Apple Cider Glazed Grilled Turkey

Vegetable oil
1 red onion diced
1 Serrano chili pepper diced
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1- 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large Granny Smith apples peeled cored and coarsely chopped
2 more peeled, cored, and sliced 1/2"
Sage leaves to taste
Salt and pepper.
13lb turkey

Tuesday
Combine 1-1/2 cup kosher salt and 1/4 cup brown sugar in 2 gallons of water. Add orange, garlic, bay leaf, fresh thyme, and oregano . Place in a bag with the turkey overnight.

Soften the onions in a sauté pan for about 3 mins.
Add the chili and cook for another minute.
Add the vinegar and sugar and let sugar dissolve.
Stir in the chopped apples and cook until the apples are soft and the glacé has thickened.
Add sage to taste and purée until smooth. Season to taste and reserve in fridge.

Wednesday
Remove turkey from Brine and let sit overnight in the fridge.

T-day minus 4 1/2 hours to service
Take out Turkey and rub with butter and seasonings inside and out, leaving plenty of seasoned butter under the skin.

T day minus 3 hour 35 mins
Set drip pan with liquid and preheat grill to 475 degrees. After 10 mins set turkey breast down to sear with lid down check breast occasionally until well browned (about 30 mins) then flip Turkey and reduce heat to 350 for approximately 2 hours.

After 2 hours at 350 begin glazing turkey with the apple glaze.

Remove Turkey and let rest 30 mins before slicing. Brush with remaining glaze.

Serve sliced on platter garnished with grilled apples.

Amanda's Portobello Mushroom Green Bean Casserole

2/3 stick butter
4 strips bacon cooked and crumbled
1 cup diced onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms
4 cups cut green beans
2 containers fried onion rings
2 -10 3/4 oz cream of mushroom soup. (Amanda has a Portobello mushroom concentrate that came from Trader Joes I think.)
2 cup cheddar
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder

Method:
Wednesday
Boil and shock green beans
Sauté mushrooms and onions in butter.
Add green beans, mushroom soup, 3/4 of the onion rings, bacon, 1/3 of the cheese, and seasonings and mix well.
Pour into a well greased 3 quart casserole, cover, and chill until 40 mins prior to serving.

T-day dinner minus 40 minutes
Bake 20 mins at 350, remove and top with cheddar cheese and additional onion rings and bake another 10 mins until casserole is hot and cheese is melted.

Glazed Baby Carrots

1 lb baby carrots with top
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 lemon juiced

1 clove garlic

3 sprigs thyme

Sprinkle cayenne

Sprinkle of Cinnamon (because Amanda said so)

Method:

WednesdayTrim carrot tops down, but leave a 1/4" or so of green.

Blanch carrots and shock in ice bath. Rub off remaining skin and store carrots until time to cook.

Thursday

In a skillet over medium heat add butter, sugar, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, cayenne, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup cold water. When the water has reduced and glaze has thickened remove the garlic and add the carrots and stir until well coated. Cook for another couple minutes and serve hot.

Mashed Potatoes

2 russets peeled and cut into chunks
3 lbs red or yellow potatoes peeled and cut into same size chunks
1-1/2 sticks butter
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Wednesday
Cover with cold water and bring to a slow boil. Cook about 10mins until soft. Drain well.

Warm milk in saucepan. Add potatoes butter and seasoning to warm pan, and mash well will adding warm 1/2 and 1/2.

Put in Casserole and refrigerate overnight

T-day minus 30 minutes
Heat dish at 350 for 30-45 mins stir and add butter or milk as needed.

Mostly Make Ahead Turkey Gravy

1/2 stick butter
Necks and gibs
1 onion sliced
1 + quart chicken broth
Parsley sage rosemary and thyme ( all added to the song by Simon and Garfunkle)
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup flour
Worcestershire salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

Wednesday
Brown necks, gibs, and onion in butter about 15 mins.
Add the stock, and herbs. Cover and simmer 2 hours over med-low heat

Toss the neck and gibs, strain and chill.

T-day
Strain turkey drippings and fat into pan. Add flour and heat roux. Add the gravy base gradually, whisking and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and thicken and season.

Sausage Cornbread Stuffing

1 lb hot Italian sausage
1 onion finely chopped
3 celery stalks chopped
2 lbs cornbread cubed
3 tablespoons sage finely chopped
1/4 lb Toasted Pecans
1 cup Cranberries
3 eggs beaten
2 cups broth
Salt and pepper

Method:

Wednesday
Cook sausage and transfer to a large bowl.
Add onion, celery, and 1/4 water. Reduce heat to medium and cook while scraping up brown bits until veggies soften. Season and add to bowl with sausage.

Thursday
Add cornbread, eggs, toasted pecans, craisins, and sage to the bowl.

Simmer broth and pour half over stuffing and toss gently. Add other half as needed until stuffing is moist but not wet.

Put in baking pan and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Sunday Morning "Got the Girl's Over" Quiche

I was blessed with the company of my wife and 3 of her friends last Sunday for brunch at the house. Amanda and I made some chopped fresh fruit and I made this quiche. We devoured it, not a scrap left.

Sunday Morning "Got the Girl's Over" Quiche
6 beaten eggs
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cups packed chopped baby spinach
1 lb bacon cooked and crumbled.
1-1/2 cups shredded Swiss
1 pie crust

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine eggs, salt, cream, and pepper in food processor.

Layer spinach, 2/3's of the bacon, and 1/3 of the cheese in pie crust then add egg mixture.

Top with remaining 2/3's of the cheese and the remaining 1/3 of Bacon.

Bake 45 mins until set. Slice and serve.

