Parkville resident Nancy Kaskel, 24, is expecting about 12 family members when she hosts her first Thanksgiving this year. She’s never cooked a turkey before, so the nervousness is starting to set in.“I’m hoping people will help me as much as possible,” said Kaskel, who started planning three weeks out. “I love having the family over and having everyone get together. But I think big meals can be stressful to plan.”

No sweat, say the experts.

“If you take three steps back and look at the Thanksgiving menu, it is extremely simple,” said Diane Bukatman, chef/owner of For the Love of Food, a catering business and cooking school in Reisterstown. While people get scared off making roast turkey, said Bukatman, they don’t get scared off when it comes to roast chicken. Turkey, she adds “is just a bigger bird.”

The key to making it all work, she says, is organization.

“Planning ahead and preparing are the most important things,” she adds. “It’s going to keep you from getting stressed.”

So go ahead and invite the family or your friends over. Just remember these rules:

A. Stick to the basics.

B. Ask for help. Kaskel’s strategy is to ask family members to bring side dishes and desserts while she’ll stick to the turkey, a few accompaniments and drinks.

C. Get organized. A little preparation goes a long way.

Here’s how to get started, with tips from Bukatman and Amy Schaftel, events coordinator with Eddie’s of Roland Park:
1. Write out your menu well in advance.
2. Give each item a preparation time.
3. Rearrange that list starting with those items that take the longest to prepare to those that take the least.
4. Shop for all ingredients five days ahead so that everything is in the house when you’re ready to cook.
5. Prepare dishes in advance — even days in advance. “Do as much as you can ahead of time,” says Schaftel.
6. Set up a timeline to organize when each dish will be heated and served.
7. Set aside each serving platter, labeled with what dish it will hold.

Taking it course by course

Apps with aplomb

An appetizer sets the mood — and it doesn’t have to be time-consuming (although it doesn’t hurt to look that way).
“If there’s one course that can be bought or made ahead of time so they don’t have to hassle with it the day of, then they’re better off,” Schaftel said.

She suggests an appetizer of pumpkin soup (a prepared item at Eddie’s). At home, turn the appetizer into a soup bar with toppings such as toasted hazelnuts, shredded gruyere cheese, pomegranate seeds and sour cream spiced with cinnamon and allspice.

Or opt for a fall antipasto platter with artisan cheeses, fresh pears, fig spread, stuffed olives and aged Balsamic vinegar.

Both can be done ahead of time and placed outside the kitchen so guests can help themselves while the cook gets busy with the main event.

Talking turkey
It’s easy to find a turkey recipe online. But there are other questions to consider.

For starters, decide on frozen or fresh. A frozen turkey can be bought ahead of time, but you have to factor in time for thawing in the refrigerator. The rule of thumb is five pounds per day to defrost. So a 15-pound turkey needs at least three full days to thaw. If you decide on a fresh turkey, make sure you order it in advance from your grocer.

And yes, size does matter.

Jon Hanley, executive chef at Morton’s the Steakhouse in Baltimore, suggests one-and-a-half pounds per person. So 10 people calls for a 15-pound turkey.

“It’s all about building flavors for this time of year,” he said. “All the recipes for Thanksgiving lend themselves to roasting and slow cooking.”

He recommends roasting a 10- to 18-pound turkey in a 325-degree oven, covered with foil for about three and a half hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. (Don’t forget to rinse the turkey inside and out before seasoning and cooking.)

If you want crispy, golden skin, baste the turkey or uncover it partway through to brown. The turkey should “rest” 20-30 minutes before carving; this helps keep the bird moist.

You’ll need the drippings for gravy. Take two tablespoons of drippings and place in pan over low heat. Add one or two tablespoons of flour, stirring constantly with a whisk until it begins to thicken. Slowly add remaining drippings back in along with water or stock to make about two cups of gravy, then season with salt and pepper.

Executive Chef Christian Gallice says he’ll focus on seasonal favorites for the Thanksgiving Day menu at the Diamond Tavern at the Hilton Baltimore. His tip for better turkey and stuffing: Cook the stuffing separately, casserole style.

“It comes off much better. The turkey cooks more evenly inside and out, and so does the stuffing,” he said. “It’s a lot safer.”

In place of stuffing, put aromatic vegetables and herbs, including bay leaves, thyme, sage, carrots, onions and celery in the turkey.

There’s more than turkey and stuffing?

Well, yes, but not for this article.

The best way to fill the table with side dishes is to delegate them out to family or friends you’ve invited.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with asking guests to bring things,” said Bukatman. “Then they feel like they are a part of that dinner, of the celebration.”

Cheers

With so many varying food components, there’s no right or wrong wine to serve.

“The wine and food matching shouldn’t overtake the holiday,” said Ian Stalfort, 28, the wine buyer at The Wine Source in Hampden. “Pick some things you like with an eye towards the meal.”

As a general rule, go with a full-bodied white wine to pair with the turkey, such as a Chardonnay or white burgundy. For red wine try lighter varieties such as pinot noir, Zinfandel or a Grenache.

Pumpkin beer, a light lager or lambic are also great choices, said Jed Jenny, 28, beer manager at The Wine Source.
Just desserts

Even if the turkey is dry, the sides are cold and the wine has run out there’s always the Hail Mary of Thanksgiving: dessert. If you end on a good note, all is forgiven.

