Salted Caramel Ice Cream and Turkey with Bacon Herb Butter

The first annual Sweatpants Mini-Thanksgiving has officially come and gone. I'm surprised it came together as quickly and as easily as it did. Andy and I originally set out to watch all of the Thanksgiving episodes of Friends throughout the month of November. In case you were not aware, there are quite a few of them - 8 I believe. We then thought, well, maybe we should invite some friends over to join us in the new tradition that we are starting here. The ball started rolling and we decided to make it a mini-Thanksgiving of sorts. I would do the turkey and a few of the staples and everyone would bring a dish to add to the meal. We had 8 people over to the apartment to watch the Bears game, play a mad game of spoons, watch the Friends episodes, and have a great turkey dinner. I was going to be in charge of the turkey and everyone else would pitch in and bring a side.

It was the perfect day. I was probably more excited than anyone else that was attending. It was something to think about, plan for, and most importantly, look forward to. Well, actually, if the NY Giants would have won last weekend for my pick-a-winner pool, then it really would have made for the perfect day. But all in all, I couldn't have asked for more.

I'm not sure why the holidays make me turn to the crafty ideas in the Martha Stewart magazine - and yes I'm an official subscriber - but I just love having little projects to work on throughout the holidays. Martha had a great idea for turkey place cards - and well - with the extra time I have had on my hands, I figured why not go all out.

I had never made a turkey before. Dad has always been in charge of the turkey. My involvement in that process usually involves walking downstairs in the morning and announcing "wow, the turkey smells really really good". I'm never the one to get up at 6am just to get the turkey in the oven before the guests arrive for a noon dinner. I think it appears to be a more daunting process than it actually is. I mean, roasting a whole turkey just sounds complicated. I don't mind giving it a try, but I really would just rather leave that whole process up to someone else.

I pulled the turkey out of the refrigerator the night before, so that I could put the bacon/herb butter under the skin of the turkey - it needed to sit overnight to let the butter soak into the turkey for flavor. I ran into a few slight problems. 1. The turkey was still partly frozen. Don't panic. I had set out to buy a fresh turkey at Whole Foods, but the fresh turkeys at the store were way smaller than what I needed. I was going for a 14-16 pound turkey, and the largest was 11. No big deal. I can be flexible. We scooted over to the Dominick's and got an organic fresh/frozen turkey that was just under 15 pounds. I put it in the fridge and figured 3 days in there would give it plenty of time to thaw. Fail. So here it is 10pm the night before my Mini-Thanksgiving and I still have a frozen turkey.

So I filled the sink up with luke warm water and set the turkey in there. I was just putting the thought of the turkey juices being all over my sink out of my mind for the time being. I let it sit for awhile and it definitely did the trick. It didn't help that as I was picking up the turkey out of the sink, it slipped out of my hands, splashed back into the sink, causing waves of salmonella infected water to go splashing all over the place. Thank goodness for 409.

The second hiccup in the process was what came inside the turkey. Was anyone else aware that turkey's come with necks that are not exactly attached to the turkey, but instead, are place inside of it? I worked at Kalck's Butcher Shop for a couple of summers and over a couple holiday seasons, yet I never knew turkeys came with necks. What is the purpose of the neck anyway? I couldn't stomach the idea of wedging the neck out from inside the turkey, so Andy offered to take care of that job for me. Way to man up! I also put him in charge of carving the turkey. That is not a job for me, mainly because I don't think I have enough patience to actually cut every inch of meat off of the bones of the bird. I would rather do the dishes.

The Menu

Appetizers:

Chips with Salsa and Guacamole

Carrots and Asparagus with dip

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Mimosas

Dinner:

Roasted Turkey with Bacon Herb Butter (Me)

Gravy (Me)

Cranberry Sauce (Me)

Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows (Andy)

Mashed Potatoes (Mike and Emilie)

Portabello Mushrooms (Emilie)

Stuffing (Alex)

Salad w/ Mint and Sliced Pears (Lindsay)

Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Walnuts (Nicole)

Pumpkin Pie (Emilie)

Salted Caramel Ice Cream (Me)

Nicole's bacon wrapped dates stuffed with almonds were awesome.

Andy's favorite dish is sweet potatoes with marshmallows, lots and lots of marshmallows. Now if I'm being honest here, my preference would be sweet potatoes with brown sugar and pecans. Marshmallows are just not that appetizing in my mind. But since he was using a family recipe, and is just so over the top about this dish, I was willing to ditch the pecans for the marshmallows.

I also made a batch of Salted Caramel Ice Cream to go along with the pumpkin pie. I thought it would be the perfect make-ahead treat to have as a dessert. I found a recipe on Epicurious.com and it didn't disappoint. And the best part about making ice cream? The leftovers that are still in my freezer.

