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Kilograms, centigrade and convection, Oh My!

30 Nov

I’ve prepared a lot of turkeys. A conservative estimate would be that I have prepared 40 over the course of about 36 years. My first was when I was in my mid-twenties and decided I had to be the hostess for Thanksgiving and my mom had to help. I was terrified of ruining the Butterball. The years we did not prepare a turkey for Thanksgiving at home I surely made one for Christmas or sometime during the autumn.  And I graduated over the years from frozen (Norbest with a built-in timer!) to all-natural farm-raised turkeys from an organic store. But the most satisfying turkey-venture was this year, in Rome.

Leonardo reads the menu - in English and Italian - as we start with the soup.

Leonardo reads the menu – in English and Italian – as we start with the soup.

Our friends, Alessandra and Francesco, invited us to prepare the feast in their beautiful apartment. They would provide the turkey and wine while Ric and I would prepare the contorni (side dishes). Knowing they had an Italian oven, which are smaller than most we have in the U.S., and since this type of meal is a bit unusual in Italy, we gathered over supper the Friday before Thanksgiving to plan our attack. I warned them that turkey takes time: I will be in your kitchen much of the day.  Since Thursday was a work-and-school day here for all but employees of the American Embassy, I worried it might be an imposition. But Ale and Francesco were undeterred and in fact invited a crowd to experience the American feast.  There would be 11 Italians at the table, plus Ric and I. We decided that if it would fit in their oven, a 7 kilogram turkey would be a nice size, about 15 pounds U.S. Their friend Stefania would provide dessert.

Beautiful butternut squash and fresh sage on the way to making a velvety soup.

Beautiful butternut squash and fresh sage on the way to making a velvety soup.

Early Thursday we headed out to pick up artisan bread for the dressing and fresh green beans, managing to get in a 6 km walk in advance of the feast.  While we were inhaling the glorious smells at Roscioli, Francesco called and said “You need to talk to Ale. She has the turkey and it’s big.” Ale confirmed: her butcher has provided an 8 kg (17 pound) hen turkey and the butcher says it will take 5 hours to cook. Can we come earlier to start the cooking?

Ale's elegant tableware from Castelli, famous for ceramics.

Ale’s elegant tableware from Castelli, famous for ceramics.

We planned to serve the soup at 19:30 and the main course about 20:30, so we figured the bird needed to go in the oven about 16:30, if it weighed 7 kg. Now we had 8 kg to deal with, and (surprise!) a convection oven, which changes the cooking game considerably, plus the butcher’s recommendation to cook it in a low oven for 5 hours. Yikes!  Arriving about 14:45, Ric set to chopping herbs for my herb-butter turkey recipe. By 15:20, after calculating and re-calculating cooking time and centigrade-versus-Fahrenheit, we had herb-butter under the skin and put her in the oven trussed up as tightly as we could, just managing to squeeze her into the space available.  (Ric has a wonderful little app on the tablet that does all manner of conversions since our American-system brains have to constantly deal with length, volume, temperature and distance conversions.)  With any luck, she would be done by 20:00, giving 30 minutes for “rest” and to make the final prep.

Every good dinner starts with prosecco. Rita, Valentino, Francesco, Eleonora and Nello.

Every good dinner starts with prosecco. From left, me (elbow), Rita, Valentino, Francesco, Eleonora and Nello.

Whew! Deep breath, now all we have to do is monitor, baste, add broth, and prepare the contorni. Ric is a terrific sous chef and spent the next hour carving up butternut squash for soup, peeling potatoes, and various other tasks assigned, while the kids came and went. All-in-all Alessandra, Ric and I spent a compatible couple of hours doing prep, setting the table, chatting and enjoying the time immensely. At each check on the turkey I worried it was getting too brown, but my research on roasting a turkey in a convection oven said do not cover with foil. By 17:30 I was nervous: it looked done. My brand new meat thermometer (Celsius, of course!) said it was done in most parts.  Can’t be! Two hours at 160C (325F) and it’s done!?!?!? The main event was still 3 hours off! We wanted the guests to see this magnificent beast, but how could we hold it safely not have it dried out like the scene from “Christmas Vacation?”

