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A turkey feast that's top of the class

After students at Wishbone U. boned up on Thanksgiving dinner basics, they learned the small but vital tips that differentiate between eating and dining.

By JANET K. KEELER
Published November 19, 2006

In the three-hour Wishbone U. class, chef Bil Mitchell of Apron's Cooking School imparted much wisdom to his class of 12 hopeful cooks. The recipes he shared with them, printed on this page, are the ones he will prepare for his own family this week.

Here are Mitchell's tips for making a delicious Thanksgiving feast:

- You need salt in your food to wake up taste buds, he says. However, if you really taste the salt there's too much in the dish. Salt most food at the end, starting with a small amount. You can always add, but you can't reduce.

- Do not salt homemade turkey stock to be used for gravy, stuffing and basting. Stock should be bland, imparting only a slight turkey flavor. If you substitute store-bought stock, turkey or chicken, make sure it's low in sodium.

- The difference between stock and broth is in the ingredients used to make them. Stock requires bones; broth requires meat.

- When preparing a roux flour and fat to thicken gravy, cook it until it no longer smells like raw flour. A finished roux should smell liked freshly baked bread.

- Food cooks even after it is removed from heat. To stop green beans, or other vegetables, from cooking, plunge them into a bowl of ice and water. This helps retain crispness and color.

- Use good quality, fresh ingredients; they contribute mightily to satisfactory results.

- When cutting something round, like an onion or potato, make one side flat so it is stable on the cutting board. To do this, slice a thin piece off one side.

- Make cranberry sauce and turkey stock at least two days ahead.

- Taste dishes as you cook them. If you wait until the end, it's too late to add more spice or other ingredients.

- Buy whole spices, such as nutmeg or other seeds, and use a spice grinder, or grate them with a microplane. Whole spices have more flavor.

- Wash your hands in warm, soapy water. A lot.

- The turkey should rest at least 20 minutes before it is carved so that the juices can move back into the meat. Tent it loosely with aluminum foil. Cutting right away will release juices onto the platter and can result in dry turkey. A turkey will stay hot for 45 minutes, which allows time to finish other dishes and frees up the oven to heat rolls.

- Plan, plan, plan. Take a few minutes today to jot down a schedule for the week. Shop and make as much as you can in advance. You want to watch football too, don't you?

Janet K. Keeler can be reached at (727) 893-8586 or jkeeler@sptimes.com

Roasted Garlic and Sage-Brined Turkey

1 18- to 20-pound turkey

7 quarts water

2 cups coarse salt (about 9 ounces)

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

20 cloves of roasted garlic

2 bunches fresh thyme

1 bunch fresh sage

2 quarts ice cubes

2 large onions, halved

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped

4 cups low-salt chicken broth

For the brine and turkey:

- Line a very large bowl (about 16 quarts) with two 30-gallon, food-safe plastic bags, one inside the other. Rinse turkey inside and out. Place the turkey in the plastic-lined bowl.

- Combine 7 quarts water, salt, sugar, roasted garlic, 1 bunch thyme and 1/2 bunch sage in large bowl or pot. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Mix in ice cubes.

- Pour brine over turkey in plastic bags. Gather tops of bags together, eliminating air space above the brine; seal bags. Refrigerate the turkey in the brine for 18 to 20 hours.

- Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Remove turkey from brine. Drain well; discard brine. Pat turkey dry inside and out.

- Place turkey on small rack set in large roasting pan. Fill main cavity with 1/2 bunch sage and halved onions. Stir oil, pepper, chopped thyme and chopped sage in small bowl to form a paste; smear all over outside of the turkey. Tuck wing tips under, and tie legs together loosely to hold shape.

- Roast turkey 1 hour, tenting loosely with foil if browning quickly. Turn pan around; roast turkey 30 minutes. Pour 1 cup broth over turkey; re-tent loosely with foil. Roast turkey, basting with 1 cup broth every 30 minutes until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 175 degrees (about 2 hours longer).

- Transfer turkey to platter. Remove vegetables and herbs from main cavity and discard. Spoon any juices from cavity into roasting pan. Tent turkey loosely with foil and let stand 30 minutes (internal temperature will increase 5 to 10 degrees).

Makes 12 to 14 servings.

Source: Apron's Cooking School, Publix Super Markets

Turkey Stock

3 pounds turkey wings and the turkey neck

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 medium carrot, roughly chopped

1 medium celery rib, roughly chopped

6 parsley sprigs

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 dried bay leaf

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

- Using a heavy cleaver, chop the wings and neck into 2-inch pieces. (If necessary, ask the butcher to do this for you.) Remove as much of the skin as possible.

- Place the turkey pieces on a sheet pan, and roast until the meat and bones start to brown. Add the vegetables to the pan and roast for an additional 20 minutes.

- Put the turkey and vegetables in a large stock pot. Add enough cold water to cover the turkey by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer, skimming off the foam that rises to the surface. - Add the parsley, thyme, peppercorns and bay leaf. Cook at a bare simmer for at least 2 and up to 5 hours. As needed, add more water to the pot to keep the bones covered.

