Thanksgiving Dinner - A Model Meal for Winter

By Luci

If I have a favorite holiday dinner, it is Thanksgiving. We break bread with those closest to us, whether family or friends. With toasts and in our hearts we celebrate those relationships and all that is dear to us. So very warming.

And ever so warming is the food. I love roasted game birds of all sorts and all the rich tasting, side dishes that traditionally accompany them. Preceding are interesting appetizers followed by luscious desserts. Could there be a better recipe for a special dinner to warm us in cold weather?

My guests were Billa and her husband Martin, Michele and her husband Dave, and Dave’s son, Greg. I asked everyone to bring one wonderful dish and everyone complied. Michele brought a divine appetizer while Billa and Greg brought heavenly desserts. For the main course, I asked everyone for their favorite game bird: turkey, duck, goose, Cornish game hen or guinea hen. Everyone chose duck. The remaining dishes were traditional but prepared with a wee bit of non-traditionality.

MENU

Beverage

Mocktails aka Cranberry/Orange Punch

Appetizers

Onion Tartlet

Pumpkin Deviled Eggs

Cheeses

Munchies

Soup

Pear/Ginger

Main

Roast Duck

Wild Rice with Pine Nuts and Dried Cherries

Bread Stuffing with Mushrooms or Persimmon

Roasted Root Vegetables

Salad

Mixed Greens with Apple and Apple Vinaigrette

Dessert

Almond Cake with Mixed Berries

Brooklyn’s Best Napoleon and Chocolate-Stuffed Cones

THE RECIPES

BEVERAGE

Cranberry/Orange Mocktail

Veering significantly from the traditional, instead of greeting guests with sparkling wine, they were treated to this mocktail which, everyone agreed, was just delicious.

Yield: Enough for 6-8 glasses

Ingredients

3 cups cranberry juice cocktail

3 cups orange juice (fresh would be best)

3 cups Sprite (lemon/lime soda)

Garnish - fresh cranberries

Preparation

1. Thoroughly chill all ingredients.

2. Place 3 or more cranberries in the bottom of each glass. Fill each glass with a generous amount of ice.

3. Combine the cranberry and orange juices in a punch bowl. When ready to serve, slowly - to keep bubbles - pour the Sprite into the bowl. Ladle into the prepared glasses.

APPETIZERS

Onion Tartlet by Michele

Trust Michele to bring something absolutely delicious.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups yellow onions, rough chopped

1 glove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon pomegranate juice or pure grape juice

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, chopped

1 package phyllo pastry cups (15 in a box), found in freezer section of store

1/8 cup or 1 ounce craisins (dried cranberries)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

½ cup boiling water

2 ounces (¼ cup) Gruyere cheese, shredded

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with foil.

2. In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and salt. Cook, stirring, until onions are translucent and just starting to brown. Reduce heat to medium-low, add pomegranate juice and cook, stirring occasionally until onions are golden and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Stir in tarragon leaves and remove from heat.

3. While onions are cooking, combine the craisins in the water and vinegar for at least 20 minutes. Strain and set aside.

4. Place a small amount of cheese at the bottom of each phyllo cup. Top with 1/2 teaspoon or more of the onion mixture and top with more cheese.

5. Bake for three minutes, or just until the top cheese melts. Garnish with craisins.

Pumpkin Deviled Eggs

Everyone loves deviled eggs and Billa is a devoted fan so I like to include them when Billa is a guest. Searching the Internet for deviled eggs for Thanksgiving, I came across this recipe (https://www.persnicketyplates.com/pumpkin-deviled-eggs-halloween-thanksgiving/). It looked like a winner. It was.

Yield: 12 deviled egg halves

Ingredients (half of the published ingredients)

6 hard-cooked eggs (easy - buy already cooked from your grocery)

2-1/2 tablespoons pure pumpkin puree

1-1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 tablespoon  Dijon mustard

1 tsp. prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garnish: capers or small cornichons (I did not use)

Note: If I should make this dish again, I would increase the amount of pumpkin puree by 1 tablespoon.

Preparation

1. Cut each egg in half longitudinally. Scoop out the egg yolk and place in bowl with all other ingredients. Combine thoroughly.

2. Distribute the mixture equally between the 12 egg halves. Garnish with a caper or cornichon.

Cheeses 

An interesting cheese or two is just about obligatory in a set of appetizers. I chose one with black truffles and one with cranberries. The truffles add a bit of richness and earthiness to the cheese; the sweet-tart character of cranberries seems just right for the occasion. The cheeses were served with table-water crackers, one with sesame seeds and one with black pepper. 

Munchies

There were two; warmed-up roasted mixed nuts and a dish of mixed, pitted olives and slices of crunchy, refreshing fennel.

SOUP

Pear/Ginger

Thanksgiving dinners usually are pretty hefty so a light soup and salad provide a respite. Fruits lend themselves to that goal. Pears are wonderful this time of year so a pear soup seemed just right. An Internet search proved disappointing so I created one that would be light but bright with spices. It was met with approval.

Yield: 6 cups

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground coriander

3 slices ginger, about 1/2-inch thick

1 quart bone broth

7 Bosc pears, peeled, cored and sliced

Preparation

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy skillet. Sauté the onion until turning color, about 3 minutes.

2. Add the spices and sauté, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. 

3. Add the bone broth, bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer for 20 minutes, covered. Pour soup through a sieve to remove the solid pieces of onion and the ginger slices.

4. Meanwhile, process pears to a slurry.

5. Combine the pears with the soup. Gently reheat when ready to serve.

MAIN COURSE

Thanksgiving dinner traditionally includes a roasted turkey with cranberry sauce, bread stuffing, a root vegetable that is often a sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, a veggie that is often a green bean casserole or roasted Brussels sprouts and pumpkin or pecan pie. Our menu followed this general plan with a roasted game bird (duck) and a fruit sauce (orange), bread (croissant) stuffing, a casserole of root vegetables and Brussels sprouts, wild rice rather than potato. Deviating from the plan, I included a salad and the guests brought an almond/berry cake and a Napoleon for dessert.