Ale said “We must Google it!” We typed in “how to hold a turkey safely when it’s done early.” Amazing

Eleonora, Stefania and Francesco share the cranberries

Nello, Eleonora, Stefania and Francesco

number of hits! Who knew?  Survey says: aluminum foil, low low temp (about 200F), and moisture in the pan beneath the turkey.

Can I tell you this was the most beautiful turkey I’ve ever made? And the moistest? And the best-tasting? My updated recipe for perfection at Thanksgiving = The company of people you enjoy + Natural Italian turkey + Convection oven + Creativity and a little experience with turkeys.

Ignore the goofy-looking cook and focus on the bird: perfection!! Sara clearly finds me amusing.

Ignore the goofy-looking cook and focus on the bird: perfection!! Sara clearly finds me amusing.

I think the only side dish quite familiar to the guests was mashed potatoes. Gravy is not normally made in Italy, nor dressing/stuffing as we do in the U.S. (mine is made with sausage, apples and raisins). We managed to acquire fresh whole cranberries (shipped in from Massachusetts)  and made sweet potatoes with gorgonzola.  Stefania’s tarte tartin and homemade whoopee pies made for a festive and tasty finish.  See the whole menu here. Multiple portions were consumed and even the kids were adventurous in trying foods they’d not seen before. No one seemed to miss pasta.

Everyone who has prepared a Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey dinner knows that the final prep is chaotic. Getting stuffing, Potatoes, sweet potatoes, veg, gravy and turkey all on the table at the same time. Ronnie is a blur as he speeds to help!

Everyone who has prepared a  big turkey dinner knows that the final prep is chaotic, getting stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, veg, gravy and turkey all on the table at the same time. Ronnie is a blur as he speeds to help. Thanks to Ronnie, Ric was off clean-up duty for a change.

Dinner went off without a hitch. Except as usual I forgot something, sending the sweet potatoes to the table sans the candied pecans on top, and I forgot the peperoncini for the green beans. (I think I am the only one that noticed.)

Last year, our first Thanksgiving in Italy, we knew we would really miss the large crowd we tended to gather around our table in Portland, so we celebrated in a totally non-traditional manner. This year we had a memorable, wonderful day thanks to Alessandra, Francesco, their family and friends. We are very grateful to have been able to share the traditions and spend our holiday with them, and to them for opening their home and kitchen to the American Invasion.

I am so getting a convection oven the next time we need to buy an appliance.

Thanksgiving green beans with red peppers and American bacon. Not your mother's green bean casserole.

Thanksgiving green beans with red peppers and American bacon. Not your mother’s green bean casserole.

I ragazzi doing what kids usually do after dinner.

Giordano, Leonardo, Giuseppe and Sara, doing what kids usually do after dinner.

Giuseppe and Giordano at table - even the kids liked the soup!

Giuseppe and Giordano at table – even the kids liked the soup!

Me with my friend and Italian teacher, Eleonora.

Me with my friend and Italian teacher, Eleonora.

Kitchen action stops fo a quick pre-dinner drink. Ale, Eleonora., Francesco and me.

Kitchen action stops fo a quick pre-dinner drink. Ale, Eleonora, Francesco and me.

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La Festa di Halloween: “Dolcetto o Scherzetto”!

1 Nov
Finally a chance to wear my hat and cape again! Mild evening, plenty of wine, no cars.

Finally a chance to wear my hat and cape again! Mild evening, plenty of wine, no moving cars.

Our little slice of America in Italy, the Embassy, threw a Halloween party last night.  Can I tell you how delightful it was in this mild Mediterranean climate, to be outdoors on Halloween, versus the snow-suited-trick-or-treating of my Minnesota childhood? Or those dreadfully cold Halloweens in Omaha when Derek’s class had a “haunted woods” we had to walk through in the bitter weather?

The party theme is “Trunk or Treat.” Families decorate their cars and the kids parade through the decorated parking lot doing the traditional candy-gathering while the adults drink wine and listen to a bluegrass band. The embassy cafe puts on a barbecue so no one goes hungry.

