Staff Recipes: Roasted Heritage Breed Turkey

Even though my Thanksgiving will be a party of two, I like to prepare for the possibility of ten! When I heard Wendy was getting a Lilac turkey from Wells Tavern Farm in Shelburne, Massachusetts I jumped on board for a bird.

Wells Tavern has raised about 30 of their turkeys for fresh Thanksgiving birds. They are selling heritage breed birds that have had access to pasture throughout the spring and summer, eating natural Vermont grain and scratch feeds – with no antibiotics or added hormones. The turkeys are kept in large fenced pastures, which allows them to naturally scratch and forage, and provides them with protection from predators.

Wendy has been talking about her delicious turkey for a while now, and I am excited to see if I can find success with my first attempt at making Thanksgiving dinner.

Here is her recipe from last year:

Whether fresh or frozen, bring the bird to room temperature before cooking.

Cover the breast with a piece of brown paper cut from a shopping bag, rub it with cooking oil, and tie it in place with cotton string. Alternatively, soak a piece of cotton cloth in unsalted oil, such as corn oil. Remove the covering about 30 minutes before the turkey is done so the breast will brown.

Roast heritage turkeys in a hot oven pre-heated to 425F-450F and cook until an internal thigh temperature of 140F-150F is reached. Don't let the tip of the thermometer touch the bone. (Note: The USDA recommends turkeys be cooked to 160F-180F, but these temperature will dry out a heritage turkey. Heritage birds are much more free of disease and bacteria, unlike commercially-raised birds, and do not need extreme temperatures to make them safe for consumption).

Truly the thought of cooking at such a high heat terrified me but it worked out great. We had a 17lb turkey that cooked in 1 1/2 hours.

Cook any stuffing first and put inside the heritage turkey before roasting. Due to the reduced cooking time, stuffing won't become fully cooked. Alternatively, try adding a quartered orange, apple and/or pear inside the cavity instead of stuffing.

Let the roasted bird rest 10-15 minutes before carving.

Staff Recipes: Butternut Squash Lasagna

This Butternut Squash Lasagna recipe is a great addition to the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The color is beautiful with the bright orange squash and green sauce separated by the pasta. I let the lasagna cool slightly and cut it into 2 inch squares to serve as a side dish. It's surprisingly rich and adds wonderful flavor to the meal. This dish is perfect for leftovers as it is great reheated.

Here are some of my notes on the recipe:

• I always buy local squash,and use more than the recipe calls for.
• The amaretti cookies are not always easy to find, they are a key ingredient because of the flavor, I find them at Whole Foods market, I start to look for them in October and pick them up early!
• I use a quality fresh prepared pasta.
• I buy local organic milk and cheese.
• Since I usually prepare this dish in the late fall, I need to purchase the local fresh basil from my local farm stand. I plan on trying to keep my basil plants growing in the house through the winter!

Butternut Squash Lasagna
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 Butternut squash (about 1 1/2 to 2-pound), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup Water
3 Amaretti cookies, crumbled
1/4 cup Butter
1/4 cup All-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups Whole milk
Pinch Nutmeg
3/4 cup of Lightly-packed fresh basil leaves
12 No-boil lasagna noodles
2 1/2 cups Shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup Grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes.

Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender. Add the basil and blend until smooth. Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.

Lightly butter a 13-by-9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.

Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes.

Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Staff Recipes: Baked Butternut Squash with Breadcrumbs and Chestnuts

Yep, another butternut squash recipe (and actually, we've got another one coming up too). It's hard to resist the charms of butternut squash this time of year: they're very affordable, flexible in different dishes, and (most importantly) delicious! Below is a recipe adapted from Wilson Farm, a 125 year old, family-run farm and farmstand in Massachusetts. This recipe would also work well with other types of squash.

Baked Butternut Squash with Breadcrumbs and Chestnuts

2 pounds Butternut squash, peeled
1 large Yellow onion, sliced
1 ½ cups Plain breadcrumbs
½ cup Chestnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon Sage, chopped
1 ½ sticks Butter (½ stick melted)
2 tablespoons Brown sugar
1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
Salt & pepper

Steam, boil or roast squash until tender.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mash with sugar, cinnamon, ½ stick butter and salt & pepper to taste.

Melt ½ stick of butter at medium high heat in a large sauté pan. Add onions and cook until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Season with salt & pepper.

Mix the onions in with the squash.

In another bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, chestnuts, sage, melted butter, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Put the squash/onion mixture in a baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture on top.

Bake until hot and golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Staff Recipes: Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

As a vegetarian on Turkey Day, I like to be prepared with a dish that can serve as a main course for me and a yummy side dish for the carnivores. This recipe is adapted from the great Emeril Lagasse. I make it simpler by using wonton wrappers instead of pasta dough.

Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with a Sage Brown Butter Sauce
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

9 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1 cup roasted butternut squash puree
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus 2 ounces
Pinch nutmeg
1 package square wonton wrappers
12 fresh sage leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallots and sauté for 1 minute. Add the squash purée and cook until the mixture is slightly dry, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons cheese and nutmeg, to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Cool completely.

