First Thanksgiving dinner

Holiday Season (November and December) is one of my favorite times of the year. Notwithstanding all the shopping and good cheer and general upliftment of spirits it is a time for unrestricted appeasement of the soul, viz., indulgence in the finest of food. And that the time coincides with Winter, when the natural instinct is burrow and fill up while the bulky outerwear help the cause by concealing any recent additional pounds, is only testament to the cosmic forces that come together in encouragement of the indulgence!

The season, ofcourse, begins with Thanksgiving. Ever since I had access to Western fiction and comics (way back in my childhood), I have dreamed of bringing home the spirit to my own dinner table. Note, it is all about the food! The mere thought of a stuffed and slow roasted bird with gravy and dressing on the side, is enough to start my palate tingling.

And, this year, I realised my dream. But, given the micro size of my family (two of us) and no advance shopping, I had to improvise on a few things. Nevertheless, the dinner was an elegant twist on a traditional Thankgiving meal.

The star meat of Thanksgiving is ofcourse the Turkey! Now, an average turkey weighs about 10 pounds. Unless you have a large family or are expecting sizeable company, its really difficult to consume almost 7 pounds of meat. So I decided that I would stay by the course of custom but microsize to say just the turkey breasts. Usually, grocery stores carry pound sized turkey breasts that are pre-prepared (stuffed, marinated or both) or not. And usually, if you shop in advance, you will get them. However, we decided to get the freshest on the day itself! Oh! and we did not hurry about it either. So when we reached the local Whole Foods at about two in the afternoon, they were all out of the couple-sized turkey.

I was left with a choice of a 4 pound turkey breast or the whole bird. So, I turned the meal around on its head and decided to go with chicken breast. Afterall, the chicken was as much around as the turkey back then. And, it is of a manageable size. Thankfully, I managed to find the rest of my ingredients on my list even though I had to change a couple of planned courses on the spot at the store due to them being sold out or otherwise unavailable. Yet, I managed to stay true to the ingredients that were around at the first Thanksgiving - bread, harvest vegetables, chicken and pig.

After that twist in the tale start to the evening meal, everything else fell into place perfectly! The two-course meal I had planned took under three hours to make with my efficient use of kitchen space, four stoves and two oven racks.

We started with a mild butternut squash soup flavored with fresh chives. The soup is a subtle enough to set the tone for the meal while being rich and creamy for the occasion. It is a fantastic soup to have in the cooler weather. It warms you up and gets the palate ready for the next course. For the meat course, we had sausage, sage and smoked ham stuffed chicken with chorizo and corn bread dressing topped off by apple-cranberry relish. The saltiness of the meats is perfectly set off by the sweetness of the relish and all the flavors work well together.

The meal as a whole is elegant and satisfying and the best part is that you do not rack up 4000 calories eating it!

Sausage, Sage and Smoked Ham Stuffed Turkey Breast

1 pound turkey or chicken breast

1/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing

1/4 pound apple smoked ham, finely diced; you can also like proscuitto

1/2 cup chopped boiled chestnuts

1/4 cup diced green olives

1 T chopped fresh sage or 2 tp dried

Salt and pepper to taste

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl, combine the sausage, ham, chestnuts, olives and sage. Season with salt and pepper. Place the turkey breast on the cutting board with skin side down. Flatten with your hands, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil to moisten. Spread stuffing on top and roll the turkey around the stuffing. Wrap kitchen twine around breast and tie tightly.

Place turkey in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until stuffing is cooked but take care to not dry out the turkey. The breast should be cooked but moist. A thumbrule is 2o minutes per pound.

Remove from oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then snip off kitchen twine. Slice the turkey and arrange decoratively on serving platter. Pour pan juices over the slices and serve.

For the love of Mushrooms and Quiches

Mushrooms are one the most delicate of vegetables indeed. Notwithstanding its famous (and stupendously expensive!) Truffle cousins, the commonly used and prolifically farmed edible fungi can be easily over-powered by other ingredients in a recipe (most commonly tomatoes). Aside from plain grilled portobello caps, a mushroom risotto is perhaps one of the best dishes to bring out the mild flavor of fresh mushrooms.

Despite their low nutritinal value, mushrooms have rather a significant part in the cuisines of the world. My personal favorite for everyday cooking is the portobello mushroom or even the baby bellas. They are darker than the white button varieties (which means they are a better source of Vit D) and have a stronger individual flavor.

Being bored of the usual pasta of hot and spicy Indian curry (which is one way to indistinguish the fungi's flavor), I roamed the net in search of something new to use the mushrooms in. And I hit upon the Quiche - a relatively simple dish none of whose ingredients are powerful enough to overwhelm the mushroom while the creamy egginess only works to enhance its flavor.

Besides, I have for as far as I can remember had a soft corner for quiches. I was introduced to this delectable French savory at an Indian coffee house. Though I am no longer a patron of that coffee place, my love for the item has only progressed. Since I came to the US, I have always picked this item (if available) over any other offering on the menu without exception. However, the American quiches are a bit different from the original version I had tasted. These are a bit more egg-y and a bit dry-er. Despite that, I have kept my allegiance hoping for a better slice next time.

I have always thought that making quiche would be a very tedious process. That, I presume, secretly added to its allure for me. But, the recipe I found was wonderfully simple on ingredients and effort. I made just a few tweaks to personalise the taste. All I needed were, the said mushrooms, pie crust (another reserve food item from the store), cream and cheese - everything that is usually around in the house. I actually do not own a pie bowl and so had to make do with a 10 inch cake bowl.

Anyway,The mushroom filling itself took just about 10 minutes to make and the quiche came out hot and golden from the oven in under an hour. I finally made a quiche in my own kitchen and it was as I remembered it.. moist, rich and melt-in-your-mouth-goodness.

As I relished my home-made quiche (which was more in line with the fond memories) for dinner, I realised that this item can be more than just a wholesome family meal. Baked in smaller (5 inch) crust, they would be perfect for company or when baked into little savory tartlets charming appetizer or finger food in phyllo cups. Many ways to revisit a simple dish that makes it all the more appealing. And I chalked another recipe for the venerable mushroom!

Mushroom Quiche

1 prepared pie crust

3 eggs

½ lb mushrooms sliced

¼ lb shredded cheese - I used a combination of cheddar, swiss and american for added flavor

2 cups heavy cream

¼ cup butter

2 T leeks/scallion finely chopped

1 T butter at room temperature

1/4 tp lemon pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Brush the pie crust evenly with butter, then chill in freezer till baking time. Whisk the eggs, heavy cream, and some salt in a glass mixing bowl. Stir in the shredded cheese to the cream. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet and saute the mushrooms and scallion/leek till they are soft. Season with salt, lemon pepper, ground pepper and cayenne.

When the vegetables are done, stir the mushroom mixture into the cream mixture. Pour into the pie crust and bake for 15 minutes at 425°F (220°C). Reduce heat to 325°F (160°C), and bake for another 35 minutes.

Allow to stand for 10-15 minutes before serving. This step is necessary so that the custard can set. Serve quiche warm or at room temperature.