entertaining

november 2000

As you know from reading the travel article, this past month we went to France. In the past, we have shared classic menus for this most American of holidays, and so please go back and look at those if that is what you are planning. This year, we thought we'd give you a meal that won't provide you with days of leftovers and uses only turkey white meat as many of us don't have twelve people over for Thanksgiving. A 4 1/4 pound turkey breast will serve 6 easily or 4 with sandwiches for the next day. Rather than just serving a turkey breast, we have decided to make a Ballottine which simply stated is a boneless, stuffed bird that is simmered in a fragrant bath of water, vegetables, and herbs. Your butcher can bone a fresh turkey breast for you, although to bone one is easy. Merely scrape the meat away from the bones with a small sharp knife, being careful not to cut the skin. The nice thing about this way of preparing your meal is that it cooks in 1 hour, it tastes wonderful, and as you slice the Ballottine, the skin just drops off so you don't have to worry about the extra fat. How to decorate the table? When it's just you and a few friends, why not get out your best china, sliver, and crystal. A French meal that takes a while to prepare, deserves the best. The centerpiece, however, does not have to be flowers, although they are always beautiful. We like to use vegetables and fruit that we can use later. Some years we use only fruit and a cornucopia that we serve for dessert with cheese and thin bread toasts. How European can you get, but boy, is it good. Do have candles lit and beautiful linens. For 4 or 6 people, you don't need place cards, but when you guests sit down to eat, try to make sure that you are nearest to the kitchen to serve. After all, the others are your guests. What to serve with this Ballottine? Here we combine the traditional and the European. We roast sweet potato slices and add Belgian endive which we poach in chicken stock. We also roast mushrooms to top our slices of stuffed turkey, and finish our platter with grapes rather than cranberry sauce which has a great deal of sugar. For dessert, we make pear tarts to be served warm with a bit of frozen dessert topping. A delicious meal that will wow your family or friends. A Thanksgiving, French Style   Turkey Breast Ballottine Roasted Sweet Potato Slices Roasted Mushrooms Poached Belgium Endive Pear Tarts (for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above)