Thanksgiving 2019 - ideas / plans / menus / raves / rants

Thank you!
And here’s another! This is a would vide recipe from ChefSteps. I’m planning on doing this in the next day or two, and just with the “drumsticks” I picked up the other day. I was/am looking for thighs. Check out the picture!

Crispy, Tender Confit Turkey Legs Estimated time: 7–24 hr

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Oooh, since I’m sous-vide confiting duck legs already, maybe I’ll throw some turkey legs in there too!

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Im watching Chef’s Line and having a Turkish moment. I put some Whole Spice Baharat spice and it burned a bit.


I’m going to try Muhammara (so?) with my last peppers.

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The pan looks like it needs a nice hot soapy soak. But the drumsticks look really good.

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Muhammara

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Oops! That will be a different thread. :upside_down_face:

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Recipe …turned out to be from The Chefs Line. I used pecans because that’s what I like and keep in the freezer.

And I used roasted red poblanos.
Another reference.

I have one trick up my sleeves which I learned from my mother
To conserve energy esp since my French cast iron hot plate remains hot for quite a while after it is turned off, I dish food that is cooked shortly , add water, place it back on the stove and when dinner is done, the pot is very easily cleaned. Soapy water is added if it is still dirty back on the still warm stove for a few minutes, then rinsed and back to warm stove to dry off… The third step is necessary esp with cast iron pot or grill pan that I used for frying or grilling.
It works wonders!

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You mean a “Turkish Turkey” moment…looks delish!

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Started my prep this weekend with baguettes for stuffing - DH always says it is cruel of me to start the weekend before because it just makes him crave stuffing for almost a week before he gets any! This morning I made an elderberry sauce to go with my duck, pie dough and olive cheddar balls. I’ll be boning out my ducks later today and sealing up the leg quarters for sous vide confit (36 hours at 155). I also ended up having to buy a (small) whole turkey just to get legs - annoyingly, the stores around me never have parts (or if they do, they cost a fortune, so it’s cheaper just to buy a damn turkey). I’ll cut that up later as well and sous vide the leg quarters along with the duck, and use the rest for stock (after removing the skin and roasting it separately for a cook’s treat!

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Made duck cracklings. There is A LOT of fat on a duck! I started with two 6 lb ducks and wound up with four 6 oz breasts, four 10 oz quarters, 4 lbs of backs/wings/necks and a whole skillet full of fat. No wonder duck breasts are so expensive when you buy them separately!

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At 24 hours. Haven’t tried to crisp the skin. It tastes good!

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Yup! Although I have been buying parts.

My husband & I love turkey necks! They are loaded with meat & are very tasty. I cook them with water to cover, a quartered brown onion, a carrot, 3-4 stalks of celery & a bay leaf. Bring to a low boil, skim & lower heat to simmer. Can take 2 hrs to be tender. In todays world i would do them in the Instant Pot or conventional stove top pressure cooker. Same basic method but probably 60 min is enough… And you get the bonus of some nice broth :yum:

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Baking and cooking commenced!

Made a pile of mini turkish sigara boregi, stuffed with spinach and feta because the trial round I made with the traditional cheese and parsley filling felt a bit plain for the holiday crowd.



And started baking - two small lemon olive oil cakes. More tomorrow.

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More of a curiosity question about your Mashed Potatoes . . . .

Do you boil your potatoes with the skin on or off?

I go back and forth on this . . . I use a potato ricer to mash my potatoes, so if I do have skins on, they get trapped in the ricer. So in that sense, removing the skins is easy. But they also clog the ricer, slowing the whole process down and they are scorching hot so aren’t always easy to get out of the ricer. Long story short, sometimes I peel and then boil, other years I boil and then let the ricer do the peeling. I don’t really notice any taste difference between the two.

What do you do?

(PS posting this because I’m packing for my T-day trip and am now thinking if I should bring my peeler or not . . . . )

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Russet, off
Yukon, on
Red, partial peel
Purple, partial peel
Baby potatoes, on

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