Thanksgiving in my mom's kitchen

I'm sorry it's taken me almost a week to finally post my Thanksgiving photos and recipes. Work has been a little draining, but I'm sure I'll be able to play a little bit of catch up over the weekend :)

I knew there was a reason why I don't cook in Calgary often, and I was reminded of that last Sunday. My mom was in the kitchen the whole time, criticizing this and that:

"Are your pumpkin tarts supposed to be so full like that?"
"Why didn't the filling in your pumpkin tarts flatten?" "Why is the pastry not browned?"
"Why are you stuffing the bird so full? Now it's going to take longer to cook."
"Why are you making that? (Kugel) Everyone likes mashed potatoes!"
"Why are you making it in such a big pan? Is it supposed to be thin like that?"
"Why would you want to steam the broccoli and cauliflower? I usually blanch them."
"Why did you buy such a big bag of Brussels sprouts? [Despite the fact that no one's ever eaten them before], nobody likes them."
"Why would you even think of not peeling your sweet potatoes before you mash them?".

It doesn't work when I try it.

"Um... You've been boiling that spaghetti for a really long time. Isn't it going to get mushy?"
"We like it that way."

I hate mushy spaghetti.

The fact is, like how I have a bit of a formula when it comes to hosting a Chinese feast, I get the impression my mom has her own formula when it comes to making "western" food which includes meat (steak and/or turkey), mashed potatoes from a box (because "everybody likes it", but I usually get a baked potato) and vegetables (blanched broccoli/cauliflower OR frozen vegetables OR zucchini and mushrooms) and since I was trying to tweak her formula a little, she freaked out (if you're wondering where I get *my* freakouts from, this is it)

Now do you wonder why I can't get her to change her diet?

Anyway, although it ended up being a bit of a team effort, which was nice, my mom gave me more credit than that at the dinner table. This is the way that my mom's always worked—insult me to no end to my face, and then brag about me around others.

Now do you understand why I'm so messed up?

So back to the topic at hand, our menu this year consisted of a non-bread stuffed turkey with potato kugel, mashed yams, plain spaghetti, blanched broccoli and cauliflower and roasted Brussels sprouts as sides, and pumpkin tarts for dessert.

The turkey recipe was a reprise of the first Thanksgiving turkey I'd ever made. However, I skipped the brining step because the turkey took a long time to defrost, and we all know what happened LAST time I tried to brine a turkey...

I was saddened to learn that summer savory appears to be an eastern Canada herb, as it was so easy to find last year and it makes me think of my friend Jess.

My mom approved of the turkey because "nobody likes stuffing"; there are no photos of the finished turkey though, because it met my mom's carver quicker than I could wash my hands and run upstairs and back, and I'm sure my mom would've been all, "Why are you taking pictures?" anyway.

Turkey for People Who Don't Like Stuffing
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

• 1 large (7-10 kg/15-20 lb) turkey, neck and giblets removed
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 125 mL (½ cup) butter, melted
• 2 large onions, peeled and chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• Fresh sage
• ½ bottle dry white wine

1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Rinse and dry the turkey inside and out. Rub with salt, pepper and garlic cloves. Place the garlic cloves inside the turkey's cavity.
2. Brush the turkey with ½ the melted butter. Place breast side down on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Stuff the turkey cavity with 1 onion, ½ the carrots, ½ the celery and a few sprigs of sage. If possible push your finger between the skin and the meat next to the cavity and stuff the sage in there. Scatter the remaining vegetables and sage around the bottom of the roasting pan, and cover with the white wine.
3. Roast uncovered 3½ to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 85°C (180°F). Carefully turn the turkey breast side up about ⅔ through the roasting time, and brush with the remaining butter. Allow the bird to stand about 30 minutes before carving.
   

The bird was delicious (though the white meat was a little dry) and the vegetables soaked up all the yummy juices from the bird and the wine. My mom made gravy with some of the drippings and gravy mix, which is kind of silly because it ended up being way salty. With 10 people picking at the thing, we only had about a day's worth of leftovers even though my mom purposely bought a bigger bird.

~*~

I insisted on making a potato kugel just because I didn't want to have two types of mashed potato, and because I wanted to try my hand at it after my boyfriend made such a delicious version for Rosh Hashanah. When I asked him for his recipe, he only told me that he Googled it, so I was left to my own devices.

Potato Kugel
Adapted from Chow
Makes 1 7" x 12" or 9" square pan

• 6 medium potatoes, peeled
  
• ½ onion, peeled
  
• 3 eggs, well beaten
  
• 60 mL (¼ cup) vegetable oil
  
• 30 mL (2 tbsp) flour or matzoh meal
  
• 5 mL (1 tsp) baking powder
  
• 5 mL (1 tsp) salt
  
• Black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). Peel potatoes, submerge (uncut!) in cold water until all have been grated.
   
