The Rumble.

I made a whole turkey.

When you've mastered roasting a chicken, and the only place to go is up, turkey is a natural next step. Granted, this is before Thanksgiving, so no one's thinking turkey...yet. Once you read this recipe, you'll be planning ahead.

This was also part of the West Side Story inspired meal I served up to my American Musical Theater class (see below). I can't say enough good things about this turkey. Even for a turkey virgin, it managed to stay moist and cook through in a decent amount of time. It was also super, super flavorful and that gravy was worth every last calorie. I don't know what my family is planning, but this is the only thing I want on our Thanksgiving table this year.

Adobo Turkey with Red-Chile Gravy

from Gourmet, November 2010

For adobo

• 4 dried guajillo chiles (2 ounces), wiped clean
• 3 dried ancho chiles (1 1/2 ounces), wiped clean
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 (1/2-inch) piece cinnamon stick, smashed
• 2 whole allspice
• 1 clove
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme leaves
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For turkey and gravy:

• 1 (12-to 14-pound) turkey, neck and giblets (excluding liver) reserved for turkey stock
• 2 cups water, divided
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• About 4 cups classic turkey stock , divided
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• Melted unsalted butter if necessary

• Equipment: kitchen string; a 17-by 14-inch flameproof roasting pan with a flat rack; a 2-quart measuring cup or a fat separator

Make adobo:
Slit chiles lengthwise, then stem and seed. Heat a large heavy skillet (not nonstick) over medium heat until hot, then toast chiles in batches, opening them flat, turning and pressing with tongs, until more pliable and slightly changed in color, about 30 seconds per batch.

Transfer to a bowl and cover chiles with boiling-hot water, then soak until softened, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast spices in a small heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Drain chiles, discarding liquid, and purée in a blender with spices, garlic, herbs, vinegar, water, oil, and 2 teaspoon salt until very smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside 1/2 cup adobo for gravy.

Marinate turkey:
Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons salt evenly in turkey cavities and all over skin, then rub remaining adobo (a scant 3/4 cup) all over turkey, including cavities. Fold neck skin under body, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with string. Transfer to rack in roasting pan and marinate, covered with plastic wrap and chilled, at least 8 hours and up to 24.

Roast turkey:
Let turkey stand, covered, at room temperature 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in lower third.

Add 1 cup water to pan and roast turkey 1 hour.

Brush turkey with oil and add remaining cup water, then tent loosely with foil and rotate pan. Roast (if bottom of pan becomes dry, add 1/2 cup more water) until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of each thigh (test both; close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 3/4 to 2 3/4 hours more (total roasting time: 2 3/4 to 3 3/4 hours).

Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into pan. Transfer turkey to a platter and let stand, uncovered, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 175 to 180°F).

Make gravy while turkey stands:
Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add 1 cup turkey stock and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 2 minutes. Strain pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into 2-quart measure and skim off fat (or use a fat separator), reserving fat. Add enough turkey stock to liquid to bring total to 5 cups.

Whisk together flour, 6 tablespoon reserved fat (if there is less, add melted butter), and reserved 1/2 cup adobo in a heavy medium saucepan, then cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 3 minutes (mixture will be thick). Add pan juices and stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil, whisking, then simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt.

Serve turkey with gravy.

A person can develop a cold.

I'm back to blogging because the rest of my life is work. I need to remember that I used to have hobbies and things I liked to do for fun.

In my second-to-last semester of college I took a class called American Musical Theater. Those of you who know me know I love a good showtune. In order to study for listening quizzes and make friends, I decided to host listening quiz parties. The class would be invited over to listen to the soundtrack of the week and eat a themed meal. Oh yes, you read right: A themed meal.

So, "Oklahoma!": Tequila Sunrises (Oh, What A Beautiful Morning...), BBQ Popcorn (...corn is as high as an elephant's eye), Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad with a Chipotle Ceasar (the farmer), a hearty beef chili (the cowman), and a Pear-Butterscotch pie ("why did you take the trouble to bake my favorite pie?").

