Thanksgiving

If you haven’t cooked quince before, this is a good way to start. The sauce is tangy, not overly sweet, and because the fruit pieces tend to stay intact when cooked, you will enjoy the distinctive taste and texture. Though it is not as sweet as cotognata (the quince sauce that follows), you can enjoy it in many of the same ways, such as spooned onto buttered toast or stirred into a bowl of yogurt, for a tangy snack.

The way I roast turkey, I never stuff it. Instead, for holidays and special occasions when a turkey needs a special dressing, I make a gnoccho grande, a large loaf-shaped dumpling of bread crumbs, eggs, seasonings, and festive tidbits of dried fruits and nuts, wrapped in cheesecloth and poached in broth. Since I usually cook a big pot of turkey broth the day before I roast the turkey (to have plenty for the roasting pan), I’ll poach the gnoccho grande while it’s bubbling away. The next time you make turkey broth, try this wonderful big dumpling. It’s a great accompaniment to any poultry or meat dish, not just turkey, and a fine soup garnish, or cook it in the broth from Whole Poached Chicken (page 328).

The turkey is a North American native that was taken to Europe, food historians tell us, by the early Spanish explorers. In Italy, it became a culinary favorite of the aristocracy quite quickly: I’ve been delighted to learn that sixty-six turkeys were served at a feast for Catherine de’ Medici in 1549. In my family, however, turkey was not a big deal until we came to North America, 400 years later. Like most of our neighbors in the 1950s, we mainly cooked and ate turkey as the centerpiece of Thanksgiving and other holiday feasts. But over the years, it has become a significant part of our everyday eating. As you’ve seen, turkey wings flavor our basic broth, and turkey breast cutlets are a family favorite. A whole roast turkey is still something special on our table. And after years of Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts and birthday dinners, I have perfected the two-stage, wet-then-dry turkey-roasting procedure that I present here. It’s unusual but it works. In fact, I roast all kinds of meats and poultry this way (as I explain below) to produce marvelously moist and flavorful meat with a crispy, caramelized exterior—and a rich pan sauce at the same time. For the autumn and winter holidays, I serve the turkey with seasonal trimmings—Quince, Cranberry, and Apple Sauce (page 367), Cotognata—Quince Chutney (page 368), and Gnoccho Grande for a stuffing. And I glaze the bird with balsamic-vinegar reduction for a deep mahogany sheen. Roast turkey is so good, though, and so economical, I hope you’ll cook it often, not just for Thanksgiving. For everyday dinners, follow the basic procedure for cooking a chicken or a small turkey (see below). You don’t have to give it the holiday touches every time: the bird will be beautiful without the glaze and delicious with just its natural pan sauce.

Capon soup in Italy is the soup of the holidays. Rich and full of flavor, it is a soup base for tortellini, straciatella, and passatelli. Here it is difficult to get capon as readily as it is in Italy, but if you can find one, by all means make a big pot of capon soup following the recipe below. It was my mother who started using turkey, especially the wings, in her basic poultry and vegetable broth. She and Giovanni enjoy the meaty pieces—a couple of wings is plenty for them for dinner. Everyone loves the broth, which is sweet, flavorful, and not too strong. And Lorenzo is always ready to have a bowl of broth with noodles after school—proof of its goodness. Not least important to Grandma is that turkey wings are readily available, inexpensive, and, at our big neighborhood market, often on sale. So turkey wings and turkey broth have become staple items in our freezer. I use the broth as I would chicken or vegetable stock, in sauces, roasts, risotti, and lots of skillet dishes. I’ve found it extremely versatile and tasty—but not so much so that it overwhelms other flavors. Here then is our All-Purpose Turkey Broth—my mother’s original with my adjustments. You can use it in many recipes throughout this book, especially in the long-cooking pasta sauces and main course roasts and braises, as well as for all kinds of satisfying soups. Adjust the broth to suit you: either clear and light or with more body, with the vegetables mashed in. This is a large recipe, giving you plenty to freeze and have on hand whenever you need it.

Although pumpkin is not technically a fruit, it is eaten in this sweet preparation, as many fruits are. There are many foods specially made for Día de los Muertos celebrations throughout Mexico, and this is one of the most representative. It is traditionally cooked in clay casseroles, with the seeds and strands attached, but you can also clean and dry the seeds and snack on them later.

GINA This is not your off-the-shelf variety of cranberry sauce, although that can work in a pinch (remember my emergency run to the store during my first Thanksgiving at Mama Neely’s?). In this recipe I’m talking sweet, zesty, spicy, and savory: you don’t know whether to slow-dance or cut a jig. I say mix it all up, just like the relish, and let it go.

GINA This dish is the “queen of dressing,” because dressing and collards are two favorites of mine. I add bacon, ’cause you gotta have some pig, and the carrots give it a different spin from your traditional dish. You’ll want to think ahead with this recipe and make that corn bread the day before. It needs to be dry enough to soak up all the good flavors.

