The Musical Innertube - Volume 2, Number 165 - Joy Stocke's Thanksgiving
It's Turkey Day! But have you ever tried Peiking Duck? Or brisket? If you'd prefer the usual turkey & fixin's, here's chef Joy Stocke and Don and John with some delicious holiday recipes!
Before we get to the recipes, Don promised to post his Grandma's green bean casserole trick: pour the Cream of Mushroom soup in a saucepan and turn the heat on low. When the soup is warm, stir in the green beans (fresh, frozen, canned, whatever) and coat them with the soup. Then, transfer the whole thing to a casserole dish, top with fried onions, and bake!
Now, the Thanksgiving recipes that will surely turn your holiday into a HOLIDAY! First, from a true chef, Joy Stocke:
Preserved Lemon Butter
(use it to flavor your bird)
This flavorful compound keeps well in the fridge for up to one month.
Ingredients:
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
2 Tablespoons finely chopped salt-preserved lemons or preserved lemon paste
Optional: 1 clove of garlic, chopped.
Optional: 1teaspoon chopped herbs such as rosemary
Place the softened butter in a small mixing bowl. Add the preserved lemon and any seasoning.
Mix well.
If using for a turkey, double the recipe. Before roasting, generously slather the butter beneath the bird’s skin. You can do this up to 24 hours ahead. Keep the bird in the refrigerator until ready to use.
You can also use the butter for pasta, bread, and to melt over vegetables.
Easy Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetables
Depending on the size of your guest list, one pound of roasted vegetables will feed four to six people.
1 pound broccoli florets, or
1 pound cauliflower florets, or
1 pound carrots, cut into thick coins, or
1 pound asparagus, cleaned
1/4 cup olive oil, canola oil, or avocado oil per pound of vegetables
Salt and pepper to taste
Balsamic vinegar
Preheat oven to 410 degrees
In a bowl, toss the vegetables of your choice with the oil. Coat well. Set aside.
Line a sheet pan with foil or with parchment paper.
Spread the vegetables evenly over the pan. Allow space between the vegetables for more even roasting.
Sprinkle with salt. I like to use Maldon salt or flaky sea salt, but table salt is fine.
Roast until fork-tender and edges have crisped up, 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the vegetable.
Begins by setting your timer for 15 minutes. Remove the tray from oven and gently toss the vegetables. Return to the oven for fifteen minutes.
Remove the vegetables from the oven when they are fork tender and drizzle them with the balsamic vinegar.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
All Butter Pie Crust
Ingredients
1 ¼ cup (150g) all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
½ cup cold butter
½ teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons ice cold water, plus more if necessary
Cut the butter into small cubes and set on a plate. Place the plate in the freezer for 15-30 minutes.
To make the crust: Add the flour and salt to a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter cubes and pulse again for 20-30 seconds until pie dough starts to resemble tiny peas
Or, using two forks or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until the dough starts to resemble small peas.
Add 2-3 tablespoons water to the dough. In a food processor, pulse until dough comes together just a bit, resembling small beads. Or, if using a fork, gently work the water into the dough. The dough should still be somewhat crumbly; if very crumbly, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until the dough just comes together. If your dough is too wet, add 1/2 tablespoon flour until it comes together. Do not overwork the dough or it will become tough.
Place the dough onto a well-floured surface and form into a disk shape, then wrap with plastic wrap or in a reusable bag. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes-1 hour or up to 2 days. Dough can also be frozen for up to 2-3 months if well wrapped in both plastic and then foil.
Once the dough has been chilled for at least 30 minutes, place it on a well-floured surface and use a well floured-rolling pin to roll the dough into a round shape about 1 inch larger than an upside-down 9-inch pie plate. Fold the dough in half to help transfer it to place in pie plate. Unfold and ease the dough into the pan. Trim the extra crust around the edges of the pie plate and discard excess dough. Flute the edges of the crust however you’d like. I use my finger and thumb to pinch the dough or you can use a fork and press the times into the crust. Cover the pie crust tightly with plastic wrap and place pie pan in the refrigerator while you prepare your pie filling.
For an apple pie, bake the pie at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking for 35-45 minutes. All in all, the pie will bake for about one hour, give or take a few minutes. You'll know the pie is done when the apples are soft and the crust is golden brown.
For a pumpkin pie, bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes longer, or until the pie is set. Check for doneness by giving the pie a gentle wiggle. The center may jiggle a bit. The pie will continue to set up as it cools.
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From kinda-chef John Timpane:
THANKSGIVING SLOW-COOKER PULLED PORK
This is a five-ingredient, remarkably good-tasting way to make a pork roast. You can pull it apart, load it on sandwiches, and eat it that way, or throw it in a bowl and scarf it up.
Ingredients:
1 Boneless pork shoulder (1-2 pounds)
1 packet onion soup mix
1 24-ounce bag fingerling potato medley, washed and cut
1 16-ounce bag baby-cut carrots
2 cups of chicken stock
PLUS ONE SLOW COOKER!!!
Recipe:
Wash and cut the potatoes and carrots.
Wash the pork roast and pat it dry.
Lay the pork roast in the slow cooker.
Tuck the vegetables around their new best friend, the pork roast.
Pour the chicken stock around and on the pork roast and veggies.
Pour the onion soup mix on the pork roast. Just pour it on top.
Plug the slow cooker in and put the top on. Set it for LOW and cook for 6-7 hours or HIGH and cook for 4 hours. You may, if you wish, stir the veggies every hour or so. But do *not* touch that good pork roast!! It knows what to do. When the dinger dings and it’s done, let the roast rest for 5-10 minutes. You can ladle the veggies into a separate serving dish if you wish, or you can just spoon them straight out of the cooker. The pork will be all fall-apart-y; you can easily cut in with a metal serving spoon.
