Thursday morning

I woke at 7:00 AM knowing I had to get the capon in the oven at 10:30 so it could be picked up by my friends at 12:30. That meant I should roast the vegetables/potatoes at 9:30 and find time while everything was baking to cook the broccoli rabe, plate the frutti di mare, bake the stuffing and make gravy-a piece of cake if you think it out beforehand. So, to begin with, I peeled and cubed four sweet potatoes to which I added 4 or 5 parsnips, 2 turnips and a head of fennel. I cut everything the same approximate size as the potatoes, tossed it all in olive oil and salt, and laid the vegetables out on two sheet pans. At 9:30, I put them into my preheated 400 degree oven for an hour. Every 20 minutes, I moved them around so they would cook evenly. Forgot to take a picture but you get the idea.

Insalata di frutti di mar arranged over bibb lettuce leaves, broccoli rabe with garlic and sun dried tomato pieces, and the star of the show, roasted capon

The capon had to be slathered in butter and seasoned on the inside. I roasted it at first, in a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes turning it 3 times and basting it at each turn. Then, I lowered the oven to 350 degrees, salted the capon lightly and cooked it for 90 minutes turning it over for 25 of those minutes and basting it every 15 minutes. While the capon was cooking at 350 degrees, I baked the stuffing in a covered baking dish for an hour taking the cover off during the last 15 minutes. At 7.4 pounds, the cooking time for the capon was perfect. The thigh registered 160 degrees and the breast 170 degrees exactly.

In between, I made the broccoli rabe. First, I blanched it for about one minute in boiling salted water.Then I sauteed about 6 cloves of garlic and red pepper flakes till the oil turned fragrant. I tossed the broccoli rabe in the hot oil, covered it and lowered the heat to medium after adding a small bit of chicken stock to the pan and some julienne sun dried tomato slices (packed in olive oil). I cooked the broccoli rabe till a stem piece was tender (about 15 minutes). I then removed the vegetable from the heat and plated it adding a few tablespoons of my best olive oil.

I hope my friends enjoyed this meal. I kept my food costs low ($90 for everything) and saved time by buying the seafood and the stuffing prepackaged . I hope your Thanksgiving meal was a great success too!