Most desserts can be made ahead of time and frozen or placed in the refrigerator for a few days and reheated.  Opting for a play on the traditional by serving chocolate pecan pie or pumpkin cheesecake is sure to impress. Nancy Jones-Bonbrest, special to b

Turkey safety

With so many turkey recipes available online (or from your mother or grandmother) we opted to list safety instructions.

Here’s what the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests with additional tips at www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets.
Roasting Instructions
1. Set the oven temperature no lower than 325 °F.
2. Be sure the turkey is completely thawed. (You’re going to have to reach in and pull out the gizzard kit. Sorry. Then rinse the bird inside and out.)
3. Place turkey breast-side up on a flat wire rack in a shallow roasting pan 2 to 2 ½ inches deep.
4. For optimum safety, cook stuffing in a casserole. If you cook the stuffing in the turkey, additional time is required for the turkey and stuffing to reach a safe minimum internal temperature.
5. The turkey and the center of the stuffing must reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F. Check the temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast.
Approximate cooking times
(325 °F oven temperature)
Unstuffed time in hours
8-12 lb breast    2 ¾-3
12-14 lbs    3-3 ¾
18-20 lbs    4 ¼-4 ½
20-24 lbs    4 ½-5

Savory sausage stuffing

Provided by Eddie’s of Roland Park.
••• 1 stick unsalted butter
••• 1 lb. Eddie’s store-made Sage Sausage
••• 4 stalks celery, diced
••• 2 medium onions, diced
••• 1 bay leaf
••• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
••• ½ teaspoon black pepper
••• ¼ teaspoon thyme leaves
••• 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced Optional
••• 1 large bag bread cubes
••• 4 cups chicken broth
••• salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a large casserole dish and set aside.
In a medium skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add sausage and cook until loose and crumbly. Drain fat from the skillet and set sausage aside.
In the same skillet, melt the rest of the butter with the celery, onion, bay leaf, poultry seasoning, pepper, thyme and apples, and cook until the vegetables are translucent, about 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine bread cubes, vegetable mixture and sausage.
Add 3 cups of broth to the bread mixture and transfer to casserole dish. Moisten stuffing during baking with the extra cup of broth.
Cover casserole dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until golden brown for 20 minutes.

Chocolate bourbon pecan pie

Provided by Christian Gallice, Diamond Tavern at the Hilton Baltimore
••• 1 cup sugar
••• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
••• 3 eggs
••• ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
••• 3 tablespoons bourbon
••• 7 oz. chocolate, semi sweet
••• 3 tablespoons butter, unsalted
••• 1.5 cup pecan halves
••• 9” unbaked pie shell

Mix the sugar and cornstarch in a nonreactive bowl (stainless steel, glass, enamel, ceramic). Add the eggs, one at a time while whisking. Add the milk, bourbon, chocolate, butter. Mix thoroughly.
Fill the shell with the batter and place the pecans on top in a circle shape.
Bake in a preheated oven at 375° F for 45-50 minutes. Serve with whipped cream.

Brandied apple mousse

Provided by chef/owner Diane Bukatman with For the Love of Food
••• 1 cup chunky apple sauce
••• 2 cups vanilla pastry cream (see recipe, right)
••• 3 tablespoons apple brandy
••• 1 cup whipped cream
••• Cinnamon to taste

In a large mixing bowl, combine applesauce and vanilla pastry cream and blend until smooth. Stir in apple brandy. Gently fold in whipped cream.
Divide mousse into eight serving glasses or one decorative serving bowl. Sprinkle top of mousse with cinnamon and chill for at least three hours before serving.
Try it with ginger cookies.

Pastry cream

••• 4 egg yolks
••• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
••• ⅛ teaspoon salt
••• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
••• ½ cup + 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
••• 2 cups whole milk
••• 2 oz. unsalted butter

In a medium, nonreactive mixing bowl, whip egg yolks, cornstarch, salt, vanilla, and ½ cup sugar until perfectly smooth.
In a medium nonreactive saucepot combine the milk and remaining sugar and bring to a boil. Carefully pour milk into the egg yolk mixture, whipping continuously. Return the mixture to the saucepot and return to medium heat, whisking continuously until the mixture has thickened and no starchy taste remains, about three minutes.
Return cream to mixing bowl and stir until smooth.
Add butter and stir to melt. Cover pastry cream with plastic wrap touching the surface to prevent the formation of a skin. Refrigerate until cold, two-three hours.

Wine suggestions from Ian Stalfort with the Wine Source:

For Whites:
Pine Ridge Chenin/Viognier - California ($12)
Pichot Vouvray (Chenin Blanc) - Loire Valley, France ($14)
Greffiere Sous les Bois (Chardonnay) - Burgundy, France ($16)
Adelsheim Pinot Gris - Oregon ($20)

For Reds:
Marcel Lapierre Morgon - France ($20)
Opawa Pinot Noir - New Zealand ($20)
Solitude Cotes-du-Rhone Rouge (Grenache) - France ($15)
Ridge Three Valleys Zinfandel - California ($25)

As for local selections:
Elk Run Gewurztraminer - Maryland ($20 - White)
Basignani Cabernet Sauvignon - Maryland ($15 - Red)

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.