[Sca-cooks] Thanksgiving food

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach chirhart_1:
>I just finished "THE GRATE PIE" ,Pumpkin -1 ft.5 in. across, 3 in. deep, and
>4 Ft. 5 in. around . Oh man can't wait !

Oh! You have a baklava pan too, huh? ;-)

I am on diminished duty this year, as my back is still messed up and 
I can't do that lean-forward-ten-degrees-at-a-cutting-board for any 
prolonged period. Peeling and chopping largely augmented by spouse 
and Evil Spawn (tm). As my mom is a little frail these days, as the 
saying goes, she's no longer able to heft a big bird around, so, as 
in previous years, I'm bringing a roast turkey, smashed tatties, 
gravy, and, by demand of a vocal minority, creamed pearl onions. 
She's on pies (which, after my enormous investment of time and money 
on a culinary education, are still better than mine). The rest of the 
twenty-to-thirty-odd people who show up will also be bringing dishes, 
and probably without too much variation over previous years, but who 
cares?

I'm also doing pseudo-roasted vegetables (red onion, carrots, celery 
and leeks, sauteed separately in a nearly-red-hot wok with coarse 
salt, fresh pepper, and barely enough EV olive oil to grease the pan) 
cooked until lightly charred at the edges, reserved, caramelized 
about 1/2 tsp sugar in the empty pan, swirl in a pat of butter to 
make a glaze, return all veg to the pan, toss to coat and place in 
oven in iron skillet to finish. In an oven which would otherwise not 
be set to the right temp for the job. When they come out of the oven 
they get about a tablespoon of turkey pan drippings to help loosen 
them from the pan.

Turkey, as with last year, is boned out into two halves, rolled back 
into its skin and tied up, looking suspiciously like two barded beef 
fillets. (Dry-rubbed with seasonings and allowed to macerate 
overnight, instead of brining.) Presentation on platter is obviously 
not as good, but on the plate, probably better, perfectly cooked, and 
much easier and faster to cook, transport, and carve. This was a 
26-pound turkey, which I guesstimate at producing two, 
approximately-8-pound boneless roasts. I thought about making a 
French-type stuffing from the giblets to go under the skin, and after 
staring at the turkey at around 1AM, sanity prevailed. Dressing 
always seems to show up magically anyway.

Creamed onions are just peeled (thanks, Susan and Brennan) blanched 
till tender in just enough salted water to cover, mixed with cream 
sauce (as in, bechamel with about 25% cream added, reduced, _very_ 
gently, to original volume), seasoned with fresh-grated nutmeg, white 
pepper, and salt. These were done yesterday, and today I'll reheat 
them in a casserole under a layer of buttered breadcrumbs and chives.

So. A question for anyone who might be following these things: you 
know how there are "new potatoes" (which generally means a waxy 
variety), and then you have the new crop of "old", mealy-type 
potatoes. Has anybody else noticed a diminution in starch content in, 
say, Russet Burbanks, once or twice in the past few years? Symptoms 
include a tendency to fall apart after what would otherwise not be 
considered overcooking, a slight wateriness, etc. I can't decide if 
the crop has been affected by weird weather or if these have been 
improperly stored by every market in the neighborhood. Comments? 
Explanations?

I, of course, will be heading straight for the bacalao con verdura 
and the sweet potato pudding with pecans...

Happy holiday to all, and this year an "absent friends" toast is 
probably more than usually appropriate...

Adamantius