Thanksgiving 101 (22 page)

1.
When the turkey is done, transfer it to a serving platter and set aside. Pour the pan drippings into a medium glass bowl or gravy separator, leaving any browned bits in the bottom of the roasting pan. Let stand for 5 minutes. If the drippings are in a bowl, use a large metal spoon to skim and transfer clear yellow fat that rises to the surface to a 1-to 2-cup measuring cup and reserve the fat. For a gravy separator, pour the drippings into a 1-quart measuring cup, leaving the fat in the separator.

2.
Assess the color of the drippings. If they don’t seem dark enough, pour half back into the roasting pan and set over two burners. Bring to a boil over high heat, and cook until the drippings reduce and darken, occasionally adding the remaining drippings until the liquid in the pan is as dark as you want. The amount of drippings will decrease, but the finished gravy will be darker and taste better without having to resort to bottled gravy coloring. Return the drippings to the large measuring cup, and add enough stock to the drippings to measure 4 cups total cooking liquid.

3.
Set the roasting pan on top of the stove over two burners on moderately low heat. Add 6 tablespoons of the reserved fat to the pan. Sprinkle the flour into the pan, whisking constantly. Let the mixture bubble, whisking constantly, until it turns light beige, 1 to 2 minutes. It is important to let the mixture cook for a minute or two to allow the flour to lose its raw taste, but adjust the heat as needed to keep it from burning. If the flour is overcooked, it will lose its thickening power. Whisk in the stock/drippings mixture, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking occasionally. If the gravy seems too thin, increase the heat to medium and boil until it is as thick as you wish. If the gravy seems too thick, thin with additional stock. Season with salt and pepper. If you wish, strain the gravy through a wire sieve to remove any extraneous browned bits.

Giblet Gravy:
If you have made Homemade Turkey Stock 101, finely chop the cooked giblets and neck meat. Or simmer the giblets and neck with 3½ cups canned reduced-sodium chicken broth; 2½ cups water; 1 small onion, sliced; and 1 small carrot, coarsely chopped, until tender, about 2 hours. Cool and chop the meat. Strain the mixture and use in place of the turkey stock.

Roast Garlic Gravy:
For every 4 cups finished gravy, stir in 1 head garlic, roasted and pureed.

Wine Gravy:
Substitute up to one-quarter the cooking liquid with dry white wine. For example, for about 4 cups gravy, use 3 cups cooking liquid and 1 cup wine. Red wine makes a murky gravy, so stick to white.

Spiked Gravy:
For every 1 cup cooking liquid, add 1 to 2 tablespoons dry sherry; ruby or tawny port; Madeira, brandy, or Cognac; or bourbon. Do not overdo the alcohol, or the gravy will taste too strong.

Herbed Gravy:
For every 4 cups finished gravy, stir in up to 2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs, such as thyme, sage, rosemary, parsley, or tarragon, or a combination.

Rising to the Occasion

I
f there is one day of the year when home-baked breads should be served, it’s Thanksgiving. To me, the ritual of passing a basket of hot rolls is as important as that of carving the turkey. Baking bread is one of the most satisfying things a cook can do, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. All of the recipes in this chapter are designed for beginning bakers, although practiced bread makers will appreciate their old-fashioned flavor. Only two recipes use yeast, and only one of them requires kneading. In other words, you’ll have scant excuse for not serving fragrant, warm, home-baked bread at your meal. Here is a guide to some ingredients in this chapter:

Flour: For most yeast doughs, use unbleached or bread flour. Organic unbleached flour, available at natural food stores, gives the bread an incredible flavor and a chewy texture. Quick breads, leavened with baking powder or baking soda, are best made with all-purpose flour, either bleached or unbleached.

Cornmeal: Stone-ground cornmeal has a coarser texture than mass-processed cornmeal, which translates into fuller flavor. Stone-ground cornmeal is available in natural food stores and many supermarkets. Some cooks feel that white cornmeal is sweeter than yellow cornmeal, and has a fuller corn flavor. All cornmeal is fairly perishable and should be stored in the refrigerator. However, the stone-ground variety is even more delicate, as it contains more oils that can turn rancid than its overprocessed kin, and should be stored in a plastic bag in the freezer. Let the frozen cornmeal stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes to warm up before using.

Yeast: I use active dry yeast because it is commonly available. However, some of my
local supermarkets have only been carrying quick-rising instant yeast, also called “yeast for bread machines.” This yeast is formulated differently from active dry yeast, and reduces the rising time. That’s all well and good, but good bakers know that dough needs time to rise to develop flavor. Rather than follow the instructions on the label, which reduce the rising time by about half, I prefer to use slightly less instant yeast to give the traditional rising time. These recipes give measurements for both active dry and instant yeast. Don’t worry about using the hot liquids recommended in the instant yeast’s instructions, and just dissolve the yeast in warm water as required for the active dry yeast. If you want to speed the rising, substitute equal amounts of instant yeast for active dry yeast, following the instructions on the package of the former. Store yeast in the refrigerator and use by the expiration date on the package. Freezing yeast does not extend its shelf life.

