French Wine and To Much Food Makes for Happy People

I know it's been a while since I last posted. I've had the flu, then the next week didn't get a chance to grab anything fun to cook,and last week I had a wine tasting every night after work. Finally this week I wasn't going to disappointing my fans. I bought baby brussels sprouts, gnocchi, lots of cheese and turkey thighs. Noel actually picked out the thighs at first I didn't want to get them, to be truthful at first this meal was going to be with a ham steak but the thighs needed to be cooked. Let me tell you I am so glad I made the thighs instead.

In just over a month the Foodie's Holiday is upon us. I love Thanksgiving, my two favorite things get front and center attention, food and wine!! This year Noel and I drive down to Maryland to have Thanksgiving with my family. The last time we had Thanksgiving there, Noel and I cooked a great meal, but I did almost burn down the house. This time I have had two years to practice my cooking and my skills of taking greasy things out of an oven. I am so excited about this meal, so excited that I am already looking at recipes to make. Thanks to Fall Day I already know the stuffing I am going to make. The other day I was looking at recipes online for some more side dishes and found Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts Gratin with Shallots and Rosemary. Everyone is going to want to eat at my parents house this year!!


So all day long I have been thinking about how I wanted to cook the Turkey Thighs. Finally I came across the perfect seasoning. Grey sea salt, little black pepper and saffron, saffron makes everything better!!
What You Need:
2 Turkey Thighs
tablespoon grey sea salt
tablespoon black pepper
3 pinches of saffron
tablespoon of canola oil

Pre Heat the oven to 350. Coat the thighs in the oil, salt, pepper and saffron. Place the thighs in a casserole dish and cover with tin foil. Throw them in the oven and cook until the meat thermometer reaches 175. This is going to take over a hour, so flip the thighs half way, and after a hour uncover the thighs so they can brown. These came out so good and perfectly juicy. This may be the way I even make the turkey at Thanksgiving!!

After I flipped the thighs I started the Brussels Sprouts Gratin. This was fun to make but I didn't have enough brussels sprouts so it came out really cheesy.
What You Need:
1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts
2 shallots
4 tablespoons of butter
salt
fresh ground pepper
1 1/4 cup Gruyere
1 1/4 heavy cream
1/4 tablespoon fresh nutmeg
1/4 tablespoon cayenne
3/4 cup panko
1/2 cup grated parmigiano
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

Pre heat oven to 375. In a dutch oven over medium heat melt the butter and cook until brown. Take out a tablespoon and put in a bowl. Add the brussels sprouts and shallots and cook until slightly browned (about 6 minutes). Remove from the heat. In a sauce pan add the heavy cream, the gruyere, nutmeg, cayenne, and salt. Cook until the cheese is melted (make sure not to boil). Add the sauce to the brussels sprouts making sure to mix it all together. In a bowl mix the panko, parmigiano cheese, a pinch of salt and the remaining butter. Mix all together and put it on top of the brussels sprouts. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.

As the brussels sprouts and thighs were cooking I started the water for the gnocchi and the cheese sauce. I found a real easy recipe online for a cheddar cheese sauce. The gnocchi only takes about three minutes to cook so its best to start the sauce first.
What You Need:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. When it's all melted take off the heat and mix in the flour and seasonings. Gradually mix in the milk whisking so they all blend well together. Over a low heat, constantly stirring heat the milk until it has thickened. Add the grated cheese and cook for five minutes or until thick. Add to the gnocchi and serve.

This was a great meal. Everything came out so good!! The turkey was perfectly cooked, the brussels sprout became a wonderful cheesy side dish and the gnocchi was fantastic. But there was way to much food for just two people. Next time I'll need at least four people to help eat all this food.

The Wine:
Even before I knew what meat I was going to have with the meal I knew what wine I wanted. Loire Valley is my most favorite wine region in the world. They are really known for their whites, but in my opinion their reds are the best of the best. The number one grown red in the valley is Cabernet Franc, and the best comes from Chinon. I picked up a bottle of Jean Dumont Les Mureaux 2009 from Beacon Hill Wine and Gourmet in Melrose. This family owned vineyard has vines that average in age of 35 years. The wine has a deep ruby color with well balanced ripe fruit, herbaceousness and round tannins. This was a perfect wine for a perfect meal.