Go Big or Go Home!

This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada. Although it's not really something we particularly celebrate in the UK, in Canada it is big business....just like in the States. Canadians celebrate it in October while in America it is the last Thursday in November. I have to admit I'm always quite happy that here it is celebrated in October cause as it turns out it's pretty much Christmas dinner with pumpkin pie!! Ok, so that is maybe not 100% accurate but it is roast turkey with most of the trimmings.

This year was our turn to host Thanksgiving so I went all out. One of my husband's favourite expressions (like a lot of Canadians) is “Go big or go home”. I have heard it many times since moving to Canada so I decided on this occasion to show him that I have more than adapted to his Canadian lifestyle and opted to go big which resulted in roasting a turkey that was 25lbs!!! Yes I know – as my brother suggested it sounded more like I was serving Ostrich than a turkey, and my mum worried about how I would get it in the oven, but thankfully I have both a Canadian sized oven and roasting tray!

I have to admit the turkey was a beast of an animal and I am very glad I didn't come across it when it was alive as I imagine it to have had a bit of an attitude. However it did turn out to be a very tasty beast which is just as well as we have more than enough leftovers for the whole family to be feasting on for the rest of the week (as was requested!!).

The whole meal was delicious and I made things easier for myself this year by roasting the vegetables and sausages the night before so that all they needed was a little finishing off while the turkey was resting and being carved. This decision was based not purely on trying to make things easier for me on the day, but also on the fact that with the beast in the oven there wasn't much room for anything else! Scott's sister made some light-as-air fresh rolls and his mum made dessert which was her traditional pumpkin pie which is absolutely delicious. Everything turned out perfectly and it was a lovely day spent with family and eating more than just a little turkey! So here it is, my “Go Big or Go Home Thanksgiving 2010 Menu”.

Smoked salmon on spring onion pancakes with creme fraiche & dill

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Roast turkey with bread stuffing & Gravy

Roasted carrots & parsnips with parsley

Roasted squash with cinnamon & chilli

Brussel sprouts with bacon and red onion

Mashed potatoes

Sausages wrapped in bacon ('Pigs in pigs'!)

Cranberry Sauce

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Pumpkin Pie

* Click here for the Smoked Salmon on Spring Onion Pancakes with creme fraiche & dill which is on the previous post. Unfortunately I have no recipe (yet!) for the Pumpkin Pie.

Since I don't have precise quantities for all of the dishes (and because I don't expect many of you to be making a roast turkey that is 25lbs) I have just given rough guidelines for what I did – adjust the quantities based on how many people you are cooking for.

Roast Turkey



The Beast!

1 turkey (your choice of size)

Unsalted butter

Zest of 1 lemon plus a squeeze of juice

Good couple of handfuls of mixed herbs of your choice

Maldon sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Drizzle of olive oil

Whenever I am roasting chicken or turkey I always make up a herb and lemon butter to slather under the skin and all over the rest of the bird. It works well and every time I end up with a delicious, moist roast. Use herbs of your choice – this time I added thyme, parsley and sage along with the zest of 1 large lemon and a squeeze of juice. I finished it off by adding a good pinch of Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Once the turkey is covered with the herb butter I drizzled over a little olive oil. We then stuffed the turkey (see below) and covered it in foil.

To cook the turkey allow 20 minutes per pound. We as always also used our meat thermometer and if you are doing so you want it to have an internal temperature of 180F. I roasted my turkey at 350F/ 180C and doing it as this temperature for 20 minutes a pound worked perfectly.

When the turkey is fully cooked through and the juices are running clear, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 20-30 minutes.

Bread Stuffing

This is Scott's mum and sister's recipe for bread stuffing which is their traditional way to make stuffing. This is definitely a Canadian recipe/ tradition for me as usually at home we have oatmeal stuffing as well as a sausage meat stuffing. That being said though, this stuffing is delicious and is easy to make. The amount I made this year was plenty to stuff our turkey (though don't cram it in!) and then filled a loaf tin. For a 'normal' sized turkey, you could probably half the quantities.

