My first Thanksgiving...

For Thanksgiving 2008, I had the chance to prepare for 20 guests at Cathleen and Ali's place, a very nice appartment on Upper West Side.  The menu was traditional with some Normand twists such as Tarte Tatin with Crème fraiche and the famous Trou Normand. As Cathleen was concerned by the amount of food we will serve, I suggested that traditional cocktail we usually drink in France as a intermede to help digestion before yet another dish to come. Everybody seemed to enjoy it.

Here is the text emailed by Cathleen the day after Thanksgiving :

"It was a memorable meal for all. I think we will include trou Normans and tarte Tatin every year! we were very pleased."
The Trou Normand is Green apple sorbet served in a glass with this strong apple liquor  called Calvados.


Here is the recipe I used for the sorbet...

The complete menu I prepared :

• Butternut squash and parsnip velouté
• Roasted beets in honey, rosemary and olive oil
• Chestnuts poêlée
• Mushrooms and lardons poêlée
• Roasted tricolor carrots
• Roasted asparagus in orange sauce
• Mashed potatoes
• Traditional Thanksgiving stuffing with cranberry sauce and gravy
• Trou Normand (Calvados liquor with apple sorbet)
• Sweet potato crumble
• Apple Tatin tart
• Rhubarb and raspberry tart

The detailed procedure I used to cook the two 12 lb and 17 lb turkeys (which turned out to be very juicy)

• Heat oven to 500 degrees F.
• Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water
• Pat dry with paper towels. Season with S&P
• Add aromatics to cavity
• Tuck back wings and coat whole bird with neutral oil
• Place bird on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes for roasting

--> locks the juice inside the meat / backdraw is that there is less drippings than the usual method

• Remove from oven and cover breast with a double layer of aluminum foil
• Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F.
• A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting

--> much quicker than the traditional method

• Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving

And finally, the special recipe for the sweet potato crumble which turned out to be a success amongst guests...(unfortunately for French readers only... but there is a video)