Happy HolidaysFood Art Tips for you Holiday Dinner
Hello Everybody.
Purchasing a turkey Check the sodium and water added content! Not GOOD. Frozen is ok but buy it 4 days priour so it thaws slowly in the fridge.
The day before you can make the yams and do the second cook on the same day. You can also make the cranberry sauce and stuffing, again do the second cook on the same day.
Make the turkey leg booties, prep the mirepox and herbs for the turkey. Peel and cut the potatoes for mashed and store in water. Pull any froze vegetables and make all the deserts and bread.
Great Presentation and aids in uniform cooking. Raise the turkey legs for a better presentation by holding the legs in an upright position while sliding a wood or steel skewer through the base of the backside of the leg bone through the underside of the breast carriage and through the opposite leg bone. Pull the tip of the wing out and push it down under the middle section of the wing.
Roast the turkey in a deep pan with mirepox-carrot,celery, onion. Preheat oven to 425. Season the turkey s&p . Melt butter and add a little paprika, rubbed sage and fresh thyme. Brush this on the entire surface of turkey. Place the turkey on a low shelf and turn the oven down to 250. No need to baste but you can. The slower you cook the juicer it will be and the skin will brown just great.
Never cook dressing in the turkey....Done-put a thermo between the thigh an into the thickens part of the breast. 180 its done Let it rest. My favorite recipe is in the food processor mince ½ onion and 7 ribs of celery. In a saucepan melt 1/2lb butter add onions , celery, 2 tblsp. of chicken base or 1 cup of good stock and S&P, 1 bay leaf, 2tblsp of fresh chopped or 1tblsp of dry thyme leaves plus 1 tblsp of grnd poultry seasoning. Cook hard at least 15 minutes and cool.
Fold in 1 loaf of white bread cut into cubes 1 small diced green apple and 2 whole eggs. Check the consistency it should be able to easily form a ball without being sticky. Either way add more bread or more stock. Put the stuffing in a greased Pyrex or ovenproof dish and cook the same as the turkey. You can cook booth at the same time but the stuffing will be done sooner. The stuffing should have a nice crunchy and browned top. mmmmmm
For a great giblet gravy, put the giblets, liver and neck in with the turkey after the first 20 minutes in the oven. When the turkey is done remove it and the giblets and liver from the pan. Place the roasting pan on the stove and add about a gallon of water, a little turkey base to enhance (chicken base is not good it will ruin it) Bring all to a rolling boil for 15 minutes, TASTE it. Adjust seasoning; remember you used water so it may require more salt. Chop very fine the liver and or process the giblets and reserve.
Thicken sauce with white wash by adding it a little at a time in a slow stream into the boiling stock while whisking until the sauce begins to thicken, let it boil it will thicken a little more.. (white-wash is a medium thick paste of flour and water (no roux chefs it ruins giblet gravy) Strain the sauce again add the juice that accumulated on the platter where the turkey is resting and bring back to a boil then add the minced giblets and liver and adjust seasoning. A Add Maggie or caramel color for a darker color WOW
Don’t forget to keep the turkey at least 135 degrees up until it is ready to serve.
Present the turkey on silver or a cutting board with a couple simple garnishes. Please do not cover your nice platter with leaves.
It’s really easy to make turkey leg booties. Just fold a 12 by 9 inch sheet of foil or parchment or butchers paper in half by the length. Cut through the fold 31/2 inches (which should leave1 inch uncut. Proceed to repeat the cut spacing of ½ inch apart. Then pick up the strip with the uncut end down and wrap the paper around the leg bon just under the top knuckle. Open all the loops. Wow
Fresh Cranberry Sauce- So easy with fresh or frozen cranberries just add enough water to cover-Boil and add a little sugar at a time until you like the taste. Boil until the berries are tender 4 to 15 minutes. The frozen berries cook faster. Done- Just chill over night in your favorite serving bowl. The natural element in the berries will gel naturally. Add a little orange or lemon zest for a citrus flavor.
Candied yams- Only the very large yams from Louisiana are the only true yams, the rest are sweet potatoes. Either or my favorite traditional recipe is to peel and cut the yams into large wedges and poach them in enough water to barely cover the yams with honey or clear molasses enough to mildly sweeten the water and a cinnamon stick and some orange zest or orange juice to taste only slightly. Cook yams until fork tender and remove to ovenproof serving dish. Reduce stock by half and add cornstarch slurry (cornstarch and water= equal parts) while boiling and whisking until it becomes a light syrup. Still boiling and whisking add a little whole butter, then spoon the syrup over the yams to coat. Top with mini marshmallows to form an even solid layer. Brown in an oven at 350 for about 15 min. Glazed ham, use the yam glace.
Mash potatoes regardless of what type. Simply put them into a ceramic bowl with a large spoon let the peaks go, don’t smooth the top off. Drizzle a little butter on top and lightly sprinkle lightly with paprika and put into a 400 oven or under a broiler on the bottom shelf to brown.
Corn niblets in a bowl. Cut 3 inch bias slices of a large cooked carrot to place on the rim of the bowl in the corn encircling the bowl.(let the slices stand above the rim. do not overlap.
Put your olives, jerkins, etc... in onion cups. Cut off both ends even (about 1/2 in.) of a red onion. Cut the onion in half horizontally through the middle OR make an onion crown. Pop the cups out easily by running warm water over the top and bottom.
Fresh water chestnuts; just cut an X on both snds and roast at 350 in the oven for about 20 minutes. Test one it should easily peel and the flavor is fantastic!
Every dish can be decorated and garnished to WOW with the Food Art Methods.
Come on by and visit our web site at www.foodgarnishing.com There you will find many incredible edible art galleries, The Vegetable Florist, Fruit Carving Scenes, instructional DVD, Edible Art sculpture, Unusual food displays and presentations, hand picked knives and tools and much more. Be sure your audio is on.
Chef John Gargone gives some helpful hints on garnishing, display and the presentation of food.
Please Reply to teacherfood@yahoo.com Visit my site at http://www.foodgarnishing.com/
Happy Holidays,
Chef Garde Manger John Gargone and all of us at Food Art 2008-2009
