Easter Dinner

Tonight we had a lovely dinner. My parents brought the ham and the fruit salad. I made a potato side dish and the vegetables.

The spread:



Honeybaked Ham:



I roasted asparagus (and green beans) with about a tablespoon of olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and about a tablespoon of salt. (Gently mix all of the ingredients together, put on a cookie sheet, and bake in a 425-degree oven for about 15 minutes.)

We tried white asparagus for the first time. Honestly, the white is lovely and nice to look at but I liked the flavor of the green asparagus better.



Now, for the potato side dish.

Ingredients:
2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup grated Romano cheese
Kosher salt

Using a mandoline, cut the potatoes into thin slices. (We cut them into 1 mm slices.) Put olive oil in an 8-inch nonstick pan that can also go in the oven.



Lay the first layer of potatoes down in a circle in the pan. This will be the top of the dish at the end so you'll want to make it look pretty.



Brush each layer of potatoes with olive oil.





As you lay down the potatoes, press the layer down. Every other layer, sprinkle with kosher salt and grated Romano cheese.



Keep layering until you reach the top of the pan.



Put the pan over medium-high heat until the olive oil sizzles and the bottom is browned.



Once the oil is sizzling, put the pan into an oven that was preheated to 425 degrees. Cook for 20 minutes.



Before flipping, be sure to drain off any extra oil! You don't want to burn yourself.



You may have to loosen the potatoes with a heat resistant spatula prior to the flipping.



Flip it onto a lid.



Gently put it back into the pan.



Put it back into the oven for another 15 minutes.



Take it out, let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then cut into wedges and serve.



The true test for this dish? Everyone wanted more! Next time we will definitely have to make it in a bigger pan. It was the perfect accompaniment to ham and looked very elegant.

I hope everyone had a great Easter!

Turkey!

I was following Alton Brown's roast turkey recipe for the brining portion.

Ingredients:



* 1 cup kosher salt
* 1/2 cup light brown sugar
* 1 gallon vegetable stock
* 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
* 1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
* 1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
* 1 gallon iced water

First into the pot goes the kosher salt.



Next, the brown sugar.



Followed by the vegetable stock. I didn't have a gallon of this stuff so I used 5 cans and water for the balance of the 128 ounces.



When I saw the next ingredient (allspice berries) I was reminded of why I probably have them in my spice drawer to begin with!



I'm also a white peppercorn girl but you can use whatever you have handy.



I skipped the candied ginger as I didn't have any of that, either. I figured it wouldn't be too important, especially since I wasn't following the second half of the recipe (see link above).

I brought the mixture to a boil so that the salt and brown sugar dissolved.



After it was brought to a boil I was in a hurry to get the turkey in the brine. You can't put the turkey in while it's hot so I brought it down to cool (cooler than room temp) with ice cubes. I remembered to do a rough count of the ice cubes towards the gallon of ice water needed in the recipe.



I was fortunate to score brining bags from Williams-Sonoma this year so that's what I used.



In goes the liquid. You want to try to get as much air out as you possibly can prior to sealing the bag. Incidentally, you can also do this in a 5 gallon bucket. I did it once in a (clean, new) Home Depot bucket. But it's a bear to clean up so I prefer the bags.



After the turkey is done brining (6-12 hours), rinse it thoroughly inside and out. Place it in the pan and dry it with paper towels.



I used this wet turkey rub from Williams-Sonoma. I have to say that I'm not that impressed. The flavor was all right but, well, you'll see what happens.



Rub that stuff all over your turkey!



I mean, allllllllll over...



Next, take some veggies (onion that's been quartered, celery, carrot, and garlic cloves which have been peeled). Cut them into manageable pieces. For the carrots and celery I basically cut them into thirds.



Stuff 'em into that bad boy...or girl...



Put your probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and set the alarm for 161 degrees.



Per Alton's recipe, you want to roast it at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Not such a great idea with this particular wet rub since it has brown sugar on it. Anyway, then you turn it down to 350 degrees until it hits 161 degrees internally.

See why it's not a great idea with this rub?



I was honestly thinking of not showing you this photo. But I figured I'd might as well. I'm human, and not everything I make comes out looking like the best meal ever. I will say, however, that after we let this turkey rest for about 45 minutes we peeled off the skin, carved it, and had a great meal. It was delicious! I was so happy that it tasted good despite looking sketchy.



I made the best stuffing ever, incidentally. I used Grand Central Baking Company's recipe and stuffing roughly. I didn't have the fresh herbs for it, unfortunately, so I used dried parsley, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. It was crunchy yet soft (the oh-so-elusive balance!). It was perfect.