Thanksgiving in March

(Like Christmas in July, but less popular, haha!)

Last November, I purchased some turkey from a Madison meat shop that sells locally-raised meats.  It was probably not an ideal time to buy turkey, since it was right before Thanksgiving, and the shop selection of turkey products was likely more limited, but I was there and I was in the mood (and I have a lovely deep freezer to postpone the cooking of my impulse buys, yay!).  I don’t have much experience with cooking turkey (I still haven’t cooked a whole bird), but I really enjoy eating it, and I had been wanting to give it a whirl!

Lately, I have been very fond of cooking chicken thighs.  They are always so moist and tender, especially when I braise them in the pressure cooker.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any turkey thighs at the shop, and I wasn’t interested in buying a whole (double) breast, as it would be way too much for just JK and me.  So, I decided to purchase two turkey wings (for white meat), and two turkey legs (for dark meat).

Now that most of the major holidays are over (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, JK’s birthday, and even St. Patty’s Day, whew!), I decided it was finally time to pull out the turkey and make a feast.  However, cooking white and dark meat poultry together is complicated because they cook at different rates.  Also, I figured that all the wings and legs would be too much for one meal with leftovers, and so I defrosted only the wings, and saved the legs for another day (hopefully we can smoke/grill them sometime this spring!).

Here’s what I put together for my Thanksgiving in March--on a random Tuesday night (last week, 3/24):

1.Two turkey wings, which I rubbed with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic and onion powders, and roasted in the oven until golden brown (accidentally a bit too long—they were a little dry).  I forgot to rub in some butter or olive oil with the spices under the skin, which would have helped moisten the meat.  Plus, I now realize that wings are the weird cut of the bird: white meat flavor, but the texture and sinew-i-ness of dark meat legs, and therefore, not my favorite.  I probably should have sprung for the whole breast.

2. Homemade gravy.  First, I made stock from the two wing tips, water, carrots, celery, onion (minced dried, I was out of fresh, but it still worked well), dried thyme, bay leaf, and black peppercorns, and simmered it for an hour.  Then I poured off the fat from the roasting pan, added water to the roasting pan to scrape up the dark brown fond, and added that into my stock.  I made a flour-based roux with some of the turkey fat, added the strained stock to it, and simmered until it was just the right gravy consistency.  Thank goodness for gravy; it was delicious and covered up the dryness of the meat a bit.

3. Sweet potato casserole, made with winter farmer’s market sweet potatoes, and a generous dollop of butter, cream, brown sugar, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt.  I boiled the peeled, diced sweet potatoes until tender, mixed in the flavorings, topped with mini-marshmallows, and baked in my convection oven until golden brown.  I could have tried an oatmeal/pecan/streusel topping, but marshmallows were easier and a good throwback-type topping.  This side threatened to steal the show.  Yum!

4. Nothing-special green beans.  I was too lazy to do them up with a white sauce and top them with onions, so we just buttered and seasoned them.  Ho-hum.

5. Cranberry sauce, which I consider to be an essential side for this type of meal.  Sadly, this was from a can this time, though I am a huge fan of simmering fresh or frozen cranberries with water and sugar until cooked down, and then sieving for a good homemade sauce.

6. Homemade cherry pie a la mode.  OK, here was the real show-stopper of the meal.  I made a homemade all-butter double-pie crust (that recipe could be a future post) in the morning and let it chill in the fridge.  Then I drained the 4 cups of thawed (previously frozen) tart cherries that we had from a past (2010!!) Door County cherry picking adventure.  To the juice (13 oz, quite a lot!), I added a few tablespoons of quick tapioca and a cup of sugar, and let rest for 15 minutes before boiling on the stove for a few minutes.  Then I reincorporated the cherries, added a dash of almond extract, poured it in the shell, topped with the top crust, and baked until golden brown and bubbling through the slits.  The filling was too loose, even once it cooled, so next time I’ll have to remember to add more tapioca (I still have some cherries left in the freezer!)...but it was still absolutely delicious.  Tart cherry pie is my very favorite kind of pie and this was no exception!  We had made homemade vanilla ice cream a few days prior, and it was the perfect accompaniment.
[FYI: tart cherries may be found in the following locations: 1) freezer aisle, 2) canned fruit aisle, canned in water, 3) possibly in the produce section, on a specialty rack with Door County canned cherries/filling from DC farm stands or 4) of course, in Door County—go picking in July!]

All in all, it was a pretty good meal: yummy to eat, and fun to cook.  I am thankful that the whirlwind of the holidays is (mostly) over, and I am enjoying using my oven to warm my house with delicious smells on these late winter/early spring days.

Yay for a tasty turkey dinner and cherry pie any time of year!

Forward Flavor!