Besides the quality family time that Thanksgiving brings, this holiday is also about eating delicious foods, like turkey and pumpkin pie. Culinary Arts club Co-presidents Seniors Jasmine Chan and
Kevin Thang have some tips on how to make your Thanksgiving meal a success.
Turkey – Kevin Thang
Tips:
• You should get a smaller/larger turkey to make sure you have enough to feed everyone, but not have too much left over.
• Thang seasons turkey with lemon thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper all ground in a mortar and pestle and then mixed with melted butter to make an herb butter—he coats the turkey with this herb butter all over it, on and under the skin, as well as inside.
• Inside the turkey, you should also add a lemon to ensure a moist turkey and cover it with tin foil and then cook.
• After baking, make sure to have the turkey rest for about the same time you cooked it, so that it keeps in all its delicious juices.
• Thang plans on using lemon, butter, rosemary, onions, leeks, and carrots to go with the roast.
Pumpkin Pie – Jasmine Chan
Tips:
• It takes time prepping and baking—do not rush the pie.
• It takes about an hour and a half to prep and bake, though the pie will bake for about 40 minutes.
• You can make your own pumpkin pie spice or you can buy it premade.
• There are different versions of crust you can try, either more cookie like or more flaky—Chan
prefers cookie-like, shortbread crust and her favorite recipe contains just five ingredients: flour,
confectioners sugar (for a more crumbly texture), butter, eggs and salt.
• For the filling, you can use canned or fresh pumpkin—canned is more convenient but fresh will
always be better.
“It’s really important to take your time when baking pumpkin pie, because it helps the ingredients set up nicely together. When it has plenty of time, then the filling can get thicker and more custard-like, and it’ll keep the texture consistent throughout the pie. If you turn up the temperature for a shorter time, then the crust will get more crisp and the edges will cook though they burn before the center sets.”