Thanksgiving

We were invited over to some friends for Thanksgiving Day dinner. We subsequently were invited to other dinners, which we refused because of our prior invitation. At the last moment due to unforeseen circumstances the original dinner was cancelled. We didn’t feel comfortable calling up the friends whose invitation we turned down and re-inviting ourselves, so we decided to cook. We invited Robert and Shu who were also left stranded on t-day. All is well that ends well!

We started with a Fall Salad: Persimmons, Pomegranate Seeds, Arugula, Saba and Almonds. A very refreshing salad.


Cathy found an unusual and what turned out to be a delicious recipe for Turkey Breasts from Ottolenghi the Cookbook. We really liked this dish and it will become our Standard Turkey preparation. It is marinated and then a sauce is made from the marinate. It is a Green Herb Sauce made with lots of Lemon. It is excellent, and the turkey is much moister then a traditional baked whole turkey.

With the turkey we served Thomas Keller's absolutely delicious and wonderful Leek Bread Pudding from his cookbook: Ad Hoc at Home. This is FAR better than ANY stuffing. We purchased the brioche at Proof Bakery. Their brioche is wonderful. The recipe can be found on our blog of: Dec. 2, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

Robert brought an Onion Focaccia Bread that he baked. It was exceptional. This is one bread I want to try to make. I toasted some of the leftover bread and made incredible Turkey Sandwiches on it. Shu brought us a bottle of Indian Wine hand carried from India. Bet you didn’t know that India grows wine.

For dessert we had a Chocolate Pie from Proof with Whipped Cream laced with Grand Mariner.

For an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner (actually for any Thanksgiving dinner) we had a great meal.

Marinated turkey breast with cumin, coriander and white wine

Ottolenghi The Cookbook

Ottolenghi

Although turkey is more frequently associated with a sweet red relish, we serve it here with a lemony sauce of herbs and cumin. It is enormously popular around Christmas and Thanksgiving, as it is both traditional and original. The same sauce would work very well with lamb. You can serve this dish either warm or at room temperature.

serves 4-6

4 tbsp mint leaves

4 tbsp parsley leaves

4 tbsp coriander leaves •1 garlic clove, peeled

60ml lemon juice

60ml olive oil

125ml white wine

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ small organic or

free-range turkey breast (about 1kg)

1.   Put all the ingredients except the turkey breast in a food processor or blender and process for 1-2 minutes to get a smooth marinade. Put the turkey in a non-metallic container and pour the marinade over it. Massage the marinade into the meat, cover the container and leave in the fridge for 24 hours. Make sure the turkey is immersed in-the sauce.

2.   Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gds Mark 7. Remove the turkey from the marinade (keep the marinade for later) and put it on a roasting tray. Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Continue to cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature again to i8o°C/Gas Mark 4. Cook until the turkey is done - another 30-45 minutes. To check, stick a small knife all the way into the centre; it should come out hot. If the meat goes cfferk before it is ready, cover it with foil.

3.   To prepare the sauce, heat up the turkey marinade in a small saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes, until reduced by about half. Taste and season with some more salt and pepper.

4.   Remove the turkey from the oven and \e\ it rest for 10 minutes. Slice it thinly and serve with the warm sauce.

5.   To serve cold, leave the meat to cool completely and then slice. Adjust the seasoning of the.sauce once it is cold and serve on the side.