The Essential James Beard Cookbook (34 page)

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

Despite its Italian name, this is an all-American dish, probably invented in San Francisco to honor a famous singer. Now we remember her because of the dish. The whole point is in the chicken broth; if you have good, rich broth, your sauce will be properly flavored. If it’s good it’s marvelous, if bad—a mess.

For the Sauce

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2½ cups cooking liquid from
Poached Chicken
or canned chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup dry sherry

¼ teaspoon Tabasco

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

About 4 cups
Poached Chicken
, cut into bite-size pieces

2 red bell peppers, broiled until the skins blacken, peeled, seeded, and diced

1 pound spaghetti

¾ cup fresh bread crumbs, made in a blender or food processor from day-old bread

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, plus softened butter for the baking dish

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, then whisk in the flour. Let it bubble without browning for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the chicken cooking liquid, and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Add the cream and sherry and season with the salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Add the chicken and bell peppers to the sauce and keep the sauce warm over low heat.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, according to the package directions, until al dente. Drain well.

Butter a large shallow baking dish. Add the spaghetti to the dish, and spoon the chicken and sauce over the spaghetti. Cover the top with the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and dot with butter. Place in a preheated 475°F oven for a few minutes until the topping is glazed and the sauce is bubbling.

VARIATIONS

CURRIED TETRAZZINI:
Add 1 tablespoon or more curry powder to the butter when you first make the sauce. Let it cook for a minute before you add the flour.

TRUFFLED TETRAZZINI:
If you are feeling rich and elegant, add a finely chopped black truffle to the chicken. Instead of a mixture of crumbs and cheese, sprinkle ½ cup toasted sliced almonds over the top.

ROAST STUFFED CORNISH GAME HEN

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Four 1- to 1¼-pound Cornish game hens

1 lemon, halved

For the Stuffing

1
¹
⁄
₃
cups chopped yellow onions or shallots

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

2
¹
⁄
₃
cups fresh bread crumbs (made in a food processor or blender from day-old bread)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon, rosemary, or thyme, or use 1 teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon Cognac or Madeira

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rub each bird inside and out with the lemon halves. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Pour out and reserve half of the butter. Add the onions to the skillet and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the bread crumbs and stir in enough of the reserved melted butter to moisten them. Stir in your choice of herb and the Cognac, and season with salt and pepper. Stuff each bird, and skewer the vents closed or cover with a piece of aluminum foil. Truss with kitchen twine. Roast on a rack in a roasting pan in a preheated 350°F oven until the juices run clear when pricked with the tip of a sharp knife at the thigh, about 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and place on a hot platter. Let rest 15 minutes before removing the twine and skewers.

BASIC ROAST TURKEY

MAKES 14 TO 18 SERVINGS

Editor: To test with an instant-read thermometer, insert the thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, but not touching a bone. It should register 175°F.

One 18- to 20-pound turkey, giblets removed and reserved for another use

Half of 1 lemon

Basic Turkey Stuffing

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Strips of fresh pork fatback, bacon rind from slab bacon, or thick-sliced bacon

To stuff the turkey: Rub the inside of the turkey with the lemon half and dry with paper towels.

Stuff both the vent and neck cavity of the birds, using approximately ½ to ¾ cup of stuffing per pound. Do not pack, but fill loosely. If you like, use one type of stuffing for the vent and another for the neck—for example, a bread stuffing and a sausage stuffing. Draw the neck skin over the stuffing and tie it well or secure with skewers. Sew up the vent or arrange a piece of folded aluminum foil over the stuffing and skewer the opening.

To truss the turkey: Turn the wing tips under the back of the turkey. Using a long piece of kitchen twine, tie the legs together, wrap around the tail, and then secure the legs and tail together, leaving two lengths of string. Cross these under the middle of the back, wrap around each wing, bring together over the breast and tie. To keep the legs closer to the body, insert a skewer in the joint between each leg and thigh. Tie a piece of string from one skewer to the other, running it under the back. Massage the skin well with 6 tablespoons of softened butter, then salt and pepper it.

Line a roasting rack with strips of fatback. Set the rack in a fairly shallow roasting pan and place the turkey, breast side down, on the rack. Roast in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour, then turn the turkey on its side (to turn the bird, I use wads of paper towels), and rub the exposed turkey with 2 tablespoons softened butter. Roast for another hour. Turn on its other side, and rub with 2 more tablespoons of butter. Roast for a third hour. Turn the turkey on its back and rub the breast with the final 2 tablespoons of butter. Return to the oven and continue roasting until the turkey tests done. The trick of roasting a turkey is to keep the white meat from becoming dry while cooking the dark meat sufficiently. There is no certain test to tell you when the turkey is done, and you must rely a good bit on your judgment. Here are two general rules to help you. First, see if the leg can be moved up and down somewhat flexibly. (To my mind, by the time the leg is really loose, the bird is overdone.) Second, prick the leg joint with a fork; if the juices run clear or faintly pink, the bird is done.

