New Twists On Thanksgiving Meal

The award-winning chef David Burke is executive chef and co-owner of New York City's Davidburke & Donatella restaurant, where he puts an inventive spin on modern American cuisine.

Burke divulged to The Early Show some nifty recipes for a Thanksgiving Day dinner.

The menu includes a Butternut squash salad, organic turkey, bacon/sausage kabobs, cornbread and sausage stuffing, wild mushroom barley, and brandy and tea-soaked fruit.

The following are his recipes:

Recipes:

Salad (parfait) of beets, butternut squash, goat cheese and wild rice

2 cups soaked wild rice (soaked overnight and rinsed)
2 T olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T balsamic vinegar
salt/pepper
1 sprig fresh thyme
Red beets
Mustard Dressing
Butternut squash
butter
shallots
garlic
sage
1 ½ cups goat cheese

Method:
Rice: Boil rice in sea water until it's cracked. While hot, season with 2 T of olive oil, 2 T red wine vinegar, 2 T balsamic vinegar, salt/pepper, picked thyme. Line six molds. Fill with rice approximately a quarter fill.

Beets: Roast red beets whole until cooked through. Peel and dice. Season with mustard dressing, salt and pepper. Fill mold one additional quarter full.

Butternut squash: cut into small dice and sautee with butter, shallots, garlic until tender. add sage and chill. Fill mold so that it is ¾ full.
Goat Cheese: 1 ½ cups soft, whipped goat cheese. season with salt/pepper. This completes the parfait. Remove from mold and serve with beet dressing.

Sea-water soaked roast organic turkey

15-pound free-range turkey, well-rinsed and dried
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
5 tablespoons olive oil
Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing (recipe follows)
3 carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into sticks, blanched
3 stalks celery, washed, trimmed and cut into sticks, blanched
2 cups peeled pearl onions, blanched
1 pint Brussels sprouts, washed, trimmed and blanched
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter

Sea Water Brine
2 gallons water
1/8 cup sea salt
½ sugar
3/4 rosemary stalk
1/8 bunch thyme
¼ lb seaweed
2T peppercorns
1 bay leave
1 tsp garlic

Method for sea water brine:

Add all ingredients to 2 gallon stainless steel pot bring to a boil, and let stand two hours. Strain through chinois.

Method for turkey:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Season the turkey, inside and out, with salt and pepper to taste. Using about 3 tablespoons of the oil, generously coat the skin. Stuff the turkey with the Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing and truss it together. Place the stuffed turkey on a wire rack in a roasting pan in the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 325°F and continue to roast for about 2½ hours or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the stuffing reads 160°F. Remove the turkey from the oven and transfer it to a serving platter. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Do not turn off the oven.

While the turkey is resting, prepare the gravy and roast the vegetables.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, add the flour, making sure that no lumps form. Whisking constantly, add the stock in a slow steady stream. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Pour the liquid into a gravy boat and lightly tent it with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Place the carrots, celery, onions and Brussels sprouts on a baking sheet and toss them with the remaining oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place the vegetables in the preheated oven and roast them for about 10 minutes or just until they begin to take on some color.

Place the vegetables, purée and compote in serving bowls on the table. Place the turkey on the table (and take any offers for the carving). Serve family style with the stuffing taken directly from the turkey and with the gravy on the side.

Bacon/Sausage Kabobs:
24 strips of bacon
8 breakfast sausages cut into thirds
24 sage leaves.

Method:

Lay out all bacon strips and roll up each slice with sage leave. Place on each skewer three pieces bacon and three pieces sausage. Alternate on skewer first hour, four skewers in turkey. Every hour put new pieces in and take out others and reserve (for canapé or scrambled eggs the next day)

Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing
2 pounds sweet or hot (or mixed) Italian sausage
½ cup diced onion
½ cup diced celery
1 clove garlic, minced
¾ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
¾ teaspoon minced fresh sage
¾ teaspoon minced fresh thyme
2 cups ½ inch fresh white bread cubes
2 cups fresh cornbread crumbs
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method:

Line a platter with a triple layer of paper towels. Set aside.
Release the sausage from its casing and break apart in a large sauté pan. Place the meat over medium heat and cook it, stirring frequently, for about 12 minutes or until the sausage is almost cooked. Using a slotted spoon, transfer it to the paper towel-lined platter and allow the excess fat to drain off.

Place the onion, celery and garlic in the same sauté pan over medium heat and sauté them for about 4 minutes or just until the vegetables are translucent but have not taken on any color. Stir in the rosemary, sage and thyme and remove the mixture from the heat.

Combine the breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl. Scrape the onion mixture into the bowl. Add the reserved sausage and stir it all to combine. Taste and, if necessary, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Stuffed Braised Onions with wild mushroom barley risotto:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Generously coat each onion with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Wrap each onion in heavy-duty aluminum foil and place in a baking pan. Place the pan in the preheated oven and roast for about 1 hour or until the onions are tender in the center when pierced with the point of a small sharp knife. Remove from the oven and unwrap. When cool enough to handle, hollow out and discard center. You can use this for the start of the barley risotto.

Wild Mushroom Barley Ingredients:
4 T butter
½ lb assorted wild mushrooms (chanterelles, morele, shiitakes, etc)
2 T olive oil
¼ cup minced onioni
1 cup barley
4 cups light chicken stock
salt/pepper

Method:
Heat butter in a small saucepan. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Reserve. Heat olive oil in another saucepan. Add onion and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Add rice and continue cooking for another thirty seconds or until rice grains are coated with oil.

Gradually add stock or broth, adding more liquid as it is absorbed by rice, and stirring frequently. Continue cooking until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about twenty to twenty-five minutes. Fold in mushrooms and season. Stuff in onions.

Brandy and Tea Soaked Fruits
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup dole raisins
¼ cup dried cherries
¼ cup cubed pineapple
¼ cup strawberries
¼ orange sections
¼ blueberries or raspberries-

Method:
Make 1 pint of jasmine tea. Add 1 cup of orange juice and one cup of brandy, one cinnamon stick and three cloves. Bring all ingredients to a boil. Pour hot liquid over fruit and let sit overnight. Drain liquid and place in glass and top with whipped cream.