Thanksgiving: Chicago Bears Game-On!
By Kim Praser
From Bon Appetit
Since I plan on cooking, eating and drinking to football as my soundtrack, I’m starting early, as in before the Bears’ game onto the evening. I have told my guests they can come to stay for the game; so they should be at my house around 11:00 am or come around 2:00 pm. I will not serve until after the Bears’ game.
Here’s my menu for Thanksgiving 2014:
From Food Network by Giada DeLaurentiis
Starters:
Cheese and spinach puff pastry
Yes, the party meatballs is a total throwback to a childhood classic that was frequently served at many family parties. The people I have in mind to eat these are my children; specifically, my daughter whom is a huge meatarian and just gobbled these up at one party that was full of pot-luck dishes. The puff pastry pockets are a salute to my grandmother whom passed this past June; she simply adored anything with spinach in it, so this one is for her. I know my mother and I will enjoy these on her behalf. The stuffed mushrooms is one recipe that I found in my Food Network November edition. There were other options: quinoa-feta, crispy crab, cornbread-chorizo, and French onion soup. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of these options, and who wouldn’t like a flavorful bite with a glass of wine or beer?
Main:
Turkey two-ways: roasted and smoked
Since I am hosting a party for about 15 people, I decided to get two 12-15 pound birds. For each bird I am going to dry brine them on Tuesday. After I wash, drain and dry each thawed bird, I am going to cover each one with salt, thyme and lemon zest. Then wrap each one in plastic wrap until Thursday.
I am using Ina Garten’s roasting recipe, but I plan on using a mustard-maple glaze from Bobby Flay to cover the roasted turkey in. I make every effort to avoid serving the jarred gravy, and make my own. This is a great recipe for making gravy since it requires no pan drippings.
The smoked turkey will take about 9 hours. I am not planning on doing anything special to that since the smoker will do the work for me.
In addition to the bird options, lasagna is always on my menu; this permanent addition is due to my Italian heritage. My mom takes care of this item. She has this Colossus of a pan that must be 6 inches deep and is an easy two feet long. She picked this up at some discount cooking supply store when I was a kid; she has tried others, but they are nowhere near the same capacity as this one.