who's in the kitchen: judy joszef

Giving thanks no matter how you slice it

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Judy’s off this week (getting ready for Thanksgiving, perhaps), so we’re reprinting her Thanksgiving column from 2012.

As a kid, Thanksgiving meant a couple of days off from school, bundling up and attending the parade, and getting together with family and friends to stuff ourselves and give thanks for all that we had.

There was the usual turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and a myriad of side dishes. I must admit, though, we didn’t have pumpkin pie; not sure anyone in Boro Park did. Not even sure pumpkins were sold there back then. One year we even had a play in elementary school where we had to hold a bow and arrow and make believe we were shooting wild turkeys. Although the arrow was a toy with a rubber suction tip at the end. By accident, I fired my arrow and to this day I can see the parent in the front row with the arrow suctioned onto his forehead.

I was surprised to hear that my husband’s family, having been born in Europe and having gone through the Holocaust, celebrated Thanksgiving. Jerry said his father was so grateful for the chance to live in a country where he could be proud of his Jewish heritage, was given a job though barely able to speak a word of English, and was able to grow in his field and eventually own a thriving pocketbook factory with over 100 employees. His Thanksgiving, though, was a bit different from mine.

His day started with Laurel and Hardy’s March of the Wooden Soldiers on TV. He was a bit confused at first as the Indians seemed authentic but the other kids were dressed like “chassidm with big black hats and beards,” not like the cowboys he viewed on TV while watching his beloved cowboy and Indian shows.

His table was laden with stuffed cabbage, rib roast, potato kugel, lukshen kugel, shlishkes, and the nut rugalach that my mother-in-law is famous for. In the center of the table was a huge wedding size challah. It was half Norman Rockwell, half Shalom Aleichem. Though it was basically a Shabbat menu, the atmosphere was purely American patriotism and gratitude.

As we all give thanks, I thought I would dig up some interesting facts about this wonderful holiday.

1. The only documentation of the original feast comes from two brief passages from the Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow.

2. There are actually 12 claims to where the “first” Thanksgiving took place: two in Texas, two in Florida, one in Maine, two in Virginia, and five in Massachusetts.

3. President Jefferson called a Federal Thanksgiving proclamation “the most ridiculous idea ever conceived.”

4. Sarah Josepha Hale, an American writer and editor, campaigned to make Thanksgiving a national holiday for 36 years. President Lincoln heeded her request in 1863. And yes, she also wrote “Mary had a Little Lamb.”

5. Lincoln clocks in as America’s second-greatest turkey-lover, right behind Ben Franklin, who tried to make the turkey our national bird.

6. In the United States, folks eat around 46 million turkeys at Thanksgiving. There is hope for a few turkeys, however. Each year since the mid-20th century, the president has “pardoned” one or two Thanksgiving turkeys. The forever-grateful birds are then sent to a farm to live out their days in retirement.

7. Held every year on the island of Alcatraz since 1975, “Unthanksgiving Day” commemorates the survival of Native Americans following the arrival and settlement of Europeans in the Americas. The Native Americans thrived here until the Pilgrims arrived to establish a better life for themselves.

8. The turkey has gained near universal kosher acceptance. According to the National Turkey Federation, Israel leads the world in turkey consumption, at a whopping 28.8 pounds per capita in 2001 (Americans who consumed approximately 17.5 pounds per capita).

Here’s an easy “flattened” turkey recipe that is simple to prepare and cuts out hours of roasting time. A great choice for Shabbat dinner as well.

Maple Orange Glazed Turkey

Ingredients:

•1/2 cup maple syrup

•1/4 cup orange juice

•1 12-15 lb turkey

•3 tablespoons olive oil

•1 teaspoon kosher salt

•1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

•3 tablespoons chopped thyme

•3 tablespoons chopped sage

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Put turkey on a stable cutting board, breast side down, and cut out backbone. Turn turkey over, and press on it to flatten. Put it breast side up, in a roasting pan. Wings should partly cover breasts, and legs should protrude a bit.

Combine orange juice with maple syrup to use as glaze and set aside. Rub the turkey with oil and sprinkle with spices, turn over and repeat process.

Roast for 20 minutes. Turkey should be browning. Remove from oven, baste with pan juices, and return to oven. Reduce heat to 400 degrees (if turkey browns too quickly, reduce temperature to 350 degrees) and brush with glaze. Begin to check turkey’s temperature about 15 minutes later (10 minutes if bird is on the small side). It is done when thigh meat registers 165 degrees on an instant-read meat thermometer.

Judy Joszef can be reached at judy.soiree@gmail.com