Worth the Effort: Coffee Bean Turkey with Sweet Onion Gravy

Worth the Effort: Coffee Bean Turkey with Sweet Onion Gravy

Tom Douglas, the guy who arguably put Seattle’s culinary scene on the map, took his place behind the stove of the demonstration kitchen at Macy’s, and started off by saying: “Today I want to talk to you about effort. If there is one thing I want you to take away today, it’s that it’s worth the effort.”

pears on kitchen counter

He was talking about cooking at home for your friends and family. He was talking about sharing not just the family recipes, but the stories that went along with them, such as the way the house smelled when his Grandma came to visit and made her famous schnecken, and the benefits of being the biggest kid in a very large family, when they all reached in to grab their favorite bits of the gooey treat.


“Create memories with your family around food, memories that involve all the senses. Those are what you will remember years from now.”

Tom Douglas

Take 3 recipes, he said, say for instance one pie, one cake, and one cookie recipe, even if you’re afraid of baking – especially if you’re afraid of baking. Make each one three times, following the directions exactly.  The trick to baking well is following the directions. By the third try, you will OWN that recipe.

Pick recipes you want to be known for, and be the person who’s known for bringing it. You don’t have to be a great cook, just well practiced at a few recipes. You can grow your repertoire later, just start with three.

branches

Tom prepared three recipes for us: Grilled Cheese with Caramelized Broccoli Rabe and Fontina, Coffee-Bean Turkey with Sweet Onion Gravy, and Pear Tarts with Dreamy Caramel Sauce.  

Now, I don’t have room enough to share all three recipes in one post, so I’ve picked one to share today, perhaps more on another day. You’ll just have to come back and visit my blog again some day. Two of the recipes are from Tom’s new cookbook that he is promoting, The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook. Of course, the recipe I chose to share has something to do with coffee, Coffee Bean Turkey with Sweet Onion Gravy. This recipe is from the Macy’s Culinary Council Thanksgiving & Holiday Cookbook.


“Seattle is famous for its coffee. And that inspired me to stuff the turkey cavity with whole roasted coffee beans. Turns out they add a nice toasty-smoky aroma that seasons the bird from within. I leave them in even after the turkey’s done. If a few slip out at the table while I’m carving, it’s a good conversation starter.”

Tom Douglas

Get this one ready for Thanksgiving:

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tom douglas and judy schwartz haley
Tom Douglas and Judy Schwartz Haley

FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I was paid to attend this event, but as always, my opinions remain my own.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

If I just listed off all the things for which I’m thankful this year, the list would go on for several pages, and I wouldn’t be able to complete it in one day. As I do have plans to spend some time with my family, I’ll try to keep this short and just point out a few of the biggies:

  • My amazing husband who takes such good care of me, especially on the chemo days when I’m feeling so crappy
  • My creative, beautiful, and intelligent daughter who brightens every day and showers me with kisses and hugs
  • The wonderful people who came over and helped out when I had my surgery and during chemo – Mom, Dee, Sharon and Perry, Kristen, Mary Jane, Diane, Carrie, Candace, and Sommer, to name a few
  • The amazing services that work so hard to assist people with breast cancer such as Komen for the Cure, the Young Survival Coalition, and the Pink Daisy Project
  • Completing chemo – yes, that’s right, I’m done with chemo!
  • My cancer was found before it metastasized
  • The amazing doctors and nurses at the University of Washington Medical Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.  Over the years I’ve received medical care in a lot of different systems, and this is by far the best care I have received in my life.
  • Medicaid. I qualified for medicaid which is making it possible for me to receive this wonderful medical care.  Medicaid is saving my life right now, and 18 months ago it saved my daughter’s life.  I don’t know how we will pay rent next week, or the power bill, but we have food in the freezer, and I can fight my cancer. I’m not proud of the fact that we need this assistance, and I know its a source of embarrassment to my family members who fight so hard to eradicate publicly funded medical care, but I am extremely thankful that this assistance exists and makes it possible for me to battle cancer. Thanks to the health insurance reform bill, my cancer will not prevent me from getting health insurance once we get jobs, so one day I will be able to get off Medicaid, hopefully someday soon.

Here’s wishing you all a safe, healthy, and happy Thanksgiving.

You can learn more about my cancer story here:

my cancer story | Judy Schwartz Haley

 

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Thanksgiving with the In-Laws

Thanksgiving with the In-Laws

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We had an awesome Thanksgiving this year.  We spent the holiday with Aaron’s family so it was very low key and relaxed.  And the food was awesome. This was the first time we had seen  Aaron’s family since I became pregnant, so my belly was the center of attention – first baby on this side of the family.

It was a good day.

Thanksgiving

Giving Thanks

  1. my husband
  2. we’re finally pregnant
  3. the fact that we’ve somehow managed to keep a roof over our heads while we’re both full time students
  4. the ability and inclination to think, research and reason
  5. the fact that I finally finished my paper and got it submitted online just before the midnight deadline tonight – whew!
  6. friendsbird-4
  7. President Elect Obama
  8. family
  9. Seattle – I really, really love this city
  10. the internet.  the internet has created so many opportunities for me

What are you thankful for?