Gourmet Thanksgiving Recipes

As a special Thanksgiving treat to its viewers, Sunday Morning presents Gourmet magazine's succulent recipes for Apple Pancakes, Spiced Carrots, Apple And Cranberry Chutney, and Roast Turkey With Pomegranate Gravy.

BIG APPLE PANCAKE

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 large sweet apple such as Gala or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-wide wedges
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioners sugar for dusting
Special equipment: a well-seasoned 10- to 11-inch heavy cast-iron skillet or other ovenproof skillet

Preparation
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
Melt butter in skillet over moderate heat, then transfer 2 tablespoons to a blender. Add apple wedges to skillet and cook, turning over once, until beginning to soften, 3 to 5 minutes.

While apple is cooking, add milk, flour, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt to butter in blender and blend until smooth.

Pour batter over apple and transfer skillet to oven. Bake until pancake is puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve immediately.

SPICED CARROTS
2 lb medium carrots (about 12)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste

Preparation
Quarter carrots lengthwise, then cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces.
Heat butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté carrots, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add brown sugar, stirring until sugar is melted. Stir in water, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender and liquid is reduced to a glaze, 8 to 10 minutes.

APPLE AND CRANBERRY CHUTNEY
This chutney, which would be at home in India or England, goes well with turkey, pork, or venison.

2 lb Gala apples (about 4)
1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 lb fresh or frozen cranberries (2 cups), thawed if frozen

Preparation
Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Peel, halve, and core apples, then cut into 3/4-inch cubes. Stir together with remaining ingredients except cranberries in a 13- by 9-inch glass baking dish and spread in an even layer.

Roast apple mixture, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. Remove dish from oven and stir in cranberries, then continue roasting until cranberries are softened and most of liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Serve chutney warm or at room temperature.

Cooks' note:
Chutney can be made three days ahead and cooled, uncovered, then chilled, covered.

Makes 6 accompaniment servings.

ROAST TURKEY WITH POMEGRANATE GRAVY
Pomegranates are plentiful this time of year, and easy to juice.Bottled pomegranate juice is too sweet for this particular recipe.

For turkey
1 (14- to 16-lb) turkey, any feathers and quills removed with tweezers or needlenose pliers, and neck and giblets (excluding liver) reserved for making stock
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, 5 tablespoons softened and 5 tablespoons melted
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 onion, quartered
4 large fresh thyme sprigs

For gravy
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh pomegranate juice (see cooks' note, below)
Pan juices (and roasting pan) from turkey
About 3 cups hot turkey giblet stock
1 cup water
6 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Special equipment: a small metal skewer; kitchen string; a flat rack or V-rack; an instant-read thermometer
Garnish: quartered pomegranates

Roast turkey:
Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Working from neck (small) cavity, run your fingers between skin and meat to loosen skin from breast, legs, and thighs, being careful not to tear skin. Rub softened butter between skin and flesh, then sprinkle turkey cavities and skin with salt and pepper. Fold neck skin under body and secure with metal skewer and fold wing tips under breast. Stuff large cavity with onion and thyme sprigs and tie drumsticks together with kitchen string. Brush skin all over with some melted butter.
Put turkey on rack in a large flameproof roasting pan and roast, basting with some melted butter and/or pan juices every 20 minutes (if turkey is browning too fast, cover loosely with foil), until thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours.

Carefully tilt turkey so any juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan, then transfer turkey to a platter (do not clean roasting pan) and let stand, loosely covered, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 180°F).

Make gravy while turkey stands:
Cook sugar in a dry 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar is melted into a deep golden caramel. Add 1/2 cup pomegranate juice (use caution; mixture will bubble and steam vigorously) and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramel is dissolved.

Remove syrup from heat.

Pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-quart glass measure or bowl, then skim off fat and reserve 1/4 cup of it. Add enough turkey stock to pan juices to total 3 1/2 cups liquid. Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add water and deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Pour through fine-mesh sieve into glass measure with stock.

Whisk together reserved fat and flour in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and cook roux over moderately low heat, whisking, until pale golden, 7 to 10 minutes.

Add hot stock mixture in a stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.

Bring to a boil, whisking, and add pomegranate syrup, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in any turkey juices accumulated on platter and simmer gravy 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and stir in remaining tablespoon pomegranate juice.

Remove string and skewer from turkey and discard onion and thyme from cavity. Serve turkey with gravy on the side.

Cooks' notes:
• Cut 2 to 3 pomegranates in half crosswise, then juice with a manual or electric juicer; alternatively, remove seeds from pomegranate and pulse seeds in a food processor until juicy, then transfer seeds to a sieve and let drain, pressing on and discarding solids.
• Pomegranate syrup can be made 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.

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