2. Grate potatoes and onions with a hand grater (or electric meat grinder) into a colander.
   
3. Using a clean, lint-free dishtowel (or paper towels if you hate trees), press on the potato/onion mixture to squeeze out liquid. Stop squeezing when water begins to drip rather than stream.
   
4. Place grated potato/onion mixture in a large bowl; stir in all other ingredients. Mix well.
   
5. Transfer to lightly oiled 7×12 or 9" square pyrex baking dish.
   
6. Bake for one hour or until well browned.

I don't know if it's because I wasn't watching the clock when I made the kugel (and I'd stuck it into a 350° oven with the turkey) or if it's because of my overzealous squeezing of the potatoes and onions, but my kugel ended up being pretty tough and it wasn't very popular. I suppose I should leave the kugel making to my boyfriend for now. If I were to do it again though, I find onions are a bitch to grate so I would rather mince them finely than wrestle with the grater.

Nutrition Info (per 1/12 recipe): 148 calories, 6 g fat (1 g saturated), 52 mg cholesterol, 21 g carbohydrate (2 g fibre, 1 g sugar), 4 g protein, 257 mg sodium. A good source of potassium.

~*~ My mother has told me before that "nobody likes Brussels sprouts". But seeing how it's never appeared in my childhood, and I'm sure it hasn't appeared in the lives of my siblings and cousins, I set out to convert my family into Brussels sprouts lovers. Plus, the Brussels sprouts at the Farmers' Market were so cute! I bought 3+ lbs.

While I do have a couple good Brussels sprouts recipes tagged on my Google Reader, they were all a little too complicating and involved too many ingredients or a cast iron skillet. I needed something simple because I was going to be dealing with a LOT of Brussels sprouts. Unfortunately, my mom intervened and only allowed me to make half the bag, but I liked the recipe anyway (though I didn't distribute the salt as evenly as I should've.) Now I have 1½ lb of Brussels sprouts in my fridge that I should try to tuck away over the weekend because "nobody else likes them".

Roasted Brussels Sprouts Adapted from AllRecipes.com

• 680 g (1½ lb) Brussels sprouts, trimmed with yellow leaves removed
  
• 45 mL (3 tbsp) olive oil
  
• 5 mL (1 tsp) salt
  
• 2 mL (½ tsp) black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 205°C (400°F).
   
2. Toss ingredients together in a large Pyrex dish.
   
3. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, shaking pan every 5 to 7 minutes for even browning. Reduce heat when necessary to prevent burning. Brussels sprouts should be darkest brown, almost black, when done, but if you don't like them that dark you can reduce the heat/pull them out sooner. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Info (per cup): 81 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 8 g carbohydrate (3 g fibre, 2 g sugar), 3 g protein, 311 mg sodium. An excellent source of vitamins C and K. A good source of folate.

(I forgot to trim my Brussels sprouts.) ~*~

My mom had been buying pies at whichever grocery store had it on sale that week so even though I wanted my pumpkin dessert fix I didn't want to make a whole pie. So I decided to make tarts. Since I wasn't in the mood to make pastry knowing that I was making a whole turkey and some trimmings, I cheated and bought some frozen pastry shells, but died a little inside when I realized that there was 2 g of trans fat in each shell.

If you are looking to make your own pastry, EatingWell has a few recipes that look promising.

Pumpkin Tarts Adapted from Forks.ca Makes about 3 dozen

• 2 eggs
  
• 1 798 mL (28 oz) can of pumpkin
  
• 250 - 300 mL (1 - 1¼ cup) brown sugar, packed
  
• 5 mL (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
  
• 2 mL (½ tsp) ground nutmeg
  
• 1 mL (¼ tsp) ginger
  
• 1 mL (¼ tsp) cloves (optional)
  
• 1 mL (¼ tsp) allspice (optional)
  
• 1 mL (¼ tsp) salt
  
• 1 370 mL (12 oz) can of evaporated milk
  
• 36 3" tart shells

1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
   
2. Lightly beat eggs in a bowl. Add pumpkin, spices and salt. Combine.
   
3. Mix in milk.
   
4. Place about 30 mL (2 tbsp) of filling into each shell.
   
5. Bake for about 25 minutes or when a cake tester inserted into the centre of a tart comes out clean.
   
6. Cool before serving with whipped cream (or "whipped topping").

Nutrition Info (per tart): 115 calories, 5 g fat (2 g saturated), 19 mg cholesterol, 2 g protein, 74 mg sodium. An excellent source of vitamins A and E.

You have to watch out for this recipe because if you overfill them, the filling does not "melt" into the tart. We had to take a butter knife and smooth out the tops. Also, the frozen pastry doesn't really brown in the short amount of time it takes for the tarts to set leaving the pastry itself more mushy than flaky, so I would recommend pre-baking the tart shells. I actually have some filling left because tart shells come in packs of 30—maybe I'll try it and let you know.

So there you have it; marginally successful recipes for you to try out at your next (do you celebrate American Thanksgiving?) Thanksgiving festivities. Bon appétit!