WHAT'S COOKIN'

A Yummy Thanksgiving Celebration

othing made my Mom happier than a family dinner and every Mother’s Day I tried to prepare foods that she liked best, and her favorite was chicken. She always said that chicken was “safe,” and no matter where we travelled, she ordered it. So our main course for this Mother’s Day will be Grilled Chicken Breasts with Rosemary. Her favorite vegetables were potatoes, so we’ll add that, mashed and creamy. Our green salad with sweet pears will round out our repast.

In addition to Mother’s Day, the month of May also celebrates one of nature’s healthiest vegetables: asparagus. It has been used from early times as a vegetable and medicine, owing to its delicate flavor and diuretic properties. There is a recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest surviving book of recipes, Apicius’s third century AD, DE RE COQUINARIA, Book 111. It was cultivated by the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans, who ate it fresh when in season and dried them for use in winter. It lost popularity in the Middle Ages, but returned to favor in the seventeenth century. Only the young shoots are eaten. The bottoms usually contain fibrous material and dirt, so it is best to simply break them off, then with a peeler, shave down the ends. Opt for the larger asparagus as it has a richer, more satisfying flavor. Asparagus also comes white and rather thick, as well as green, very thin or thick. All are prepared in many variations and all are delicious and nutritious.

So are we ready to cook? Let’s go!

French Onion Soup

My special dinner this year will begin with my favorite French Onion Soup. I first got this recipe from one of my colleagues, the Grande Dame of French cooking, Anne Willan. Of course, she always made it with roasted beef broth, but now she approves using low salt beef or chicken broth (which saves hours of cooking). This recipe is featured in this month’s issue of Fine Cooking. The secret to the success of this soup is proper caramelization of the onions. Once done, you are on your way to raves. Shall we begin?

Strawberry Sangria – Serves 12

•8 cups water
•8 wild berry tea bags
•2 cups sugar
•4 – 1 pt. baskets hulled strawberries
•2 – 25.4 ounce bottles chilled sparkling apple cider
•4 cups ice cubes

To make the butter: Cook bacon over medium heat until brown and crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Crumble the bacon finely. Mix the butter, sage and bacon in a medium bowl and season lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and chill, but bring to room temperature before serving.

To make the turkey: Pat the turkey with paper towels. Season the cavity with salt and pepper. Place leeks, 8 sage sprigs and bay leaves in cavity. Slide your hand under the skin of the turkey breast to loosen the skin and spread 1/3 cup of the sage butter over the breast, under the skin and you may stick a few leaves of sage under there as well. Place the turkey on the rack set in a large roasted pan and rub 2 Tablespoons of the sage butter over the outside of the bird. Set aside 1/3 cup butter for the gravy and reserve the rest for basting.

Position rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Pour 1/3 broth over turkey. Roast turkey until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the inner thigh registers 180 degrees F., basting every 30 minutes with 1/3 cup broth and occasionally basting with the sage butter, about 3 hours. Transfer the turkey to a platter, tent with foil and let stand 30 minutes.

Remove rack from pan and pour pan juices into a large glass measuring cup. Spoon off the fat and discard. Pour juices back into pan and place pan over 2 burners, set on high heat. Add 2 cups broth. Boil until liquid is reduced to 2 cups, scraping up browned bits, about 10 minutes. Whisk in reserved 1/3 cup sage butter and season gravy with salt and freshly ground pepper. Uncover platter, carve turkey, garnish with sage and parsley and serve with gravy.