Big Meal Little Kitchen

Thanksgiving can be the most stressful meal to make for any home chef. Imagine preparing and cooking in an apartment, where space, especially kitchen is rare. Alison Roman will do just that. How? Consider it kitchen magic.

Ms. Roman's battle plan was the main topic of today's New York Times Food section. Ms. Roman, known for her Instagram pictures of drool worthy dishes, is a well known internet chef along with being a regular contributor to the Food section. Cooking is her life and she has turned it into alchemy. That alchemy involves cooking in a small Brooklyn apartment. Can it be done? Yes!!! There are clever ways to store food and serve it cooked.There is also a practical plan on when to buy and prep certain dishes along with recipes that can take you from the first course to dessert with ease.It pays to heed her advice. It starts with planning the menu, three days ahead (although you could start planning the weekend before). Then,, of course there is the actual grocery shopping. Ms Roman strongly advises
also stocking up on aluminum foil, plastic wrap, paper towels and resealable bags for leftovers. Also it's a good time to order the wine you'll drink too.  She recommends something sparkling and festive and later on light reds.The day before should be all about the prep, from tearing bread for the stuffing to making the crust for the pies and galette. Another must - going to bed at a reasonable hour to be ready for the big day. The next day she chronicles what to do from eating a sustaining breakfast with coffee to finally sitting down to the eat.

Ms.Roman has a good handful of recipes that anyone can make. Her turkey is dry brined with sheet pan (!) gravy. The brine is more of a rub made with salt ,pepper , brown sugar and red onions along with garlic and onions. Keep it dry brined for a day or at least eight hours in the fridge. The gravy starts with Ms. Roman's own Cheater's Stock or chicken stock with the leftover roasted bits from the turkey. An unusual ingredient, soy sauce is used for saltiness and vinegar is used for tang. What goes with this? Buttered stuffing with celery and leeks. This is a traditional savory bread pudding, made even better by using such crusty bread as sourdough or ciabatta and flavored with a typical stuffing ingredient  - celery and a not so traditional one - leeks. It's a buttery, crunchy delight spiked with celery leaves.Of course there has to be potatoes and Ms. Roman makes hers with sour cream, chives and dill. She also takes the traditional squash dish and caramelizes it with maple syrups. Some home chefs would stop there but she then adds red pepper and smoked paprika for zing. Hazelnuts are also tossed into the mix for crunch.There is the traditional green bean recipe but brightened with kale and shallots. Other sides are fancy canned cranberries zested with oranges or tangerines and red onion and a mixed herb salad with spicy greens such as arugula, mizura and mustard greens. The piece de resistance is the dessert - a deep dish honey apple galette with homemade crust. The crust is buttery with a slightly spiced apple filling, There are even sesame seeds sprinkled on for crunch.

Imagine making all this in a small apartment's kitchen. Ms. Roman has - and quite successfully. It can be made  in a larger with the same results - good food with good flavor.