Traditional Roast Turkey
Richard Worthington
Le Meridien Hotel
New Orleans

This version of roast turkey celebrates Richard Worthington’s British roots. Three stuffings, two featuring other meats, are used for this quite traditional feast.

Serves 10 – 12

Truffle Stuffing
1 pound boneless chicken breast, skinned and minced
2 egg whites
1/2 – 3/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 ounce finely chopped truffles (fresh mushrooms may be substituted)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Pork Stuffing
4 ounces crustless white bread
1/2 cup milk
1/2 pound pork sausage, breakfast-style
1 egg
4 ounces roasted, shelled chestnuts, roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Parsley and Onion Stuffing
1 pound crustless white bread
1 cup milk
3 ounces parsley, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 egg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 ounce unsalted butter

1 turkey, approximately 12 pounds

To make the truffle stuffing: In a food processor, puree the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the egg whites, one at a time. When thoroughly blended, gradually add the cream with the processor running. Add the truffles and pulse briefly to incorporate. Refrigerate.

To make the pork stuffing: Tear the bread into small pieces and place in a bowl. Add the milk. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate.

To make the parsley-onion stuffing: In a medium bowl, break up the bread. Add the milk, parsley, and egg. Season with salt and pepper. Saute the onion in the butter, cool slightly, and add to the bread mixture. Refrigerate.

To assemble: Preheat the oven to 300 F. If the turkey is frozen, thaw completely. Rinse and drain. Remove any excess fat from the cavity, and reserve the neck and giblets for gravy or stock. Make a pocket for the truffle stuffing by carefully sliding your hand between the breast skin and flesh. Push the truffle stuffing into the pocket and smooth from the outside of the breast to distribute it evenly. Poach any leftover stuffing. Fill the crop (throat) cavity with the pork stuffing. Fold loose skin over the opening and close with a wooden skewer. Stuff the rear cavity loosely with the parsley-onion mixture and any leftover pork stuffing. Close the cavity with the croupion (commonly called the “parson’s nose”) and tie the legs together with string. Tuck aluminum foil in the cavity to keep in the juices. Tuck the wings under the turkey and salt the outside. Place in a large roasting pan. Rub the skin with butter and roast for 3 to 4 hours, to an internal temperature of 180 F. Baste frequently with pan drippings.

To serve: Place the roasted turkey on a serving platter. Make gravy with the drippings in the pan, adding chopped cooked giblets and neck meat if desired. Carve the turkey at the table and serve spoonfuls of each kind of stuffing. Pass the gravy on the side.

Venison Medallions with Creamed Cabbage and Slip Dumplings
Stefan Hierzer
Hotel Imperial
Vienna, Austria

Venison medallions are served with creamed cabbage to which a tiny bit of nutmeg is added, and sauteed dumplings. Trim the venison ahead of time and use the bones and trimmings to make a rich stock, which will then form the basis of your demi-glace. This dish would also work well with lamb.

Serves 4

Cabbage
1 head savoy cabbage
1 small onion
2 slices lean bacon
1 teaspoon flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Slip Dumplings
1/2 pound potatoes, peeled and boiled
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup flour
1-1/2 tablespoons semolina
Salt to taste
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 egg

Venison
2 venison tenderloins, trimmed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
8 small cinnamon sticks
2 rosemary sprigs
4 thyme sprigs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup red wine
1 cup cranberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1/4 cup venison or veal demi-glace

8 rosemary sprigs

To prepare the cabbage: Cut the cabbage into thin slices. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the cabbage; return to a boil and cook 1 minute. Drain the cabbage and plunge it into ice water to stop the cooking; drain well again. Set aside. In a medium saucepan or pot over medium-high heat, saute the onions, flour, and bacon in the butter until the onions are softened and the bacon has rendered its fat, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the milk and cream and cook 8 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and fold in the cabbage. Keep warm.

To prepare the slip dumplings: Mash the potatoes with 2 tablespoons of the butter and combine with the flour and semolina in a large bowl. Season with salt and nutmeg. With your hands, mix in the egg to form a pliable dough. Shape by hand into a long roll on a floured cutting board and cut into 3/4-inch-thick pieces. Form each of the pieces into a long stick by rolling between the palm of your hand and the floured board, like working modeling clay.