Yeast is a living thing, and hot water will kill it. Just use warm water that feels slightly warmer than body temperature, which means a range of 105° to 115°F. If you are nervous about the correct temperature, test the water with an instant-read thermometer.

Buttermilk: Buttermilk makes bread with a deliciously tender crumb. The acids in the tangy buttermilk tenderize the gluten proteins in the flour. (I know that not everyone loves to drink buttermilk, but it is inexpensive, so if you have leftovers that you have to throw out, you won’t go broke.) Dried buttermilk powder, which can be reconstituted with water and is available at some supermarkets and natural food stores, is all right, but the viscosity doesn’t match that of fresh buttermilk. I prefer substituting
²
/3 cup plain yogurt whisked with
¹
/3 cup low-fat or whole milk for each cup of buttermilk.

Dinner Rolls 101

Fresh-baked rolls, right out of the oven…I bet your mouth is watering just reading those words. Here is my favorite dinner roll recipe—chewy, with a thin crust and unsurpassable homemade flavor. Once you have the basic dough, you can form it into balls, cloverleaf rolls, or knots. I am partial to the knots, because even though they are easy to make, they look like you bought them at a bakery. Leave the rolls plain, or take a couple of seconds to sprinkle them with poppy or sesame seeds. You can make the dough by hand, in the food processor, or in a heavy-duty electric mixer. There are a bunch of make-ahead options, but I prefer to time the rolls to come out of the oven just before serving.

• The dough can be made the night before baking, using only ½ teaspoons yeast. Divide the dough in half, and close each half in a self-sealing plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight. The next morning, punch down the dough and refrigerate again until ready to shape the rolls. Punch down the dough, shape the rolls as desired, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow the shaped rolls to stand at warm room temperature for about 2 hours to come to room temperature and rise until doubled. Bake as directed. Some bakers freeze the dough, but it takes so long for the dough to defrost and warm up enough to rise, it is not worth the hassle.
  
• The baked rolls can be made up to 1 month ahead, cooled completely, stored in self-sealing plastic bags, and frozen. Allow the rolls to defrost for 1 hour at room temperature before reheating. To reheat, wrap the rolls in aluminum foil, 6 rolls to a package. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.
  
• To bake and serve the rolls the same day, bake them up to 8 hours before serving. Cool completely. Wrap the rolls in aluminum foil packages and reheat as directed above.
  

1.
In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over ¼ cup warm (105° to 115°F) water and let stand until creamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir to dissolve the yeast.

2.
In a medium saucepan, heat the buttermilk, stirring constantly, just until warm (about 100°F). Or place the buttermilk in a 1-quart glass measuring cup and microwave on High for 1 minute, stirring occasionally, until warm. Transfer the buttermilk to a bowl and stir in the dissolved yeast mixture, melted butter, eggs, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

3.
To make the dough by hand
, transfer the liquid ingredients to a large bowl. Gradually stir in enough of the flour to form a shaggy dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough, adding more flour as needed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.

To make the dough in a heavy-duty standing mixer
, pour the liquid ingredients in the mixer bowl, and attach the paddle blade. With the machine on low speed, gradually add enough of the flour to make a stiff dough that collects around the blade. Change to the dough hook. Knead the dough in the machine, adding more flour as needed to make an elastic dough, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand until smooth, about 2 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.

To make the dough in a food processor
, fit an 11-cup (or larger)-capacity machine with the metal blade. Make the dough in two batches. Place 2½ cups of the flour in the machine and pulse to combine. With the machine running, pour about half of the liquid ingredients through the feed tube to form a soft ball of dough that rides on top of the blade. Process for 45 seconds to knead the dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Knead the two portions of dough together by hand until smooth and combined. Form the dough into a ball.

4.
Place the dough in a large, buttered bowl. Turn the dough to coat with the butter, and turn the dough smooth side up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume (if you poke the dough with your finger, an impression will remain), about 1¼ hours.

5.
Lightly butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Punch down the dough and knead briefly on an unfloured work surface. Cut the dough into 18 equal pieces. (This is easiest to do by cutting the dough into thirds, then each third in half, and each half into 3 pieces.) Cover the cut pieces of dough with a piece of plastic wrap. Place a piece of dough on the work surface. Using the sides of your hands, tuck the dough underneath itself, turning the dough as you tuck, stretching the top surface and eventually forming a taut ball. Transfer the roll to a
prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough, allowing 9 balls per pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until almost doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.

