Gastro-musings
It's the weekend before Thanksgiving and this time of the year, perhaps not surprisingly, every casual conversation seems to turn to the dinner preparation. I’ve noticed that men more than women frequently have some sort of special way they prepare the turkey. It seems for many, their once-in-the-year time to show off their culinary prowess. Or maybe it’s more of an unconscious throwback to hunting days of old. Although turkeys seldom appear in their natural state in stores in California, still they do look kind of big and game-bird like. The way I've heard it, these days turkeys are deep fried, salted, grilled and jerked, along with the more conventional roasting.

In a recent conversation with friend Tom, he mentioned his turkey preparation which consists of somehow placing the stuffing under the turkey skin, thereby keeping it – turkey and stuffing – moist while it roasts. Tom is the bartender at The Quiet Woman, a Corona Del Mar restaurant and something of a landmark, and this conversation took place over drinks so I can’t be certain of all the details. Suffice it to say that he had a very specific recipe for his Thanksgiving bird.
Conversationally, my contribution was a mention of a side dish I made for last years’ dinner and will prepare again this year because it was so fabulous. When I said root vegetable gratin it got Tom’s attention as he is interested in cooking and although not a strict vegetarian enjoys good veggie preparations. Now he wants the recipe. So here it is for Tom and anyone else that might want it. It’s seasonal, colorful, easy, can be prepared ahead of time through step 1, looks grand and tastes even grander.
And after having it, like with so many of these types of foods, I always wonder why I limit it to the holiday, why not have it all year?

Enjoy!

Root Vegetable Gratin
Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients
· 1 pound carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
· 1 pound new potatoes, quartered
· 1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
· 1 pound rutabaga, peeled and diced
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
· 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
· 1 cup cream
· 1 cup cubed fontina cheese
· 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
· 1 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan cheese
· 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400. Place first 4 ingredients into a large roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil, add sea salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast vegetables 1 hour 10 minutes or until tender.
2. Transfer vegetable to a lightly greased 13-X-9 baking dish. Stir in cream, fontina, and ½ tablespoon parsley, sprinkly top with parmesan, breadcrumbs and remaining ½ tablespoon parsley. Bake 10 minutes more or until bubbly. Serve hot.