Accept compliments with gracious humility.
LEEK AND POTATO SOUP
A great winter soup. Also a great Turkey Day side dish.
OK, there’s a lot of brouhaha, ha ha ha, about this dish. Some people claim you make it with a roux, and others say you don’t have to use a roux, it’s great just as a thick, creamy soup. I don’t usually go the roux route, but when I have gone the roux route, the roux route is to be rooted for. This recipe is for the non-roux route, but I really realize the roux route has rizz.
Some folks make this soup with pieces of cooked potato and leek floating around, and others make a thick, creamy, saucelike soup. This recipe is for the latter, but the former is also yummy.
You can make it ahead of time, stick it in the fridge, and warm it up. Delicious. If warm, it is leek and potato soup. If cold, it is called Vichyssoise.
Ingredients
3 yellow or Yukon Gold potatoes
2 large leeks
3 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup half-and-half or cream
Salt and pepper
Parlsey or chives (if a garnish is desired)
Recipe
Wash, peel, and clean the potatoes. Slice into quarters or dice. Fill a large pot with a mixture of 1 cup of the chicken stock and 1-2 cups of water. Put in the potatoes. Do not boil first and then stick in the potatoes. Shock the potatoes: put them in, then turn up the heat so the pot boils. My rule of thumb is that the potatoes are done when a fork goes through them fairly easily, about 20 minutes.
While the potatoes are on:
Wash and clean the leeks. Even in the best of stores, fresh leeks may retain a little bit of dirt. So this is how you clean them: Slice off the top and bottom of each leek. Cut the tops off just at the point where they start turning green. Slice the leeks lengthwise. Now slice them crosswise, fairly thin. Then plunge the chopped leeks into a large bowl filled with cold water. Swish them around with your hands, agitating them. Have as much fun as you wish. Any sand or soil should fall to the bottom of the bowl. Carefully lift out the leeks (avoiding the dirty bottom of the bowl) and put them in a drainer. You may wish to give them a final rinse at this time.
Heat up a pan at low-to-middle heat, melting the butter.
Stick them leeks in there and sauté them until soft. The leeks, not you. The aroma is heavenly.
When the potatoes are done, spoon them into a drainer.
Set up your food processor.
Zam them leaks and potatoes in the processor. Fun fun fun! As you process, dribble in some chicken stock (half a cup) and cream/half and half (same), just enough to make a thick, creamy base. Add salt and pepper at this stage.
When you like the looks of things, pour the leek and potato mixture into the pan. Heat the soup through, stirring frequently. You should be using medium-low heat. Avoid burning. At this point, you can test for seasoning, add a little more stock and/or white stuff, again aiming for a creamy, thick-but-not-unpourable soup.
When it’s done, you can either serve it immediately to your starving mignons or stick the soup in the fridge and run like roaring blazes in all directions. The soup heats up very nicely, and, as mentioned, it can be served cold. If you wish to garnish it with, say, parsley or chives, neither I nor anyone else will report you.
I know plenty of people who call it vichyssoise no matter whether cold or hot, and then take delight when the praises flow in. “This is delicious! And you know French!”
THANKSGIVING WHOLE SALMON
Some folks have salmon for Thanksgiving. We’re talking them big, honking whole salmons. My son-in-law, the excessively wonderful Taylor Ross, taught me how to cook such a beast. It feeds a lot of folks, and, best of all, it’s dead easy (or I wouldn’t do it, yo). This is the wrap-it-in-tinfoil-and-head-for-the hills method. However, you can line a baking sheet with aluminum or parchment paper and do just as nicely. But this is my favorite method. In Mexico once, I went to a house party at which salmon was served in this way. They prepared the salmon right in the aluminum foil, wrapped it up, and just laid it on the barbie. Hey, why not?! It was delicious.
Ingredients
A big, festive yard-long filet of salmon
Aluminum foil
Garlic
Olive oil
Butter
Salt, oregano, basil leaves, and pepper
Sprigs of sage and thyme – you really need sprigs to make this the best way.
2 lemons
Oven
Temperature gauge
ANOTHER SEASONING IDEA is dill weed, parsley, and capers.
Recipe
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Wash that salmon and pat it dry.
You can line a big baking pan with aluminum, or you can make a nice aluminum boat for Mr. Salmon.
Unroll two long strips of aluminum. Lay the salmon skin-side-down on one of them. Make a “boat” around the salmon, turning up the sides so the aluminum foil becomes a vessel. You can either fold the strip over the salmon or use the second strip as a top.
First, let’s make a nice garlic essence! Peel and smash three or four cloves of garlic and drop them into a small saucepan containing maybe ¾ of a cup of oil. Sauté the garlic until it starts to bubble. Spoon out the garlic. Get rid of those garlics and keep the oil.
Smash some more garlic.
So you got your salmon awaiting your attention in its aluminum boat.
Using butter and the newly smashed garlic, massage the salmon all over. Leave the garlic in.
Pour the delectable garlic essence all over the fish. Use your fingers to smooth it around the lucky fish.
Hit that business with the salt, pepper, and oregano.
Place sprigs of sage and thyme, as well as the basil leaves, all over that fish. OR JUST HIT IT WITH DILL WEED, PARSLEY, AND CAPERS.
Slice the lemons thin and place the lemon slices all over. [Note: I do not do this. I prefer to hit the salmon with lemon right after it comes out. Different strokes!]
Pinch the aluminum cover shut.
When moving the fish in its new boat, be very careful not to cause any rips or tears in the aluminum. This thing is going to cook right in its aluminum suit! Stick that devilishly beautiful mess in the oven (or the barbie!) and get on your ankylosaurus and giddy-up!
