Tough Turkey

I was feeling ambivalent about hosting Thanksgiving dinner, but when I found out that Healthy Family Farms, the same stand from which I get my eggs from, was going to be making turkeys available, I got inspired.

Not remembering how big a turkey I usually get, and not sure who we were having over, I ordered a 20lb-er. When I picked it up, it was the biggest turkey I started inviting friends.

In honor of the local turkey, I felt out the rest of the menu from what I could get at the Farmer's Market, Farmer and the Cook and Rainbow Bridge. All organic and mostly local, I felt grateful again to live in Ojai, California.

On Wednesday, when I opened the turkey to get it ready to brine, I was overwhelmed by it's force. At risk of sounding too hippy, the spirit of my turkey was HUGE and I felt compelled to light a candle and say my prayers of gratitude. This was some turkey. I mean, like whoa whoa. It gave off this intense force that made my hair stand on end everytime I handled it.

But I learned a valuable lesson this holiday. While ethically I was very pleased with my free range organic turkey, I had not intended to cook an athlete. While the bird was perfectly cooked, nothing could mask the touch and chewy meat. Next year, I will be looking for the turkey that given the choice to run free, chose to relax and fatten up a little. A turkey more like me.

Thanksgiving 2007 Menu
10 peeps
Mixed Group.
2 Vegans

Appetizers
- Roasted Nuts with Rosemary, Brown Sugar, Cayenne and Salt
- Cheese Plate and Crackers
- Smoked Salmon Plate with Lemon Dill Sour Creme, Red Onions, Capers and Pumpernickel Toasts
- Herbed Olives


Dinner
Tough Turkey
(I carved according to the Video on the NYT. Great!)
Gravy
Basic Bread Stuffing (Bread from FnC)
Braised Fennel (Fennel from B.D.)
Slow Simmered Leeks in Olive Oil (Leeks from Rainbow, Carrots from Tutti Frutti, Onions from FnC)
Gingered Black Kale (Kale from Rainbow, Ginger from FnC)
Roasted Small Red Potatoes (Potatoes from Farmer's Market Stand)
Cranberry Sauce with Pomegranate Seeds (Cranberries from FnC, Local Pomegranates)


Desert
Katherine brought a Pear Tartan
Craig brought a Pumpkin Pie from Olivia

Steve and Olivia Came Over for Dinner

Steve and Olivia Came over for dinner tonight. I had a a huge chunk of swordfish from Ric and Alicia and they have lots of vegetables. They dropped of the veggies around 2:45 and we headed out to see a 2:50 showing of American Gangster.

Great movie.

We came back and together concocted the menu:


Tomato Arugula Bruchetta

Oven Roasted Swordfish with Mustard Tamari Glaze and Herb Roasted Potatoes
Wilted Spinach with Garlic and Flame Raisins
Steamed Bok Choy with Ginger and Pistachios
Marinated Shitake Mushroom Turnip Salad

Chocolate Chip Cookies

So fun to dine together and make up something totally new.

Tomoto Arugula Bruschetta

Olivia made a fantastic brushcetta of:

tomatoes
garlic
onion
arugula
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt

i found stale bread in the fridge and revived it by pan toasting it in olive oil in the pan.

delicious.

Roasted Swordfish with Mustard Glaze and Herb Red Potatoes wit

Ric of What A Deal Seafood convinced me to try cooking the swordfish like this. On Sunday, he had these big huge cuts of swordfish like a pot roast. And when I asked him how to cook them, he said, "Like a Pot Roast".

Oven to 400.
Baking Sheet prepped with piece of Tinfoil and oiled.

1. Bog 2+ pound piece of swordfish cut like a pot roast.
2. Mix up country Dijon mustard, green peppercorn mustard, tamari soy sauce and olive oil.
3. Stick 3 or 4 Fresh Rosemary Sticks into and through fish. (I did not get them "all the way through")
4. Rub outside of Fish with a 1/2 clove of garlic.

5. Wash and slice up small red potatoes into small wedges. Toss with olive oil, pepper, salt, thyme and Mexican oregano. Scatter around the fish.

6. Pour mustard marinade all over fish.

7. Put fish and potatoes in Oven and set timer for 20 minutes. At 20 minutes, turn pan around and set timer for 10 more minutes. Check Fish. You will most likely need to cook it for at least 10 minutes more, but it depends on your oven. We took it out at about 35 minutes. It was 2 minutes to being cooked. We covered it with tinfoil while rest of food got cooked (10 minutes), and it cooked the rest of itself and mellowed perfectly.

8. Transfer potatoes and fish to a serving platter.
(I would put the bok choy under it next time, but it looked pretty and old skool tonight).

Shikate, Turnip, Pepper, Avoocado Salad

I was not totally present for the making of this salad. Olivia did it. She can comment if I am getting it wrong.

A bunch of Beautiful Turnips from Steve's Farm
A bunch of Shitake Mushrooms
A Red Pepper
Avocados

1. 1/4 inch Julienne the Turnips
2. Slice the mushrooms
3. Mix turnips and mushrooms with soy sauce? I am not sure.
4. Roast up Red pepper, peal and chop, scatter the red pepper around the outside of the mushrooms and turnips.
5. Slice up the avocado and attractively arrange around the salad.

Lemonade Spinich

Olive Oil
Red Pepper Flakes
Beautiful Spinach
Ginger
Garlic
Golden Flame Raisins
Friend's Ranch Lemonade

1. Heat Saute Pan. Add Olive Oil.
2. Once hot, add red pepper flakes to taste.
3. Add Minced Ginger.
4. Add Spinach. Saute and turn for a while. Eventually add a little minced garlic.
5. Eventually add some lemon juice, add the raisins, and partially cover.

6. Check on and turn every so often. The spinach wilts super fast. When almost ready, add too much salt, stir and taste. Adjust as necessary.

7. To Serve, put in a pretty flat dish.

Bok Choy Saute with Pistachios

1. Just the right amount of olive oil in a hot saute pan
2. Once hot, add pistachios and saute until toasted and richer. Remove and store in a bowl.
3. If necessary, add more oil and heat.
4. Add Minced ginger and saute until fragrant.
5. Add prepped cleaned and sliced Bok Choy from Steve's Farm

Tonight the timing on this was dependent on the fish and the spinach and the red pepper. So I left it till it seemed al dante enough to be crunchy but cooked.

Transfer to a pretty plate and scatter with pistachios.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Alexis Brown Sugar Cookies in Entertaining.

oven at 375.
rack in the center.
cookie sheet greased with butter wrapper.

2 sticks butter at room temp.
generous 1.5 cup brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
2 eggs
generous 1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp fine sea salt salt

too many chocolate chips

1. use something electric to help mush up the butter
2. blend in the brown sugar fully
3. add the white and do the same
4. add the eggs
5. add the vanilla

6. sift the flour, salt and baking soda

7. slowly add he flour mixture, blending and tasting. i usually have bout 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour mixture left over. i do not like that flour taste, so i stop shy of that.

8. blend in too many chocolate chips. tonight we added a bag. sometimes we add more.

9. dollop onto cookie sheet. bake 8 to 12 minutes, depending on your oven.

10. as done, carefully trasnsfer to spot to dry as rest bake.