We ended the night with game of Spoons. It is a family tradition of ours to play Spoons - it is highly competitive, cut-throat, and just all sorts of fun. The game didn't disappoint and I intend on playing Spoons on a more regular basis.

Bring on Thanksgiving round 2!

Turkey with Bacon and Herbs

adapted from Epicurious.com

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Bacon, dijon, and herb butter:

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces bacon slices, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

Turkey:

• 1 18- to 19-pound heritage turkey, neck and 1/4 cup fat from cavities reserved for cider gravy base
• 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt or coarse kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided

For bacon, dijon, and herb butter:
Blend all ingredients in processor until bacon is finely chopped. Transfer to sheet of plastic wrap. Using plastic wrap as aid, roll butter mixture into 2-inch-diameter log; chill until firm. Keep chilled.\

For turkey:
Cut bacon butter into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry. Starting at neck end, carefully slide hand between skin and breast meat, then slide hand between skin and thigh meat. Carefully slide butter slices between skin and leg, thigh, and breast meat to cover (there will be a generous amount of butter mixture). Sprinkle 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1 teaspoon pepper over turkey, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in main cavity of turkey. Place turkey on rimmed baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap or foil; chill at least 1 day.

Set rack at lowest position in oven; preheat to 350°F. Place turkey in oven; roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170°F, basting with pan drippings every 30 minutes and tenting loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 4 hours total. Transfer turkey to platter (internal temperature of turkey will increase 5 to 10 degrees).

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

adapted from Epicurious.com

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1 1/4 cups sugar

2 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup milk

3 eggs

Heat 1 cup sugar in a dry 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber.

Add 1 1/4 cups cream (mixture will spatter) and cook, stirring, until all of caramel has dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, bring milk, remaining cup cream, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.

Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl, then add half of hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil). Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel.

Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours. Freeze custard in ice cream maker (it will still be quite soft), then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.

Chocolate Pudding

My favorite time of year is fast approaching. I love the holidays in general, but what gets me even more is the idea of flipping through magazines and recipes, bookmarking the ones that without a doubt need to get made before the start of the New Year. From sparkling cocktails, to roasted turkeys, to festive appetizers, to decadent desserts - there are just so many to choose from. My Bon Appetit's are already sitting out. I need to start making some decisions. Luckily, I only have a backlog of 3 November issues, so I am not completely overwhelmed with options. My goal tonight, is to finalize my grocery list for this weekend. I'm hosting a mini-Thanksgiving on Sunday and need to get the shopping done sooner than later. More on the event to follow in the next blog post.

The revolving door of meals on wheels to my apartment continues. Dusty and Suzy were over for dinner last Thursday and brought all of the ingredients to make stir-fry. I've never seen so much chopping going on in my kitchen, when I'm not the one doing the chopping.

Allison recently brought dinner over and also accompanied it with a dessert - chocolate pudding topped with Cool Whip. Genius. It was the boxed kind. It was simple to make. Nothing fancy. But let me tell you, it was the best part of the meal. I was hooked. On my next trip to the store, I grabbed a few boxes of instant pudding - chocolate and banana. It seems to be my dessert of choice right now. I mean, one can't keep the caramel apples stocked in the fridge on a full time basis.

I told Andy I was on a pudding kick and that I had purchased a few boxes at the store. He suggested I try homemade pudding. I don't know why I hadn't thought of that first? Probably because I've been sticking to convenience foods, crock pot cooking, and things that are simple and quick to put together. Highlights this past week in the crock pot have been pork roast with carrots and parsnips and the easiest beef stew you could think of. I love that the crock pot does all of the cooking, and the dishes make for great leftovers. What has this world come to? I'm resorting to crock pot cooking.

I got on the Food Network website and found quite a few recipes for chocolate pudding. I had a few requirements. It needed to be slightly healthy, using milk instead of heavy cream. And it also needed to call for cocoa powder and not a different form of chocolate, as that was all I had on hand.

Who knew chocolate pudding could be so easy to make? Once you bring the milk, sugar, and chocolate to a boil, you add the eggs mixed with the cornstarch and cook until it has thickened a bit. Bam. After letting it chill for a few hours, you have chocolate pudding. I poured the pudding into the ice cream dishes that Andy got me for my birthday. It was the perfect house for the pudding. The final product was awesome. It didn't taste like the box mix. The chocolate flavor was much richer, and it just tasted homemade. I would love to make an espresso whipped cream to go on top of it the next time. I've since made pumpkin pudding and hope to make a batch of pistachio in the next week or two.

Whether you do homemade or the boxed kind, give pudding a try again!