- Strain the stock through a colander into a large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes and skim off the clear yellow fat that rises to the surface. The neck meat may be removed in strips, chopped and reserved as well. Cool the stock completely, as quickly as possible, before refrigerating or freezing.

Makes about 2 1/2 quarts.

Make-ahead: Turkey stock can be prepared up to three days in advance, cooled completely, covered and refrigerated. It can also be frozen in airtight containers for up to three months.

Source: Apron's Cooking School, Publix Super Markets

Homemade Turkey Gravy

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 quart turkey stock

2 cups turkey drippings

1/2 cup reserved turkey fat

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper, to taste

- Remove turkey from roasting pan. Pour off pan drippings and reserve. Place the drippings into the refrigerator to cool, so the fat separates.

- Place the roasting pan over high heat and deglaze with white wine.

- Skim the fat from the reserved pan drippings, and when the wine has almost completely evaporated, reduce the heat and add the turkey fat. Slowly whisk in the flour and cook on low until a paste or roux is formed. (It should stop smelling like raw flour and more like baked bread.)

- Combine the turkey stock and the defatted pan drippings, and then slowly add this back into the pan, whisking the whole time. (Adding the liquid too quickly will cause your gravy to be lumpy.) Bring liquid to a boil over medium heat and then reduce to a simmer.

- Before serving, taste for salt and pepper, and adjust. Makes about 2 quarts.

Source: Apron's Cooking School, Publix Super Markets

Turkey Stuffing

1/2 cup onions (small dice)

1/4 cup celery (small dice)

1/4 cup carrots (small dice)

3 tablespoons butter

4 cups fresh bread cubes (or 6 cups dried bread crumbs)

1 teaspoon pepper

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 teaspoon ground sage

1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

Up to 1 cup homemade turkey stock

Salt, to taste

- Saute onion, celery and carrots in the butter until softened. Combine the vegetable mixture with bread, pepper, eggs, sage and poultry seasoning in a large mixing bowl. Stir in stock until well moistened.

- Bake in a greased, covered shallow casserole at 325 degrees for about 35 to 45 minutes. Take the cover off the last 5 minutes to brown. Taste for salt and serve.

Serves 8.

Source: Apron's Cooking School, Publix Super Markets

Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes

3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 to 2 pints heavy cream

4 ounces butter

Kosher salt and white pepper for seasoning

- Place potatoes in a sauce pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender (approximately 30 minutes). Place butter and cream in a small sauce pot, bring to a boil and remove from heat.

- Drain potatoes and let any excess water steam off. While the potatoes are still hot, but dry, puree with a food mill, hand blender, potato masher or firm whisk. Blend in cream and butter, and taste for salt and pepper.

Serves 4 to 6.

Source: Apron's Cooking School, Publix Super Markets

Green Bean Casserole

1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans (trimmed)

1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, diced

2 onions, halved and sliced

1/2 pound mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 quart milk

Fresh nutmeg, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 small can french-fried onions, crumbled

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

- Blanch green beans in boiling water until they are a vibrant green, about 3 minutes. Remove beans from boiling water with slotted utensil and immediately plunge into a bowl of ice and water to stop cooking. Leave in the ice bath the same amount of time the beans were in the boiling water. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

- Render the fat from the bacon in a large sauce pot. When the bacon starts to crisp, remove the bacon from the pot and drain on paper towels; set aside.

- Reserve 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat in a bowl and, with the remaining bacon fat, saute the onions and mushrooms until soft and the mushrooms have released their liquid. Set the onions and mushrooms aside, and drain the pot of any excess fat and liquid.

- Return the 3 tablespoons of reserved bacon fat to the pot and add the flour. Cook this over low heat and stir constantly to form a roux.

- When this no longer smells of raw flour, slowly whisk in the milk to make a bechamel sauce. Raise the temperature until the sauce starts to thicken, and then lower it to a simmer. Season with nutmeg, and then add the onions, mushrooms, bacon pieces and green beans back to the pot.

- Stir to coat and pour this into a greased casserole dish. Top with the crumbled french-fried onions and bake, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes.

Serves 8.

Source: Apron's Cooking School, Publix Super Markets

Cranberry Horseradish Chutney

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon whole mustard seed

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar

2 12-ounce bags fresh cranberries

3 tablespoons fresh horseradish, peeled and roughly chopped

1 stick cinnamon

Salt and pepper, to taste

- In a small saucepan, saute the onion and ginger in olive oil until soft but not brown. Add mustard seed and saute for 1 minute more. Add the vinegar, water and sugar, and bring up to a boil. Add horseradish to a food processor and pulse until you have finely grated horseradish. Add the cranberries, cinnamon stick and horseradish to the saucepot and bring back up to a boil.

- Reduce the heat and simmer until the cranberries have popped and the mixture starts to break down to a consistency like chutney.

- Taste for seasonings, and salt and pepper, to taste. Store, covered, in refrigerator up to two weeks.

Makes 4 cups.

Source: Apron's Cooking School, Publix Super Markets

[Last modified November 17, 2006, 08:41:54]