But come back in 10 minutes.
See, the whole idea is that the fish, sealed in its nifty aluminum boat, will steam in the lovely essence and cook all over. You can help this delectable process. After about 15 minutes at 350, the oil around the fish will begin to sizzle. With a turkey baster or a plain ol’ big spoon, look in on Mister Salmon every 10 minutes or so and baste it with the lovely liquid. BE CAREFUL. IF USING THE ALUMINUM BOAT, DON’T TEAR IT!
Mr. S. won’t take too long to cook. The orange flesh turns the color of an Orange Julius. My estimate is that you should be fine after 22 minutes or thereabouts.
If using a baking sheet, it’ll be easy to get Mr. S. out. If you’ve gone the aluminum boat route (and I always do), PLEASE be VERY careful. Have a helper. Wearing five-finger oven gloves, carefully move Mr. S. to a level surface, keeping him as level as you can.
Standing back a bit, open the boat. The first blossom of steam is wonderfully tasty, but don’t get your face in it.
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Finally, here's Don's wife's recipe for pumpkin soup. Use this one. You wouldn't want to eat whatever Don cooks.
Pumpkin soup
You will need a food processor for this recipe.
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of yellow mustard seeds
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped or smashed
1/4-inch slice of ginger peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves
1 29 ounce can of pumpkin puree
1 32 oz. can/box vegetable or chicken broth
1 hot pepper - cut in half. Remove the seeds if you don't want the soup too hot.
1 can of coconut cream
Salt and pepper
Curry powder
Fresh lemon
Shredded sweetened coconut
In a big pot over medium heat, heat the oil. When the oil shimmers a bit (but doesn’t smoke, you don’t want it too hot), toss in the mustard seeds and cook until they pop. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions appear a little translucent and the celery is bright green. Then add the garlic, ginger and bay leaves, stir for 2-3 minutes.
Add broth and pumpkin. Fill the pumpkin can 1/2 way with water and add that too. Bring to a simmer - lower heat, cover and cook for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and let it cool until it's lukewarm. Remove the bay leaves. Put about 1 cup of the soup aside - you will use this later to add heat to the soup.
Puree the rest of the soup in small batches in the food processor, returning it to your pot. Add salt, pepper and curry powder to taste.
Take the cup of soup you set aside, put it into your food processor and add the hot pepper and puree.
Add a small amount of the puree with hot pepper until the soup has a bit of heat. Add the coconut cream a little at a time to taste. Add a little bit of fresh lemon juice to taste. Serve in small bowls - garnish with the shredded coconut.
If you have some of the puree with hot pepper left over, freeze it in an ice cube tray and then you have it for the next time you make pumpkin soup.
JOHN
Greetings listeners and happy holidays. This is the time of year where you get together with friends and family and have a ball to celebrate, to be grateful, to observe the climax of the year and the passing of the year into a brand new one. And it would not be the holiday season without having on our special guest, our special friend of the podcast, Joy Stocke! Welcome back, Joy!
JOY
Thank you, guys. I'm thrilled to be here.
JOHN
Now Joy's gonna be talking to us, and we'll be talking back to Joy, about cooking and ideas for holiday dishes, including dishes you can make yourself ahead of time, or dishes you can make with family and friends as sort of a teamwork thing, and the stuff that she likes to make for the holidays. And one of the reasons we're having Joy on is because we love her holiday stuff! We've eaten it! A lot! And so, Joy, tell us, what do you think about when you're starting to make your spread for a holiday gathering? What's on your mind? What are some of the things that you really like to cook?
JOY
Well, I very much like to prep vegetables ahead of time. I put on a podcast like the Musical Innertube, something like that.
JOHN
Yes, indeed. Excellent product placement! That is what it’s all about! You are such a professional. Thank you so much!
JOY
Thank you. Thank you, but I'm serious. And so, one of the things I really do like to do by myself, like, if you make Brussels sprouts, you know I have to cut the ends of all of those and like you want to get all of this stuff done before the actual holiday, because otherwise you're really screwed. And so, I like to prep all my vegetables for roasted vegetables. You know, I don't know about you guys, but I really think ahead if I'm having a bunch of people and we're casual, I will set a formal table, but because there's so many people, it's paper plates, guys. We we're a big Catholic family, and there's just too many people. And I love a beautifully set table. Listen, we got little kids, so you get silly Thanksgiving napkins.
JOHN
Oh good.
JOY
Yeah, and. And you know, I I really do think about the table setting. You know, I live we were just talking. I live out in the country, I just go scrounge. I mean guys, you don't have to go buy fancy flowers. Any neighborhood you live in you can. Clip things. Off peoples boots, you can't. I've been wanting to do that but but so when you talk about the overall prep, I will think very much. It. Head about having all the things I need. Like if you're going to do really beautiful China. Have that ready. Have the silver. I will use real silver. I do not like using plastic. So that's. I just don't like plastic utensils with my food. That not that you if you serve it to me, I will never, you know, refuse a beautiful meal with plastic forest. But on a holiday. What I'm saying is a holiday. I I will use good silver. And what I mean. Is not grandma's silver. I mean the silverware from my drawer in the kitchen. OK. Yeah. So, you know, I I I really think it's important for everybody to do it. What matters most if there's a small group, say A4 set a beautiful table with all your China. If you're a big family like me and you guys may remember this. Do you remember the lineup of ladies in the kitchen after dinner? Where one's washing? Ones drawing ones putting away secretly. I loved it because I like to sit at the table and listen to everybody. But I don't want to be the. One doing it so any you know. So. So that's really. My prep, because the bird you'd prep the day ahead too, or even 2 days ahead and you guys may have, you know, your own. Everybody's got their own version of cooking the bird, but you can season the bird two days ahead and, you know, put a little butter and salt under the skin. And keep it in the fridge and. You're you're ready to go, so. As much prep as you can do now, if you're working full time and you can't prep, I'm going to really say there are amazing places now. Many grocery markets from my local 1 to Whole Foods that will make your whole dinner. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I have to say, if you're a busy mother or grandparents or you're just a single person who's working full time and hosting 10. People order it. That's great.