Toss some cornmeal on a baking sheet to prevent sticking, then spread out the wonton wrappers. Place 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of each pasta square. Bring 1 corner of the square to the other, forming a triangle and seal the pasta completely. Add the pasta to pot of boiling salted water. Cook until al dente, about 2 to 3 minutes or until the pasta floats and is pale in color.

Remove the pasta from the water and drain well. Season the pasta with salt and pepper.

In a large sauté pan, melt the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter. Add the sage to the butter and continue to cook until the butter starts to brown. Remove from the heat.

Place some of the pasta in the center of each serving plate. Spoon the butter sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle the 2 ounces of cheese over each plate and garnish with parsley.

"Cucurbita moschata Butternet" photo courtesy of Wikipedia author Spedona through use of Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license.

Staff Recipes: Homegrown Apple Butter

Cornelia, the HOMEGROWN Shepherdess, recently shared a recipe for making Apple Butter with the Craftzine.com Blog. Aside from smearing on toast, this apple butter is also yummy as a condiment for sharp cheddar sandwiches, in crepes, and as a glaze for pork loin. Grab those apples and head over to Craft to check out the recipe.

Staff Recipes: Braised Celery topped with Bread Crumbs and Cheese

One of my favorite side dishes to share at family events is braised celery. Generally, I like celery best when it's raw and crunchy (and covered in salt), so at first the idea of not just quickly cooking celery, but actually braising it for a length of time seemed a little crazy. But the recipe, which I first saw on 101 Cookbooks, is a definite keeper. The recipe below serves 4, but I've successfully doubled it in the past and it worked just fine.

Braised Celery with Crunchy Bread Crumb Topping
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 head celery (about 1 3/4 pounds) - not just celery hearts, you want the whole thing
1 large shallot or 1 small yellow onion, finely minced
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth (I always use vermouth)
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1/3 cup freshly grated Gruyère cheese, or half Gruyère and half Parmigiano-Reggiano (I've tried it with all Gruyère, a mix, and all Parmigiano, and all three were delicious, so you can't go wrong)
3 to 4 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs made from day-old rustic white bread

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Using about half the butter, generously butter a large gratin dish or baking dish (9- to 10-by-13- to 14-inch).

Tear the celery stalks from the head. You should have about 10 or 12 sturdy outer stalks. Stop tearing off the stalks when you reach the shorter, pale, tender stalks, or the heart. Set it aside. Rinse the celery stalks, giving special attention to the inside of the base of each stalk, where dirt tends to lodge. You may need a vegetable scrubber to remove stubborn dirt. Trim off the top part of the stalk where it branches into leaves, and set the tops aside with the heart. Using a small paring knife or vegetable peeler, scrape the outside of each celery stalk to remove the fibrous strings that run its length. (This can take forever if you really try to get every string off the outside of every piece. When pressed for time, I've just done this as quickly as possible and definitely missed some. In my opinion, it didn't hurt the dish, but if you want to make sure every bite of celery is super-tender, you may want to take as many off as you can).

Cut the celery stalks into 3- to 4-inch lengths. Arrange them in a layer in the baking dish. It's fine if the sticks overlap some; they will shrink and flatten into a single layer as they braise.

Finely chop the reserved celery heart, with the celery tops and leaves. Melt the remaining butter in a medium skillet (IO-inch) over medium-high heat. Add the shallot, thyme, and chopped celery heart and leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Pour in the vermouth or wine and simmer until the pan is almost dry, about 3 minutes. Add the stock and simmer until reduced by half, another 6 minutes or so.

Pour the celery-shallot-stock mixture over the celery sticks. Cover with foil and slide into the middle of the oven to braise until the celery has collapsed and feels very tender when prodded with a knife tip, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Remove the celery from the oven, and increase the oven heat to 400 degrees. Sprinkle the cheese and bread crumbs over the celery, and return to the oven until the cheese is melted and the top is crusty and browned, about 10 more minutes.

Serve while hot or warm.

"celery" photo courtesy of flickr user Daveybot through use of Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Staff Recipes: Carrot Ginger Soup

Wendy makes a carrot ginger soup with no written recipe, but she promises this recipe from from the Food Network is pretty similar.

Ginger Carrot Soup
Adapted from foodnetwork.com.

2 tablespoons sweet cream butter
2 onions, peeled and chopped
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper
Optional: Sour cream or crème fraîche
Parsley sprigs, for garnish

In a 6-quart pot, over medium high heat, add butter and onions and cook, stirring often, until onions are limp. Add broth, carrots, and ginger. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced.

If you've got an immersion blender, turn off the heat in the pot and blend until smooth.

If you do not have an immersion blender, use a regular blender: remove from heat and transfer to a blender. Don't fill the blender more than half way, do it in batches if you have to. Cover the blender and then hold a kitchen towel over the top of the blender. Be careful when blending hot liquids as the mixture can spurt out of the blender. Pulse the blender to start it and then puree until smooth.

Return to the pot and add cream, stir over high heat until hot. For a smoother flavor bring soup to a boil, add salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle into bowls and (optionally) garnish with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche and parsley sprigs.

"Carrot Lemongrass Soup" photo courtesy of flickr user mellowfood through use of Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic license.