SUVs and vans work great for Trunk-or-Treat!

SUVs and vans work great for Trunk-or-Treat!

The Italian kids in particular seem to love the hot-dogs and it’s a joy to see the families of both American and Italian employees come together. Since November 1 is a holiday (Ognissanti or All Saints’ Day) no one had to worry about bedtime to school the next day. How sensible is that?

Ambassador Phillips and his wife, Linda Douglass, were good sports!

Ambassador Phillips and his wife, Linda Douglass, were good sports!

Baby lobster and family

Baby lobster and family

Our little neighbor

Our little neighbor

Tiny dancer

Tiny dancer

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Another festive vehicle

Security Officer gone rogue

Security Officer gone rogue

Little witches

Little witches

Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters

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Rome – Closed for the Holidays

15 Aug
A simple hand-lettered sign on a boutique. When will they return? Who knows!

A simple hand-lettered sign on a boutique. When will they return? Who knows!

Rome is deserted. For the past three weeks, the city has become progressively quieter: less traffic, fewer stores open. Some of the city buses are on a special schedule in August with reduced runs. Even the seagulls that frequent our neighborhood and scream at 3:00AM seem to have taken off for parts unknown. There are fewer dogs in the park, and fewer runners, too. Some mornings I can walk through Villa Borghese and see almost no one except the omnipresent vendors setting up for the day’s business.

I cannot possibly imagine this happening in the United States, but store after store is closed per ferie, the period surrounding the mid-August holiday of ferragosto.  I won’t go into the ancient roots of this holiday, or the fact that it was co-opted by “The Church.” I will tell you what it is like this month.

  • People are at the beach, whether for the day, the week or the month. Those that are not at the beach are in the mountains, but most Italians are true sun-worshipers and so they flock to the beach where they lay on a chaise lounge under an umbrella, side-by-side-by-side.
  • Businesses are shuttered with little signs that say how long they will be chiuso. Could be a week, or even the entire month.
  • You can find a place to park on almost any street, in almost any piazza. This does not happen any other time of the year. Buses run almost empty.

    A more formal sign assures customers of this cafe that they will only be closed a week. Everyone to the beach!

    A more formal sign assures customers of this cafe that they will only be closed a week. Everyone to the beach!

Restaurants are closed or quasi-empty. Two weeks ago, on a Saturday night, we went to a highly recommended restaurant near the Embassy and at the peak dining hour of 21:00 we were the only customers! I’d even made a reservation. A very uncomfortable situation for us and for the restaurant owner.  Luckily the quality of the food did not suffer.

An Italian friend told me that when she was a child (35-40 years ago) it was even quieter in August. It was even difficult to get groceries as supermarkets and shopping centers did not exist.

Another tradition of ferragosto is to give your portiere (building superintendent-manager-doorman-handyman all rolled into one) a gift of €25-€50 (about $33-67) in recognition of what they do for us. This is also traditional at Christmas and Easter.  The portiere is also key to security, so he remains on duty in August when many apartments are vacant and is – hopefully – a deterrent to the break-ins that increase in frequency during the mass-exodus to the beach.

This children's shop in a posh neighborhood is closed from 8 Aug to 2 Sept.

This children’s shop in a posh neighborhood is closed from 8 Aug to 2 Sept.

Today, August 15, is the actual ferragosto. The Embassy is closed, as are most businesses not in the tourist-trade. Our neighborhood is Christmas-morning quiet. No dogs, no birds, no motorini, no traffic, just one suspicious helicopter circling occasionally (never a good thing). We were able to find a nice bar (cafe) open for a holiday cornetto e cappucino fix.

While it may not be the best economic decision to close your business during the current crisis, I have to respect the tradition. People spending time with their families, having lunch with grandma, and escaping the heat if possible. For an amusing look at the holiday, seek out the movie “Mid-August Lunch” (Italian with English subtitles, available to stream on Netflix).

