Thanksgiving originally held as a celebration for the bountiful harvests of the year after neighbors, friends, and family worked all summer in the fields. This year why not try to celebrate the harvest that your neighbors have worked hard to produce by hosting a 100 mile Thanksgiving dinner. Go out and get your turkey, squash, potatoes, cranberries, and more from farms and local producers that are within 100 miles of your home. Eat healthier and fresher this year while supporting your neighborhood economy! Here are a couple links to where you can find turkeys and other key ingredients in your thanksgiving feast, as well as a few delicious recipe ideas too!
http://www.localharvest.org/
http://100milediet.org/thanksgiving
Recipe for Roasted Heritage Turkey
By Sandra Kay Miller
Besides the fact that most old fashion Heritage turkeys are also raised the old fashioned way -- with plenty of grass and sunshine -- they need to be cooked quite differently than their modern, factory-farmed counterparts. This tried and true recipe (which serves 10-12 people) will make the best of your Heritage bird this year.
Ingredients:
- 15-pound fresh heritage turkey at room temperature
- Kosher or sea salt & fresh ground pepper
- 4 cups giblet broth (see recipe below)
- Rosemary Maple Butter (see recipe below)
- Oiled parchment paper
Directions:
1. Rub turkey inside and out with salt and pepper.
2. Loosen the skin around the breast with your fingers and insert Rosemary Maple Butter between the meat and the skin as well as on the inside of the bird's cavity.
3. Set bird in deep roasting pan. Use a wire rack to lift the bird off the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the giblet broth to the bottom of the pan. Using a sheet of oiled parchment paper, tent the roasting pan with the oiled parchment paper. Any type of cooking oil can be used. Brush it on both sides with a pastry brush. The parchment paper is easily affixed to the roasting pan with a strip of foil on each end or you can use clean, oiled wooden clothespins. Remove parchment paper and the last 30 minutes of cooking to develop a crispy, golden skin.
5. Pre-heat oven to 425F-450F. Roast the bird until the thigh temperature reaches 140F-150F. Let the bird rest 10-15 minutes before carving to let the juices settle.
A word about basting
Quick roasting at high temperatures means the oven temperature needs to be maintained and frequent basting defeats that purpose. By adding butter under the skin, the bird is self-basted. Baste the bird when you remove the parchment tent. If there is not enough liquid for basting, add either more water or wine.
Giblet Broth
- 2 cups white wine (a deep, oaky chardonnay lends a wonder taste)
- 2 cups water
- Giblets & neck
- Bay leaf
Simmer everything in a small saucepan for 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf and neck. Giblets can be discarded if they aren't your type of thing or they can be finely chopped and added to the broth.
Rosemary Maple Butter
- 1/2� pound butter
- 1/2� cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced rosemary
Bring butter to room temperature and whip all ingredients together.
Sandra Kay Miller raises pastured heritage turkeys on her farm in Pennsylvania. She owned a catering business, a deli and was a chef for a historic hot springs restaurant in southern California. Sandra has contributed to several cookbooks and frequently wrote for the Los Angeles Times Food Section. Her goal is to now raise the quality of food she has had the fortunate opportunity to be exposed to over the last 25 years. Sandra is listed at LocalHarvest.org under Painted Hand Farm in Newburg, PA.
Cream of Corn Soup
1) Use fresh, local, August corn. Scrape kernels from cobs of 1 dozen ears of corn using a curved-blade knife, if available. Set kernels aside. Boil cobs in water to cover for ½ hour. (I add leftover cobs from corn on the cob if I have them too)
2) Chop ½ small onion, ½ red pepper and a sprig of lovage (about 6 inches or to taste) and sauté in 2 tbsp butter. Add 2 tbsp sifted flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add ½ cup milk and ½ cup whipping cream and bring to a boil.
3) Remove cobs from their broth and discard. Add cob liquid to vegetables and bring to a simmer. Don’t boil or soup will curdle. Add salt and pepper to taste. Now add corn kernels. If soup seems too thick add milk until consistency is right. You may add ½ tsp honey to intensify the sweet corn taste.
Serves 6 to 8
Indian Pudding
Ingredients :
1/3 cup flour
1 egg
1 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cups milk
pinch of salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
cinammon
½ tsp ginger
1 T. butter
How to Prepare :
Whisk flour, egg, cornmeal, milk and salt over medium heat until it thickens a fair amount, about 10 minutes. Whisk in 1/4 to 1/3 cup maple syrup, a sprinkle of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger and 1 tablespoon butter. Turn it into a small, buttered, ovenproof dish of either ceramic or glass and bake for about 1 hour in a preheated 300 degree oven. It will still be a little jiggly, but will look fairly set. Let it cool 10 to 15 minutes before eating,
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