The First Thanksgiving, Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, 1914 Posted on 10/31/2018 4:36:00 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
The First Thanksgiving, Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, 1914
When we were first married and hosting our first Thanksgiving dinner together, my husband and I salt-water brined our first Thanksgiving turkey. We were very pleased with the difference this made, and continued to do it. However, a few years ago we learned about the ‘Judy Bird’ - named after Judy Rodgers of the Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, who used the technique for chicken. This involves dry-brining the turkey in salt, and does away with the need to fill your refrigerator with a giant container of water right when you need that space the most. And it turned out amazing – the breast meat had the texture that chicken thigh meat usually does – and we have settled on this as our permanent approach.
Most brining instructions indicate that you should not do this with a Kosher or other pre-seasoned turkey; but I believe that in the past, some of the Freepers have indicated that they have brined Kosher turkeys with good results. I haven’t done it myself, but here, from ‘The Joy of Kosher’ is an article about it:
https://www.joyofkosher.com/holidays/how-to-brine-a-kosher-turkey/
and the link to Food52 for the ‘Judy Bird’ instructions:
https://food52.com/recipes/15069-russ-parsons-dry-brined-turkey-a-k-a-the-judy-bird
A recent King Arthur Flour newsletter featured pretty little brandied mince-meat tartlets; I love mince-meat pie, but if you aren't into it, I think you could do these easily with any pie-filling:
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/christmas-brandied-mince-tarts-recipe
Chef John of Food Wishes makes a cheddar/spring onion biscuit using the kind of folding technique used for puff pastry; and the biscuits look very good:
https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2017/03/irish-cheddar-spring-onion-biscuits.html
-JT
I hate moving. Every time we’ve done it, it’s been pouring down rain. And I always lose at least one box of something. I don’t know where it goes.
So do we! Or we end up with boxes that sit in the cellar, unopened for ten years.
Peanut Soup
Serves 10-12
Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 Bay leaf
3 tablespoons flour
8 cups chicken stock
2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 3/4 cups half-and-half
Salt, pepper, and Tabasco to taste
For garnish: unsweetened whipped cream, finely chopped peanuts, and bourbon for the adults.
Instructions:
Sauté the onion ands celery in the butter until softened, 3-4 minutes.
Stir in flour and cook two minutes longer.
Whisk in the chicken stock, drop in the bay leaf, and over high heat bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until slightly reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir this to keep it form scorching. Remove bay leaf then press vegetable solids through a sieve so that mixture is smooth. Return to heat and whisk the peanut butter and the cream into the liquid. Warm over low heat, keep whisking to avoid scorching and do not boil, for about five minutes. Do not boil! Taste and season to taste with salt, pepper, Tabasco.
Serve warm, garnished with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream, and a sprinkle of chopped peanuts. Pass a pitcher of bourbon so adults can add a bit to their serving.
Thank you. That’s not quite the same recipe. The magazine had the most delicious turkey recipe served with Oyster Rockefeller dressing and sour cream gravy.
I wonder if I could contact BH&G and ask them if have it on file somewhere they can access. Pillsbury did that for a cake for me, movers lost that too. Pillsbury emailed the recipe a couple of days after I inquired.
If they can’t, I will try the recipe you found. Thanks again!
Hello to all. I think I will be selecting recipes from this site. There are many really appealing recipes.
https://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/global-thanksgiving#1
This was very popular when I made it for a dinner:
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roasted-butternut-squash-spiced-pecans
The Vidalia Onion Souffles look very nice:
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/vidalia-onion-souffles
But I’ll never see Vidalias around here in November. Here’s an article that includes suggestions for buying them in bulk when they’re in season, and storing them (late for this year, but keep in mind for next):
http://www.sweetonion.com/vidalia-sweet-onion-handling-storage-and-tips/
You're idea should definitely work!
https://archive.bhg.com/browse/
They should have a phone number somewhere on their website.
My mother usually used recipes. But she used to talk about her mother's stuffed tomatoes and never got her recipe. So she worked it out for herself and they became a family favorite.
Won't format anything else here but hollow out 6 firm ripe tomatoes. Pour off watery juice but save pulp and I probably got the seeds back in. Place upside down to drain. Brown some ground beef. Chopped onion. Dry but not necessarily hard bread cubes. Salt pepper. Top with bread crumbs (no I like cracker crumbs better) and a pat of butter. Bake until done. Better heated up the next day.
Sometimes they split open while baking. We didn't care!
And I never got her recipe either. So I cobbled it together. Haven't made them for years.
Pretty bland in the sriracha days we're living in. I bought a bottle and one tiny little dab set my throat on fire. Horrible stuff.
You wil get there with your stuffing. Please share if you do. I'm crazy about oysters.
Do you have a rough idea of when the recipe was published?
That might help to narrow it down, if you can find a library that archives magazines, or if BHG does. Most are probably digitizing them now.
It was a special holiday issue from around 1980. Everyone raved about the stuffing and it became the traditional recipe we used until the moving company lost it. My quest will continue!
We were out this afternoon but I plan to look at the link Aliska sent and if I can’t find it will contact BH&G first thing on Monday. I will definitely share the recipe when I find it.
It was a special holiday edition from around 1980.
You may want to change ‘dressing’ to ‘stuffing’ in your searches. The terms are interchangeable in various parts of the US. My husband (PA) and I (MD) grew up with ‘stuffing’.
I hope you find it!
Ooops! My husband now also says that another term is ‘filling’.
If y’all are steak lovers, Costco has their whole PRIME sirloins on sale for $5.49 (Tampa). We regularly bought the precut steaks because they are SO tender. The precut ones are usually $7-$8 a pound but if you buy the uncut piece, you can cut your own however thick you like and it is an amazing price for prime steak. We now cut our own and freeze them, too.
If family can’t be there, you can always make friends...
I’ve got boxes in closets, like that ;-)
Will look into this tomorrow. We bought some pre-cut at the 7-8 dollars per lb. a few weeks ago.
Thanks for the tip!
We have a similar story to yours. No family nearby plus we are all getting older and just don’t like to travel. We have some really good memories though.
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