Brian's Vegetarian Minestrone Soup with Bacon

Ingredients:

1 Slice Bacon Diced

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

4 Cloves Garlic Minced

4 Carrots Diced

3 Celery Stocks Diced

1 Yellow Onion Diced

3 Canned Diced Tomatoes

2 16 oz cans of Kidneys

2 cups packed chopped Kale

2 Bay Leaf

A hunk or so of Parmesan rind

Sage, Salt, and pepper to taste

48 oz or so of veggie or chicken stock

2 cups cooked little ear or small shell pasta

Method:

Heat your pot and begin cooking the diced bacon, add the olive oil and garlic and slowly brown the garlic. After a couple minutes add the carrots, celery, and onion and sweat them down until they soften and begin to brown. Add Diced tomatoes with their juice, the bay leaf, sage, and Parmesan rind. Cover with broth and let simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add Kidney beans and Kale and let cook another 30 minutes. Add cooked pasta and season to taste. Serve with basil and shaved parmesan.

4505 Meats Smoking Out At The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

In anticipation of their new BBQ restaurant slated to open later this year, 4505 Meats will be bringing their Southern Pride smoker and BBQ menu to the Thursday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Expect smoked brisket, pork shoulder, chicken, sausage and delicious sides on the menu as a preview of what’s to come at their new Divisadero Street location. Their Best Damn Cheeseburger, breakfast sandwiches, and other specials will still be available on Saturday mornings.

Salute the ‘Za: the Practically Perfect Pie

Invented in Greece, perfected in Italy, and an American obsession since the late 1800s, the life of this pie has been a particularly charmed one. Whether street eat, quick serve or bistro-elegant, pizza’s continuing evolution assures its popularity for at least another century or two. A thick slice of history. Ancient Greeks started the dough rolling with their round flatbreads topped with spices, seasonings and oils—actually closer to focaccia bread than pizza, but that was before tomatoes came into the picture. That didn’t happen until the end of the 18th century, when residents of Naples began to top the flatbread with what they now realized were non-poisonous tomatoes. Street vendors sold the dish in the poor areas of Naples before the opening of the world's first pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba, in 1830. Pizza passionistas and history buffs, take note: it is still open today, selling pizza from the same spot. The humble pie took a royal turn around 1889, when chef Rafaelle Esposito was invited to the palace of Italy's Queen Margherita and King Umberto I, to create a variety of pizzas for her. Her favorite, patriotically decorated with red tomatoes, white mozzarella and green basil, became known as the Margherita. Pizza arrived in America with the waves of Italian immigrants, becoming a street fave in Italian neighborhoods. Bragging rights to the first Italian pizza in America go to Chicago vendors, who walked up and down Taylor Street selling hot slices of pizza, keeping them warm inside cylindrical drums containing hot charcoal. First pizzeria in the US is widely known as Lombardi’s, opened in Manhattan’s Little Italy in 1905. According to Time, Lombardi’s proved to be enormously influential in the pizza world, serving as the training grounds for cooks who went on to open celebrated pizzerias such as John’s and Totonno’s. Unique twists kept pizza a hot commodity: in New Haven, Conn., Frank Pepe sold thin-crust “apizza,” with anchovies or without, and Chicago’s famous deep dish pizza was born in 1943, at the restaurant that fittingly came to be known as Pizzeria Uno. The Domino Effect. Pizza arriving hot and steaming on your doorstep went into overdrive in 1965 with the Domino’s franchise. The ’30 minute or less’ guarantee eventually was dropped due to lawsuits accusing Domino’s of encouraging unsafe driving, but they’ve put many a delivery innovation in place over the years, including corrugated boxes and the insulated, water-repellent bag to keep pizza warm (hot charcoal not accepted). Today, there’s the ‘Chipotle effect’ happening in the fast casual pizza space, with the launch of places like 800 Degrees, PizzaRev, and Blaze Pizza, all featuring an assembly line where customers choose from dozens of toppings, and 800-degree ovens that cook their selections in two minutes. The Pie Keeps Growing. A recent Zagat survey showed Americans united in their love of pizza—a full 83% consider it one of their favorite foods, and chow down on it at least once a week. Top topping: pepperoni, according to the National Association of Pizza Operators, almost 250 million pounds of it each year. Other favorites include extra cheese, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers and onions. Regional tastes have spawned many a different slice on each plate: •Neapolitan, with a thin, bubbly crust, usually cooked in a brick or wood-fired oven (more on this to come). •New York, also thin-crusted, with a sweet tomato sauce topped with a layer of cheese; purists prefer no other toppings. •Chicago goes thick crust, baked in a pan, rather than directly on the bricks or on a sheet, with cheese, followed by toppings and sauce; eat with a fork and knife. •Greek pizza is also baked in a pan, with a trademark oily crust, often topped with traditional Greek toppings like spinach, feta cheese and olives. •California is the land of superthin crusts and seasonal veggie toppings. •Sicilian, American-style, involves a thick square or rectangular crust, with toppings placed on top of the dough; in Sicily, the toppings, such as pecorino cheese and anchovies, are placed inside the crust. The global pizza palate is even more diverse: in India, pickled ginger, tofu and minced mutton top the pie; in Russia, a blend of tuna, mackerel, sardines, onions and salmon; in Japan, squid, and "mayo jaga" (mayonnaise, bacon and potato); in Brazil, green peas; and in Costa Rica, coconut. Next week, we’ll take a trip to Italy, where the legendary brick ovens first started to heat up – including the inspiration for our new and very own Wood Fired Roseli pizza, and pizza has reached a status so legendary, it has its own watchdog agency.