Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Recipe

17 Nov 2010

Sausage, Sage, and Thyme Bread Stuffing

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If I had my way, stuffing would be the centerpiece of Thanksgiving. An expertly roasted bird has its merits, as do silky potatoes dotted with butter and doused in gravy, but for as long as I can recall, my heart and stomach have belonged to stuffing. I grew up on the Stove Top variety that my aunt brilliantly doctored-up with onions, celery, and chicken gizzards. I later moved on to a gourmet version made with cornbread and dried fruit that my brother outsourced from his neighborhood Dean & Deluca. From low end to high end to everything in between, I’ve yet to encounter a stuffing that didn’t appeal to me.

While my soy sauce-brined turkey was roasting in the oven at 325 degrees, I got started on making the stuffing, which fortuitously called for similar temps. Preparing a turkey and stuffing all in one day was admittedly a lot of work for a first-timer, but it would’ve been a travesty eating a thirteen pound bird without some proper dressing on the side.

I chose a classic sausage, herbs, and French bread recipe from this month’s Cooking Light magazine. Its straightforward flavor profile and manageable ingredients list spoke to me, and I couldn’t have been happier with the results. The bread had an awesome custard-like consistency, while the trio of herbs perfumed each bite. The stuffing-specific sausage that I picked up from Trader Joe’s was too crumbly and mild for my taste, but it didn’t detract from the overall success of the dish. Next time, I’ll be sure to use my favorite spicy Italian sausage instead.

My mom’s already called dibs on stuffing for this year’s Thanksgiving feast, but hopefully next year I can share this gem with the fam. And for good ‘ol times’ sake, I’ll even add in some chicken gizzards.

10 cups (1/2-inch) cubed French bread (about 1 pound)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
15 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange bread in single layers on 2 jelly-roll pans. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden, rotating pans after 10 minutes. Turn oven off; leave pans in oven for 30 minutes or until bread is crisp.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and celery; cook 11 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl. Add sausage to pan. Increase heat; sauté 8 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble.

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Recipe

16 Nov 2010

Soy Sauce Brined Turkey

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When the folks at Kikkoman approached me to soy brine a turkey for Thanksgiving, my first inclination was to turn them down. I love turkey and all, but preparing one from scratch seemed rather difficult for a novice poultry cook like myself. My worst case scenario was that the big ‘ol bird would turn out unattractive and dry and that the whole experience would scar me for Thanksgivings to come.

What eventually motivated me to change my mind was exactly what scared me at the start—the challenge of brining and roasting a turkey all by myself. I felt that if I didn’t step up to plate this year, it’d probably be a solid decade before the opportunity would present itself again. I had to do it.

For the brining process, I adapted a simple recipe from Kikkoman, and for roasting, I turned to my beloved cooking bible, The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. Now, that everything’s been prepped, roasted, carved, and eaten, I must say that the process wasn’t as difficult as I had imagined, and the results were definitely stellar. The soy sauce brine made for an all-around juicy bird and imparted a mild savoriness upon the flesh. The Test Kitchen’s “flipping” method (details below), yielded an evenly cooked bird with a golden and crispy exterior from top to bottom.

Turkeys are notoriously fickle creatures with a penchant for dryness, but thanks to the brine and the Test Kitchen’s tried and true methods, everything turned out just right. From one first-time turkey roaster to another, you can totally do it!

For brine [recipe for a 16-24 pound turkey]

2 gallons cold water
10 ounces naturally brewed soy sauce
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons dried sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme
4 bay leaves

For roasting turkey

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Salt and pepper

Equipment

3 gallon stockpot
Brining bag
Roasting pan with V-rack
Aluminum foil
Kitchen twine
Basting or pastry brush
Meat thermometer

Brining the turkey

The night before roasting, remove the giblets and turkey neck from the bird. Rinse the turkey inside and out. In a large stock pot, combine all the brine’s ingredients. Stir well, making sure that all of the salt is dissolved. Place the turkey inside a brining bag and pour the brine mixture over the turkey.

Seal the bag tightly using a twisty tie and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours. Right before roasting, remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well. Pat the turkey dry using paper towels. [The least messy route is to snip off a corner of the bag and to let the brine drain into the sink.]

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Recipe

13 Nov 2010

Kimchi Pickling 101 with Chef EJ Jeong of Cham Korean Bistro

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I attended a most fabulous kimchi pickling workshop earlier this week hosted by Cham Korean Bistro, my favorite restaurant in Pasadena. The event was held at the restaurant’s R&D kitchen in the little-visited city of Vernon and was attended by all sorts of food-adoring media types including my pals B-Side, H.C., Javier, Valentina, Esther, and Eddie. We were all eager to learn the ins and outs of fermentation and to expand our knowledge of Korea’s beloved dish.

Led by Chef EJ Jeong, formerly of BOA and A.O.C., the two hour-long class was fun, educational, and most importantly, tongue-searingly delicious. While teaching us how to make traditional Napa cabbage kimchi (tong baechu kimchi), Chef Jeong weaved in hilarious stories about her family and culture. My favorite anecdote recounted a popular Korean saying that “a man can live without a wife, but not without kimchi.” Now, that’s some serious affection!

Before the class officially began, we were treated to a selection of small bites including tofu pockets, kale chips, and seared tuna on a stick. I’ve enjoyed the spicy tuna and seaweed pockets countless times at the restaurant, but the kimchi variety was new to me. The best part of the kimchi pocket was that it was topped with candied anchovies! I’m crossing my fingers that it becomes a menu mainstay because the world needs more candied little fishes.

After we filled our bellies halfway, it was time for the learning to commence…

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