Basic Turkey Stuffing

Makes about 12 cups

One of the simplest and best stuffings is prepared in the following way. Gauge about ½ to ¾ cup of stuffing per pound of turkey.

2 large yellow onions, finely chopped

10 tablespoons (2¼ sticks) unsalted butter

9 cups stale bread crumbs or toasted crumbs

2½ cups finely cut celery

2½ tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1¼ teaspoons dried thyme

1¼ teaspoons dried marjoram

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sauté the onions in 2
½
tablespoons of butter in a large skillet until translucent. Add the remaining butter, and allow to melt. Pour into a large bowl, and mix with the crumbs, celery, parsley, thyme, and marjoram. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove from the oven and place on a hot platter. Allow the bird to rest for 15 minutes if being served hot. If being served tepid, let it cool gently at room temperature. Remove all the twine and skewers. Proceed to carve.

VARIATION

TURKEY WITH GARLIC AND BLACK PEPPER:
Stuff the turkey with a 6-inch length of dry French bread that has been rubbed with garlic to saturate it, and then rolled in freshly ground black pepper. This makes a fairly heady seasoning, and is especially good for small turkeys roasted on the spit.

TRUFFLED TURKEY:
Use either the white Italian truffles or the black French variety. The night before roasting the turkey, cut the truffles in slices
¹
⁄
₈
inch thick. Loosen the breast skin with your fingers and arrange the truffle slices underneath. Also place several slices in the cavity of the bird if you are not stuffing it. Secure the neck and skin and vent, and truss. Rub well with a mixture of salt, freshly ground black pepper, butter, and a little thyme. Follow the basic roasting directions above.

BRAISED TURKEY WINGS

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Braising is excellent for turkey wings, which are not the tenderest or most toothsome parts of the bird. Be sure to remove the cover toward the end of the cooking time so they brown nicely. Serve with puréed potatoes and a cucumber and watercress salad.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, sliced

2 carrots, cut in julienne strips

2 celery stalks, cut in julienne strips

2 or 3 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

6 garlic cloves, smashed under a knife and peeled

1 cup dry white wine

4 turkey wings

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the butter in a braising pan or flameproof casserole or Dutch oven over medium heat, add the onion, carrot, celery, and parsley and let them wilt down in the fat for 5 minutes. Toss in the garlic, add the wine, arrange the turkey wings on top, and season them well with salt and pepper. Cover and braise in a preheated 350°F oven for about 1½ hours, or until tender, removing the cover for the last 20 minutes.

VARIATION

TURKEY WINGS PROVENÇAL:
Add 4 or 5 additional garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, and a cup or more tomato sauce—homemade, naturally!—see
Light Tomato Sauce
and proceed as above. Serve with polenta.

TURKEY WINGS PIQUANT:
Proceed as in basic recipe, but add one 4-ounce can chopped green chilies and 1 tablespoon (or more to taste) chili powder.

TURKEY CHILI

MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

Serve the chili with rice, polenta, or tortillas.

5 to 6 pounds turkey parts on the bone: breast halves, drumsticks, and thighs

1 medium yellow onion stuck with 2 or 3 whole cloves

2 celery stalks

2 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 small dried hot chile peppers

Kosher salt

1 cup ground sliced natural almonds

½ cup ground peanuts

One 4-ounce can chopped green chilies

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

2 green bell peppers, seeded and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup small pitted green olives

½ cup blanched almonds

Cover the turkey parts with salted water in a deep pot, and add the clove-studded onion, celery, parsley, and hot chilies. Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat and cover the pot. Simmer until the turkey is tender but not falling off the bones, about 1 hour. Remove the turkey from the broth, and when it is cool enough to handle, strip the meat from the bones in good size chunks. Discard the skin and bones.

Strain the broth into a bowl and discard the vegetables. Degrease the broth and return it to the pot. Boil over high heat until reduced to 4 cups (this should take at least 15 minutes). Add the ground almonds, ground peanuts, green chilies, and chili powder. Simmer until nicely thickened. Meanwhile, sauté the chopped onions, bell peppers, and garlic in a large skillet with the olive oil until limp, about 5 minutes. Add to the sauce and cook for 5 minutes. Add the turkey meat, and heat though. Finally add the olives and blanched almonds, and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes. Serve hot.