JOHN
And take credit.
JOY
For it. Hey, Todd. If it's good, take credit for it. It's bad.
Speaker 4
And there's some new wrinkles on it. I've I've seen commercials now where Popeyes will give you a Cajun Turkey. For your, for your dinner. And so yeah, there's there's there's some interesting wrinkles coming up the the Pike.
JOHN
I've been threatening for years. We're on the we're on the border between Pennsylvania and Jersey and I've been threatening for years of ordering a turducken because I have. Yes.
JOY
Oh God, you have.
JOHN
I know it's. Easy now, and I've been thinking it's time. It's reduction is actually wonderful. Well, I mean that's I know it sounds ridiculous, but it really is. And when it's done nice and you get. A nice cross slice. And they they remember to take all the bones out. It's actually just.
JOY
Wait, where have you had a turducken?
JOHN
Well, uh, OK, I had it. Turducken at somebody's house in Philadelphia because there are several meat places which will make one for you. And they got one and they said we're. Going to have Richard Duncan. And I looked at my slice and I said that's a jar jacking, you know, because you could see for those of us, for those who don't know, tur, duck pen is a chicken inside a duck inside a Turkey. And all three of the bodies have been deboned. And then you basically make sure they're all clean. And then you put one inside the other, put the other side of the other. Stuff it all and tie it up really tight in the cook it for 3 1/2 year. No, I don't know how long. You cook it, but.
Speaker 4
It. Yeah, it it's it's a long, long time.
JOHN
Yes, cause you gotta get all the way down to that damn chick.
Speaker 4
Yeah. And you get all you got to get all three birds cooked all the.
JOHN
True. Yeah. So it's a, it's a Philadelphia, I would say, you know it it is sort. Of a Philadelphia, German thing.
JOY
So if you.
Speaker 4
I I've never had one. So congratulations, John. You're, you're you're. You're the first of our little. Here to have.
JOHN
Had one and I alone have returned to tell anyway.
JOY
Well, if you return the towel to tell and you ever want to go in on a turducken with me, and then we cook it, I would try it with you. I mean early on.
JOHN
My God, you. You are so.
JOY
OK and I'm already. I'm thinking of sides with it already, but we should stay focused on what?
JOHN
Yes.
Speaker 4
Go ahead. I'm gonna stop talking. I'm too hyped. I will also say for my part, we can talk about the Turkey because most people are going to be making turkeys. I have three boys. They do not like Turkey. They do not like. Am so my wife and I were always stumped on what to cook for various holidays, and mostly we wound up with brisket of beef. They would. Eat that.
JOHN
No. Yeah.
Speaker 4
So that was that was OK. But for Thanksgiving one year, my wife. I don't know how she figured it out. Got a recipe for Peking Duck. And she managed to buy a duck because at the supermarket you can get a frozen duck. So this one takes forever. And that's why I'm not going to recommend it necessarily, because you have to buy it like a week in advance, bring it home. She would string it up. With wires from on the racks in the fridge and let it dry in the fridge. For like a. Week until it dried out enough and then and then she had recipes for how to make the duck, how to season the duck, and then you would make these what they what? She called baking pancakes, which are. Basically just pancakes made out of flour and water. And you would make the pancakes the way you would normally make pancakes. You'd make the batter and you'd fry them up and then put them aside. And then for serving the duck, you would. There's not a lot of meat on a duck, so we would put the duck out there. And and then we would take the pancakes and you put a little hoisin sauce, which is I've seen it referred to as a Chinese ketchup. It's basically just a sauce that that is used a lot in Chinese. OK. And some scallions and then some of the some of the some of the skin and you would wrap that up in a in the pancake and eat that and then you would carve the duck? And. And have the. Yeah. So it was terrific. So so anyway, like turkeys, what's the best way to to take care of a Turkey? I.
JOY
Oh my God, that sound in heavenly God.
Speaker 4
Haven't done it so.
JOY
Turkey is I I happen to like Turkey. And as as John mentioned, we're I'm I'm not far from John. So we're really heading to rural area right after where John lives and we're starting where.
JOHN
Me too.
JOY
Live there are lots of farms that make local turkeys, and yes, they're more expensive. I know that, but if it's once a year, you know again one of the things I think of with holidays, many of us are on budgets and but for holiday, if you spend a little extra on a Turkey, I don't think there's. Again, that's something that's a personal choice, but I kind of recommend it. Put some, put some of your pennies away and just just do it cause a local Turkey. I don't know what you get, John, are incredible. They're juicier.
JOHN
I think I that's that's a perfect place to start is to get a fresh Turkey from a local farmer. And in our case it's an Amish farm. We've been doing it for 30 years and you can really tell the difference. You can tell, start starting fresh. You can tell you do you do have to pluck that thing a little bit.
JOY
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
JOHN
They they're, they're almost all plucked. But you really do have to go through it with maybe.
JOY
Yeah, over the birds, yeah.
JOHN
Yeah, with a knife and a pair of pliers and a microscope. But.
DON
Other than that.
JOHN
No, it's alright. I I take, I take a, you know, maybe 20 minutes. Just making sure there's they're not any quills sticking out of the skin. But you're right anyway.
Speaker
Yes.
