All last week the Food Network ran a special wherein their top chefs answered questions about how to fix the traditional Thanksgiving food.
Somehow, it seemed as though they were making things harder on this week's average home cook than necessary.
Alton Brown likes to brine his turkey and then use all manner of temperature gadgets to get the bird roasted. Or, he deep fries it. Last year he rigged up some crazy contraption using a ladder and rope pulley which somehow balanced the fryer.
Giada demonstrated her baked mashed potatoes which may be fine if you are willing to give up oven space to a pan of mashed potatoes mixed with several cheeses, pancetta and topped with something or other to give it a crispy top crust. Looks good, just not for Thanksgiving.
Paula Deen is explaining parmesan puff pastery, a dish most of us do not have counterspace, time or oven racks for.
Claire Robinson is making green bean casserole way too hard as is Alton Brown.
Ina Garten is making roasted brussel sprouts, looks good and easy. The MAtH loves brussel sprouts.
We love risotto, but it's not something we'd do for Thanksgiving, too time consuming. Rachel Ray must have more than one stove and more than one person standing by to do the constant stirring.
We sort of stick with the traditional, tried and true, dishes. Turkey, regular mashed potatoes, mashed and then baked sweet potatoes without marshmallows, a vegetable or two, some kind of bread, dressing (we call it stuffing), cranberries, wine. Pie later.
Here's a sample of Alex Guarnaschelli's turkey brining instructions:
In a medium pot, bring 3 quarts of the tap
water to a boil over medium heat. Put the kosher salt in a large bowl
and slowly (and carefully!) pour the boiling water over the salt. Stir
to blend.
Add the molasses, honey, soy
sauce, red pepper flakes, sage, thyme and garlic to the salt and water
mixture. Stir to blend. Add the remaining 3 quarts of cool water. Add
the ice to a cooler or bucket large enough to hold the brine and the
turkey. Pour the brine over the ice and use a large whisk to blend all
of the ingredients.
Submerge the
turkey, breast side down, in the brine. Make sure the cavity of the
bird fills with the liquid as you are submerging it. Cover the cooler
and allow the bird to sit in the brine overnight or for about 12 hours.
Remove the bird from the brine and dry it thoroughly with thick
(absorbent) kitchen towels. Take care to wipe inside the cavity as
well. Discard the brine. Whisk together the butter and the lemon zest.
Gently lift the skin covering 1 breast of the turkey and spread half of
the butter right on the meat under the skin. Repeat with the other
breast. The butter will add extra moisture and richness as the bird
roasts.
