Thanksgiving Recap

Misoyaki Turkeyfish under construction

Yes, we did use the world's smallest roasting pan--It came with the apartment oven.

Saveur had a little tutorial on what to do if you, like many apartment dwellers, haven't got a roasting rack. 

 Hint: foil (via the Kitchn)

For Thanksgiving Jeff and I ordered a little turkey from our CSA, then invited our friends who hail from outside the tri-state area to join us at our apartment.  As luck would have it, all four of our guests were from Washington state and they would all end up cooking their contributions to the Thanksgiving feast in our modestly sized kitchen. 

Alec prepares beautiful layers of macaroni and cheese for the oven

The kitchen is humming with movement

 Ryan pours a delicious mix of fresh pumpkin puree into eager piecrusts

Jeff does the honors of carving the bird

My friend Ryan who ran from Amsterdam to Athens this summer made pumpkin pie, but as he just moved in to his apartment, did not have adequate pie making equipment.  I obviously have that department covered, so we planned to have him come over a few hours beforehand.  The day before, our friend Alec and his two roommates had an issue with the gas at their new apartment inadvertently getting shut off.  The baked sweet potatoes with blue cheese and walnuts, baked mac & cheese, and corn fritters would be quite a challenge without any heat.  They did as much of their prep as possible at home and then came over and blitzed our oven.  I'm glad that I prepared as much as I had on Wednesday night because it was just barely controlled mayhem in the kitchen on Thursday afternoon.  Miraculously, we got everything on the table, warm and delicious, right on time at 6:00. 

Hungry, hungry hands

 

Thanksgiving 2009 Menu

Corn Fritters with Assorted Mustards
Baked Sweet Potatoes with Blue Cheese and Walnuts
Brussels Sprouts with Buttered Pecans
Spiced Cranberry Jelly with Agave Nectar
Curried Fruit Relish 

(I used dried peaches, several raisin varieties, dried cranberries and dried apricots. 
You could probably cut the butter in half and still have a delicious relish.)

Italian Sausage Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes with Butter, Milk, Buttermilk, Cheese
Baked Mac & Cheese with Mushrooms
"Misoyaki Turkeyfish," recipe below
Cream Gravy

Fresh Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Ginger Cheesecake

This is after everyone ate seconds, thirds and dessert.

As delicious as everything was, we made a bit much, and it was really rich food.  

The only item without fat added to it was the cranberry jelly.  

"Misoyaki Turkeyfish"
There is no fish here; I just love Misoyaki Butterfish, this turkey involved a good deal of miso and butter, and my sleep-deprived sense of humor got the best of me. The miso lends an extra meatiness without tasting like miso soup.  Keep in mind that miso has salt in it, so make sure your butter is unsalted, especially if you go the brining route.

I picked up our 12 pound, hormone-free, Vermont-raised Turkey on Tuesday evening.  It was quite solidly frozen which made me a bit nervous.  I did a dry-brine based on an article from the LA Times, which was great because it gave us the moist meat of a traditional brine, but none of the potentially spongy texture.  It also was perfectly safe to do on a frozen turkey, letting me brine and defrost at the same time.

• 2 T kosher salt per 5 pounds of turkey
• aromatic herbs as desired
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1/4 c shiro miso paste ("white miso," very mildly flavored)
• 1/4 c unsalted butter, softened
• 1 red apple
• broth for basting

At least 2 days before roasting, rinse turkey and pat it dry.  If you can get the neck and giblets out, please do.  Mine were frozen in place.
Using 1T of kosher salt per 5 pounds of turkey, make a salt mix with your about 2 teaspoons of your preferred aromatic--we used dried thyme.  Sprinkle this mix liberally over the bird, focusing on the breast and thighs, and rub it in to the skin. If you got the neck and such out of the bird, rub some of the mix inside as well.
Place the turkey in a large, preferably sealable, plastic bag and remove as much air as possible when closing, then place breast side up in the fridge.  We used a black trashbag and it worked fine.

Before roasting, take turkey out of the fridge, remove from trashbag and place in roasting pan.  Let sit at room temp for 1 hour.  Preheat the oven to 500° F. 
Chop 1/4 onion finely in a food processor.  Reserve the other 3/4 onion for stuffing the turkey.  Add miso and butter to the food processor and pulse until you have a mostly smooth paste. 
Loosen turkey skin starting from the larger opening and stuff miso butter under the skin.  Massage from the outside to distribute the butter evenly.
(You can do the butter-skin stuffing the day before if you like.)

Chop remaining 3/4 onion and red apple.  Place inside both ends of the turkey.
Tent with foil and roast for 30 minutes at 500°.  Reduce the heat to 350° and take the temperature of the turkey at the thickest part of the breast, and baste liberally.. 
Continue roasting at 350° until the thickest part of the breast registers 155°, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours for a 12-15 lb bird.
Remove from the oven and let rest at least 20 minutes before carving.

Our fridge at midnight, post-feast

Many, many opportunities for creative leftovers ahead