JOY
Yeah, yeah. So I mean. I think the most basic way to do it is everyone knows is to roast a Turkey and there there are many many ways you can start in a cold oven and you can start in a hot oven. But I say season and John you have your recipe too I say season the bird before. Cook it and and I do a really simple mixture of butter. Softened butter preserve lemon.
JOHN
Mm-hmm.
JOY
And Spike, do you know what spike is?
JOHN
Spike the.
Speaker 4
Yes.
JOY
The seasoning, it's like a 2025 spice secret seasoning and I love it. Yeah. And you can I got. I got it at my local shop. Right. And so I make a paste of that and put it under the skin.
JOHN
Ohh. Like God, I'm writing this sucker down. That's great.
JOY
It's really, really good. And I can it's preserved lemon paste or chopped preserved lemon, and I can tell you, John, I just put up my last latest batch of preserved lemon and when I see you in December for our cookie baking, I will have a gift of a a jar of. Preserved lemons for you.
JOHN
OK.
JOY
I think they're a secret ingredient and everything. They're tangy. And you know, acid always acid adds this flavor balance and it brightens the dish. So I will rub that and I do it two days ahead. I just and I leave the bird. In the fridge and and you know, depending on the size of the bird. I roast it. If if it's, you know like. 15 minutes per pound and it's a 10 LB bird. Do the math and that's it. They're so easy. And then you baste it, because then the and The thing is with when you get a local Turkey, you get that beautiful, fat, rich fat coming and you can you can cook these on aromatics. And John will tell you how he does it. I don't. I keep this really pure. Maybe some onions in there, but that's it. But then you keep base. Testing it and you can, you know, add a little Pinot noir to the. Tasting stuff you can add white wine. You know what's really great, too? Vermouth. People. Vermouth is. Yeah. Vermouth white for mouth. I it's my secret ingredient. Because, honestly, you would not. Might not believe this about me, but I don't always have wine in the house, which I know is a.
DON
Wow.
JOY
Rock. But I always have gin and vermouth.
JOHN
You have just disillusioned me forever about you, Joy.
JOY
I know, but, but if you want some gin, just. Come right over.
Speaker 4
Chicken, not skirt. Is that right?
JOY
Come with this gin joint. Yes, yes.
JOHN
Juju is stuffing Joy. Do you do a?
JOY
Stuffing at all, I do a stuffing and you guys, I do the OK confession. I have just been doing stouffers. You know, the dry stouffer's bread crumbs and gang. It never fails. And I've.
Speaker
Right.
JOY
Paid stock to put in it. And I I love it. I just love it. So that's that's my recipe and. You know, do. Whatever you want, add paprika. Some people like. Pika pepper. But that's the basic recipe.
JOHN
Terrific.
JOY
What about you?
JOHN
Ohh. The only. Well, listen I would that I'm coming over. You know, I I make an apple cornbread stuffing which is easy to make. It takes a long time to prepare, but it's actually pretty easy and.
JOY
T.
JOHN
So that's and and I based with with orange juice, I start with or. Yeah, I start with orange juice and then I stop adding the orange juice. Once the the bird starts making its own juices. And I base it every 30 to 45 minutes because I'm afraid.
DON
Ohh nice. Yeah.
JOHN
Will go dry, which it never does, but it's just it's nice. Orange is a great thing if you have an orange, you can just like press it all over the bird's body when when you're first starting out preparing the bird, you know, and and maybe with some butter, but just get that bird nice and orangey and.
JOY
Ohh that's beautiful.
JOHN
It's an old it's an old trick of taking the orange and. Sticking it inside the cavity even before you put the stuffing in to freshen it.
JOY
Do do you cook umm. And so the temperature that that I roasted Turkey at is 325. Do you have a temperature? Yeah, 55° and it is about 15 minutes per pound. So you.
JOHN
Exactly. No. Same thing. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean.
DON
There are.
JOHN
Yeah, there are. There is this new school that says, you know, really roar at it at 450 for the first half hour and then stand back. I don't, I just, I just stick, stick it in there and run like hell. It's run like Hell school of cooking over here at Johnson Plains South.
JOY
Can do the math.
Speaker 4
This the slow and the slow and go.
JOHN
Yeah. No, but it's great. And you're right, so much of this. Stuff you can do the the night.
Speaker
Or.
JOHN
You know, it's so, I mean, almost all of it. We were talking about the Irish way of of of roasting a bird. And I'll just mention it. I've done it a couple of times. Never done it with the Turkey though I know people who have basically all it is is you. You keep the bird refrigerated. As I think Lauren was doing. That's done. I think that's what Lauren was doing at the Peking duck. You you refrigerate it overnight if you can, and it's sort of, I don't know it it it does something to the bird. It seals it really. Nicely and you'd think well, overnight or officially, no, that's not gonna be nice. Well, actually, it helps. It helps keep the juices that you want in there in and you lie in the bottom of the pan with root vegetables, right. You know, potatoes, onions, turnips, parsnips, anything you like. Any carrots, carrots, anything. That is good in your family. Just line the bottom with that and put the Turkey plump on top of it. Throw it in the oven and run like hell and it it cooks a whole meal and and it's it's great roasting. It's great.
JOY
Yeah.
JOHN
You know, not very, not very different Joy. You and I are in the 325 uh Fahrenheit. You know, class together low and slow. What do you?
DON
Hello.
JOHN
Serve with yeah. The thing the question I wanted and had him on is talk about greens for what are the Greens that you would serve with Thanksgiving or or holiday dinner?
JOY
Well. When I give you the list and then I'll give you my favorite last. So I prepare Brussels sprouts, which my family loves. I prepare broccoli, cauliflower and roast carrots, roast them on sheet pans separately. Each of those separately to make a.
