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SUZANNE'S TIPS FOR COOKING A PERFECT TURKEY
Do choose a large enough, deep enough pan for your bird.
Do try to buy organically grown turkeys for better taste.
Do not roast 20 minutes to the pound as all recipes tell you; the bird will
continue cooking out of the oven for some time. Roast 15-17 minutes to the
pound for a juicy bird.
Do fold a long sheet of foil in half, then crease again in half to make a
thick "tent" for your bird's bosom. This will keep it from drying out. Keep
this over the bird during roasting except for the last 20 minutes. Or do as
my grandmother and mother did: soak a piece of cheesecloth in melted butter
and drape it over the breast of the bird. You will always have tender breast
meat if you do either of these things. And don't think about calories on
Thanksgiving!! It's only one day a year after all. Enjoy it.
Do baste continually with melted butter or olive oil, every 30 minutes. A
large, soft, paint brush works well, or a large spoon or turkey baster.
Do sprinkle your bird with paprika when you take off the foil. This will give
it a lovely color without changing the taste.
Do slosh in about 4 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups white wine each time you
baste to keep the dripping from sticking to the pan. The broth and wine will
give you a condensed, delicious base for your gravy.
Do take out the bird and let it rest before carving. A large bird need about
10-15 minutes to gather itself up and be ready for the knife. You will lose
less juice from any meat, fish or chicken if you wait a few minutes before
serving.
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DESSERTS WITH BREAD:
SAUTÉED APPLES AND CREAM
Yield: 6 servings
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons sugar
4 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin
dash of cinnamon
a little lemon juice
6 slices Rustico or Plain Baguette, toasted and buttered
6 slices cheddar or any firm cheese you like
In a skillet, melt the butter, add the sugar and cook for 2 minutes until
sugar is dissolved. Add the apples and cook for 2 minutes, coating the apples
with the butter mixture. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. Uncover (there
will suddenly be a lot of juice) and cook until sauce has caramelized and is
glossy. Spoon apples over toast. Place slice of cheese or crumble cheese
on top of apples.
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PEARS IN CARAMEL WITH CHEESE
Yield: 6 servings
6 ripe, firm Bosc pears, peeled, cored and cut in half
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons sugar
1 cup cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
6 slices Rustico, toasted
6 ounces fresh Parmesan, Gouda or blue cheese
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Butter a baking dish that will hold the pears
halves in one layer. Place pears, cut side down in the baking dish, side by
side. Dot each pear with butter and sprinkle the sugar over them. Bake on
the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the sugar, butter
and pear juices caramelize. (If the sauce is not caramelizing well, turn the
oven to 475 and watch closely so that it does not burn.) When the pears are
nicely browned and the sauce is caramelized, pour in the cream and swirl it
into the sauce. Put the pears back in the oven for 5 minutes to heat the
cream and sauce, then spoon the pears and sauce over toasted bread. Serve
chunks of Parmesan on the side of the plate.
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5
SUZANNE'S CHOCOLATE TEXAS PECAN PIE
Make a pate brisee:
2 cups sifted flour (you may use 1 1/2 cups all purpose with 1/2 cup cake
flour)
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cold butter, cut into 1"cubes (1 1/2 sticks)
4 teaspoons cold shortening
1/2 cup ice water
Flour a pastry slab or a wooden board. Put the flour and salt in the food
processor, add the butter and cold shortening and pulse on and off just until
the the flour and fat mixture resembles coarse meal. The flour and fat
globules should be about the size of peas. Add the ice water and turn on and
off twice or three times ONLY. The dough will look like larger globules now
but do not let the dough form a ball. Take out the dough with floured hands
and place on the floured board, kneading only two or three times to form a
flattened six inch circle. This will enable you to roll out the dough more
easily later when it is chilled; a flat circle chills more evenly than a
round ball, the rule of surface-area-to-volum ratio holding true once again.
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. On a piece of plastic wrap,
roll out the dough in a circle large enough to fit a 10 inch pie tin or tart
pan. Carefully place the pie pan over the dough, then quickly flip the dough
over into the pan, peeling off the paper. If the dough breaks, press it back
together, trying not to handle it too much. Press the dough into the pan,
then crimp the edges, cutting off the excess dough with a sharp knife. Chill
for 15 minutes.Heat oven to 450.
Filling:
Melt in top of double boiler:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1/2 stick butter
Beat:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup
3/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces
Combine chocolate egg mixture and pour into chilled shell. Bake at 450 for 10
minutes, lower heat to 350 and bake about 30 minutes or until center is set
and crust is browned.
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