebook rather than here
because Sheldon can still eat a bag of shit.

Bob

On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:08:49 -0800, Bob Terwilliger
> wrote:

> Because it was just Lin and me, the menu was trimmed a bit:
>
> -turkey breast roasted with oranges and ham
> Rather than brining the turkey breast, I put ham fat under the skin a
> couple days before. I also cooked the breast at a low temperature
> (250°F) and I removed it from the oven when its internal temperature was
> 150°F. This was AMAZING. Beautifully moist and wonderfully flavored.
>
> -turkey legs braised with persimmons, onions, and spices
> I used Fuyu persimmons, and they stayed quite firm after cooking, but
> that's not really a negative property. I like to cook the turkey legs
> separate from the turkey breast because the legs need a lot more cooking
> than the breast does.

It all sounds delicious. I take it that you disjointed a whole
turkey? I hoped to find turkey parts when I shopped this weekend, but
only saw whole birds. I'd like to cook some turkey parts because we
were "guests" for Thanksgiving and you know how that goes.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:24:08 -0800, Bob Terwilliger
> wrote:

> We drank a bottle of Gruner Veltliner with dinner.

Which reminds me.... have you been to the Cantiga Wineworks in
Somerset, CA? If so, is it worth a trip from SF to their tasting
rooms?

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

sf wrote:

>> Because it was just Lin and me, the menu was trimmed a bit:
>>
>> -turkey breast roasted with oranges and ham
>> Rather than brining the turkey breast, I put ham fat under the skin a
>> couple days before. I also cooked the breast at a low temperature
>> (250°F) and I removed it from the oven when its internal temperature was
>> 150°F. This was AMAZING. Beautifully moist and wonderfully flavored.
>>
>> -turkey legs braised with persimmons, onions, and spices
>> I used Fuyu persimmons, and they stayed quite firm after cooking, but
>> that's not really a negative property. I like to cook the turkey legs
>> separate from the turkey breast because the legs need a lot more cooking
>> than the breast does.
>
> It all sounds delicious. I take it that you disjointed a whole
> turkey? I hoped to find turkey parts when I shopped this weekend, but
> only saw whole birds. I'd like to cook some turkey parts because we
> were "guests" for Thanksgiving and you know how that goes.

I disjointed a turkey for the main part of the meal, but I also bought
three packets of turkey wings (two wings per packet) for the stock. I
found them at Winco.

Bob

sf wrote:

>> We drank a bottle of Gruner Veltliner with dinner.
>
> Which reminds me.... have you been to the Cantiga Wineworks in
> Somerset, CA? If so, is it worth a trip from SF to their tasting
> rooms?

I haven't been there.

Bob