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It shouldn't have been a big deal. Whoa. That makes it sound way more dramatic than I meant it to. It wasn't a big deal. To me at least. I hope it wasn't a big deal for Jenny either. As far as I had it figured, it was just another Saturday night dinner.
For my mother on the other hand, it was a big deal. Partly because Jenny and I have been dating for a year and a half. Partly because of our new living sintuation. Mostly it was because my dad already met Jenny's folks and she had not...that and the fact that he regularly rubbed it in ("They're such nice people!")
So, after months of subtle hints, heavy sighs and not so subtle hints, we finally made it happen. Jenny and I had my folks and her folks over for dinner so they could meet. Secretly, my mom rejoiced.
Now, most people would probably think this event would be cause for massive planning. But I've been so insanely busy lately that I don't have time to plan dinner for tonight let alone a week ahead. I wanted something that would be easy to cook in case I needed to facilitate conversation. I wanted something that would be tasty because I don't miss opportunities to be showered in praise. And I wanted something baconny, because who doesn't like bacon? So I settled on Carbonara, a creamy, baconny pasta dish. And I am happy to report that it was a success as was the entire evening.
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Special Equipment: some really good bacon
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
1 lb of penne pasta
12 slices of really good bacon, cut into thick lardons
3 zuccini, quartered lengthwise and then cut into 1 inch lengths
3 yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and then cut into 1 inch lengths
5-6 springs of thyme, leaves removed from branches
2 cups of heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 C of grated parmesasn
1. In a large pot, cook pasta in salted water.
2. Meanwhile, Saute bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Drain all but 3 tbs of bacon grease.
3. In reserved bacon grease, saute the zuccini, yellow squash and thyme until squash is al-dente. Remove from heat.
4. Stir cream, egg yolks and half of the parmesan into the squash and bacon . Stir until smooth cream sauce is smooth. If sauce is too thick, add 1/4 cup of pasta water.
5. Drain cooked pasta and toss with cream sauce and the rest of the parmesan.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Pancetta Sage Butter Roast Turkey
I have come to discover that life is full of unintended consequences. Take for instance my moving in with Jenny over the weekend. When all was said and done, I had to roast a turkey. Pretty crazy right? It wasn't as if she said, "make me a turkey buster, or you're out of here." That statement came from her refrigerator.
Jenny's fridge was already stuffed to the gills prior to me showing up with my cooler full of frozen meat, including one 14lb frozen turkey complements of my work place. After dutifully rearranging all of the food, and playing freezer Tetrus, I had two options. Put the turkey in the freezer and eat 4lb of pork chops, 2 lbs of ground beer, 2lbs of flank steak, 3.5 lbs of chuck roast, and 1 fryer chicken...or roast the turkey. I thought the decision was obvious. Here's to a thanksgiving dinner on Monday night in March!
1 12-14 lb Turkey, thawed, neck and innards removed, and then rinsed.
Brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon iced water
Pancetta-Sage Butter:
4 garlic cloves, peeled
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta (Italian bacon), chopped
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil
1. Prepare panchette-sage butter up to 2 days ahead of time. With food processor running, drop garlic down feed tube of processor and chop. Add pancetta. Pulse to chop finely. Add all remaining ingredients. Pulse blending to coarse paste. Transfer to small bowl. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.
2. Brine the Turkey. Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. The the night before cooking combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) overnight. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.
3. Prepare turkey for Roasting. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Bring Pancetta Butter to room temperature. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
4. Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine. Pat the bird dry with paper towels and then place on a cutting board. Using your hands, gently separate the skin of the bird from the breast and thighs as much as you can without tearing the skin. Stuff the skin with pancetta butter. Do your best to evenly coat breast and thighs with the pancetta butter.
5.Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil. Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and return bird to oven. Cook until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast or thigh reaches 154 degrees (A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting.) Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.
Note: This Turkey was derived from Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey, and a Pancetta Sage Butter Roast turkey found on epicurious.com
Jenny's fridge was already stuffed to the gills prior to me showing up with my cooler full of frozen meat, including one 14lb frozen turkey complements of my work place. After dutifully rearranging all of the food, and playing freezer Tetrus, I had two options. Put the turkey in the freezer and eat 4lb of pork chops, 2 lbs of ground beer, 2lbs of flank steak, 3.5 lbs of chuck roast, and 1 fryer chicken...or roast the turkey. I thought the decision was obvious. Here's to a thanksgiving dinner on Monday night in March!
Time: 3 hours of active time, 24 hours for brine
Difficulty: moderate
Special Equipment: food processor, roasting pan, 5 gallon and clean/sterile bucket (or other non-reactive pot of equivalent size)
Servings: 8
1 12-14 lb Turkey, thawed, neck and innards removed, and then rinsed.
Brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon iced water
Pancetta-Sage Butter:
4 garlic cloves, peeled
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta (Italian bacon), chopped
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil
1. Prepare panchette-sage butter up to 2 days ahead of time. With food processor running, drop garlic down feed tube of processor and chop. Add pancetta. Pulse to chop finely. Add all remaining ingredients. Pulse blending to coarse paste. Transfer to small bowl. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.
2. Brine the Turkey. Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. The the night before cooking combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) overnight. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.
3. Prepare turkey for Roasting. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Bring Pancetta Butter to room temperature. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
4. Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine. Pat the bird dry with paper towels and then place on a cutting board. Using your hands, gently separate the skin of the bird from the breast and thighs as much as you can without tearing the skin. Stuff the skin with pancetta butter. Do your best to evenly coat breast and thighs with the pancetta butter.
5.Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil. Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and return bird to oven. Cook until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast or thigh reaches 154 degrees (A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting.) Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.
Note: This Turkey was derived from Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey, and a Pancetta Sage Butter Roast turkey found on epicurious.com
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