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I have lived in this house for over 30 years, but it is only in the last month or so that I have decided to turn a mostly unused space behind my garage into an orchard. When I was growing up, my Dad always spoke about the orchard behind his home in Warka, Poland with […]
For over 25 years I have prepared a traditional Thanksgiving feast, but truthfully the meal is not traditional in terms of my family’s recipes or origins. This Thanksgiving I am going to acknowledge my parent’s journey which took them from Poland to Germany to France where they remained till 1952 when they, along with my […]
Norm said that the freezer is full, no room to fit another thing. We are one week away, my Chanukah shopping is finished, the gifts are wrapped, the menus planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night. All that’s left is the turkey, the sides and two more desserts, a chocolate ginger cake and pumpkin chocolate […]
I always drew inside the lines, one of the reasons that I loved Paint by Number as a child. My coloring books were neat and orderly, and the colors I chose were dictated by convention, no blue haired girls or purple suns in sight. Although I took art classes all through high school, and worked […]
They came to America on the S.S. Argentina, sailing out of Genoa, Italy, in 1952, my parents and sister, five-year old Anie. My sister said our mother spent the entire trip in their cabin below deck, fighting seasickness. Anie spent the days running around having fun, following our father who apparently spent most of the […]
At 5:40 this morning we drove our friends to the airport. They were flying to Boston to be with their “East coast” family for Thanksgiving. On Wednesday we will return to LAX to pick up my daughter, and on Thursday to pick up my youngest son. It’s the wonderful pull of Thanksgiving, being with the family and hanging out in kitchens where the smells are familiar. Today I started baking, and so this morning my kitchen smelled like cinnamon and allspice from the pumpkin breads in the oven. This afternoon it smelled of apples and dried cherries baking inside puff pastry squares that I folded into individual turnovers. On Thanksgiving day the kitchen will smell like the mulling spices simmering in the pot of apple cider on the stove top, but as soon as the fridge door is opened, the predominant smell will be the garlic that was rubbed into the turkey on Wednesday morning. That specific smell of garlic-covered poultry is embedded in my memory because it is the smell that I most closely associate with my mother’s kitchen. The smell that signaled it was Shabbat, Yontif, and yes, Thanksgiving. On Thursday the kitchen will smell both savory and sweet, depending if you are standing near the oven or closer to the kitchen table covered with desserts. I love the old recipes combined with an occasional new one, it sets the mood and gives me the perfect opportunity to remember and be thankful for what we had, what we have, and what we look forward to. Happy Thanksgiving.
Garlic Turkey
Mixture for a 15 pound turkey
1 Tb kosher salt
1 Tb. paprika
2 tsp. pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
2 whole heads garlic, peeled and minced
Mix all ingredients together until you have a paste-like consistency. It should be red from the paprika and thick, almost like tomato paste. Rub the garlic mixture on the inside and outside of the turkey and let marinate in fridge overnight.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place turkey in a roasting pan, breast down, with about 2 ” of water on the bottom of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes and then baste with liquid. Add more water to pan if necessary. Lower heat to 350 degrees. Continue to add liquid and baste about every 30 minutes. When turkey is golden brown, turn breast side up and finish roasting. Total baking time is about 3 hours depending on size of the bird.
Enjoy,
Irene
Our life as newlyweds began in Toronto. There I was, 21 years old, living in a strange city in a foreign country. I had no idea how to cook, but coming from a family with some very good cooks and bakers, I was determined to learn. I remember exploring various neighborhoods around the city, my way […]
Bamitbach 