GINA Fried turkey was and is very big in the South. I watched Mama Callie make it many a time, and I was always thinking she was going to burn herself or the house down! She’d rub the spice mixture all over the turkey and into the cavity. (Hmm . . . I always thought Pat was the first spice-rub master, but maybe not.) When you fry a turkey, you are sealing all those herb flavors and juices right in. You also get outrageously crispy skin. Pat likes to fry with peanut oil, because of its high smoke temperature and great flavor. Try it; it’s easier than you think (see note), and leaves your oven free for all your side dishes!

Fall is a perfect time to try this bisque. The healthy and delicious sweet potato, which certainly represents the season in our home, is one of the stars of the soup. And if you’ve got leftover pumpkin flesh after carving your decorations, you can always substitute that for the canned purée. Using chicken broth instead of water gives this thick soup a rich-tasting down-home flair.

PAT My sweetie and her mama love their sweet potatoes. You think maybe that has something to do with why they are so sweet? Gina created this extra-special dish for the mamas in our lives, but I love to prepare these potato cakes for her on Mother’s Day and serve Miss Gina in bed, of course.

They say that pumpkin pie is one of the scents that men react to most strongly. I’m not sure if I agree, but I think that by combining a smooth pumpkin filling with a chocolate crust, you have a good chance of getting your guests’ attention. I roast the pumpkin in the oven to ensure the filling isn’t watery. It’s really not possible to overcook the pumpkin; in fact, the longer you cook it, the more the flavors become concentrated. If you can’t find a sugar pumpkin, butternut squash or another hard-skinned fall squash would make a fine substitute. You can roast the pumpkin and bake the crusts at the same time, speeding the process along.

I substitute molasses for the usual corn syrup in this version of classic pecan pie. The filling is every bit as sticky as you’d expect, and the molasses and bourbon add a deep, almost smoky flavor. Serve with vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of eggnog.

This recipe is a Foster family standard, a permanent fixture at holidays and other large family gatherings. Along with most other Southerners, I’ve been a huge fan of sweet potatoes for as long as I can remember, but in my case I think this sticky-sweet preparation may be the root of my obsession. When I make it today, I add fresh orange juice and zest to brighten the flavors and cut the sweetness just a hair, yielding what I think of as a grown-up version of this childhood favorite.

I think people often pressure themselves to put on a big, fancy spread for the holidays—but I’m all for keeping things simple, which is no problem if you start with this sticky, tangy barbecued turkey. Turning the holidays into a cookout sets such a casual, welcoming tone that you can’t help but take it easy and have a good time. I made this turkey the year Martha Stewart joined us for Thanksgiving, and it was such a big hit that we’ve taken to making it all year round. Be sure to plan ahead to allow for at least six hours of marinating time.

Every Thanksgiving, my friend Carl, who is also a pastor, makes his deep-fried turkey for some of the women in his church. Using a turkey fryer frees up the oven to make lots of sides, stuffing, and pies. Carl seasons his turkey with plenty of cayenne pepper, so much that it made me nervous the first time I saw him make it. But I shouldn’t have worried—it came out perfectly browned and crisp, with just a hint of heat. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your fryer and get a turkey that will fit easily in the fryer, no more than fourteen pounds. It is safest to cook this outside.

The wonderful contrast between buttery, almost confited duck legs and crispy, skillet-fried breast is worth the little bit of extra effort this dish requires. Add a bottle of Syrah or Pinot Noir and a few easy sides, like a simple green salad and Buttermilk Mashed Creamers (page 238), and you’ve got the makings of an elegant dinner party.

When my friend Kate joins us for Thanksgiving, she brings these yummy refrigerator rolls. The best thing about them is that you can throw together the dough up to a week ahead of time, store it in the fridge, and bake the rolls whenever you want, which helps make for stress-free holiday planning. When I make them, I like to add sweet potato for the beautiful color and flavor it imparts. And, since I’ve always been a fan of the combination of sweet potatoes and pork, I often use this version of the rolls to make pulled pork sandwiches, tucking Slow-Roasted Pulled Pork Butt (page 177) and Quick Cucumber Pickles (page 287) inside. Note that you’ll need to let the dough rise for two hours between mixing and baking.

This moist and flavorful cornbread dressing—or what you non-Southerners may call stuffing—appeared in Martha Stewart Living, and it remains one of our most requested recipes at the Market. The mix of pillowy egg bread and crusty, grainy cornbread is a real winner. Try stirring in leeks and wild mushrooms in spring or oysters and hot Italian sausage in winter.

If this recipe looks too daunting at first blush, you might consider making it in stages. The syrup for the praline mousse can be made two days in advance, and the cake can be made the day before the dessert is assembled. Or tackle just the cake the first time, and serve it with some strawberry jam and a little whipped cream on the side. Then imagine how good (and beautiful) the cake will be with the mousse on the inside. I prefer to assemble the roulade in the morning and give it all day to get moist and flavorful in the refrigerator. Some sliced ripe strawberries or peaches send it over the top.

These cakelike cookies are so irresistible that we sold zillions of them at Spice Inc., and I still have to make them about twice a year for my friend Daniel when he gets a craving. Although pumpkin tends to suggest fall, these moist, spicy cookies can—and should—be made all year round.