There are still seats available for performances of the Irish Repertory Company stage adaptation of James Joyce’s novella “The Dead” reported on here. If you’re planning to attend a performance and the mid-play dinner, you can make memories of the latter courtesy of Great Performances, which will be catering the dinner. Executive Chef Mark Russell, who has designed the holiday meal meant to replicate the one in the story, has graciously agreed to provide readers of AppleEats with recipes for some of the dishes.
One of the them — call it the luck of timing — is for his parsley-and-thyme roasted turkey breast, which takes the place of Joyce’s roast goose. If you haven’t yet hit on a recipe for your Thanksgiving bird, I had a chance to sample this recipe, along with a few others from the production (including the superb cocoa-and-fig-glazed beef tenderloin), and I am here to tell you that they are show-stoppers.
You will also find among the recipes one for maple-glazed ham. The dish was in the original “cast” of dishes but was cut from the final production. We have left it in in the interests of ham lovers.
Without further ado:
Cocoa & Fig Glazed Beef Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 2.5-to-3 lb beef tenderloin, trimmed and tied
- Kosher salt
- Olive oil
- 2 oz Fig Sauce (recipe follows)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 400° F.
- Season tenderloin with salt.
- In hot saute pan sear the tenderloin in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Brown on all sides. Remove from pan and cool slightly. Rub entire surface with fig sauce, then coat with cocoa powder.
- Place in roasting pan and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Roast in oven until beef reaches an internal temperature of 115°.
- Remove from oven and let rest 20 min. Beef’s temperature will continue to climb to 120 to 125° for medium rare. Slice and serve. Present with remaining sauce in a gravy boat.
Fig Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb light-fleshed figs, cut into quarters
- 1 cup sherry
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
Directions
Combine all in a pot and stew gently over medium heat until soft. Cool to room temperature and puree until smooth.
Parsley & Thyme Roast Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 4-to-5 lb boneless turkey breast, skin on
- 6 sprigs flat leaf parsley
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 400° F.
- With fingers, loosen skin from meat of turkey breast to create a cavity in which to slide the herbs. Replace skin and pat down. Season skin with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle with oil. Place in roasting pan and roast. When internal temperature reaches 145° degrees, remove from oven. Skin should be brown and crisp.
- Rest turkey for 20 min. Carve to order.
Cranberry Pineapple Relish
Ingredients
- ¼ cup white onion, minced
- ¼ cup celery, minced
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cup fresh pineapple, diced
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Directions
- Heat olive oil in medium sized sauce pan.
- Add onions and celery and saute over moderately high heat until soft, stirring frequently to keep form burning.
- Add remaining ingredients and continue cooking until cranberries begin to pop and pineapple softens.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
Maple Glazed Ham
Ingredients
- 6-to-8 lb salt cured and smoked ham, with bone
- 2 cup water
- 1 cup maple syrup
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 400° F.
- Clean ham; removing skin, leaving a thin layer of fat on the surface. Cut into fat with a sharp knife in a waffle pattern, taking care not to cut into the meat.
- Place ham on a racj in a heavy roasting pan with the water in the bottom. Pour maple syrup over surface of ham. Place in oven and roast until fat begins to melt and brown. Baste periodically with rendered pan juices.
- Turn temperature down to 325° and continue to cook for another hour and 15 minutes or until internal temperature of 160° is reached.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Carve to order. Serve with rendered and reduced pan juice.
