NOT THANKSGIVING

A Party for Eight

SHAKE UP TRADITION

Last spring, I invited some very special friends to dinner. I wanted to make a meal that would surprise and delight them but wouldn’t require me to spend a week in the kitchen. The guest of honor was an American writer living in Paris; he not only writes about food but is a wonderful cook himself. I thought, what could I make that would really please him?

Because he clearly eats French food all the time, I decided to make the most American dinner I could think of, and what’s more American than roast turkey? But, I thought, it’s not Thanksgiving—wouldn’t that be odd? Then I decided, that’s just it: It is odd, and it’s just the kind of surprise that I like. It’s delicious, and it’s the last thing he would expect me to make, so it’s perfect.

The real secret here is that roast turkey is one of the easiest meals I can make. I roasted it the way I roast a chicken, with the vegetables—fennel, carrots, onions, and potatoes—right in the pan. Then I made spinach gratin, smashed sweet potatoes, and popovers. When we were ready to sit down to dinner at the kitchen table, I had the plum tart cooling on the stove. Almost everything was made in advance, so I could spend all my time at the party. The atmosphere felt like sitting down with your family, and it was one of the most magical evenings I can remember.

The next week, my friend e-mailed me from Paris. He told me that he gave a “bite-by-bite” description of the meal to his wife, who unfortunately had not been able to join us. He said she was so annoyed and jealous that she made him sleep on the sofa that night. I guess the dinner was a success.

PERFECT ROAST TURKEY

SERVES 8

Remember how your mother used to get up at 4 A.M. on Thanksgiving so she could put the turkey in the oven to roast for ten hours? Then she had to baste it all day to keep it from drying out, which, of course, it did anyway? Forget it. A 12- to 15-pound turkey cooks in 2½ to 3 hours, and you let it rest for at least 20 minutes before you carve it. Everyone will say, “This is the best turkey I ever ate.” I use an organic turkey whenever I can.

1	fresh turkey (12 pounds)
	Kosher salt
	Freshly ground black pepper
1	large bunch of fresh thyme
1	lemon, halved
3	Spanish onions
1 head	garlic, halved crosswise
4 tablespoons	butter (½ stick), melted
½ cup	good olive oil
8	carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
10	red new potatoes, halved
3 heads	fennel, fronds removed, cut into wedges through the core

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, lemon, one of the onions (quartered), and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey. Peel and slice the remaining onions, toss them with ¼ cup olive oil, and scatter them around the turkey.

Roast the turkey for 1 hour. Toss the carrots, potatoes, and fennel with ¼ cup olive oil and add to the roasting pan. Continue to roast for about 1½ hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.

Stir the vegetables and return the pan to the oven. Continue to cook the vegetables while the turkey rests. Slice the turkey and serve on a platter with the roasted vegetables.

SPINACH GRATIN

SERVES 8

Paul Hodges is a wonderful cook at Barefoot Contessa. He makes the best creamed spinach in the world. I decided to sprinkle it with grated cheese and bake it to make a gratin. It was creamy on the inside and browned and crunchy on the top. You can assemble the dish with the cheese topping a day or two ahead, then bake it before serving.

4 tablespoons	unsalted butter (½ stick)
4 cups	chopped yellow onions (2 large)
¼ cup	all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon	grated nutmeg
1 cup	heavy cream
2 cups	milk
About 3 pounds	frozen chopped spinach, defrosted (5 10-ounce packages)
1 cup	freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon	kosher salt
½ teaspoon	freshly ground black pepper
½ cup	grated Gruyère cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the cream and milk and cook until thickened.

Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach and add the spinach to the sauce. Add ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Transfer the spinach to a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining ½ cup Parmesan and the Gruyère on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Fresh spinach is much more work and not much different in flavor in this dish. Use frozen.

SMASHED SWEET POTATOES WITH APPLES

SERVES 8

Parker Hodges, the chef at Barefoot Contessa, decided to substitute caramelized apples for the traditional marshmallows on the top of a sweet potato puree. I think it’s delicious and adds a flavor that’s more tart than sweet. You can always make two small dishes: one with apples for the adults and one with marshmallows for the kids. Both versions are always on the Barefoot Contessa holiday menu.