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A different sort of New Year’s Eve

1 Jan
It was actually quite a thrill to see the Pope in person!

It was actually quite a thrill to see the Pope in person!

Our friends and relatives know we are not usually partiers on New Year’s Eve. Our Portland routine was take-and-bake pizza from Papa Murphy’s, a great bottle of wine, and a movie from Netflix. No way we want to be out driving on NYE! Oh, there have been a couple of private parties over the years, maybe trivial Pursuit with Barry and Veronica, and in 2011 we were flying home to Portland from our vacation in Italy on 31 December, but usually we are very low-key. So low-key that we have occasionally “missed” the turn of the year because we were already asleep. Quite pathetic. 

Allora things have changed a bit for us in our new life! We started the evening — really in mid-afternoon — heading to St. Peter’s Basilica for 5:00PM vespers with il Papa. This is a ticketed (free, but still ticketed) event and we were fortunate to receive them courtesy of the Embassy.  Arriving about 3:45PM, we were able to get seats not-too-far-off the main aisle.  A few thousand (seriously a lot of people) were seated inside St. Peter’s and, as you see on TV, giant screens in the square allowed the non-ticketed to watch outdoors, standing.

It was beautiful and very exciting for this Swedish-Lutheran girl from St. Paul Minnesota to attend a service

The magnificent Basilica San Pietro, with a few thousand people.... and us!

The magnificent Basilica San Pietro, with a few thousand people…. and us!

in St. Peter’s, presided over by the Pope himself! Very moving to see the excitement ripple through the crowd, the little nuns standing on chairs to try for a view, the security people unsuccessfully trying to dissuade such indecorous behavior. Here are a few photos I snapped to try to give you a feel for the evening.  I wish you could hear the magnificent male choir in four-part harmony, singing the Latin service. Post vespers (a 90+ minute service), we wandered home through the busy streets and via tram.  But there was more to come this year!

The crowd gathers in St. Peter's Square before New Year's Eve vespers.

The crowd gathers in St. Peter’s Square before New Year’s Eve vespers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In anticipation of seeing il Papa, even the nuns stand on the chairs. The excitement was palpable.

In anticipation of seeing il Papa, even the nuns stand on the chairs. The excitement was palpable.

 

Most of our friends & family know we used to dine quite early in Portland. 7:00PM was getting “late” as a starting time for dinner out. If you have read this blog for a while, you know we have become more Italian in our dining hour: a self-defense move in summer to avoid the heat, and any time as most decent restaurants are only open after 7:30 or 8:00PM.  (Even at home on a week night we don’t eat until at least 8:00PM.) And if you show up at 8:00PM in a restaurant, you may well be dining almost alone with a few other Americans, Brits and Germans.  But I digress….

We had a 10:00PM reservation at a place that is perhaps a 12-15 minute walk from our place. Yes, a 10:00PM start. The location, close to home, is significant because all of the buses in Rome stopped running at 9:00PM on New Year’s Eve. 9:00PM!!  We can only conjecture, but we think the crowds are just too intense in the main piazzas and on the main streets to allow free passage of the buses. And then there are the fireworks….

So we went to a fine little neighborhood place, good fish, nice crowd, everyone quite dressed-up. Suits on the men (somewhat extraordinary in our Roman dining experiences), cocktail attire on some of the women. We were a bit under-dressed as it turns out, although in Portland we would have been over dressed. [Note to self: Next year make Ric wear a suit on NYE, and I’ll wear the sparkly jewelry.] At least I put on make-up for a change.

On our walk to dinner — indeed even before — we heard some fireworks being set off. Big, booming, morter-shell-sounding fireworks. All through dinner smoke drifted up the street in front of the restaurant as the occasional bottle-rocket or whatever was set off. A few minutes before midnight, so as to avoid the party-hats being passed out in the restaurant, we paid the bill and exited to an ever-increasing barrage of fireworks. And when the clock struck 12 , all hell broke loose throughout Rome from what we could see and hear.  From behind us, ahead of us,

Stole this one from the website of one of the newspapers.... This is how our neighborhood looked.