Speaker
So I will.
JOY
Platter and I I make it so. Simple. I cost each of these vegetables. With olive oil. And a little salt and pepper spread them on on the sheets and I cook those. And this is where you really kind of have to watch them, depending on the thickness. I cook those at 400°. Because I want to roast them. I want a little crisp crispiness to them and anywhere between 10 minutes to 20 minutes. And it really depends on the thickness of your cut and all that and and after 10 minutes stir them around. And and and then when I take them out I dose them with a little balsamic vinegar. Yes, and they're good, either hot or cold. Like you can serve them hot if you've got oven with room and you want to bring them out hot, or you bring them and put them at room temperature on a plate and they go. So and that all could be prepared ahead and you either. Bake it the day of or make it ahead and have your platter, and please serve them at room temperature. You do that. My favorite classic green bean casserole and I like it with frozen green beans, French cut green beans I like. It with campbells. Mushroom soup. I I'm not branding here. I'm just telling you it's the old school. But of course, if you like this recipe and you want to go organic, you can get organic cream of mushroom soup. And then good old Frenchy's onion, onions, or any kind of onions. Something about that combination. And I have made it from scratch. By the way, I have, you know, I have done this whole thing from scratch and made my homemade fried onions, which I have a recipe for, and they're delicious on any. Thing, but it's not that much better. This is just. Of my era, probably your era, and it works. So there you go. That's my very favorite.
Speaker 4
My grandmother's key to the whole thing was to wash and cut the green. She bought fresh green beans. She didn't like the frozen ones, so she would buy them and cut the ends off and then trim them up and wash them and then set them aside. And then she would pour in the cream of mushroom soup. Into a pan and get that warm and then put the green beans in. In the cream of mushroom soup while it was. Heating. Up and then stir it around and cover it, and then put all that in the casserole pan and put the the onions on top and it just gave the green beans a little extra time to absorb more of that. That that sweet mushroom sauce.
JOHN
Oh my goodness, Angus.
DON
Oh.
JOY
My God, I'm going to try that. That's excellent.
Speaker 4
Yeah, I thought that was a. Pretty good idea goodness.
JOY
That's a good, that's. A good tip I I'm gonna.
Speaker 4
Yeah.
JOHN
Yeah, we're gonna post that. OK, you could write that up. That's really.
JOY
Good, I'm trying it this Thanksgiving. We can report back on stuff.
Speaker 4
There you go. There you go. Now. Something else that my wife would do besides the Peking duck was also a pumpkin.
JOHN
Outstanding.
Speaker 4
Loop and I know John, the last time we talked around Halloween, you were talking about pumpkin souffle and this is a pumpkin soup. It's customizable. There are various ingredients that you can either add or subtract depending on taste, but the heat of the pumpkin soup is is.
DON
Yes.
Speaker 4
Adjustable the the way you do that is that I'll and I'll post the the recipe on our website, but you get the all the ingredients together and you make the soup. One of the ingredients is a hot pepper. And I I asked my son, who makes it now, what kind of hot pepper? And he said anything he said you could do, you know, a poblano. You can do a jalapeno. He said. I would not advise ghost Peppers because that's going to kill you. What he said. Yeah. And So what you do is you make.
JOHN
That will make you a ghost.
Speaker 4
The you you leave the Peppers out and you make the the. Soup. And then you take about a cup of the soup out. And you have chopped your Peppers and you add that to the to the cup of soup that you have removed. And then the final phase is to put it through a a food processor or a blender to get it smooth. So the first thing you do is you, you put that aside and you run the regular soup through your food. Processor will run to get it nice and smooth and put that out. Then you take that cup that you've put aside with the Peppers in it. You run that through the food processor, then you have the two separate bowls and the smaller bowl is the hot 1.
JOY
Ohh that's smart.
Speaker 4
And you can add as much of that spoonful by spoonful to the main soup as you want to get it hot enough for you. And then you also you always have that on the side, so that if somebody gets the soup and wants it a little hotter, they can add a little more and make it hotter.
JOY
I love it.
Speaker 4
So that's how adjustable it is. And then you put a little, uh, shattered coconut on the top and it's really good.
JOY
So I have a question, how hot? Do you like it?
Speaker 4
Me. Uh-huh. I'm about a medium. But I I raised children and I don't know how I did this, but I raised children that the love love heat. For example, we went to visit my youngest son when he was in college and he took us to a. A Thai restaurant. And they had a board and they had all their stuff listed all their their dishes listed, and then they had a. A numerical line next to it 1 was mild, 10 was really hot and so you could order whatever you wanted and then order it according to the numbers. How hot you wanted for the heat. My son ordered a 10 and added extra on the side that he could. Wow. So my kids are like iron stomach. I am not there. I am maybe closer to A2 or a three if that on that scale and maybe 3 is pushing it a little bit, but they're they're they're way out there. So yeah, I would just add a little bit of the heat to it, but they would put a number of spoonfuls in and. Get it nice and spicy.
JOY
So it sounds like you're going to need more than a cup of that. I'm I'm thinking if I made this recipe, I need more cup than a cup of the hot stuff. I need 2 cups because I like things hot. Two. Yeah.
Speaker 4
Well, you could do that. Yeah, you. Could do that as well.
JOHN
Very cool, very nice. Talk to us about an activity of or a recipe or food that you could turn into some teamwork where everybody could help you know the the family could gather around at the table and do different roles. So what comes to mind?
