A Turkey Day Retrospective

Dad and Sandra came up for Thanksgiving. Since someone I know has a wee gluten allergy, we made a completely gluten free Thanksgiving Dinner. We did Turkey, Green Bean Casserole, Sweet Potato Casserole, Cornbread Dressing, and Rolls. The only thing we served that did contain gluten were the graham cracker crusts on the pies. But then again, that's where I draw the line.

Instead of wheat flour, we mostly used Tapioca Flour.

The rolls we made from scratch with a box of gluten free french bread mix. Instead of French's Fried Onions, we fried fresh onions in a pan with Tapioca Flour. And the cornbread dressing came from a box of gluten free cornbread mix and gluten free breadcrumbs.

I think we can all agree on one thing. A gluten free meal tastes a little weird. I did like the taste and texture of the Tapioca Flour and I think I'll use it again. Especially for tacos.

A week or so before Thanksgiving, I heard an interview with Alton Brown on the radio about brining a turkey. He sold me on the idea, so I looked up his recipe and process and used that to prepare our little bird.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

I only made minor changes in my implementation of this recipe. I used sea salt instead of kosher, a honeycrisp instead of a red apple, and olive oil instead of canola oil. So nothing that really made a difference. We all liked the finished product. I don't know that it necessarily made the turkey more juicy than just using a bag, but it definitely changed the flavor and texture of the turkey. I usually don't like white meat on a turkey, but on this one, the white meat had a lot of flavor and was just a tasty as the dark meat.

I don't know how brining works. Conflicting theories abound. I had a biology professor say that due to the hypertonic nature of the brine, it should actually pull water from the turkey. I read one website that said turkey muscle cells are hypertonic to the brine and that's why they absorb the water. I read another one that said because the brine is hypertonic, the sodium absorbs into the muscles cells and pulls the water with it. I read another one that said brining doesn't actually increase moisture, but that the sodium fills the intercellular spaces and keeps the muscle cells from dehydrating as quickly. I read another one that said the sodium just denatures all of the proteins, making the meat more tender. Pick the one you like the best.

We didn't get a picture of any of the food. We were too busy cooking and eating, but Sandra snapped a photograph of the folding plastic dining room table (and table cloth and fancy napkins) we bought for the occasion. You can see the slices of turkey on the Bocaware serving platter in the middle of the table (also the rolls and the gravy). I told Aine if we were getting cloth napkins, she needed to look up a classy fold online. I wanted them to look like birds or rhinoceroses or ships or something. She opted for what you see below.

Then what? Leftovers. We did what our Calvinist forefathers would have done. No, we didn't move to the wilderness without learning how to farm first. We also didn't conduct any witch hunts or make anyone wear red As sewn into their clothing. We made Turkey Quesadillas. With Avocado.

Lately, we've been drinking Goose Island Mild Winter. It's a dark brown malty rye sort of ale that tastes perfect in the cold weather. Give it a try.

Goose Island Brewery opened its vats in 1988 in Lincoln Park, Chicago. No relation to the atrocious band. Jelly Roll Morton recorded in Lincoln Park. And if you don't know who Jelly Roll Morton is, well, there's nothing I can do for you. The Brewery took its name from the actual Goose Island, which sits in the middle of the Chicago River, just south of Lincoln Park.

I found this in my cabinet a few days after the Thanksgiving meal:

Which means I forgot to shuck the crimson cylinder and slice it into little disks. I failed Thanksgiving.

Now all that's left is catching up on post holiday laundry. Luckily, I have plenty of help.

Parting Shot
Lately, when I'm home alone during the day, I can't shake the feeling that I'm constantly being watched.