And then..."Guys and Dolls". Adelaide develops a cold due to not being married, so I made a chicken soup. She also is a Hot Box Chick, and loves him a "bushel and a peck"...Yeah, I got into it. The rest of the menu included spiked lemonade, cuban sandwiches, and a New York Cheesecake. Those of you who know "Guys and Dolls" will get the references.

But literally, this soup is the best Chicken Noodle I've ever made or had. I also totally made it up as I went along.

Adelaide's Lament Chicken Noodle

A Whole Chicken, 5 to 8 lbs

1 Lemon, cut into quarters

1/2 cup white wine

Parsley

1 Large Onion, diced

Carrots, about 6, diced

Celery, about 6 stalks, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 bay leaves

1 t rosemary

1 t thyme

Salt and pepper, to taste

Chicken Stock, 10-16 cups

1 lb wide egg noodles

1. Roast the chicken. My preferred method is to lather the chicken with a few tablespoons of butter, salt, and pepper and place the lemon in the cavity of the bird. Add whatever herbs you have handy inside, too. A little dried rosemary and thyme go a long way here, too. I roast my chicken in a dutch oven I bought at a thrift store ages ago--I recommend the same. You'll make the soup in the same pot. Your chicken will probably roast for 2 or so hours.

2. Remove the chicken from the dutch oven and place the dutch oven, with all the drippings, on the stove top. I'll fully admit that this isn't a healthy recipe. Pour in the wine and let the "gravy" reduce. This sauce is the base of the soup that makes it so flavorful.

3. Add the vegetables and garlic. Let them cook down for a few minutes, until the onions are translucent and the carrots and celery start to soften. Meanwhile, chop the chicken into bite-size pieces.

4. Add herbs, salt and pepper. Start slow, you can add later.

5. Add the chicken stock. I'm pretty sure I used homemade for this one, and it's worth it. Needs more salt, but so delightfully delicious (and free!).

6. Bring the stock to a boil. Add the egg noodles and cook according to directions. Add the chicken when the noodles are about done--it only needs to re-heat.

Remember, soup is an art. You add what you want; taste and change as you go. This is a more classic chicken noodle, but I can imagine roasting the chicken with Five Spice powder or chili-garlic sauce, spiking the sauce with saki and adding lots of miso to the broth. I've been dying to find ways to use more rice noodles, too.

Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash

As I know I've said before, my mom isn't much of cook. I love my mother, but I know she'd agree when I say that loathes grocery shopping, thinking about making dinner, and making dinner. I, on the other hand, revel in it.

So it should come as no surprise that my mother rarely prepared seasonal vegetables. I had never eaten butternut squash until I moved to Philadelphia. Now that it's become a staple in our apartment, we are branching out to other kinds of squash. As I type, there is a second beautiful acorn squash sitting on the window sill.

This recipe, from 101Cookbooks, takes awhile to make but isn't labor intensive. It just so happened that Alex and her friend Nick visited the night we planned on making it. One squash was plenty split between four people as a main dish.

Of course, this recipe was made (once again) on the tail end of corn season, but frozen corn works here as well.

Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash

serves 4

1 small (2 lb.) acorn squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup milk
1 egg plus 2 egg whites
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (or more if you like)
1/2 cup chopped scallions
a tiny pinch of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

Rub the orange flesh of the squash with oil. Place cut side up on a baking sheet. You will want it to sit flat (and not tip), if you are having trouble just level out the bottom using a knife. If the squash is tilting on the pan, the filling will run out - bad news. Cover the squash with foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the squash starts to get tender.

In a bowl combine the milk, eggs, corn, half of the scallions, nutmeg, and salt. Fill each of the squash bowls (the original reads 3/4 full, but we just filled them. We baked the extra filling in ramekins). Carefully transfer the squash back to the oven without spilling (tricky!). Continue baking uncovered for another 30 - 50 minutes, or until the squash is fully cooked through, and the pudding has set.

