3 December 2008  |  Food

A Note on The Deep-Fried Turkey…

Whoa, whoa, whoa- don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

I cooked my first complete Thanksgiving dinner this year (with the help of Lea Davison, my trusty sous-chef). I brined the turkey overnight, then deep-fried it (it’s not greasy, and it cooks way faster- I think our 15lb turkey cooked in 50mins). We also made mashed potatoes, roasted delicata squash with cinnamon and maple syrup, sage stuffing with apples and cranberries, sauteed swiss chard with pine nuts, baby greens salad, cranberry sauce and gravy. For dessert I made a pumpkin pie and a poached-pear tart (both with REAL whipped cream, not the fake stuff) it was delicious! Of course, since there were only 5 of us, I had a lot of food left over which was fine by me. To use up some of the leftover turkey, I made a tasty (and super-easy) white bean soup. I just browned an onion and a leek, a few ribs of celery, and a couple cloves of garlic in some olive oil, added 6 cups of chicken stock, 1 can diced tomatoes, 3 cans rinsed white beans, some rosemary, salt and pepper. I brought that to a boil, then simmered it for a few minutes, added some diced leftover turkey and simmered a few more minutes. I pureed a portion of it to give the soup a little more thickness, but you don’t really need to. It was so quick Dusty was skeptical and asked, “aren’t you supposed to cook soup all day?” It was delicious, especially with some crusty bread. I have to admit, it was even better the next day after the flavors had “become acquainted” overnight in the fridge.