TulsaPeople / November 2009 / November Table Talk

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November Table Talk

The buzz on Tulsa’s tastiest products, restaurants and events.

Tips for a perfect Thanksgiving feast

 

1. Serve a beautifully arranged platter of sliced turkey instead of a giant bird. Before slicing, make sure your turkey has rested adequately (15 to 20 minutes) — this keeps in all those delicious juices. Remove drumsticks and thighs and transfer to a platter. Then carve off half of the breast in one piece — transfer to a cutting board and slice. Arrange breast meat in a nice row on platter. Finally, remove wings and place on platter. If none of your guests is planning to eat an entire drumstick, you can carve the meat from those as well. To dress up the platter, arrange some sliced fruit (fresh figs, bright kumquats or lemon wedges are nice) or fresh herbs around the meat.
2. To avoid running around at the last minute searching for that gravy boat, lay your serving dishes out the day before. I like to put a sticky note on each piece, labeling it with its future contents. That way I know I have everything I need, ready to go, when it’s time to call everyone to the table.
3. Cut all your vegetables and stuffing ingredients the day before and organize them in resealable plastic bags (they take up less space in the fridge than plastic containers). Yes, even your potatoes for that required mash can be peeled and cut the day before — just keep them covered with cold water to keep them from oxidizing.
4. While my grandmother always made her gravy by the book, I often don’t have the time — or the burners — to do mine after the turkey comes out of the oven. You can make a delicious gravy ahead of time (see box), freeing up those last few minutes before dinner is served.
5. If you are willing to give away leftovers to your guests, stock up on small disposable plastic containers or, even better, Chinese takeout cartons. That way guests can take home small amounts of each dish and keep the cranberry sauce out of their mashed potatoes.
6. I know how rewarding it is to pull off the entire feast on your own, but there is one thing I’ve learned over the years: If someone offers to bring a dish, let them! It may not fit in perfectly with your Martha Stewart menu, but the time and energy saved will make your dinner that much more enjoyable. However, if you want them to bring exactly what you want, simply bag up a nice handwritten recipe card with all of the necessary ingredients.

Make-ahead gravy

 

Combine 4 tablespoons flour and 4 tablespoons softened butter into a paste in a medium bowl; set aside. Bring 6 cups of turkey stock or reduced-sodium chicken stock to a boil. Simmer until reduced to 4 cups. Stir 1 cup stock into flour mixture, whisking constantly until smooth. Pour mixture back into saucepan; reduce heat to medium-low; and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage and season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

New and notable

 

If the thought of Thanksgiving dinner makes you loosen your pants, Tulsa has a great new place for you. Pure Raw Café opened recently and takes “eating your veggies” to another level. Pure Raw Café offers only “living” and raw foods — uncooked vegetables, fruits, soaked and sprouted nuts, seeds and grains that contain powerful enzymes; nothing processed here. Pure combines these ingredients into dishes with Italian, Asian, Mexican and American influences.

Pure’s mantra is simple: When you heat foods to a temperature above 105 degrees, you destroy the vital nutrients and enzymes, so eat them raw! Hence, all dishes at Pure are served cold or slightly warm.

Some of the intriguing dishes include White Bliss Soup (macadamia milk, lemon, green apple, celery and avocado oil); spring rolls (English cucumber rolls with coconut “noodles,” vegetables, red leaf lettuce, daikon sprouts, Asian herbs and chili sauce); white truffle “ravioli” (ravioli wrap filled with pignoli herb cheese, layered with pear, arugula, walnut and mushroom with white truffle cream sauce); and desserts, including the decadent chocolate ganache with raspberry puree and coconut dream pie (young coconut cream layered with dried coconut in a pecan coconut crust).

There is absolutely no place here for a meat eater, but Pure Raw Café’s interesting cuisine will have you looking at vegetables in a different light.

3711 S. Harvard Ave., 749-8000