Turkey Paella!

Not so long ago, I was the entertaining columnist for Bon Appetit magazine and wrote a monthly feature for almost five years called Entertaining Made Easy. Sometimes I used to laugh and say "Who's kidding who?  Entertaining is never easy!"  But I've devoted much of my professional life trying to make it so! One year, I was asked to create an entire dinner from Thanksgiving leftovers.  I remember loving working on that story.  The challenges involved in spinning traditionally American flavors into something fresh, new and global were especially fun.  What emerged from the overabundance of stuffing, turkey parts, overcooked vegetables, random leeks, the last dregs of wine, and a quivering block of jellied cranberry sauce was "Span-Ital" (ha, I just made that up!) -- a menu featuring Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms, Marinated Vegetables a la Grecque, an honest Turkey Paella, and a credible Cranberry Granita (which the brilliant food critic Gael Greene recently posted on her site).

We enjoy this menu so much that if we are invited to someone else's house and we have no leftovers of our own, I make an entire Thanksgiving meal in order to have some.  For they are as meaningful as the day itself.

Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms

2 packed cups leftover stuffing ¼ cup finely chopped flat parsley ¼ cup finely chopped basil ¼ cup minced scallions, white and green parts 2 ounces provolone, grated on medium holes of box grater olive oil for drizzling 18 medium portobello mushrooms

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Crumble cold stuffing into a bowl.  Add parsley, basil, scallions, all but ¼ cup grated cheese and mix well.  Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  If mixture seems dry, add a little olive oil and mix. Wipe mushrooms clean with a damp cloth.  Remove stems.  Using a small spoon scoop out center of caps.  Fill each cap with stuffing.  Place mushrooms on a rimmed baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle each mushroom with a little of the remaining cheese.  Bake 12 minutes until stuffing is a little crisp.  Serve hot, warm or room temperature.  Serves 6

A Turkey Paella

¼ cup olive oil 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped 2 heaping cups finely diced onion 1 large red bell pepper 2 cups long-grain rice ¼ teaspoon saffron 4 cups chicken broth or turkey stock 4 large plum tomatoes, cut into large pieces 1 teaspoon oregano scant ½ teaspoon cayenne ¾ pound smoked chorizo or cooked sweet or hot Italian sausage 1-1/2 pounds cooked turkey (I use 1 pound white meat and ½ pound dark) 1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat oil in a 6-1/2-quart Dutch oven. Cook garlic and onions in oil for 8 minutes over medium-high heat until soft and golden, stirring often. Cut red pepper into ¼ inch dice to get 1 heaping cup and add to onions. Cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in rice, saffron, stock, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, oregano and cayenne.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat to medium.  Cover pot and cook 15 to 18 minutes, until rice is just tender. Slice chorizo or sausage into ¼-inch thick rounds. Add to pot.  Cut turkey into pieces that are about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide.  Add to pot.  Add peas and stir well.  Cover and bake 20 minutes until hot.  Remove from oven.  Let sit 5 minutes. Stir and serve.  Serves 6 or more

*To make turkey stock:  Break up turkey carcass from cooked turkey and put in a 7-quart pot with cover.  Add 3 bay leaves and very large head garlic, cut in half through the equator.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat to medium and cook, uncovered, 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Pour broth through a coarse-mesh sieve into a clean pot.  Cook broth over medium heat until reduced to 4 cups.  Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  Makes 4 cups

At our home, we now add "leftovers" to our list of things to be thankful for.

A Radical Way to Make Turkey

This is radical: A deconstructed holiday bird featuring white and dark meat that roasts in just 1-1/4 hours!  The flesh stays ultra-moist and flavorful because of its overnight immersion in wine and brine.  Smaller, flatter pieces allow faster browning and less cooking time.  It is perfumed with bay leaves, fresh or dried, and a bit of aromatic oregano which imparts a revelatory herb-y aroma, the sine qua non of Thanksgiving smells.  This is the perfect bird for those who:  have only one oven; have no more than eight friends; who love to try new techniques; and for those who like to break with tradition.  It is also a recipe for those who like to give themselves a break!  There is little fussing or guess work in determining how the white meat will stay juicy and the dark meat thoroughly cooked.  You begin with a total of 8 pounds of raw turkey (breasts and thighs only) which will amply fill your large turkey platter. Another bonus?  There is little last-minute carving to do.

