A Favorite Dinner

Looking back through the years of posts here, I see lots of pictures of salame, charcuterie, cheese, and bread. And no wonder: that might just constitute one of our favorite meals. For my part, these are simply foods that I love and now that I cook for a living, the appeal of a no-cook, ready-to-eat dinner is extraordinary.

Saturday while I was at work, Ann told me she had a surprise for me and in the midst of Saturday dinner rush, I promptly forgot about it. It was only after we returned from Fireworks Pizza in Leesburg on Sunday that she reminded me she had a surprise: a batch of bread dough rising, hidden in the oven so I wouldn't see it.



Ann's Pecorino Romano Bread

Ann wasn't too pleased with the loaf of bread, but it had an extraordinary crumb and great flavor. We demolished it over the next couple of days.

Delights, Largely Thanks to Friends

Although we keep a drawer full of cheese and salame at home (doesn't everyone?), it had been getting a little low until just this week when Bill, Tom, and Steven came over to attend Carter's winter concert. Bill came bearing the Robiola a Tre Latti the you see in the center and the jar of chicken liver spread next to it. I made the galantine behind the chicken livers. I don't know where the big chorizo came from, but I know I contributed the 5-year old Gouda. Tom brought the big chunk of farmhouse Cheddar, the green peppercorn-studded goat cheese, and the nduja in the foreground. A wonderful meal and thank you friends!

Tapenade

Ann asked me to make tapenade for the bread, so I spent a while pitting and chopping olives. And then she ended up not liking it ("too fishy"). Bummer. More for me.

And so we spent the evening noshing with a bottle of Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon while watching back episodes of Game of Thrones. A great evening!

Thanksgiving 2014

And another Thanksgiving is in the books, for Ann and me, our 6th, this one a good bit smaller than in years past. But though it was smaller, it is always a pleasure to gather with friends and family at the table to celebrate another year. It was really easy this year. With it snowing on Wednesday, there wasn't any business at the restaurant and I was able to prep most of the meal at work, letting us go slow and relax on Thanksgiving itself.

Ann and her Parents

Who is That Photo Bombing the Girls?

Appetizers: Turkey Rillettes, Galantine, and Cornichons

A Really Nice Right Bank Bordeaux

Ann Always Sets a Beautiful Table



Apple Cider-Brined Turkey Thighs Only This Year; No White Meat for Us

Ann's Bread and Saltine Cracker Dressing

Ann's Bistro Mash: Half Sweet Potatoes, Half Red Skin Potatoes

Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts with Pork Belly

The Obligatory Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Sweet Potato Tart with Cassis Cream and Black Walnut Streusel

And a 1991 Port to Finish off the Meal

Thanksgiving Galantine

For appetizers before our Thanksgiving feast this year, I indulged in a couple of favorite works of charcuterie, turkey neck rillettes and a classic galantine, a boned out chicken stuffed with a pork, blueberry, and pistachio forcemeat. Here's a little step-by-step show-and-tell on how to make a galantine.

Cut Through the Skin Along the Backbone

Start with a nice large bird (bigger is easier to work with); this is about a 4-pound fryer. Make an incision from stem to stern (neck to tail). Cut all the way down to the backbone.



Following the Carcass, Cut Down to the Breast Keel

Using a flexible boning knife, follow the carcass down the sides. When you find the oyster, the little pocket of meat on the back just above the hip, you will find the hip joint just below (towards the tail). Work around the hip joint and then when you can see it, cut right through the joint. As for the wing, as you are cleaning the backside of the rib cage, you will find a free-floating bone above the ribs that leads directly into the wing joint. Grab this bone and pull it up into the wing joint where it will snap off. Where it snaps is where you will find the wing joint. As you did for the leg, clean around the joint and cut through it. Once through the wing joint, locate the wishbone and scrape it down to its point. Do the same thing on the other side. Be sure to remove the wishbone.



Carcass Removed, Legs and Wings Intact

Once you have cleaned the carcass all the way down to the breast keel. Lift the carcass so that you can see where the skin attaches to the breast keel and very carefully separate the skin from the bone with the tip of your knife, being very careful not to puncture the skin.



Expose the Thigh Tips and Clean Down to the Leg Tips

For each leg, make an incision from the hip joint down into the leg joint, following the bone. Scrape the flesh away from the bone to expose it as you see in the photo above. Carefully cut around the leg joint and scrape the meat down the leg bone. Cut off the bone tip with a cleaver or heavy knife and remove all the bone.



Remove the Wing Tips; Scrape Down the Wing Bones

For each wing, remove the wing at the second joint and then scrape the meat off the remaining bone to remove the bone.



Boneless Bird, Squared Up, Meat Evenly Distributed

Lay the boneless bird out on a cutting board and square it up. Where the breast is very thick, cut it down and use the breast meat to fill in places on the skin where there is no meat. Your finished product should be rectangular and roughly the same depth in meat all over as in the photo above.



Add Forcemeat to the Center, Bring the Two Halves Together

Place the forcemeat in the center where the carcass used to be. It will take about a pound and a half of forcemeat to fill a 4-pound chicken. Bring the sides together and tie with butcher's twine.



Tie and Roast

Here you see the finished bird, breast side up, rolled and tied and ready for the oven. Bake in a moderate oven (350F) until a meat thermometer reads 145F. Remove, let stand so that the carry through will bring the final temperature up to 155F, and chill.



Slicing the Chilled, Finished Product

Chicken Galantine with Pork, Blueberries, and Pistachios