Pandemic Thanksgiving Turkey Roast with Apple Crisp November 2020

 I have been making Thanksgiving dinner for my small family for 30 years. We have a video of 3 year old Amanda singing for us.....the guests were Mark's parents, my father & brother. Through the years I have years of pictures of bronze, shimmery turkeys and beans, pumpkin, cranberry; the colors of fall. 

This year it's just Mark and me. We are driving a plate to Jillian in NYC tomorrow, just walking around outside because we want to guarantee no Covid transmission. The world has been held in the grip of the virus. The freedom issue; how to handle the necessary lockdowns and the restricting of freedoms. How to assemble for prayers has been a problem in America. Thanksgiving has been relegated to only the people living in your home. Many people are still traveling and assembling so we'll see the result in a few weeks.  People helping people will get us through this, and we will end up as a better society in the end.  

Since I love cooking I made the regular menu except instead of the whole turkey I made a turkey breast roast with wings and drumsticks. Some things must be tradition.

Menu:

Roast turkey breast: 2 turkey breasts netted together into a succulent, easy to slice, roast.

Pat it dry, drizzle with olive oil, shake salt & pepper, hyssop 

Roast 420 for 1/2 hour then lower to 350 and tent with aluminum foil until roast shows 160-165 on a meat thermometer. I don't really love white meat so its very important not to overcook... taking it out before 165 is my trick. (it will finish while it rests) The Drumsticks will come out before the roast so use the meat thermometer.

While the turkey roasts make the sides;

1. mashed potatoes-cube potatoes (yes, you need to: I've tried it both ways) Mash with butter and sautéed garlic and shallots.

2. stuffing- (you can use commercial ) sautés with onion and celery, add 1 or 2 cups of gravy; bake  for 1/2 hour in a pan

3. string bean casserole-(yes I use commercial) mushroom soup, mixed with a bag of frozen string beans and covered with commercial fried onions. bake for 45 minutes 350* (My grandmother made this every year of my childhood and it was a family favorite.... I found the recipe on the back of a can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup and realized my grandmother was not the only one making it)

4. apple crisp- dice the apples and sprinkle with sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, pour into 9" square baking dish. Mix the brown sugar, oats, flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a separate bowl.  Mash the cold butter into the oats mixture until it is coarse. Spread over the apples. Bake for 45-60 mins depending on how you like it.

filling;

6 apples-cored, peeled, and diced

2 tablespoons- white sugar

1/2 teaspoon- cinnamon

Topping:

1 cup- brown sugar

1 teaspoon -ground cinnamon 

1 cup - old-fashioned oats steel cut oats

1 cup - flour

1 cup - of butter

 5. gravy- brown 2 two turkey wings in a saucepan. Remove and sauté diced onion and garlic butter and 1 2-tablespoons of flour.. deglaze with 1 cup white wine until wine is reduced and alcohol burns off. Add wings and 4 cups of water.  When ready to serve thicken with a slurry (mix with 1/2 cup cool water) of 2 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch. Bring gravy to a boil for a few minutes.

The National Dog Show on NBC goes on directly after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 2020 didn't ruin the dog show and the parade, although not as grand as usual with thousands of crowds, went off without a hitch and there was plenty of TV to watch. I'm not sure about football games, the pandemic pause has been a depressive world wide event, but there is always much to be grateful for.