The Thanksgiving Ritual

"My doctor asked, 'How soon into a meal do you typically stop eating and feel full?' I don't stop eating when I'm full. The meal's not over when I feel full. The meal is over when I hate myself. That's when I stop." -- Louis CK

Our family celebrates Thanksgiving like no other holiday.  Consider: my Mom's prodigious cooking, my love for the finest flavors, and my family's passion for . . . well,  . . .  gluttony.  So much so, that my brothers and I participate in a little (un)healthy competition around the holiday. 

As I may have alluded to in a previous post, we start gorging the week of Thanksgiving.  On Monday, I try to eat an extra meal.  Pre-Brunch, if you will.  Or maybe a Pre-Dinner.  Or even an Apres-Dessert.  Tuesday, I'll work on an extra meal and maybe extra helpings during each meal.  On Wednesday, I don't think I'm ever without food.  My brothers participate in a similar routine, the goal being stretching the stomach to its largest and most unhealthy capacity.  Then we fast the day of Thanksgiving so that we are nearly starving and feel completely hollow by the time we eat The Big Meal.  Like bears gorging themselves before hibernation, we maximize our caloric intake and then rest comfortably.  Americans created another ritual to aid in the rest and relaxation post-The Big Meal: The Detroit Lions Football Game. 

But my side of the family traditionally also celebrates Christmas during the Thanksgiving holiday.  The Christmas tree is put up, the ornaments come out, the Rat Pack serenades us with holiday carols.  Nog may be consumed.  Gifts will also be exchanged.  We started combining holidays years ago when marriages pulled us in different directions during November and December.  So we invented Christgiving.  Or Thanksmas.   Which is also cool, because we get our Christmas shopping done early.    

I'll report back after the holiday, and let you know how it turned out.  In the mean time, here's a few recipes I'm working on for The Big Meal. 

Cranberries with Raspberries and Cardamom
1 package whole, fresh Cranberries
2 cups Raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup Sugar
Zest of 1 Orange
pinch of Salt
Water
1/4 cup Triple Sec
6 whole Green Cardamom pods

Rinse and pick out the bad fruit.  Add the fruit, sugar, zest and salt to a medium sauce pan with enough water to come up 1/2 inch below the top of the fruit.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently and then reduce to a simmer.  Add the Triple Sec and cardamom pods and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries split open and the liquid is reduced to a thin syrup. 

Refrigerate over night. 

Stuffed Turkey
The art of cooking a stuffed turkey, that isn't too dry, but isn't undercooked, either, eludes most kitchen enthusiasts.  The secret is patience.  And a lot of heat at the right time.  And the brine!
The night before, soak the bird in a brine of your choosing.  Essentially, the brine is a high salt content dissolved in water.  There may be additional flavors.  I like adding lightly crushed allspice, a little sugar in the form of apple cider, or in this case a dark porter beer.  Three hours before cooking, remove the bird from the brine and rinse it thoroughly.  Using paper towels pat it dry, and then let it completely air-dry. (This will help the skin get extra crispy.) 


Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Dress the skin of the bird however you like--I usually just sprinkle a little salt and pepper over it, inside and out.  Heat the stuffing in the microwave until it's about 300 degrees.  Quickly stuff the bird's neck and body cavities, and then finish trussing the bird, lay it on a rack, breast-side down, and get it into the oven. 


Reduce the heat to 450 degrees and cook for an hour.  Baste the back in its juices, and then flip the bird, breast-side up.  Put the bird back into the oven, reduce the heat to 250 degrees and cook for 2 hours.  The breast and thigh meat should be about 135 degrees by this time.  Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees and cook until the breast temperature is 160 degrees and the meat between the thigh and body is reading about 165- 170 degrees.  (The stuffing in the center of the bird will also be about 160 degrees.)  Remove from the oven and cover with tinfoil.  Let rest for 20 minutes before carving.


Autumn Stuffing
1/2 cup Walnut meat, lightly crushed
3/4 cup Onions, chopped
3/4 cup Celery, chopped (include the leaves!)
3/4 cup Apples, peeled and chopped (Granny Smiths or other baking apple)
2-4 cups Turkey Stock
1/2 cup melted Butter
2 tablespoons Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon ground Black Pepper
1 cup fresh forest mushrooms (I like Chanterelles or Morels)
4 cups Dried Bread, chopped into 1 inch cubes (we use the end pieces or stale artisan bread that we have been collecting for the past several months in the freezer)
cooked and chopped Giblets (optional, but I like them)


In a very large bowl, mix all the ingredients except for the stock.  Slowly add the stock until the bread starts to take on a little moisture, about 1 1/2 to 2 cups.  Seperate out about 1/2 the stuffing to put into the bird.  Follow the directions, above.

Add a bit more stock to the remaining stuffing until it gains the consistency you enjoy.  Move to a baking dish.  Bake in a 350 degree oven, covered for 30 minutes and 5 minutes uncovered.  Serve hot.