Chocolate Pudding

adapted from Tyler Florence

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2 cups skim milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

4 teaspoons cornstarch

3 egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cool Whip or whipped cream for topping

Put 1 1/2 cups of the milk, the sugar, and the cocoa in a pan. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat.

Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of the milk, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks, and vanilla in a bowl. Gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture. Return to the pan and cook over medium-high heat whisking constantly, until the pudding comes to a full boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and continue whisking until thick, about 2 or 3 minutes more.

Pour the pudding into 6 small cups. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or ideally overnight until set.

Pasta Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Green Olivata

I've never seen the movie Girl Interrupted, but that little catch phrase can perfectly describe my life over the past 6 weeks. Girl (that girl being me) whose life has currently been interrupted (insert surgery here). Now I must be honest, not working while recovering has left me completely stress free. I tend to forget what day it is, thinking everyday is the weekend and getting to sleep in until at least 10:00 am has become a normal part of my everyday routine. I've had plenty of time to relax and regroup, but there is only so much you can do while sitting on the couch confined to the 4 walls in this apartment. On most days, I am okay with the idea of sitting, doing nothing, and letting my leg heal. But every so often, when things are going on outside of my apartment, when I've spent too long inside, I crave to have my normal life back.

An incident like this is always a good reality check. It reminds me to be thankful for my everyday life. My friends. My family. The ability to workout on a daily basis. Being able to go to work during the week. Being a productive member of society. 6 weeks is really not that long, I've been stationed on the couch for longer than that before, but I cannot wait to have things go back to the way they were. I'm anxious to start PT. I want to start driving again. And I want to enjoy what's left of this fall season.

People ask me what I have been doing to keep busy. There really isn't one specific answer that I have to give, and nothing specific is taking up most of my time, but the day does go by. My new iPad has been a lifesaver. I've read a few books and intend to start another one this weekend. I started watching Ellen on a daily basis. With that being said, I also got rid of my cable, because I really wasn't watching anything outside of the normal channels. I get on gchat a couple times of day to chat with friends and pass the time. I've been in the kitchen just a bit, but only to make dishes that can be reheated throughout the week with plenty of leftovers. I made a hardcover photo album through Apple with my pictures from the past 10 months of 2010. I've had entertainment from loads of friends and family - god bless you all for providing me with entertainment throughout the day.

My eating habits have changed slightly over the past 6 weeks. I seem to crave the comfort foods. Stews, roasts and soups seem to be the biggest hit right now. The vegetables and healthy salads do not sound all that great. I've also had a slight aversion to wine all of a sudden and am having a Diet Coke every afternoon as a treat. I don't even drink Coke. The other day I actually said outloud....I'm hungry for fried chicken and Pop Tarts. Huh? Is that even real food? I'm just going with it. I guess when I'm not up to par, weird, out of the ordinary things just seem to sound good.

I made this pasta salad over the summer and just realized I hadn't blogged about it. Lucky me. I guess taking the time to go through all of the pictures on my computer, organizing them into their appropriate folders, deleting the ones I don't need, and creating mini photo albums does pay off. I'm surprised at how many "food pictures" I have and even more surprised with the number of pictures I take of the exact same dish. They needed to be paired down, and with my time off, this has been the perfect time to do this. I didn't have to spend anytime in the kitchen today to create this post.

The olives in this pasta salad are what originally drew me to the recipe. I love a good salty, briny olive. I'm the person that gets googly-eyed when I see olives in martinis or bloodymarys. I secretly wish that people will not want their olives and will offer them to me. I am even tempted to order a martini more often than not, just to get that olive. This is a great recipe to make when you need to travel somewhere. You can serve it cold or at room temperature, and it can easily be made ahead of time. All you need to do is whip the ingredients for the dressing in your mini prep, do a bit of chopping, and boil the pasta. With the fresh basil from the garden - ok so maybe it isn't a garden, it is more like one pot on the back deck - the salad is really really good.

Pasta Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Green Olivata

adapted from Epicurious.com

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1 garlic clove, peeled

2 cups chopped, pitted, green olives

3 tablespoons capers, drained

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon anchovy paste

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound corkscrew pasta

2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved

8 oz small mozzarella balls, quartered

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

With machine running, add garlic clove to processor through feed tube and process until finely chopped; turn off machine. Add 1 cup chopped olives, capers, red wine vinegar, anchovy paste, mustard, and crushed red pepper. Using 6 on/off turns, process to chop coarsely. With machine running, gradually add 1/2 cup olive oil, forming coarse puree. Transfer to bowl; stir in remaining 1 cup olives. Season olivada to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain well. Transfer drained pasta to large bowl. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon oil over pasta; toss to coat. Cool, stirring occasionally. Add olivada, halved tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil to pasta; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.