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

2 onions, finely diced

4 stalks of celery, finely diced

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

700g dried bread cubes* (I used 2 x 350g bags)

1 tbsp Poultry seasoning

1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped

Good handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme

1000ml/ 4 cups chicken stock

Salt & pepper

Melt the butter with the oil in a frying pan and saute the onion and celery for roughly 8 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute or two then remove from the heat. In a large bowl (probably the biggest bowl you have!) combine the bread cubes, onion mix, poultry seasoning and herbs and mix well. Add the stock and seasoning and mix until everything is evenly combined then taste to check the seasoning. Stuff inside the turkey and put any leftovers into a separate dish. If you remember when you take the turkey out of the oven add a couple of spoonfuls of the juices from the turkey to the stuffing to keep it nice and moist and full of flavour. Cook the additional stuffing at 350F/ 180C for roughly 30 - 40 minutes.

*The dried bread cubes I use can be bought at my local supermarket. When you first look at them they look horrible – just cubes of dry white bread that is hard and stale, however as soon as you add the stock and rehydrate them they taste just like fresh bread cubes. If you can't find them (as has happened to me before) just use fresh bread – simply cut into cubes and spread out on a couple of baking trays then leave overnight to dry out. If you don't have that much time to dry them out, stick them in the oven for a little bit.

Gravy

Due to the size of turkey we had LOTS of gravy this year but you can't beat having plenty of good quality tasty gravy. The amount of flour and water or stock you need will depend solely on how much juices came out of the turkey. Once you have let the turkey rest add any additional juices back to the gravy.

Juices from the turkey

Plain or all-purpose flour

Good splash of white or red wine

Water from mashed potatoes or chicken stock (see below)

Salt & pepper

Put the roasting tray above 2 burners on your oven and keep the heat fairly low. All I do to make gravy is remove as much fat from the juices as possible (I find the easiest way is just to gently put a spoon on top and take it off. Towards the end I tip the pan to make it a bit easier, but don't worry about getting it all), then add a good few spoonfuls of plain or all-purpose flour and whisk it to get all of the yummy pieces stuck to the bottom. I then add a good splash of white wine and whisk it all together. After that I either use the water that I cooked the potatoes in (a little hint my mother-in-law taught me) or failing that I use chicken stock. Whatever you decide to use whisk away and keep it simmering so that it thickens properly. I always find that you can either add more flour or liquid as needed but always bring to a simmer after you add things and continue to simmer for a couple of minutes. Season with some salt and pepper and taste to check it is to your liking. Keep warm then when ready to serve transfer to a gravy boat or other serving dish.

Roasted Carrots & Parsnips with Parsley

4 Carrots

3-4 Parsnips

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Fresh parsley, finely chopped

Peel the carrots and parsnips and cut into bite-sized pieces (I cut them into slices at an angle then cut each slice in half). Toss with a little olive oil then roast at 400F/200C for 30-40 minutes, turning half way through cooking. Just before serving sprinkle over the parsley.

Roasted Squash with Cinnamon & Chilli

Variety of squash – I used butternut squash, acorn squash and carnival squash

Good pinch of cinnamon

Good pinch of chilli flakes

Fresh thyme leaves

Fresh rosemary leaves

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

Cut up each squash into manageable pieces, remove the seeds then peel. Cut into bite-sized pieces then put into a large bowl. Sprinkle over some cinnamon, chilli, fresh thyme leaves and finely chopped fresh rosemary. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper then drizzle over some olives oil. Toss everything together so all of the squash is evenly coated in the spices and herbs. Roast for 30-40 minutes at 400F/ 200C until golden.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Red Onion

I allow 3 brussels sprouts per person with an additional handful thrown in for good luck! The addition of bacon and red onion makes them absolutely delicious – even a brussels sprout hater will be converted. If you want you could also add some toasted pecans or chestnuts and a squeeze of fresh orange juice.

