Well, it was more like gobble days. I prepped for this year’s gobble day for 4 days….in between work, snow, school, and all that crazyness I got the job done.

I’m not a big fan of the yearly buffet style eating frenzy that has become Thanksgiving so I decided to course it out for my parents, Mindy, and my friend Sean.  One reason I don’t like the normal buffet style Thanksgiving thing is that most of the food ends up becoming cold before anyone gets a chance to eat it…yeah, bring a chafing pan with burners and all that but who really has that at their home (me one day)??  My kitchen is tiny and I don’t really have space for people either but once again this little place in West Seattle rocked another cool dinner

I took the turkey apart and I created several dishes with some being really simple like the buffalo style turkey wings to the complex stuffed breast.  I looked back at last year’s Thanksgiving that I cooked and I have come a long way in just a year which is very exciting (click).  I just hope by this time next year I’ll be hanging out in Spain or Denmark….

Here it is, Gobble Day 2010.

The picture above is of a turkey leg confit. I cured the turkey leg overnight then cooked it in duck fat for 4 hours at very low heat.  I reserved the skin, made it crispy then used both pieces to finish a dish. I’ll get to that later.

First up was Pork Porchetta with roasted pumpkin seeds, pomegranate arils, fresh rosemary, and sherry vinaigrette.

Next up was the deep-fried turkey leg tossed in Frank’s Hot Sauce and clarified butter (the original buffalo wing sauce).

Next up, my winter vegetable clam chowder with rosemary bread bowl.

The meat and cheese course.  Brie, chorizo, and fromage with sea salt crostini. Contadina and rosemary.

Saute of turkey tenderloin with cranberry glaze served with “winter ratatouille”, crispy sage, and pumpkin/tonka bean puree.

Turkey leg confit with French lentils mixed with bacon, rutabaga, and potato topped with crispy skin and dill. There is a duck fat pan sauce that was served on the side.

The next dish had a bit more work involved.   I took the turkey breasts then flattened them out, and stuffed them with winter vegetables, sage, rosemary, and chanterelle mushrooms.

I wrapped it in turkey skin then tied it up.

I sealed it then threw it in the immersion circulator for a little bath time.

I had originally planned for it to be cooked in the oven but the oven broke midway through dinner so I had to resort to being all awesome and stuff.

Once it was done I seared it quickly in duck fat then let it rest and proceeded to slice it up.

Finally, plated up.  I wasn’t very happy with the presentation but the flavors all worked.

Stuffed Turkey Breast served on a bed of roasted cauliflower with satsuma orange glaze on top of parsnip/potato mash with cranberry/black pepper puree and pumpkin/tonka bean puree.  Pan sauce of course.

Until next year Mr. Gobble.

Eric