The Tasting Menu: Thanksgiving Tips From Cyntihia Battaglia

Thanksgiving for me is all about the food. After giving thanks, that is.

There’s no gift buying, shopping for a new outfit, hiding eggs or drinking green beer. The gift of this holiday is time in the kitchen lovingly preparing those favorite foods that are filled with memories of family and friends.

The menu should always include a beautifully golden, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, turkey, mashed potatoes with lots and lots of gravy, stuffing and homemade cranberry sauce.

Simple, right?

Then if you want you can add to the menu sautéed Brussels sprouts with crispy pancetta and candied pecans, puréed sweet potatoes with ginger garlic butter, a winter panzanella salad with kale, roasted butternut squash, dried cranberries and maple balsamic vinaigrette, corn pudding, etc. etc.

I’d like to share a few tips of my success, so you too can have a delicious holiday.

Brine the turkey. It’s easy and ensures that it will be moist and really yummy.

I prefer to make my stuffing outside of the bird, which ensures that it gets cooked properly. The turkey also cooks faster without the stuffing inside its cavity.

You can make your own croutons for the stuffing or buy a bag of store-bought, because the most important ingredients are what you add to the croutons. Anything goes but not everyone loves oysters or sausage so you may just do the traditional stuffing with apple, sage, fresh herbs and seasonings.

Make the mashed potatoes more interesting by using Yukon gold potatoes and top with crispy shallots. Please don’t skimp on the butter and half-and-half or cream. Watch the calories any other day but not for Thanksgiving.

And the gravy, well it seems you never have enough turkey drippings to make enough gravy. After all, you will need it for the next day’s open turkey sandwiches. What I suggest is buying a good quality chicken or turkey stock to add to the turkey drippings and spend a little time reducing the rich mixture of turkey drippings, fresh herbs and stock.

I still use Gravy Master at the end, like my mother taught me. Just a few drops will give your gravy a rich color and a little more flavor.

A trick to making gravy without lumps is to slowly add the hot drippings to about 2 or 3 tablespoons of flour in a small bowl until it’s a thin paste. Then add the flour mixture to the pan. I know your recipe probably tells you to add the flour to your pan of drippings but that can lead to lumps and nobody likes lumps in their gravy (or on their thighs).

Homemade cranberry sauce is so easy. Just read the directions on the bag of cranberries. If you want to bring it up a notch, add golden raisins, orange rind and a pinch of cardamom.

If there is one item on the menu you shouldn’t have to worry about it’s the dessert. If your guests are like mine they always ask what they can bring.

This is where you tell them to just bring the dessert. It makes them feel good to bring something to the table and if they don’t bake it’s something that is easy for them to buy. The markets are filled with pumpkin and pecan pies the days before Thanksgiving.

Start your day giving thanks and end the day giving thanks and everything in between will be yummy.

Here is a good recipe for brining the bird. Keep in mind that if you are buying a frozen turkey, it must be thawed. Thawing a 15-pound turkey can take two to three days in your refrigerator.

Brined Thanksgiving Turkey1 14- to 16-pound fresh young turkey.

1 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 gallon vegetable stock

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

3 sprigs rosemary

2 teaspoons allspice berries

1 tablespoon sliced fresh ginger

3 bay leaves

1 gallon ice waterTwo to three days before roasting, begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries and ginger in a large stockpot.

Cook over medium-high heat.

Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil.

Remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature and refrigerate.

Very early on the day of, or on the night before you’d like to eat, combine the brine, water and ice in a 5-gallon bucket.

Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast-side-down in the brine.

If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed.

Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 16 hours. If necessary add more water to make sure the turkey is covered.

When you are ready to cook the turkey, rinse it well with cold water, pat it dry with paper towels, season and roast.Need more help? Here’s great site to answer your brining questions.

whatscookingamerica.net/Poultry/BriningPoultry.htm.

Cynthia Battaglia Distinctive Catering Inc.

Call 329-5878 for our Thanksgiving Menu. We can cater your Thanksgiving feast for you or order your meal and pick it up at our kitchen in Bridgehampton.