Bring a large pot of salted water almost to a boil. Add the dumplings and cook 3 minutes, or until they rise to the top. Drain in a colander, immerse in cold water to stop the cooking, and drain again. Dry on a towel. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and saute the noodles until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels. Keep warm.

To prepare the venison: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Slice the venison into 2- to 2-1/2-inch thick medallions and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and sear the medallions for 45 seconds, then turn and sear on the other side for 1 minute. Add the cinnamon sticks, rosemary, and thyme and place in the oven. Bake 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan and let rest 3 minutes. Remove the cinnamon sticks from the skillet and set aside.

Put the medallions back in the skillet and saute over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of the butter for about 30 seconds. Remove the medallions and add 1/4 cup of the wine and the cranberries and raspberries to the skillet. Saute until the liquid has reduced to a syrup. Remove from heat, lift out the berries with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

Pour the remaining wine and the demi-glace into the same skillet and place over medium-high heat, stirring to bring up the browned bits. Cook until reduced by two-thirds. Remove from heat and discard the herb sprigs. Whisk in the remaining butter, a little at a time, until the butter is completely incorporated.

To serve: Spoon sauteed berries to one side on each plate, then place a large scoop of creamed cabbage next to the berries. Divide the dumplings among the plates. Arrange venison medallions on the other side of the plates, reserving two medallions. Spoon sauce from the skillet over the venison medallions. Slice the reserved medallions and divide the slices among the plates, arranging them over the venison medallions. Garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs inserted into cinnamon sticks from the sauce pan.

Bing Cherry Clafouti
Thierry Rautureau
Seattle WA

Chef Thierry Rautureau makes the most of Washington´s fresh cherries with this dessert, which he makes with fresh poached cherries. But he also gives instructions for making preserved cherries, which can be used in the clafouti. Clafouti is a traditional French dessert in which cherries are embedded in a batter and baked.

Serves 6

Poached Cherries
1 cup fresh Bing cherries, pitted
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups water
2 tablespoons Kirsch liqueur

To poach the cherries: Combine all ingredients in a pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, reducing the heat when the mixture begins to boil. Poach for 4 minutes. Cool in the poaching liquid.

Or

Preserved Cherries
1 pound fresh Bing cherries, pitted
2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
1 ounce Kirsch liqueur
1 vanilla bean, split

To preserve the cherries: Familiarize yourself with canning techniques before trying this, as a jar sealed too tightly when it is cooked can explode. You want the top just tight enough to allow bubbles to get out of the jar, but no cooking water to get back in. The cooking process is to destroy bacteria in the jars before they are sealed.

Put the ingredients in a heavy saucepan, scraping the vanilla seeds out of the pods into the pan. Drop in the pods. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Lift out the vanilla pods with tongs. Place the cherries in sterilized canning jars and pour the pan liquid over the cherries. Loosely cap with canning lids; do not seal at this point. Place the jars in a large pot and submerge in cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes, or until all bubbles are out of the jars. When ready, lift the jars from the water with heavy tongs, tighten the caps, and stand upside-down to cool. Keeps indefinitely.

Clafouti Batter
3 eggs
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1 vanilla bean, split
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Garnish
2 or 3 sprigs of lavender or corn flowers, torn into petals
1 anise sprig, torn into fronds
1 cup creme anglaise

To make the clafouti: Put the eggs, sugar, cream, milk, and flour in a mixing bowl. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the mixture, then drop in the pods. Beat the mixture together until smooth. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve, put back in the bowl, and let stand for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Butter 6 individual souffle dishes and sprinkle with sugar; turn to coat the insides with sugar, then dump out any excess. Place the dishes on a baking sheet. Cut at least 12 poached or preserved cherries into quarters. Place the cherry pieces in the bottoms of the prepared souffle dishes. Ladle batter over the cherries. Bake for 25 minutes, or until set.

To serve: Serve warm or cooled. Loosen around the edges with the point of a knife, then unmold near the top of each serving plate. Spoon poaching liquid or preserved juice around the clafouti. Drizzle the plates with creme anglaise. Place 3 cherries on each plate. Garnish with flower petals and anise fronds.