The amount of time it takes can vary wildly depending on the squash and oven. At the last minute sprinkle with cheese and finish with a flash under the broiler to brown the cheese. Keep and eye on things, you can go from melted cheese to burnt and inedible in a flash. Serve hot sprinkled with the remaining scallions.

My apologies for not posting more lately--I've been super nerdy lately, writing papers and reading books. But I've still had time to cook a lot (though I don't necessarily remember to take photos) and have a few posts ready to go. Look out this week for the other two November posts.

Cook Chicken.

I am not a vegetarian, but I rarely cook meat. There was honestly only two instances where I had in my last kitchen--steak, on Valentine's day, and Mrs. Hunter's chicken Dijon.

My anxiety over cooking meat has nothing to do with how gross it is, or ethical issues over where it comes from, but rather a fear that I will not cook it long enough and will give everyone food poisoning.

In an effort to face my fears, I've tried a few chicken recipes.

I'm really glad, too. This recipe was incredible--and so ridiculously perfect for a fall evening. I had it bookmarked for at least a year, and am really sad I didn't try it until now. I halved the cider cream sauce, made only two chicken breasts and served the whole thing over mashed sweet potatoes (to which I added nothing but butter, a little cream, and hot sauce--would have used adobo sauce if there had been any in the pantry).

Chicken Breasts with Apples and Cider Cream Sauce
From The Frog Commissary Cookbook, who served this dish to 800 people in 12 minutes at the Philadelphia Art Museum--this recipe only serves 6, though.

Cider Cream Sauce
2 cups apple cider
2 Tb Dijon mustard
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Chicken
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3/4 cup flour, seasoned with 1 1/2 t each salt and pepper
1/2 c clarified butter (we used about 4 Tb of regular butter)
2 large tart apples, cored and cut into 1/4" slices (we used Winesap apples, my favorites)

Make the sauce. In a 2-quart saucepan, reduce the cider to 1/2 cup. Whisk in the mustard and cream and reduce to about 2 cups over medium high heat or until thickened like a sauce (it should coat a spoon). Add the seasonings and set aside.

Make the chicken. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess. Heat 6 Tb of the butter in a large skillet. Add the chicken and saute for 5 minutes. Turn the chicken and saute for 3-5 minutes more or until done. Remove the chicken (we put it in the microwave to keep it warm, a great trick) and add 2 Tb of butter and the apples to the pan. Saute 3-5 minutes or just until tender. Pour any excess butter from the pan and add the cider cream sauce. Heat through while scraping up any little browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When hot, serve over the chicken breasts and serve with apples.

Breakfast

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.

It reminds of Muffin Mondays in high school, "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson, my Uncle Dave's diner food at the shore every morning, the strata scene in The Family Stone and the reason you go to church.

I don't eat much in the mornings, which is why I think I fell in love with muffins. You can have variety, they're filling, and easy to take with you. I have made over 52 varieties of muffins. This pumpkin muffin, which is so fitting now that fall has finally arrived (and I can't find my winter coat and still need to knit myself some gloves), is pretty fail-proof. The secret is the pumpkin pie spice and (lean in close) not overmixing the batter. Mix just to combine. Mix just to combine. Mix just to combine. Let some lumps be, use a wooden spoon, try to limit yourself to 15 or so turns around the bowl. Otherwise, you're screwing with the gluten. Mixing just until combined will yield fluffy donuts have nice muffintops.

This pumpkin muffin recipe is near and dear to my heart, and first appeared in Gourmet magazine in November of 2006.

Pumpkin Muffins

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15-oz can)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice)
1.25 cups plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350F. Put liners in muffin cups.
Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.
Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1.25 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then stir, preferably with a wooden spoon, in flour mixture until just combined.
Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.
Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture (the caramelized sugar will give you a nice crunch). Bake until puffed and golden brown and a toothpick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

I knew I wouldn't have time to bake this week, so my mom bought me 5 donuts, and a cruller for Matt, at Yum-Yum, where they make their own donuts.
I played with the self-timer on my camera this morning. The fact I had chocolate icing all over my face was not to be missed.