What did you cook today?

[ex1580]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Don't forget to make a little something for later too.

Here's some mango salsa for tonight.

[ronnie_suburban]

Circumstances forced us to go out to a restaurant for Thanksgiving this year. Hoping that'll be the last time that happens (for a while/ever). But because Thanksgiving is all about the food and the leftovers , I was still intent on making a few things for a day-after Thanksgiving-esque meal. One of the first steps was making some homemade pork & sage sausage that I use in my dressing . . .


Sausage Mise En Place
Rubbed sage, black pepper, salt, granulated sugar, coarse-ground pork, maple syrup, microplaned garlic, ice water and gochugaru. I really took the easy way out this time and bought pre-ground pork from the Chinese grocery. Normally, I grind it myself but needing such a small quantity -- and knowing that their default grind is just about perfect for sausage -- I decided to buy just what I needed instead of a big honking piece of shoulder. I'd never done it this way before but it turned out fine.

There was a bunch of other prep that I managed incrementally between Wednesday and Friday. Didn't bother getting pics of the veg prep for the dressing or the roasting of parted out turkey necks and wings that I used to make the stock (instantpot), etc.

Had some extra time on Friday, so I decided to make a (modified) batch of Claire Saffitz's Sour Cream & Chive Pull-Apart dinner rolls . . .


Roll Cutting & taz575 Damascus Pizza Cutter
Didn't have any sour cream, so I subbed in some full-fat Greek yogurt. I love chives but I omitted them, so the rolls would be more versatile after the initial meal. I don't think I've ever used this pizza cutter on pizza but it's great on dough (okay, serious overkill).


Dinner Rolls
Glistening is a good attribute for dinner rolls. Brushed these with egg wash, then sprinkled them with coarse black pepper and flaky salt right before baking. Brushed them with unsalted butter as they came out of the oven.

Let's not forget the main course . . .


Oven-Roasted Turkey
2-day salt/sugar/herb brine. This bird was from Ferndale Market in Minnesota by way of my butcher. Decided to go with the oven instead of the smoker for the actual cook. Spatchcocking helped the white meat and the dark meat finish at roughly the same time. When the breast read 153F I was prepared to take it out of the oven and continue cooking the leg quarters but they read ~185F at that point, so it all came out at the same time.


Plated Up
With smashed potatoes, pork & sage sausage dressing, green bean casserole (of course) and some roasted brussels sprouts. Normally, I prefer dark meat but the white meat was so moist, that's what I ended up having.

At the end, there were some pies . . .


Pumpkin Pie & Pecan Pie
I am not a fan of pumpkin pie but it's my wife's favorite and this is her late mother's recipe. Was happy to bake it, make the wife happy and gain some experience with something I'd never baked before.

So, we kind of got our Thanksgiving after all.

p.s. The food at the restaurant on Thursday was not so great but the staff was incredible. I totally admire these Pros for giving up their holidays and busting ass for their customers. It was actually a very pleasant experience. I've never had so much time to actually talk to my family at Thanksgiving. It was really nice.

[ex1580]

Another meal from the road. Grandma went out and caught a BIG salmon at the grocery store with her credit card. I was left to cook it and find something to go with it.
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I let the salmon come up to room temp before cooking it and rubbed a nice balsamic vinaigrette I made with rosemary into it. Oddly, they are not fish people so I try to use big flavors. I then dug around (and checked expiration dates) and ended up sautéing some carrots which I layered onto the bottom of a baking pan and topped with steamed broccoli and finished in the already hot oven.

I suppose that would have been fine with some Thanksgiving leftovers as additional sides but I was left to my own devices in the kitchen so things got a little out of control. I boiled some spinach and parsley (fibrous bits removed) until it was starting to come apart then blended it until smooth. Then I heated up some butter in a pan and made a citrous (lemon) butter sauce which I returned to the pan and whisked the greens into until it was an emulsified green sauce.

The orange thing in the middle is my travel bag of spices, for a few days anyway.
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It's not much to look at but the plates were all clean and the compliments were rolling in all night. If only I could attach tastes and smells.

[TheLegalRazor]

Sam, I see a very nice Doberman gyuto in that photo. Is the steel 80CRV2 or Magnacut?

[ex1580]

Sam, I see a very nice Doberman gyuto in that photo. Is the steel 80CRV2 or Magnacut?

80CRV2

I am interested in Magnacut but like my knives more pointy than he makes them right now.

[taz575]

Did a mostly Keto Shepards Pie for Thanksgiving!

Mashed Rutabag with cheese and butter for the top, then some frozen peas/carrots/corn and then meat mixture. Used ground beef, some A-1 sauce, Tomato paste, and Gravy master and some water for the liquid and simmered a while for it to thicken up. The veggies aren't 100% Keto (they have natural sugar), but it's close!

[ex1580]

Only pancakes? This week I used a Lodge carbon steel skillet and was having so much fun flipping pancakes with the pan that I forgot to make crepes. I did make fresh applesauce though so it was fine.
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This is a great skillet. I usually cook pancakes on cast iron so I was enjoying being able to move it on and off of the heat to manage the temperature.
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As served. I call this one The Titanic (because it's about to sink in that much chunky applesauce).

[trancher]

As served. I call this one The Titanic (because it's about to sink in that much chunky applesauce).

Look at all the little blue people! They must be going down in cold waters....

A glass of ice water next to this would have been perfecto, haha!