4 pounds	sweet potatoes (about 6 large)
½ cup	freshly squeezed orange juice
½ cup	heavy cream
4 tablespoons	unsalted butter (½ stick), melted
¼ cup	light brown sugar
1 teaspoon	ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon	ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons	kosher salt
1 teaspoon	freshly ground black pepper
	FOR THE TOPPING
3 tablespoons	unsalted butter
3	McIntosh or Macoun apples, peeled, cored, and cut into eighths
3 tablespoons	light brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Scrub the potatoes, prick them several times with a knife or fork, and bake them for 1 hour, or until very soft when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven and scoop out the insides as soon as they are cool enough to handle. Place the sweet potato meat into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and add the orange juice, cream, butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Mix together until combined but not smooth, and pour into a baking dish.

For the topping, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apple wedges and brown sugar and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned on both sides. Place on top of the sweet potatoes.

Bake the potatoes and apples for 20 to 30 minutes, until heated through.

It may be called a yam in the grocery, but chances are it’s a sweet potato, which comes in many colors from pale yellow to dark orange (see this page).

POPOVERS

MAKES 12

There are three secrets to great popovers: Make sure the pan is hot before you pour in the batter, fill each section not more than half full, and no peeking while they’re in the oven. They’re much easier than you expect, and they make any meal feel festive.

1½ tablespoons	unsalted butter, melted, plus softened butter for greasing pans
1½ cups	all-purpose flour, sifted
¾ teaspoon	kosher salt
3	extra-large eggs at room temperature
1½ cups	whole milk at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Generously grease aluminum popover pans or custard cups with softened butter. You’ll need enough pans to make 12 popovers. Place the pans in the oven for 2 minutes to preheat. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, salt, eggs, milk, and melted butter until smooth. The batter will be thin. Fill the popover pans less than half full and bake for exactly 30 minutes. Do not peek.

Serve hot.

The easiest way to pour batter into the pans is with a liquid measuring cup.

PLUM TART

MAKES ONE 9½-INCH TART

I’ve made lots of plum tarts over the years because I love Italian prune plums, which are in season in late summer and early autumn. But my favorite plum tart comes from my dear friend Anna Pump, who has written many of the Loaves and Fishes cookbooks and has taught me more about food than anyone I know. This recipe is adapted from her Loaves and Fishes Party Cookbook. Since I love the combination of prunes and Armagnac, I’ve made Vanilla Armagnac Ice Cream (recipe follows) to accompany this delicious tart.

2 cups	all-purpose flour
¾ cup	finely chopped walnuts
¾ cup	light brown sugar, lightly packed
12 tablespoons	cold unsalted butter (1½ sticks), diced
1	egg yolk
2 pounds	firm, ripe Italian prune plums, pitted and quartered lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until crumbly.

Press 1½ cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9½-inch springform or tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin-side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in.

Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it’s lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Use a metal measuring cup to make a straight edge.*

VANILLA ARMAGNAC ICE CREAM

MAKES 1 QUART

Sometimes the easiest recipes are the best. This is based on the ice cream that was made for hundreds of years in Philadelphia. It’s very rich but light. Rather than making a custard, all you do is flavor heavy cream, then freeze it in an ice cream freezer.

3 cups	heavy cream
⅔ cup	sugar
1 teaspoon	pure vanilla extract
	Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
¼ cup	good Armagnac

Warm the cream, sugar, vanilla, and vanilla seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Be sure that all the sugar is dissolved; you will no longer feel any grittiness from the sugar when you rub some cream between your fingers. Strain into a bowl, cover, and chill well.

Add the Armagnac and freeze the mixture in an ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer’s directions. Spoon into a freezer container and allow to chill in the freezer for a few hours before serving.

This is a soft ice cream, so there’s no need to soften it before serving.

Armagnac is brandy from the Gascony region of France. You can use Cognac or good brandy instead.