So begin the process today.  Select your turkey parts at the butcher or grocery.  Before you go to bed, submerge the turkey in a very large pot (make sure it fits in your fridge) filled with wine-and-brine (see below).  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  This new technique will ensure a good night's sleep and liberate both you, and your oven, on the big day. You might want to serve this year's turkey with Marilyn Monroe's recently-revealed stuffing recipe, my spiced cranberry chutney, Joan Hamburg's amazing Ritz Cracker Stuffing (see The Food Maven's website), or the world's simplest sweet potato puree accented with orange and fresh ginger (sssshhhh....it's fat free).

And...if you're interested in trying something new, have the following ingredients in your kitchen tomorrow morning: 4 pounds sweet potatoes, large container sour cream, large chunk of extra-sharp white cheddar, curry powder, ground cumin, cinnamon and ginger and stay tuned!

Wined-and-Brined Turkey with Bay Leaves 2 cups dry white wine 2 large turkey breast halves, about 2-1/2 pounds each 2 very large turkey thighs, about 1-1/2 pounds each 16 fresh or dried bay leaves 6 tablespoons olive oil 1 large clove garlic 2 tablespoons best-quality dried oregano leaves

Combine the wine, 6 cups water, and 1/2 cup kosher salt in a very large pot.  Submerge the turkey pieces.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Remove the turkey from the brine; pat dry.  Scatter the bay leaves in a large shallow roasting pan.  Place the turkey on top.  Combine the oil and garlic pushed through a press in a cup.  Rub the garlic oil into the turkey.   Sprinkle with the oregano, salt, and pepper.  Roast the turkey, skin side up for 45 minutes.  Turn the pieces over and roast 35 minutes longer, until cooked through.  Transfer the turkey, skin side up, to a cutting board.  Pour 1 cup boiling water into the pan, scraping up the browned bits; strain through a sieve.  Carve the turkey and serve with the pan juices.  Serves 8

The Missing Recipe

Today I'm referring, not to the missing zwieback recipe from Larousse Gastronomique (see yesterday's entry), but to the missing recipe in my very own cookbook! Pointed out to me online, in an amazon.com review, I was excited to learn that someone read the fine print (literally!) on the intro page of the meat chapter in Radically Simple and made the discovery.  An omission undetected by me (the author), the publisher, the editor, the copyeditor, assistant copyeditors, and hundreds (or thousands!) of people -- both close friends and strangers -- who have claimed to have read my book!  Clearly only one person has!  A Ms./Mr. B.J. Lewis from Highlands Ranch, Colorado.  The discovery was duly reported on November 12, 2010. Embedded in the wonderful 5-star cookbook review entitled "I've been having too much fun with this one" -- the reviewer praises Radically Simple and most of the recipes but with some personal critiques.  They are thoughtful and intelligent and so I don't mind in the least.  The reviewer, however, at the end says..."I did find one thing that puzzled me.  On page 210 Gold writes that her Flanken with Pomegranate Molasses, Ginger & Prunes, has become a new holiday favorite in some households."  I've been searching for the recipe, but so far it has eluded me.  Is it there?  Help!"

Well, Ms./Mr. B.J. Lewis, in fact, it isn't there.  Nowhere.  It was cut from the book when the book got too long and the reference wasn't cut from the intro.  There you have it.  And now you'll get it!  Thanks for letting us know.

Here it is: Flanken with Pomegranate Molasses, Ginger & Prunes Flanken is cut across the bones of the short ribs, not between the ribs.  You'll want 1 to 1-1/2-inch thick slices.  They will soften and melt in your mouth.  Pomegranate molasses can be found in Middle Eastern food stores, in some supermarkets and health food stores.  For fun, or drama, scatter some pomegranate seeds on top.

12 beef short ribs, about 4-1/2 pounds, cut across the bone 4 large oranges 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses 1/3 cup tomato paste 3 large cloves garlic 2-inch piece fresh ginger 18 large pitted prunes

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Season meat liberally with salt and pepper.  place in a large heavy casserole with a cover -- a 6-1/2 quart Le Creuset is perfect.  Peel 4 long strips from 1 orange and add to pot.  Grate rind of 2 oranges and set aside.  Cut oranges in half and squeeze to get 1-1/4 cups juice.  In a large bowl, stir together orange juice, pomegranate molasses, tomato paste and garlic, pushed through a press.  Peel ginger and grate on large holes of box grater.  Add to bowl.  Pour over ribs and stir in prunes.  Cover pot and bake 2 hours.  Lower heat to 250 degrees.  Stir contents of pot and bake 1 hour longer until very tender.  Using slotted spoon, transfer meat to a platter.  Remove fat; pour prunes and sauce over the meat and sprinkle with orange zest.  Serves 6 B.J. Lewis ends the review with..."Regardless, I'm thoroughly enjoying this cookbook.  I suspect you will as well."