JOY
Because this is Thanksgiving, the first thing that came to mind. Is a homemade apple pie. And we also have a lot of orchards around here, right? Yeah. So you could make it a real if you have even for. I always include kids because we happen to always have kids that are events. And So what you can do with the family then is make the pie because gotta peel the apples core, the apples slice the apples. But you know cinnamon sugar on them. Somebody can make pie dough. You could make Crumb you know, if you want to do a crumb topping. So if you had a big group. You could really have all this but. If you do a group activity again, we were talking about planning ahead right and and so you've got to have the ingredients. Otherwise it becomes chaos. Like it's not helping you, you know.
JOHN
Right.
JOY
They're like, hey. Do you have the cinnamon and you're trying to get Thanksgiving dinner? So to do that, like, say, it's a planned day, you do the apple orchard. 3rd I would suggest making the pie crust ahead because it's fun to roll it out, and if you have kids they can have cut outs. I remember making it with my mom. She always did extra cutouts that she put cinnamon and sugar on and and I my pie recipe is butter I like and all butter pot pie crust with Kerry gold butter. Carry gold is Irish butter. It holds its shape really well and the key with pie crust is you may or may not know. People are intimidated by. It so I say a couple.
Speaker
Things.
JOY
Don't be so afraid of it. Don't worry if it's a little tough. This is a family doing something fun. You know? It's like, oh, my God, is my pie crust. Flaky. Probably will be. But what if it's not? What if people are having fun and they reroll the dough five times because you've got a 5 year old trying to roll the dough? I say if you do a group thing and it's going to help you. It's it's keeping people occupied as well. It's a it's a thing. So you can make the dough ahead and you know, I can post a recipe. It's such a simple I call it cross as a simple recipe. But I find people are afraid of. So I want to say, don't be afraid of it. Just roll that damn dough out. Let's say six people are doing this, so I would have the app, the bowl of apples, an empty bowl to put the the cut apples another either compost bin or something for the peels and and all the pits to go. So people could just put their refuse. And in that and so you have. A cutting board? And and then, you know, ask people. Do you know how to core an apple? If you don't have an Apple core.
Speaker 4
No, how do? You do that. Go ahead.
JOHN
How did you do it? I have a. A. Just a. Peeler that I do, I go around in the circle, I stick it all the way through the app and it's, you know, and then I push the the little thing out. The end. Yeah. Yes. Yeah.
JOY
Or yeah, so you can do that if I cut it into quarters just. Dig it out. Seems to go. It seems to go faster. You know, everybody's like trying to core the thing, clip, clip, clip, clip, clip.
Speaker 4
There you go.
JOHN
It is the run like Hell school of cooking here at at exactly the musical leadership. It's great. It's so, you know, it's so wonderful Joy because it's such a common sense thing to say. I mean, wife, wife Fudge, who is making you always have to core a whole apple. Where are the?
JOY
You cut it out with the clearing. Run like Hell school of cooking.
JOHN
Apple police they are not here, you know? So yeah, it's that's a great idea.
Speaker 4
Well, plus like you said earlier, if you got a 5 year old rolling out the dough and if it's not perfect, you're all going to eat it and you're all going to tell the five year old, hey, this is. Great, right? Literally.
JOY
Absolutely. The funny thing is, you're gonna love it. You're gonna love it cause you got.
JOHN
Sure you are.
JOY
You know, so. A couple of things and you've got, you know, somebody coloring somebody, slicing and then you wanna have, you know, your mixture of cinnamon and sugar and salt to put to to coat the the apples because they will turn brown. So you want to get them coated and you don't have to do it. A ton of this stuff, and it's Thanksgiving. Folks don't tell me I don't eat sugar. I don't eat this. We're having fun and I'm using these ingredients so.
JOHN
I've had my metformin. You know, so.
JOY
Yeah, you're good with. You're lucky if you get metformin, you're alive forever. Yeah, my metformin that can I.
Speaker 4
Exactly, yeah.
JOY
Have that in my Christmas stocking this year.
Speaker 4
I'll send you some of mine. I got an extra bottle.
JOY
Ah, you're gonna outlive me now.
Speaker 4
Probably not, but one of the other things that I found that's that's fun to do on Thanksgiving Day as you're getting the table together.
JOHN
A chance no.
Speaker 4
Is to not just have group things, but assign people different dishes. Like I said, my son now makes the the pumpkin soup and another one will be in charge of the brisket or whatever we're we're doing.
Speaker
Yes.
JOY
I just love brisket. Are are we? Are we in Passover or something? Yeah, I know.
JOHN
My my head is exploding. That's so nice. I. Just wow, yeah.
Speaker 4
It well, you know, again, we do the SUV for the brisket.
JOY
Do you feed your brisket?
Speaker 4
Yes, we soup you the brisket. So again, whoever's in charge of that actually starts at. The night before or the OR early in the morning to let it sit in the water and the soup. The is the is the the long thing that you stick in a pot of water and it heats up the water to exactly the right degree and then leaves it there. And you put the brisket in a big plastic bag and stick it in the water. It cooks it beautifully. Then when it comes out, all you need to do is put it in the oven for a little bit. Roast the top, brown it and it's. And it's beautiful. It's a beautiful piece of meat.
JOHN
I love it.
Speaker 4
And and and but again, you know we we assign the different dishes to different people. So everybody's working sort of in tandem to get everything on the on the table that needs to be there.
JOY
How do you season that brisket?
Speaker 4
Yeah, I don't know. I'll have to. I haven't. It hasn't been my turn to make it, so I don't know, but I it's certainly just salt and pepper, but. But there may be, you know, there could be a rub that you could come up. That that would help it.
JOY
I was just curious if.
JOHN
I think the correct answer to that one is who cares? Yeah. Yeah, let's have that brisket.
Speaker 4
How however you want to season it? Let's put it that. Way.
JOY
I'm going to suggest that to the family guys, let's do it. Thanksgiving brisket. I love brisket.
JOHN
Hey. I did pulled pork, I did pulled pork in a slow cooker. Uh, two weeks ago. I'd never done pulled pork before.
DON
Ohh, how was that?
JOHN
Was deaf and what I did was I. Well, OK, so this all of this is cheating. And I'm sorry it's cheating. Got a bag of fingerling potatoes. Wash those. Truckers quartered them likewise. Got a bag of them, you know, sliced carrots, right? You know that they've all been sliced and and everything. We're just take it. We're we're taking every possible, you know, shortcut here, then you know, it's the next thing is you stick that you you wash the roast off. The you know the pork roast off. Stick it in the slow cooker. Arrange the vegetables around it. Pour in about. Two cups I guess of of maybe a cup and a half of of stock. It could be vegetable. It could be chicken, it could be beef. And then I have my trusty onion soup mix, which I pour on. Everything except my corn flakes. That stuff is great. And you, you do it last because you don't want to. Pour liquid on top of the thing you are actually seasoning your meat with that. And then I put the top on and I walk away, Renee, for about, you know, six to seven, six to seven hours at low. And it was ridiculous. I mean, I never had it before and I didn't do anything, you know, I just thought, I gotta try this. I don't know. I don't know what's gonna happen. Write write down. Sometimes you just try it. You do. You know, you know it, it sounds.
Speaker 4
Yeah. Well, did you? Did you put it on buns and serve it as a sandwich, or did you just? Pull it out and mute.
JOHN
You you can. You can do that. It was just for two for the two of us. And we ended up freezing about 3/4 of it. But we had a we had a ball, we had a ball, and I had. I had. You don't need greens because you you got vegetables, you know. And you could have a salad with, I suppose. But we didn't. We just.
JOY
Did you have? Have did you have wine with it? Any kind with?
JOHN
You can what I had is I just got a cheap pinot to to douse the thing with right before I started cooking, you know? Yeah. And then? And then I drank. I drank the rest of the bottle. I.
JOY
Yes. Nice. Nice, nice, nice.
JOHN
For dinner, good for you. Yes, yes.
Speaker 4
Well, I wonder it tasted good, John.
JOY
You got a lot of resveratrol in your system, along with the metformin.
JOHN
No, but the thing. Ohh man. Yes. I'm never gonna die. You're just you're just see me.
JOY
Nope, this is good. I'm so happy, I'm happy.
JOHN
They're going to put me on a flag post somewhere in Washington, DC and wave me forever. Anyway.
JOY
Now I I've been thinking. A lot about this. We're we're in. A kind of a funny era where nothing. Everything's bad. You eat too much. Turkey and tryptophan. You're drive home and die. You have a glass of wine. You've lost all your brain cells. You you know, you turn around backwards and you lose your bout. You. Like everything is fear based now and I would say for holidays. Listen, if you've got real health issues. I mean, I'm the queen of making healthy food. I have no there. And I think every this is an important point. Every meal should have some very healthy foods for people because there are people dealing with health issues. And they should be available. And I know in a big family somebody's, you know, got gluten intolerance etcetera, etcetera, fine. But then can we just have fun? Can we just? And I'm not advocating over eating like I used to till I couldn't. Walk it but. If it happens and it's one day and it happens. I don't. I wish we would. Go toward the. The sight of pleasure of just not for a day, you know. David Bowie, let's. Be heroes just for one day heroic eaters.
Speaker 4
Yeah, the Doctor Who, who prescribed my metformin when he prescribed the metformin. He said to me. Now remember when you're on vacation. You're you're on your. Own. And what he meant was you can go ahead and splurge as long as you know, day-to-day. You take care of yourself and. Then on a day. When everybody else is there and all the food is there and you don't have to be a glutton and pig out and have to wear big pants because you can't buckle yourself anymore, but you you you can go a little nuts and then go back. To your normal. Routine the next day and it won't kill.
JOHN
You. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we could do this for a long time. Couldn't enJoy. We could keep going, but we I think we have a pretty solid lineup for. Pretty groaning board for the holidays. So UM. You know, try some of these recipes if you. Have questions? Send them to Don and. We'll we'll be back. With Joy in December to talk about things like cookies, the the pleasure side of things, and the. Stuff that makes holiday suite for a lot.
DON
How?
Speaker 4
Of us? Yes. And we we will post some of the recipes that we've been talking about today on our website musical on youtube.com. And yeah, if you have any questions or any suggestions or you make the dish yourself and. And you know, say, hey, I I did this and it was better or whatever. Musical inner tube@gmail.com send us an e-mail let.
DON
Us know. Thanks, Joy.
JOY
Thank you guys. It's always a pleasure and happy Thanksgiving to both of you.
Speaker 4
Same to you. We're thankful for you. Yep.
JOY
Thank you.
Joy Stocke
Joy Stocke received a Bachelor of Scince in Agriculture Journalism and studied food science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison where she learned how to professionally test recipes. For more than thirty years Stocke has devoted her life to telling stories through the lens of family, culture and food. For more than a decade she was founding partner and Senior Editor of the online magazine, Wild River Review.
Stocke has written about and lectured widely on her travels in Greece and Turkey and the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. She continues to study techniques of cooking and recipes with home cooks from around the world and pracitces her craft in Central New Jersey and New York City where she leads cooking classes. Her essay, Turkish American Food, the first about Turkish cooking in America, was published in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.
In addition to Tree of Life: Turkish Home Cooking and Anatolian Days and Nights: A Love Affair with Turkey, Land of Dervishes, Goddesses and Saints, both co-written with Angie Brenner, she is author of a collection of poems set on the island of Crete, Cave of the Bear and a novel, Ugly Cookies. She is currently writing a memoir about her time in a fishing village on the Sea of Cortez.
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