A twist on Thanksgiving tradition

The Thanksgiving holiday is a time to rejoice with family members and friends and share all the reasons why one is thankful. Another holiday tradition is, of course, the meal that adorns the dinner table. Family recipes are often passed down from generation to generation, but Thanksgiving also affords the opportunity to try some new dishes.

If you’re looking for a new recipe for your holiday feast repertoire, read on for some new and old favorites from Longboat Key chefs.

Appetizer
BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE
Servings: for 30 people; recipe can be halved

Ingredients
Soup
10 pounds butternut squash
3 ounces yellow onion
6 ounces chopped carrots
8 ounces heavy cream
3 ounces olive oil
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
2 gallons chicken stock
4 ounces white wine
1 teaspoon cinnamon
8 ounces brown sugar
1 pinch nutmeg
2 potatoes

Cut squash in half, remove seeds and then roast in oven until soft (400 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes). Cool, then remove from skins and reserve. In a heavy-bottom pot, heat olive oil, then add vegetables, spices and sugar. Cook until soft, then add wine and reduce by half. Add the vegetables to the chicken stock, bring to a boil, then simmer for 40 minutes, then puree soup until smooth. Return to heat and add heavy cream. Bring to a simmer, then simmer for 10 minutes — stir often.

Saffron crema
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 ounce roasted shallot
1 pinch saffron
1 ounce sweet white wine
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

In a separate cup, steep saffron in warm water until needed. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, cook shallots and white wine, reduce wine until almost dry, then add heavy cream. Reduce by half, then color with saffron until bright yellow.

Apple slaw
1 jalapeno, julienned
1 ounce red onion, julienned
3 Granny Smith apples,
julienned
1 ounce cilantro
1 ounce chopped chives
2 ounce cider vinegar
1 ounce olive oil
1 ounce red pepper, julienned
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and serve on top of soup, along with saffron crema.

Submitted by: Ed Geyfman,
executive chef at the Longboat
Key Club and Resort

Main Event
ROAST GOOSE
Servings: 6

Ingredients
1 goose, 10 to 12 pounds
Salt, to taste

Prep
Thaw the goose thoroughly and remove it from the plastic bag. Remove the innards. Save the liver for pate and the giblets, neck and heart for stock. Remove excess fat and skin from neck and body cavity. Remove the wing tips to the second joint, and reserve for stock. Pat the goose dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the entire goose liberally with salt, white pepper and thyme. Fill the cavity with the quartered onion.

Roasting
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place prepped goose on a rack, and roast in the center of the oven for two hours. Caution: Fat will gather in the pan and may require emptying by pouring off, or remove it with a baster. (Retain some fat for later use.) After two hours of roasting, roll the goose over and continue roasting for another hour, or until the bottom is browned nicely. Roll the goose back over and finish roasting, another 30 minutes to one hour.

Test for doneness
When you can turn the drumstick bone fairly easily inside of the flesh, the goose is done. Either serve immediately, or cool and portion for later use. The goose will keep, wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to five days. (If reserved for later use, reheat in a 350-degree oven, for 30 to 45 minutes, or until hot and crisp.)

Carving
Chef Ray Arpke likes to serve a larger piece of goose meat with a bone in it, plus some breast slices, to each person. Carve one side of the goose at a time. Remove the breast and set aside. Remove the wing bone and serve it with a few slices of breast. Remove the drumstick and serve it with a few slices of breast. Remove the thigh and serve it with a few slices of breast. Repeat with the other half of the goose.
Serve over your favorite stuffing, topped with giblet gravy.

Submitted by: Ray Arpke, chef/owner of Euphemia Haye

Side Dish
Harry Christensen has been preparing Thanksgiving dinner for customers in his restaurant for more than 30 years. One staple of the meal is fresh cranberry relish. His favorite recipe comes from his mother-in-law, Clarice Schetter — hence how the recipe got its name.

MOM’S CRANBERRY RELISH

Ingredients
1 pound cranberries
2 whole oranges with skins
2 cups sugar, to taste

Put cranberries and oranges through a food mill or food processor (grind to your liking) and mix with sugar to taste. This can be made ahead of time (as much as three weeks) and will stay in the refrigerator for at least a month.

Submitted by: Harry Christensen, owner of Harry’s Continental Kitchens.

Stuffing
CHORIZO-PLANTAIN CUBAN BREAD STUFFING

Ingredients
Fresh turkey giblets, one heart, one liver and
one gizzard
1/2 cup butter
1 thyme sprig
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chorizo, diced
2 cups turkey or chicken stock
12 cups day-old Cuban bread, medium diced
3 cups ripe plantains, medium diced
Kosher salt to taste
Pepper to taste
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Heat oven to 250 degrees.
Trim and clean the giblets. Heat a saucepan over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon butter to saucepan. When melted, add the giblets and brown on all sides. Remove liver and reserve. Add thyme sprig and half of stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 35 to 45 minutes until giblets are tender. Drain and reserve cooking liquid. Dice liver, heart and gizzard, and return them to reserved cooking liquid.
Place diced Cuban bread on cooking sheet and place in oven. Slow bake until crisp but not brown. Melt butter in large sauté pan, add celery and onions and sauté until translucent. Add garlic, giblets, their cooking liquid and chorizo. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Combine toasted bread and diced plantains in large mixing bowl. Pour giblet and chorizo mixture over bread mixture, and combine thoroughly. Add parsley and cilantro and enough stock to moisten, and chill thoroughly before using.

Submitted by: Tommy Klauber, proprietor of Pattigeorge’s,
Polo Grill and Fête Catering

Dessert
PUMPKIN NAPOLEON WITH GINGERBREAD ICE CREAM

Ingredients
8 4-inch-by-2-inch rectangles of puff pastry
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
10 ounces of pumpkin
5 ounces of pastry cream
3 ounces of whipped cream
Gingerbread ice cream (or vanilla ice cream)
4 ounces of custard
1 ounce of rum

Puff pastry
Mix cinnamon and sugar, sprinkle on top of the puff pastry rectangles and bake in the oven for 15
minutes at 400 degrees.

Pumpkin
Peel the pumpkin and cut it into small pieces; cook in boiling water until tender. Mix it in a food processor and add to the pastry cream and the whipped cream.

Custard
Blend the rum with the custard.

Serving
Place one puff pastry rectangle on the plate, add one scoop of gingerbread ice cream, place second puff pastry rectangle on top, place small scoops of the pumpkin cream on top and drizzle with the rum custard.

Submitted by: Chef Jose Martinez, proprietor of Maison Blanche