Stole this one from the website of one of the newspapers…. This is how our neighborhood looked.

and all sides, we heard and saw fireworks that absolutely had to be illegal, but were quite thrilling! As we climbed the hill to our apartment, displays appeared from neighborhoods across the Tiber, as well as off balconies and rooftops right on our street. Standing at Piazza della Muse, we can look out over the northern reaches of Rome and we could see fireworks (Ric says) all the way to Viterbo! This celebration made anything we have ever experienced on the 4th-of-July in the U.S. seem miniscule by comparison. The noise from every quarter was enormous! Right across the street, from the penthouse of a 6-story building, a rather professionally-executed display was going on when we arrived home about 12:15 and went on another 15 minutes after we arrived. At the Catholic church across the street, a group of grade-school children were accompanied by a few adults to wave sparklers and set off firecrackers. Although we were a bit concerned when one of the priests tucked a wad of sparklers behind a pipe running up the side of the church and set them off. (Ric hoped it wasn’t a gas pipe.)  But then quiet: By 12:45AM it was over, at least as far as we could hear from inside the apartment. And the cats came out from under the bed.  Buon Anno, tutti!

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Christmas Report

26 Dec

My intentions regarding this blog are often higher than my ability to meet my own expectations. I envisioned posting my Christmas Eve photos that night, after we arrived home. But it was midnight and I tumbled into bed.

The magnificent Church of Santa Susanna. There has been a place of worship here since 330 A.D.

The magnificent Church of Santa Susanna. There has been a place of worship here since 330 A.D.

We started La Vigilia di Natale as temporary Catholics, attending the lovely Church of Santa Susanna, seat of the American Catholic Church in Rome. We’ve been to a couple of services in churches lately where everything was in Italian (or Swedish if you saw my post about the children’s concert), so it was almost a surprise to walk through the door and hear singing in American-accented English.  Following church, about 20:30, it was already very quiet in the streets. The buses were half-empty and moving fast, the drivers enjoying freedom from the usual overwhelming auto traffic. Another Christmas miracle: a young man (French) gave me his seat on the bus. While it was a sweet gesture, I am a little sensitive to him thinking I am old and needed to sit. I prefer to think he was simply kind. And so we meandered through the streets of Rome by foot and bus, to our favorite trattoria.

We ate at this restaurant last Christmas Eve as well. In fact we have been dining here since our first trip in 2010 and go at least once a month, often more. We are regulars and warmly greeted. The feast on Christmas Eve is always fish and wine was included in the prezzo fisso menu.  Since it was looonnngg holiday meal, we managed to drain our included bottle during the first two courses.  So they opened another for us. An advantage to being regulars: no extra charge.

The antipsato course: smoked salmon, cured anchovies, seafood salad, steamed mussels and more.

The antipasto course: smoked salmon, cured anchovies, seafood salad, steamed mussels and more.

The Primi were a seafood risotto and a lovely mixed seafood pastes.

The primi were a seafood risotto and a lovely mixed seafood pasta.

The secondo was a lovely whole steamed fish, succulent and tender, accompanied by tiny fried whole fish.

The secondo was a lovely whole steamed fish, succulent and tender, accompanied by tiny fried whole fish.

My intention was to do a photo essay of my magnificent Christmas Day feast, but I forgot to take a picture of the golden, juicy turkey before carving, and failed to take a picture of our glorious table.   Our menu included an array of Mediterranean and Italian antipasti, followed by our crazy-expensive Italian turkey, stuffing with sausage & apples & raisins, sweet potato casserole, ratatouille and cranberries. For the first time in about 25 years I had to buy canned cranberries (available at the embassy’s commissary) because fresh berries were >$11.00 for a 10 ounce bag in the Italian market! We topped the meal with a homemade pear crostata. Our guest was a young man from the embassy who was highly entertaining and who has excellent taste in wine. Grazie, Ben!

Today is yet another holiday, Santo Stefano. Today we must get out and exercise. Never left the apartment yesterday except to go to the courtyard with our guest! I am a few miles behind and a few thousand calories ahead of plan.

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