6.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the tops of the rolls lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with the seeds, if using. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the pans and serve warm.

Knot Rolls:
Lightly butter two baking sheets. Work with one piece of dough at a time, keeping the others covered with plastic wrap. Roll the dough between your palms into a thick rope. Place the rope on an unfloured work surface. Put your hands on top of the dough and roll it back and forth, stretching the dough into a 9-inch-long rope. Tie the dough into an overhand knot, with the knot positioned in the center of the rope. Place the knots 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in size. Bake as directed above.

Cloverleaf Rolls:
Lightly butter 18 muffin cups. Cut each piece of dough into thirds and form each piece into a small, taut ball. Place 3 balls, smooth sides up, in each muffin tin. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled. Bake as directed.

Fluffy Angel Biscuits

These are a variation on the biscuit theme, with a bit of yeast to add fluffiness. Not only does the recipe make sensational biscuits, the dough can be mixed a couple of days ahead of baking. While Buttermilk Biscuits 101 uses a homemade baking powder, use a store-bought one in this recipe, as the homemade version will lose its leavening power if the dough stands for too long. Even though this dough contains yeast, all-purpose flour will yield the tenderest biscuits.

This recipe makes a lot of biscuits, perfect for a crowd. When I am not having a big guest list, I still make the entire batch and freeze the leftover biscuits, individually wrapped in aluminum foil. To reheat, bake the unwrapped frozen biscuits in a preheated 400°F oven until heated through, about 10 minutes.

1.
In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over 2 tablespoons warm (105° to 115°F) water in a small bowl and let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir until dissolved and set aside.

2.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If the shortening sticks to the pastry blender, just scrape it off. Add the dissolved yeast and the buttermilk, and stir to make a shaggy dough. Knead in the bowl for about a minute to form a soft, sticky dough. Divide the dough between two self-sealing plastic bags, close, and refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to 2 days. If refrigerating for longer than 3 hours, punch down the dough from time to time, but no less than twice every 24 hours.

3.
Position racks in the center and top third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 400°F. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. On a lightly floured surface, pat out the dough with lightly floured hands (or dust the top of the dough with flour and roll out) until ½ inch thick. Using a 2½-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out biscuits and place them 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Gather up dough scraps and knead briefly to combine, and repeat the procedure as needed to make about 30 biscuits.

4.
Bake, switching the positions of the baking sheets from top to bottom halfway during baking, until the biscuits are barely golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Buttermilk Biscuits 101

Here they are, the most tender, most delicious, most buttery old-fashioned biscuits in the land. For the classic biscuit shape and texture, roll out the dough and cut into rounds or squares. Or add some whole milk to mix a softer dough that can be dropped from a spoon to create biscuits with a crispy surface. Either way, you will be serving an American classic.

• Ask any Southern cook for the secret to making tender biscuits, and the answer is usually the flour. Southern flour (like White Lily brand) is milled from soft wheat and has a low gluten content, whereas the rest of the country uses a combination of hard and soft flours with a higher gluten. To approximate soft wheat flour, mix cake flour (made from very soft wheat) with all-purpose flour. Of course, if you live in the South, just use White Lily.
  
• Many biscuits use baking powder as a leavening, which starts with a simple combination of acid (cream of tartar) and alkali (baking soda). When moistened, the mixture forms carbon dioxide gases that make the biscuits rise. Most commercial baking powders include aluminum derivatives, too, that can give your baked goods a metallic taste. (An exception is my favorite brand, Rumford’s, which is available at natural food stores and many supermarkets. If you wish, you can substitute 4½ teaspoons Rumford’s baking powder for the cream of tartar and baking soda combination here.) This recipe calls for a homemade baking powder made from the cream of tartar and baking soda, which are probably already in the kitchen cabinet.
  
• Handle the biscuit dough as little as possible to keep the gluten in the flour from
  toughening. (See Perfect Piecrust 101 for a more detailed discussion of gluten.)
  
• Use a ruler to measure the dough’s thickness. If the dough is rolled too thin, the biscuits will be skimpy.
  
• To cut out round biscuits, use a 2½-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter. Juice glasses don’t make a clean cut, and are a barely acceptable substitute for a cutter. With round biscuits, you will always have scraps. Taking care not to overhandle the dough, gently knead the scraps together and roll out again. Although the subsequent batches will not be quite as tender as the first, most people won’t be able to tell the difference.
  
• To make square biscuits (which avoid the scrap problem altogether), roll or pat the dough into a ¾-inch square, and cut into 12 squares.
  
• To make drop biscuits, mix in an additional ¼ cup
  whole
  milk, not buttermilk, to make a loose, sticky dough. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart.