romeo and juliet

romeo and juliet at heaven on earth

thursday — 11/23/23 — montague, new jersey

in the morning we begin frothing creams spiked with real maple syrup and concocting dopey-named coffee drinks to make even the starbucks’ marketing team shiver.

erika’s sourdough loaves rise on the counter and my grandmother’s person-to-food-calculation anxiety burns in my chest as i think through the rations for the day’s special meal. set on having enough stuffing to stuff a bird and have extra, i decide to run to the store – only 17 minutes into port jervis – and get some extra bread, just in case. dommy and i run thru the menu for the day, realizing we are also short a filling for the second bird – to be galantined in the style of our culinary hero jacques pepin – one of which we’ve already decided to stuff with the homemade stuffing.

what should we do with the other bird? i ponder.

maybe a cordon bleu thing? dommy proposes.

oh we could use the virginia ham, i muse.

get a smoky mozz, dom suggests, we’ve been wicked into that lately.

and a cranberry core too… maybe a little mustard.

and with that i am cruising, straddling potholes down the dirt road on my way to shoprite, whose empty parking lot leads me to front doors plastered with crude printer paper signs taped up : “CLOSED TODAY”.

market32 by price chopper greets me nearby with more timely holiday hours.

it was a local smoked gruyere that won the cheese shelf survey and i didn’t end up with any mustard but also found a nice tuscan loaf from the bakery, a can of old school jellied cranberry sauce to use for the center of our galantined birds, three succulent bartlett pears and a packet of instant chicken gravy mix.

i’d told my mom i would make “real” gravy for the meal but now, standing in market32 by price chopper in maybe port jervis or maybe the next town over, again i feel the pull my grandmother’s food-hostessing-anxiety and panic purchase a packet of instant chicken gravy, just in case. usually i’d get turkey gravy but, unsurprisingly, they are totally out of turkey today and we’re cooking chickens anyway so i figure what the heck. if i happened to screw up the homemade gravy then at least i have something to fall back on.

i know i shouldn’t screw up the gravy, especially because of one standout bad holiday memory seared differently in all our minds – but seared nevertheless : a homemade gravy mishap during one late-stage-family-chaos thanksgiving, when nina and granddad were visiting for the holiday in new hampshire. it was at the end of the time that they still came north to visit and i remember nina’s mind was already receding rapidly. many of her previously poised and astute properties were fading to passive glossy-eyed joyful presence. and in the void of her regal matriarchal aura, the gravy unraveling event became an even awkwarder shaped behemoth.  

at the self-check out i ask the attending manager if i was in new jersey still or new york. i remembered my mom said the line was nearby.

you’re in pennsylvania… she says, kind of smiling but also looking at me with her face scrunched up like she just heard bad news.

oh wow, i wasn’t expecting that. i’m staying in montague, i tell her, i knew new york was close but i didn’t realize how close the pennsylvania line was too.

oh yeah to get back to jersey you just go up the road there, she points, under the underpass for a while til you get to the right where you turn and head back to jersey. its easy to find.

unloading the grocery bag, i happen upon the cornbread slices my mom had packed from her freezer at home, remembering, only then, that we didn’t need extra bread after all, as i’d planned to use the cornbread for the stuffing.

lazy tunes vibrate from the bluetooth speaker through the kitchen while the whimsy of holiday meal preparations unfold in their own time. barely a timer or clock is minded as the potatoes get riced and stuffing stuffed. dave matthews band, cleo sol, carl carlton, andy kim and the bee gees all see socks shimmying to their sweet melodies as chickens galantine and cranberries gel in an effortlessly divine flow of slicing and simmering.

dave matthews’ ‘crash into me’ comes on and i’m in my dad’s kitchen at his new home with his new girlfriend in maine…

he’d texted to ask one of us to get some lemons and fresh herbs for the rack of lamb on the way up to maine. plus some scali bread from piro’s and a stick if we were in the area. and crackers and some cheese for a cheeseboard. i was happy to hit piro’s on the way out of my grandparents’ pleasant valley neighborhood and stop at market basket before getting on the highway north.

deeply focused, i picked out cheeses and crackers and other accoutrements for a balanced cheese board, balancing each container, pouch, or plastic wrapped lump in a neat tower against my chest, tucked under my chin, when a nearby shopper with a heaping cart barked at me to “get a cahhht next time!”

i smiled at the shopper and told her that i don’t want a cart. that i prevent myself from overshopping by carrying what i need.

with no semblance of a smile and her face scrunched up like she’d just heard the worst news ever, she barked a final bark: “ya! good luck! I tried that once!”

i smiled again, remembering my mom telling me about how she would never let her methodically browsing parents push the cart in market basket when they visited us because of the ruthlessness of the shoppers.

after the focus-snapping-flurry of the cheese shelf exchange i scurried to the checkout, filled up on gas nearby and got on the road to my dad’s…

i am back in ‘heaven on earth’ and the feeling of my dad’s kitchen fades as i again sense the warmth radiating from the floor tiles into my feet. i galantine the chickens without rewatching jacques’ technique, a first for me. i always watch one of jacques many youtube galantines as a refresher. primarily to review the position of the joints that i must go after to cut but also largely to hear his scrumptious voice urging me to “cut ahhhround zte ar-ticu-lations and then scraaaape zte bones.” i salvaged one wishbone which domenic cleaned and placed in the window to dry.

the birds are deboned – except for their wings – and the bones are simmering in water on the stove to make stock for soup later. dommy and i work in perfect rhythm to prepare the fillings and stuff the birds without exchanging many words, holding and placing and cleaning and prepping the right things at the right times, silently anticipating each others’ needs like those long days working construction and cooking with our dad.

the birds, scrawnier romeo and plumper juliet, get stuffed as follows :

romeo : virginia montague thanksgiving day chicken :

– whole chicken (~4lb), boned out, save for wings

– 8 oz. smoky pine smoked gruyere cheese, shredded (or other melty smoked cheese)

– 1/2 lb thinly sliced Edwards country ham, (or other thinly sliced salty cured ham product)

– ¼ can “core” of jellied cranberry sauce can (or about ½ cup any kind of tart berry sauce or jam)

– squirt of Dijon mustard (optional)

– salt for chicken skin

– room temperature butter, enough to rub and coat outside skin, 3-4 tablespoon

romeo process:

1. watch jacques pepin galantine enough birds that you feel slightly confident to take on the task yourself. you should probably try your first attempt at least 6 months before the holiday in order to learn the joints well and sooth yourself after frustrated attempts with enough practice to feel adequately prepared on game day. jacques effortlessly says it should take about a minute to debone a whole chicken but i am lucky if i get it in under 10. it should be a slow, curious and exploratorily meditative practice and should not at all feel like a panic or a rush to take the bones out.

2. for this recipe i leave the chicken wing bones in the bird since they don’t take long to cook and lend to a nice shape and display for the final baked chicken. pat dry the whole bird and generously salt the skin side of the bird. lightly salt the inside meat, placing the tenderloins in the hollows of the galantined chicken to fill in the spaces left between the thigh meat and the breast meat.

2. before i start filling, i like to clean up the inside of the chicken by cutting out the jiggly, clear-white, mucousy subcutaneous chicken bits and stray “soft” yellow muscle-adhered fat bits.

3. stuff each leg with layers of shredded ham and shredded cheese all the way down to the toes, shoving a small scoop of cranberry sauce in at some point too.

4. sprinkle about half of the cheese in an even layer on the interior chicken meat, then layer with half the slices of ham. layer again with the rest of the cheese and the remaining ham.

5. place a quarter-can slice of the cranberry can in the center of the layered bird.

6. to close, fold the chicken’s back skin flaps around the cranberry core as if to reanimate a frankenchicken. carefully hold the bird closed and turn to position the gallant romeo, breast side up, on a metal rack placed on a metal baking sheet. if desired, tie the chicken closed more tightly with kitchen twine. jacques shows the tying process in many of his videos if you stick around long enough to watch.

7. using your fingers, spread room temperature butter liberally over the chicken’s entire exposed skin, not neglecting wing crevasses and exposed underthighs.

see instructions for cooking both birds together. as fate would have it.

juliet: classic stuffed bird :

– whole chicken (~5lbs), boned out, save for wings

– 2-3 cups cornbread sourdough stuffing, from following recipe

– room temperature butter, enough to rub and coat outside skin, 3-4 tablespoon

– ¼ can “core” of jellied cranberry sauce can (or about ½ cup any kind of tart berry sauce or jam)

stuffing (enough to stuff bird and have some left over):

– 1.5-2 sticks butter

– 3-4 stalks celery, split lengthwise into equal ribs and thinly chopped

– 3-4 carrots, sliced lengthwise into 4-5 long planks per piece and then thinly chopped

– 1-1.5 yellow onions, chopped to similar size as celery and carrots

– splash chardonnay, or other similar white

– 1.5 lbs breakfast sausage (optional)

– 25-30 oz. fresh corn bread, the cakier and butterier the better, cut in cubes and baked at 250°F until crispy

– 16-24 oz. fresh sourdough, cut in cubes and baked at 250°F until crispy

– several tablespoons Bell’s classic poultry seasoning or similar herbs and spices, fresh or dried

– some chicken stock to moisten stuffing, about 1-2 cups depending on amount of bread

– ½ – 1 cup toasted pecans (optional)

– ½ cup dried cranberries, cherries or other desired fruit (optional)

– salt and black pepper as needed

stuffing process:

1.  start by slicing all of the corn bread and sourdough bread into equal size cubes between 1cm and ¾ of an inch in size. the size may be determined by your preference, just try to be thoughtful in keeping them all similar for consistency in texture and cooking. bake all bread at 250°F until mostly dry throughout with crispy edges. alternatively, stale bread can be used and the oven drying step skipped, if desired.

2. in the largest skillet you have, melt 1.5 sticks butter on medium heat and saute diced onions, carrots, and celery for several minutes (3-4) until they begin to pale in color and get soft. scoop out veggies and reserve nearby on a plate.

3. on medium high heat, in the remaining butter grease in the pan, brown the sausage that has been pinched out of their links or patties. place small pinches of meat into one layer on the pan at a time, not overcrowding the meat and flipping to ensure all sides get crusty brown. if there is more meat than will fit comfortably in the pan at once, work in batches to ensure all pieces have a fair chance to brown and get crispy.

4. once the sausage has all browned, return the veggies to the pan, still on medium high heat, and stir to incorporate. douse veggies and sausage in a heavy pour of chardonnay and stir for about 20 seconds to allow alcohol smell to burn off.

5. decide if your skillet is large enough to hold and comfortable stir the bread into the veggies and sausace and mix in the dry bread. move to a large mixing bowl if your skillet doesn’t seem big enough and stir to incorporate all veggies and meat into the bread mix. all bread should get at least lightly coated with the buttery, sausage fat residue. add more melted butter if the mix feels too dry.

6. dust the stuffing liberally with Bell’s seasoning mix. stirring and tasting to ensure adequate seasoning level, to your taste.

7. once coated in fat and seasoning, add some chicken stock and stir gently to moisten the stuffing until all pieces are nicely moist but not wet or soggy.

8. add dry fruit and/or toasted pecans, to your liking.

9. reserve 2-3 cups for stuffed chicken and bake remaining stuffing in casserole at 350 F until desired crispiness.

juliet process :

1. watch jacques pepin galantine enough birds that you feel slightly confident to take on the task yourself. you should try your first attempt at least 6 months before the holiday in order to learn the joints well and sooth your ego with enough practice to feel adequately prepared on game day. jacques effortlessly says it should take about a minute to debone a whole chicken but i am often lucky if i get it in under 10. it should be a slow, curious and exploratorily meditative practice and should not at all feel like a panic or a rush to take the bones out.

2. for this recipe i leave the chicken wing bones in the bird since they don’t take long to cook and lend to a nice shape and display for the final baked chicken. pat dry the whole bird and generously salt the skin side of the bird. lightly salt the inside meat, placing the tenderloins in the hollows of the galantined chicken to fill in the spaces left between the thigh meat and the breast meat.

3. before i start filling, i like to clean up the inside of the chicken by cutting out the jiggly, clear-white, mucousy subcutaneous chicken bits and stray “soft” yellow muscle adhered fat bits.

4. stuff each leg with the prepared stuffing and a small scoop of cranberry sauce, making sure to stuff as far down into the toes as possible.

5. press 2-3 cups stuffing into an even layer atop the interior of the chicken.

6. place a quarter-can slice of the cranberry can in the center of the stuffed bird.

7. to close, fold the chicken’s back skin flaps around the cranberry core as if to reanimate a frankenchicken. carefully hold the bird closed and turn to position the elegant juliet, breast side up, on a metal rack placed on a metal baking sheet. if desired, tie the chicken closed more tightly with kitchen twine. jacques shows the tying process in many of his videos if you stick around long enough to watch.

8. using your fingers, spread room temperature butter liberally over the chicken’s entire exposed skin, not neglecting wing crevasses and exposed underthighs.

cook the birds and gravy

– two stuffed galantined chickens, tied closed with twine, if desired

– pan dripping from cooking two chickens, with solids removed

– 1/3 cup AP flour, mixed into slurry with water, about 1/3 cup or more.

to cook the birds together :

1. side-by-side on a wire racked pan, the starcrossed lovers meet their final match in a butter slathered moment that’s fleeting.

2. set the oven to 350F and bake the chicken until the pan fills with grease and skin just begins to brown.

3. remove the chicken and pour all pan drippings into an adequately sized skillet.

4. return the chicken to the oven and raise temperature to 425F and cook until skin is crispy and chicken cooked through.

the gravy :

5. meanwhile, heat pan drippings in skillet and, when hot, whisk in flour/water slurry and keep whisking until gravy thickens. add more water or more flour as necessary to thicken or thin to your liking. pour into serving bowl and skim out fat until gravy is to your taste. the gravy should be properly salted and seasoned from chicken drippings. virginia ham and smoked gruyere drippings will add a smokey interesting flare. add salt or pepper if necessary.

6. to serve, remove chickens and let rest for 10-15 minutes to cool and set slightly. slice galantined birds first at the waist just above legs. cut the upper section of breast meat and fillings into equally thick slices and arrange the slices fanned out on a plate. remove the wings by pulling joints away from meat. slice lower dark-meat section between thighs into two chunks. arrange assortment of meat slices and pieces in quasi-bird shape on serving platter.

7. serve with remaining stuffing and gravy.