Brussels sprouts

Drizzle of olive oil

Streaky bacon

½ red onion, thinly sliced

Salt & pepper

Drizzle a very small amount of olives oil into a frying pan then once hot snip pieces of bacon into the pan and cook until they are just starting to turn crispy. Add the onion and continue to cook for another few minutes until the onion has softened. While the bacon and onion is cooking prepare the brussels sprouts. Remove the outer leaves from the brussels sprouts and any that are marked. Trim the very bottom off then mark a 'x' on the base of each sprout. Put into a large pan and boil for 5 minutes until just tender. Drain and toss through the bacon and onion. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Mashed potatoes

I recently bought myself a potato ricer – perhaps not a necessity but definitely a gadget I wish I'd had for a while! I recommend using one if you like the ultimate in super smooth, creamy mashed potatoes. Whenever I make mashed potatoes I just boil as many potatoes as I think I need depending on how many people I'm cooking for then add a good knob of butter and enough warm milk until I get the perfect creamy, buttery mashed potatoes. For precise quantities for 4 people see sausages with red wine, onion and thyme sauce & mashed potatoes.

Potatoes, peeled & cut into even sized pieces

Warm milk (I warm it in the microwave)

Butter

Salt & pepper

Put the potatoes in a large pan of salted water (cold water). Bring to a boil and continue to gently boil away for roughly 20 minutes or until they are tender. Drain (reserving the water for your gravy if you like) then mash or put through a ricer. Add a good knob of butter and some warm milk and continue mashing until you have perfect mashed potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and serve with an extra little knob of butter on top.

Pigs in Pigs

(Sausages wrapped in bacon)

Again I allow 3 per person plus a few extra just to make sure (and so we have some leftovers!!). I precooked these the night before as well and then just popped them back in for 15 minutes while the turkey was resting and being carved.

Pork chipolata sausages

Streaky bacon

Using the back of your knife slightly stretch the bacon. With the bacon I have I usually cut each slice into 3 pieces but if your bacon is slightly smaller just cut each slice in half. Wrap a piece of bacon around a sausage and repeat until all of the sausages are wrapped. Cook at 400F/ 200C for approximately 40 minutes until properly cooked through.

And don't forget the cranberry sauce!

Smoked Salmon on Spring Onion Pancakes

Not quite a traditional blini, but these mini pancakes are just as delicious and are easy and fast to make using ingredients you are likely to have at home. If you like you can make them in advance and then top with the smoked salmon, creme fraiche and dill just before serving.

Makes approx. 36 pancakes

For the pancakes:

100g plain or all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

150ml milk

1 egg, separated

25g/ 1oz butter, melted

2-3 spring onions, finely sliced

2 tsp fresh dill, finely chopped

Salt & pepper

To serve:

Smoked salmon

Good spritz of fresh lemon

Fresh dill

Creme fraiche

Freshly ground black pepper

Put the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl and mix. Add the milk, egg yolk and whisk well then add the melted butter along with the spring onions, dill, salt and pepper. Whisk the egg white until you have stiff peaks then gently fold into the pancake batter until evenly combined. Heat a flat griddle or frying pan and drop tablespoons of the pancake batter. Cook until bubbles start to appear on the top of the pancakes then flip over and cook until golden. Remove and set aside on a wire rack and repeat until all of the batter is used.

To serve the pancakes top with a small spoonful of creme fraiche. Spritz the smoked salmon with the lemon juice and a grinding of black pepper then add a small slice of salmon on top of the creme fraiche and finish with a small sprig of dill.

A few basics

Everyone has a few recipes that they use over and over again – the quick and easy ones that you use on a weekly basis without even thinking about or the simple standby's that instantly transform a dish. If you look in a lot of cookbooks (especially restaurant cookbooks) either at the start or the very end of the book you will find a chapter dedicated to 'basics'. After much thought I have included a few of my fast and easy basics here (or 'extras' as I tend to label them) – it was tough because once I stopped to think about it I realised I have a lot of things I make and use as a basis to many dishes – so much so that it would probably lead to at least a month's worth of blogging about! Thankfully for now I narrowed it down to three – my basic tomato sauce recipe, which has to be my number one basics recipe as I make it all the time. Second is my cheat's aioli. I realise if I was a proper chef (or any type of chef for that matter) I would be including a recipe for real mayonnaise or aioli and although I do on certain occasions make my own mayonnaise, this cheat's aioli is so fast but so delicious that I had to include it here. I have actually already used it in one of my previous blogs, but because I do rely on it a lot it will probably feature here many times, therefore I decided it really deserved it's own posting. The third and final one is my basic vinaigrette recipe. I know a recipe for a vinaigrette might not sound very exciting but once again I use it every week. It is classic, easy and will transform any salad to new height's.

