Order Up! Thanksgiving with an Expert (Pt. 2)
Recipe sharing around the holidays is a funny old thing. People so love their family traditions and a manifestation of that is to share their tried and true heritage recipes. What’s wrong with that? It's the problem of nostalgia. So much of the time someone else’s mother’s famous macaroni and cheese is fine - passable not great - but they love it because what they are really tasting is the familiarity and nostalgia. Their taste buds quit their day job and instead are the conduit for a visceral trip down memory lane. That’s important to remember: while Granny’s sugar cookies conjure visions of sugarplums dancing in your head – to us newcomers they are a dry sandy mess. Nigel Slater writes on this in his book Toast, the story of his childhood remembered through food. Highly recommend it.
Why am I talking about that here? It’s to set the scene. My husband and I have been together in some form or fashion for about nine years, and the day we met was the first time I learned of his mother’s cooking. The day we met. Needless to say, I was skeptical. I assumed that Gregory, like the rest of us, was effervescing about a leg of lamb that really was a metaphor (or a metric) for how highly he thinks of his mother. A personal example: I love my mom’s chicken. Adore it. Call it “Mommy’s Special Chicken”. Boy is it special. It’s Carr’s water crackers smashed up and put on chicken tenders and then pan fried to perfection – and then it leaves perfection in the rear view and is fried even longer. Would you love it? Maybe not. But to me? It’s a comfort meal you cannot compete with. Back to my mother in law. I went into my first Thanksgiving with my in-laws with suspicion, reticence and a carefully practiced “rave review” facial expression in my back pocket for the first bites.
Man oh man was I wrong.
My husband tastes no nostalgia – he tastes damn good food. She’s as good at the main event as she is at dessert. The dressing is not globby or bland. The cranberries slide out of a mold in such a happy retro way you beam when it’s presented. There are what seems like maybe 10 pies. The turkey is really the best I have ever had. There is something called cheesy new potatoes which is simply sin on a plate. We drink out of silver goblets, eat on beautiful china and we dress in our best. Where my family’s Thanksgiving leaves a bit of a hole in the “traditional” category, the Clements’ Thanksgiving leaves that hole overflowing. It. Is. Perfect.
So please meet my mother in law Judy Beggs Clement. She is beautiful, stylish, funny and forever unphased. We buy the same clothes, wear the same glasses and like leopard print, America, cheeseboards and the 1960s. When people say “Gregory married his mother” I just about die and go to heaven. Most importantly for today, Judy is a Thanksgiving Tycoon and I am willing to share her with you – but only for today ;)
1. Knowing your Limits and Planning Your Time
What do you buy and what do you home make for Thanksgiving dinner? What do you recommend doing in advance of Thanksgiving Day?
I always do my cranberries about a week before.
I make the dressing a day or two before and put in refrigerator then cook on day of.
I make my pecan pie the day before.
The last thing you want to deal with on the day is interrupting the party with all the cooking you could have done before!
2. It's hard to think of starters
What do you serve for starters or appetizers on Thanksgiving? You're caught between a rock and a hard place on apps because it's a celebration so you want to have something nice, but you also have a big meal ahead. Any tips?
Because there is so much food, we don’t do a lot of appetizers. We also just have a table set with the appetizers so that everyone can graze since we sit down for a Thanksgiving Lunch around 3 PM. Some of the appetizers I lay out are:
· Celery stuffed with Roquefort cheese mixed with a little mayo, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice.
· Roasted pecans with butter and again Worcestershire sauce (see a trend here?).
· Black olives
· Sometimes when we have the whole extended family together we have caviar with all the trimmings.
· I also usually have a Greenberg Turkey Ball served with wheat thins! I lucked out this year since the Greenberg Turkey factory caught fire! There were only a few that made it to Central Market and I was able to get my hands on one. Turkey Ball is definitely a staple and favorite among my family.
3. Tackling the Turkey
Turkey has a rep for being the thing at the Thanksgiving table that no one really likes but you have to have. How do you cook your turkey? And what are some tips you have for making a good turkey?
Always start with a fresh turkey. We like to cook 2 small ones rather than one large for some variety and ease of cooking.
One is the “indoor” turkey which I do in the oven and the other is the “outdoor” turkey which my husband Jamey does on our charcoal grill (BGE)
Rub inside & out with salt & pepper & butter.
Put onion, celery and parsley inside.
Cook low and slow: 300 degrees, 20 minutes to the pound.
I am not really sure about the black magic that occurs outside.
4. Let's Talk Cranberries
You have amazing cranberry recipes, but lately the cranberries in a can have made a resurgence as a cult favorite. What makes your cranberries special?
I like to cook my cranberries in fresh orange juice instead of water. I also am a huge fan of molds. You don’t see molded cranberries much anymore but there is nothing as satisfying as removing a perfect mold of cranberries!
5. Dry Dressing
What are your tips for making sure your dressing neither comes out dry nor a sticky, gummy mess?
I sauté celery, onions and green peppers in bacon drippings and add cornbread. I then mix in some chopped rosemary, tarragon and sage (not too much sage – just enough to taste.). I add just enough turkey broth to the cornbread mix so that it sticks together. Then I top it with pads of butter before I cook it. We like it crispy and not gooey. My brother is known to make a dry dressing with sausage and spice. You can get creative with your recipe but make sure everyone can handle the heat.
6. Pies, pies, pies!
You both serve pies for dessert. Which pies are a "do not miss" for Thanksgiving dessert?
I make a pecan and a coconut cream. My sister often also makes a cherry and a chocolate pie. I used to make pumpkin pie as well but have culled it in recent years to focus on the fan-favorites.
7. So can we get that recipe for Cheesy New Potatoes?
Sure!
12 med new potatoes
16 slices bacon. Crisp & crumbled.
2 cups grated old English cheese
1/2 cup melted butter
Salt & pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Wash & cube potatoes. Do not peel.
Cook in boiling water until barely tender.
Remove from heat and drain and season to taste with salt & pepper.
In large casserole, place layer of potatoes, half the bacon, half the butter, and half the cheese. Repeat the layers.
Heat in 350 oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
Remove from oven and garnish with parsley.