Thanksgiving Menu
I laugh when I watch all the pandemonium on television cooking shows before Thanksgiving. After so many yom tov and shabbos meals, I’m overjoyed to have a holiday when the cooking can be done without restrictions just moments before serving — what a breeze!
I formalized our menu this evening. We’re having a smaller crowd than usual, but I’d rather cut down on the volume of food rather than the number of dishes, since it’s hard to give up the familiar recipes one comes to enjoy and expect each year.
ROTISSERIE ROASTED TURKEY
Courtesy of our Showtime Rotisserie. Filled loosely with aromatic vegetables and lemon slices, our 10-lb. turkey will cook for 12 min/lb. Set it and forget it.
SUGAR-FREE SPICED CRANBERRY SAUCE
No one needs all the sugar it takes to overcome a cranberry’s natural tartness, so this year I’ll replace it with Splenda in my favorite recipe (from Epicurious).
SWEET POTATO SALAD WITH ORANGE-MAPLE DRESSING
This is a great make-ahead recipe which I usually reserve for wintertime Shabbat lunches. Rather than steam the sweet potato chunks as this recipe instructs, I roast them at 400 degrees until just browned around the edges — more flavor that way.
WHOLE WHEAT CHALLAH STUFFING
As far as I’ve come with brown rice, sometimes you just have to eat stuffing. This year, I’ll try my traditional recipe with whole wheat challah from Rosenfeld’s in Newton Centre.
ROASTED ASPARAGUS
I used to buy only thin asparagus to avoid tough, woody ends, but trimming a thicker stalk and peeling the bottom half a bit provides an equally tender vegetable with a bit more to sink one’s teeth into. I toss them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, then roast at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.
BROWN BREAD
Like grapenut pudding, brown bread is a local tradition. The molasses and dried currants give it a thoroughly colonial character, and the environmentalist in me loves baking in used coffee cans. (Substitute soy milk for the real milk.)
INA’S GRAVY
Ina Garten’s recipe for homemade gravy is superb, just make sure to supplement the chicken broth with some deeply browned turkey drippings. Naturally, I nix the cream, but the cognac remains to give it some punch. (Pour the liquor away from the flame, by the way. I momentarily set my hand ablaze last year when an errant drip of cognac caught fire.)
APPLE PIE WITH VANILLA SOY CREAM
The family stand-by. I’ve taken a liking to Cook’s Illustrated’s latest deep-dish apple pie recipe, but this time, my wife’s in charge of dessert, so it’s her call.
The idea of a rotisserie turkey seems interesting, but I have heard that it can be a major mess.
Is it hard to clean?
How much space does it take up on the counter?
Is there a limit as to the size of turkey it will hold? 10 lbs seems small for a turkey.
Ronco makes several models in different sizes. Our model can take up to a 15 lb. turkey. The professional model, however, is much larger and can accomodate a 23 lb. turkey.
It’s a cinch to clean since any dirty components (like the drip tray, spit rods, heat reflector, or glass door) are removable and dishwasher safe. Sometimes the spit rods require a quick wipe with an abraisive pad to get clean.
Platinum Rotisserie dimensions are 19.9 x 16.6 x 15.6 inches. We keep it in a cabinet beneath the counter and take it out whenever we use it (it’s pretty light).
Reminds me of what our rebbetzin said a few weeks ago at a shabbos dinner she cooked for. Something like, “everyone on TV makes a big deal about Thanksgiving, I just cooked about 6 Thanksgivings.”
At first I thought you must have had a hard time kashering the rotisserie machine, but if all the pieces come out, then it was probably pretty easy, right?
Um, I didn’t need to kasher it — we got it new.
how do you change the brown bread recipe?
Soy milk — posted updated.
How are you trimming your asparagus? I do mine with a peeler… there must be an easier way.