I haven't cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner in years. I think the last time I made such attempt was in 2002 when I was living in Washington, DC. So this year I'd figure to give it another shot, for old time's sake. Here in Madison we decided to host two dinner parties, one at the apartment I'm currently staying at and the other was at Pisang's apartment, also in the same building. We ended up combining the parties due to low turnout--most Malaysian students were already gone on their Black Friday shopping excursions.
Both Pisang and I cooked one 20-pound turkey each, and those birds were HUGE! The menu went as follow: Pisang made roasted turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potato, spaghetti and meatballs, and a plethora of desserts made by his girlfriend Wani. I, on the other hand, made rosemary roasted turkey, gravy, stuffing, taffy apple salad, apple crumble with ice cream, coleslaw, and devil eggs (made by my two assistants, Ganu and Ilham). Yes, it was a Malaysian Thanksgiving with a decidedly American flavor.
The turkey went through an overnight "brining process" (soaking the turkey in saltwater, lime and other herbs for at least 12 hours). Brining helps the turkey meat to retain moisture and makes it tender and succulent. Another secret ingredient is butter and lots of it, in lieu of the more healthy olive oil. Butter, when mixed with herbs (in my case rosemary, basil, black pepper, and Italian seasoning) and spread liberally underneath the skin and all over the turkey, results in juicier and more tender meat. At least this was my impression from what I gleaned off the internet but it did work!
For stuffing, I used dried bread (diced), onions, celery, carrots, chicken stock, parsley, and black pepper) and I decided to baked it separately since my oven was too small (and the turkey was too big) to accommodate another dish besides the turkey. The stuffing was later shoved into the turkey's cavity via its gaping asshole (the word choice here is intentional so as to provoke certain unsavory image in readers' minds) and served accordingly.
The gravy I made using pan drippings from the turkey, corn starch, chicken stock, water, and condensed milk. It was a bit lumpy and how I wished I had a mixer so I could smooth it out. It was a bit too rich and thick at first but nothing a cup of water couldn't solve.
Taffy apple salad holds a certain sweet memory for me. The mother of my friend Mario in Milwaukee makes an out-of-this world, totally kick-ass taffy apple salad for Thanksgiving and Christmas. She gave me the recipe once but I forgot where I put it. So I just resorted to the internet and found a quick and simple recipe. Taffy apple salad, for those who are not familiar with it, is essentially a fruit salad mixed with sweet creamy dressing and served chilled. I used diced Granny Smith apples, oranges, pineapple chunks, crushed walnuts and cashews. For the dressing I used sugar, pineapple juice, apple cider, egg yolk, corn starch, and whipped cream.
Apple crumble was the easiest to make. I just used the ready-made the crumb mix out of the box, liberal doses of butter sticks, and apples, peeled and diced. I then stuck it in the oven for about an hour or so until it turned crusty brown and apple softened. I then rounded it off with chocolate and vanilla ice cream.
Based on the responses I think the dinner went well and I got a lot of compliments for the food, especially the turkey. I was told the meat was so tender and moist--I have to thank my trusty old butter and the overnight brining for that! The dinner was well worth the effort. I started cooking around 1:30pm and didn't finish until 7pm. It was exhausting and thank heavens that it only comes once a year. Anyway, I'm proud of my achievement today and I think this can be turned into an annual tradition when I ultimately move back to Malaysia. Too bad that some of my own family members don't appreciate the American/Western food I made (case in point: the lasagna I baked recently). But then I'm sure there will be many others who will enjoy my cooking, and those are the people I look forward to serve. Bon appetit!
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