Roast Duck with Orange Sauce

Oh my. The star of the show was a flop. Everyone was looking forward to the  juicy, tender, slightly gamey flavor of the duck meat with a crispy, crackly, savory skin. The problem, I’m sure, was the duck. I’ve prepared many ducks and other game birds and rarely encountered a problem. I suspect that something went wrong in preparing the ducks for sale. The package noted that the bird was 12% salt water. When I removed the ducks from their packaging, they gushed a huge amount of red liquid. But I was stuck so I proceeded as usual. 

Ingredients

1 4-5 pound duck

1 orange, cut into quarters

4 cloves garlic, skin on, lightly smashed

6 sprigs thyme

Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Bring the duck to room temperature. Briefly rinse it under cold water and thoroughly dry it, patting and bolting with paper towels.

2. Preheat the oven to 350F.

3. Rub the inside and outside of the duck with salt and pepper. Place 2 orange quarters in the duck’s cavity along with the garlic and thyme. 

4. Prick the skin all over, being careful not to cut below †he skin. Especially if the bird is well-endowed with fat, make a cross hatch over the breast, using the tip of a sharp knife, being careful not to cut below the fat into the meat. Best to use several short cuts in forming each piece of the cross hatch.

5. Place the duck breast-side down on the rack of a roasting pan. Roast for 40 minutes. Remove the bird from the oven and prick the skin of the bottom of the duck.

6. Turn the duck breast-side up. Prick the skin all over this side of the duck. Return to oven and continue roasting 1-1.5 hours or until a meat thermometer registers 135-140°F. Take from the oven and rest the duck for 10 minutes. Remove the aromatics from the cavity.

The Result

Chagrin! Taking the duck from the oven revealed a bird that looked shriveled up, thin, with skin an unhealthy  brown. Not bursting with plumpness, not shining with a burnished glow, not looking like it could be carved as usual. So Martin, the carver, and I decided to simply quarter the birds. They were tough, dry and tasted a bit like cardboard. Although one guest kindly said they were not THAT bad.

Orange Sauce

An orange sauce is a perfect accompaniment for duck, and a traditional one, if not traditional for Thanksgiving. Its sweet and sour character cuts through the rich, fatty taste of duck, producing a complexity that makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup chicken bone broth

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (more to taste)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier liqueur or 1 tablespoon orange zest    

Salt and pepper to taste 

Preparation

1. Combine the orange juice, brown sugar and bone broth in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer until reduced by about one half. 

2. Add remaining ingredients, stir and serve.

Wild Rice with Pignoli Nuts and Dried Cranberries

Wild rice is nutty and earthy, making an excellent accompaniment to game birds. Escalate its taste with pine nuts and dried fruit for a first-rate side that is all-American and eminently suitable for Thanksgiving.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

8 ounces wild rice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2-1/2 tablespoons pine nuts (pignoli)

2-1/2 tablespoons dried cranberries

Preparation

1. Cook rice according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Saute onions for about 3 minutes, until softened and just turning color. Add nuts and cranberries and continue cooking until nuts change color and cranberries are soft.

3. When rice is done, add it to the skillet, stir well and serve.

Bread Stuffing with Mushrooms and Leeks

Like stuffing with your roasted bird? Who doesn’t? But fatty birds such as goose and duck release too much fat during cooking to fill their cavities with stuffing. (Fat-saturated stuffing is not pleasant.) In fact, an oven-baked stuffing can be preferable for it allows flavor that has no hint of the bird’s taste and, therefore, greater contrast to the bird’s flavor. 

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 pound mushrooms, stems removed, quartered (I used half baby Bella and half shiitake.)

1/2 cup white wine

2 leeks, halved and sliced thin, white and some green

4 cups bread, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (I used croissants), lightly toasted in oven

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fine-chopped sage leaves

1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves

1/2 cup fine-chopped celery with a few leaves

1 large egg, stirred with fork

1 1/2 cups chicken bone broth

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease (butter preferred) a 9 x 9 baking dish.

2. Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add wine and continue cooking until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from skillet and set aside. 

3. In same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter with the olive oil. Add leeks, sage, thyme and celery. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes. Until vegetables are softened. 

4. Put toasted bread into prepared baking dish. Stir in the egg, broth, salt and pepper. Add vegetables and mushrooms. Mix well. Bake for about 1 hour, until top has a thin crust.

Salad with Apple Vinaigrette

A light salad gives respite between the heavy main dishes and the rich desserts. Base it on a fall fruit such as apple.

Ingredients

4 cups mixed greens

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and roughly grated

1/3 cup evoo

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 teaspoons maple syrup

2 teaspoons finely chopped sage

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Mix the greens with the vinaigrette and place onto individual salad plates. Top with a tablespoon or so of grated apple.

DESSERTS

Billa’s Almond Cake with Mixed Berries

Billa was asked to make a dairy-free dessert. She wanted it to be a non-traditional Thanksgiving dessert. This recipe fit the bill. The cake was very moist as a result of all the berries that were in the batter. And the strawberries and blueberries on top made it look pretty. Here's a link to the recipe:

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/almond-cake-mixed-berries

Napoleon and Chocolate-Stuffed Cones

Greg emphasized that his contributions came from the best bakery in Brooklyn. We wouldn’t disagree. The Napoleon was as good as they get - crispy puff pastry layers and rich pastry cream, all very tasty. The pastry cones filled with Dubai chocolate were another delicious crisp and creamy concoction.