Duck Confit with Crepe and Berry Compote
Michel Marcais
Michabelle
Hammond LA

Shredded duck fills large crepes which are served with mesclun and a pretty sauce of caramelized blueberries and cranberries. Reduced balsamic vinegar is used to drizzle the greens and the plates. The easy berry compote sauce would be equally wonderful with venison, quail, or pork; substitute chicken stock if you do not have meat stock for the sauce.

Serves 4

1 duck, cleaned and quartered; deboned
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Duck stock to cover (2 to 3 cups)
2 to 3 tablespoons reduced veal stock
1/2 sprig each parsley, thyme, and tarragon, minced

Crepes
3 eggs
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons oil
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Berry Compote Sauce
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup cranberries
1 cup reserved braising stock (above)

3 cups mixed greens (mesclun)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced until syrupy

To prepare the duck: Season the duck all over with salt and pepper. Put the duck in a deep saucepan or pot and cover with stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover. Cook 1-1/2 hours, until the meat is falling apart. Cool in the stock, then drain, reserving the stock. Remove the skin and shred the meat. Toss the meat with the reduced veal stock, salt and pepper to taste, and herbs, and set aside.

To prepare the crepes: Combine all ingredients except the butter to make a thin batter; add more milk if necessary to make it as thin as heavy cream. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch non-stick saute pan over medium-high heat and pour enough batter into the pan to almost cover the bottom in a thin sheet. Tilt the pan to spread out the batter. Return to heat and cook until the edges of the crepe cook enough to pick up. Flip the crepe and cook on the other side until it just begins to color and the center is cooked through. Set the crepe aside; repeat to make at least 4 large crepes. Extra crepes may be frozen for future use.

To prepare the sauce: Put the sugar in a non-stick saute pan and cook over medium-high heat until the sugar melts and turns a golden caramel color. Add the berries and stir to coat. Slowly add the stock. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the berries are slightly softened and the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Set aside.

To serve: Divide the greens among the plates, placing them off-center. Lay a crepe on a work surface and place a mound of shredded duck on one half of the crepe. Roll up the crepe into a cylinder. With a sharp knife, trim each end diagonally, then cut the crepe in half with a single straight cut. Stand one half upright, point up, next to the greens. Lay the other half beside the greens, point out. Spoon berry sauce over half the plate, and spoon a little over the horizontal portion of the duck crepe. Drizzle reduced balsamic vinegar over the greens and plate.

Basic Crepes

adapted from

Jonathan Eismann

Pacific Time

Makes 8 to 10

Crepes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon dry Sake

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

1-1/2 tablespoons peanut oil

Pinch of salt

2 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

To make the crepe batter: In a blender or food processor, blend the flour, milk, water, Sake, egg and egg yolk, peanut oil, and salt for 5 seconds. Turn off the motor and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Blend the batter for 20 seconds more to make a perfectly smooth blend. Transfer the batter to a bowl. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. The batter may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator until ready to use. Bring back to room temperature before using.

To cook the crepes: heat a 6- to 7-inch crepe pan or non-stick skillet over medium heat until hot. Brush the pan lightly with butter and heat until the butter is hot but not smoking. Pour 1/4 cup of the crepe batter into the center of the hot pan and tilt it in all directions to spread the batter. The batter should cover the pan with a light coating; pour out any excess. Cook about 30 seconds, until the bottom of the crepe is lightly browned. Shake the pan by its handle to dislodge the crepe, then turn it over with your fingers or a spatula. Cook another 15 to 20 seconds. If using immediately, heat the oven to 200 F, transfer the crepes to a pan, and place in the oven to keep warm. If using later, transfer the crepes to a rack. When thoroughly cooled, stack them, place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Rewarm when needed in a single layer in a 300 F oven.

This version was developed by Ed Bonuso, the original pastry chef at Zarela. 3/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal; Pinch of salt; l cup all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring; 4 eggs; 2 cups half and half; l cup milk …

This version was developed by Ed Bonuso, the original pastry chef at Zarela. 3/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal; Pinch of salt; l cup all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring; 4 eggs; 2 cups half and half; l cup milk 2/3 cup melted butter … (Do not thaw before cooking; add l0 – l5 minutes to baking time.) Serves 8 or more. Number of servings (yield): 8. Meal type: lunch. Culinary tradition: Mexican. Copyright © Zarela Martinez. Recipe by on. …