Recipes

This is a general recipe. You may need to double the recipe to get enough to cover your bird. Spices may be added to this mixture to create your own unique flavor.

Ingredients

In a non-reactive container, mix until dissolved the following ingredients:

• 1 gallon of cool, water.
• 1 cup of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt (if using Morton’s Kosher salt, use 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup of white or brown sugar

Pour the mixture over the turkey and refrigerate.

Additional spice and seasoning suggestions:

Add any or all of the following to your brine mixture: bay leaves, juniper berries, black pepper corns, dried thyme, and garlic cloves.

Roasting

The goal in cooking a turkey is to get your bird cooked and beautifully browned without drying out the breast. Here’s the problem: white meat cooks faster than dark meat.

Traditionally, the bird is cooked breast-side up. This method causes the breast meat to cook quickly while the legs that are under the bird cook slowly. What you end up with is dried-out breast meat in order for the legs and thighs to be done properly.

So what is the answer you ask? Roast your turkey breast side down. Now before you brand me a heretic and have me burned at the stake, hear me out. Yes this is not how your mother or grandmother did it but I am telling you, once you try this method you will never go back to cooking your turkey breast-side up again.

Why do it this way?

Because when the breast meat in on the bottom, not only is it protected and cooks a little slower but all the juices that are in the turkey drain down into the breast making it moist, tender and juicy. Unless you have your heart set on a Norman Rockwell presentation, this is the best position in which to cook your bird. It may not look as pretty as the other, but who carves their turkey at the table anyway? We never do.

The last tip to the perfect turkey is to put your bird in the oven a leave it there until it is done. Calculate the amount of time that it will take to cook your bird, then put it in the oven and don’t peek until the timer goes off. No basting is necessary.

You don’t need to baste if you cook the turkey breast-side down.

Recettes du French American Center : Brownies

Ingredients (32 brownies):

• 250 g unsweetened chocolate (8 squares)
• 250 g butter
• 5 eggs
• 500 g sugar
• 15 ml vanilla extract
• 150 g flour
• 250 g coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Then to make them:

• (1) Grease a 33×22 cm pan and pre-heat oven to 190 deg. C.
• (2) Melt the chocolate and the butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool while beating eggs.
• (3) Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla at high speed for a full 10 minutes.
• (4) Blend in the chocolate-and-butter mixture at low speed.
• (5) Add flour, beating just to blend. Stir in walnuts, if desired.
• (6) Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Do not overbake. The brownies are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly dirty.
• (7) Cool in pan, then cut into squares.

Ingredients – Makes about 40 cookies

• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup (250 ml) peanut butter
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) butter or margarine, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) chocolate covered peanuts

Preparation

• 1. In a small bowl, stir flour with baking soda and salt until well blended. In a large bowl, beat peanut butter with butter until smooth and creamy.
• 2. Beat in brown and granulated sugar until light. Then beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture until combined. Stir in chocolate covered peanuts.
• 3. Roll dough into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
• 4. Dip a glass in granulated sugar and flatten balls slightly. Garnish with peanut halves if desired, pressing gently into cookie.
• 5. Bake in centre of preheated oven until cookies are a light golden colour and tops are firm to the touch, about 12 minutes.
• 6. Transfer to a rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Ingrédients :

• 1 chou blanc coupé en lamelles
• 1 petite carotte coupée en morceaux
• 1 petit oignon coupé en lamelles
• 24 cubes de fromage ou de poulet

Vinaigrette :

• 1 CC de vinaigre de vin
• 2 CC de jus de citron
• 4 CS de mayonnaise
• 2 CC de moutarde
• 1 CS d’huile d’olive
• sel et poivre

Recette :

• Préparez la vinaigrette.
• Ajoutez les légumes et mélangez.
• Laissez macérer une demi-heure.
• Servir en accompagnement d’un plat dans des petits ramequins.

Recette de ‘au Feminin’

Recettes du French American Center : Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients pour 2

• 125 g (soit 1 cup) de farine
• 1/2 cuillere a cafe de levure chimique (baking powder)
• 1/4 de cuillere a cafe de bicarbonate de soude (baking soda)
• 30 g soit (1/6 cup) de sucre
• 240 mL (soit 1 cup) de lait fermente (babeurre au Quebec ou buttermilk aux USA)
• 1 oeuf
• 1 pincee de sel
• 1 cuillere a soupe de beurre fondu ou d’huile vegetale

Preparation

• Dans un grand bol, melanger la farine, le sucre, la levure, le bicarbonate et le sel. Creuser un puits et reserver. Dans un deuxieme bol, melanger le lait fermente, l’oeuf et l’huile, puis verser le melange dans le puits precedemment creuse. Incorporer delicatement le liquide a l’aide d’un fouet ou d’une spatule, en prenant soin de ne pas trop travailler la pate. La pate a pancakes est semblable a la pate a muffins dans la mesure ou la presence de grumeaux ne pose pas de probleme.
• Dans une grande poele anti-adhesive, faire fondre une noix de beurre a feu moyen. Quand la poele est bien chaude, y verser des petites louchees de pate, espacees chacune de 1 a 2 cm. Au bout d’une a deux minutes, de petites bulles eclatent a la surface des pancakes : c’est le moment de les retourner. Faire cuire l’autre cote une minute supplementaire.

Servir aussitot avec du sirop d’erable tiede. Pour un petit-dejeuner americain typique, accompagner de bacon.

Note

Le buttermilk en France est bien connu par… les Bretons! On en trouve partout en Bretagne, sous l’appellation « lait ribot » ou « lait de beurre ». J’adore en boire en accompagnement des galettes de blé noir.

Hors de Bretagne, c’est plus difficile à trouver…

Je me demande si le lait fermenté vendu un peu partout sous le nom de « kéfir » (on l’utilise dans la cuisine arabe je crois) ca pourrait faire l’affaire.

D’après Heidi Swanson