I had 4 friends over, first time entertaining at home since Christmas 2019, all singles like myself with families too far distant to visit for a single day holiday. It was a tradition for years before Covid that I called “Refugee Orphans’ Potluck”.
The folks from whom I bought this new-to-me house last February had remodeled the fairly small kitchen to add a countertop hob and small 24" wall mount convection oven. But they relocated their big gas range to the semi-finished basement laundry area and reconnected it. I’d moved my big butcher block kitchen work table into that part of the basement, since it would not fit the new small kitchen. This was a perfect set-up for a long roasting cycle since it was out of the way, didn’t heat up the kitchen and left the convection oven free for prepping sides and desserts. I highly recommend having this sort of “auxiliary kitchen” in the basement, something that Italian and Greek grandmas have practiced for years.
Since there were only 5 of us I opted for 2 “roast in bag” Jenny O brand turkey breasts, 2.75 pounds each (Target sells them). I have used these in past years and highly recommend them for personal or small group eating. They are pre-seasoned, cook in about 3 hours, are very tender and tasty and cleanup is a breeze, since the roasting bag contains the juices. They come with a gravy packet to mix with the skimmed drippings, but instead I chose to buy pre-made Kevin’s brand gravy (also from Aldi). It was very good and only had to be heated in the microwave. I confess I have never had great luck in making gravy from scratch – the finer points of creating roux escape me.
For stuffing side I got a couple of boxes of Aldi’s Specially Selected house brand of brioche with lemon and thyme stuffing mix , which I doctored with drippings, sauteed shallots and fresh minced sage and more thyme from the potted herb plants on my kitchen windowsill. It was delicious, and I would love to have this regularly on the menu, but unfortunately this is a seasonal product for Aldi – next year I will stock up on it before they stop carrying it.
I always roast cubed sweet potatoes for an hour (with frequent turning) in a blend of butter, lemon juice and maple syrup, which is always a big hit and the most popular leftover for guests to take home. This dish is also good with some peeled and cubed parsnips added in. You start this dish at 15 minutes of high heat to caramelize and then reduce to slow roasting for the duration,
Also got a “steam in bag” package of fingerling golden potatoes that only took about 4 minutes in the microwave, then you squish them in the bag with your hands and dump in a bowl. For a green vegetable, I sauteed French style green beans in lemon infused olive oil along with sliced Baby Bella mushrooms and sprinkled them with Aldi’s Stonemill salt-free garlic and herb mix.
Last side was a version of Waldorf salad made of Honey Crisp apples, chopped dates, walnuts and dressed with whipped cream blended with a little lemon juice and honey.
My guest brought dinner rolls, cider, a pumpkin pie, apple crisp and vanilla ice cream.
It was a perfect meal and really only took me less than a cumulative hour of direct effort, mostly cutting up the vegetables and fruit, and 4 hours of cooking, most of it in the basement. And I did not have to purge the fridge to accommodate a giant bird carcass before or in the aftermath.
how fortunate are we in this country.