So here they are on 3 separate postings so that they have their own well deserved page....basic tomato sauce, cheat's aioli and my basic vinaigrette.

Basic Tomato Sauce

Although I named this my basic tomato sauce recipe, I realise that it doesn't really do it justice as although it may seem basic, nothing about it tastes so. I've mentioned this sauce already (Tomato Tomatoe post) because without any question of doubt, I use it at least once a week. It is perfect by itself for tossing with pasta as a simple, quick yet delicious tomato sauce finished with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a good grating of Parmesan cheese, or you can use it as a foundation recipe to which you can add any meat, fish, vegetables and herbs that you like.

I have also been known to add some cream to it, turning it into a delicious rose sauce and if the mood strikes adding a shot of vodka to the sauce for the last minute before I stir in the pasta to make a wonderful Italian tomato & vodka pasta sauce. I also use it for my pizza sauce adding an extra teaspoon of oregano or stir it into risotto for a full flavoured, bright tomato risotto. There are so many things you can do with this sauce which is why I always have it on hand, or at the least, have all of the ingredients on hand! Make a few batches and keep it in the freezer so that you always have a delicious tomato sauce on hand, ready to go.

2 tbsp olive oil
2 – 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried oregano
pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
2 x 400g tins of tomatoes (or 1 x 28oz can)*
1 tsp sugar
Salt and Pepper

Heat the oil in a pan and add the crushed garlic. Gently saute for a minute being careful not to brown it then add the tomatoes along with the oregano, chilli, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir well then leave to simmer and reduce slightly for 30 minutes. When it has thickened slightly and looks ready, taste to check the seasoning and use as needed.

*You can use either chopped or whole plum tomatoes, it’s up to you, just break down the whole tomatoes if that is what you are using. If however you want a completely smooth sauce, either puree the whole tomatoes (handheld blenders work perfectly) or use passata which is sieved tomatoes and therefore has no chunks!

Cheat's Aioli

When I think of aioli it reminds me of holidays in France with my family. We would always go and buy the most delicious, fresh crevettes for lunch and then bask in the sun while leisurely peeling off the shells then dipping them into the perfect accompaniment of aioli. It is simple, delicious food at it's finest.

Aioli is similar to mayonnaise (oil and egg base) with the difference being the addition of garlic. You can add as much garlic as you like as it is meant to be quite pungent, however I find that one fat clove, finely crushed is strong enough for me. This recipe is quick and easy and although I have to admit it's not quite the same as making your own from scratch, it is delicious. You can use it for so many things - I use it as a dipping sauce for prawns, crab (Feeling crabby?!?), potato wedges and even to top my delicious wild mushroom bruschetta.

Cheat's Aioli

125ml good quality mayonnaise
1 fat clove of garlic, crushed (I like to use my microplane)
Squeeze of lemon juice
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Simply mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and use as needed. Keep any leftovers in the fridge.

Basic Vinaigrette

Basic Vinaigrette

I have to admit when I go to dress my salads I'm a huge fan of simply balsamic vinegar and olive oil and more often that not grab that option. However when I feel like something different this is the vinaigrette for me. It is a lovely recipe that will perk up even the simplest of salads. I like to use one tablespoon of walnut oil but you could use another type of nut oil, for example hazelnut oil or almond oil, or if you don't have any nut oils simply use 3 tablespoons of olive oil. You can also add a little crushed garlic to it if you like, just go easy – ¼ - ½ a clove is more than enough.

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp walnut oil (optional)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Maldon sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Put the mustard and honey in a small bowl or jar and add the red wine vinegar. Mix together then add a good pinch of salt (I prefer to use Maldon sea salt) and some black pepper. Add the oil and mix well so the vinaigrette emulsifies together. Taste to check the seasoning and serve drizzled over your salad of choice.