Brining is a culinary technique that is regaining popularity because it produces a more moist, juicy, tender and flavorful turkey. Brining locks in the natural moisture of the meat, while infusing mild flavors into it. It also reduces cooking time.

Some people use a basic salt brine, but spice companies have developed brines infused with fruit, herbs and savory spice flavors. So go for it this year, and see how you like the transformation of your turkey into something more gourmet.

Marinate time 10 to 16 hours, cook time 3 to 5 hours, rest time 20 to 30 minutes.
 

RECIPE: VANILLA BRINED TURKEY

Ingredients

Brine your turkey for more moisture and flavor. Photo courtesy Butterball.

 
Aromatics

1. PREHEAT oven to 450°F. Place the first 8 ingredients of the brine in a large pot and simmer until the spices dissolve. Allow to cool completely. Pour the cooled stock mixture into a large container (bucket) and stir in vanilla and ice water. Completely submerge the turkey into the liquid, breast side down, and brine for 10 to 16 hours, refrigerated. While the turkey is in the brine…

2. MAKE the vanilla bourbon butter. Place the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until completely combined. Set aside.

3. REMOVE the turkey from the brine when ready to roast, and pat dry. Stuff the cavity of the turkey with aromatics and rub the skin, both under and over, with the vanilla bourbon butter. Season the turkey with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together tightly, tuck the wings under the back, and transfer the bird to a roasting pan. Place the turkey into the oven and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, allowing the skin to brown. Remove the turkey from the oven and cover the breast with aluminum foil to prevent burning.

4. REDUCE the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to roast the turkey for 2-1/2 to 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes. 30 minutes before the turkey is ready to come out of the oven…

5. REMOVE foil from the breast and continue to roast until an instant read thermometer reads 161°F. Remove the turkey from the oven, loosely covered with foil and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
  

The history of Indian corn is below.

This recipe is courtesy of What’s New Cupcake? by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson—a treasure trove of cupcake recipes.
 
 RECIPE: INDIAN CORN CUPCAKES

Ingredients For 8 Ears Of Corn/24 Cupcakes

Ears of corn become pull-apart cupcakes. Photo courtesy “What’s New, Cupcake.”

 
*Try to select flavors that go well together, such as toasted marshmallow, banana, cappuccino, and chocolate pudding.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with crumpled foil. Cut the phyllo sheet “husks” crosswise into 3-inch-wide strips, tapering both ends. Drape the stacked husks on the prepared pan, shaping them over the crumpled foil to make curves. Spray lightly with vegetable cooking spray.

2. BAKE until the phyllo is golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. (The husks can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept in an airtight container.)

3. TINT the vanilla frosting pale beige with the cocoa powder.

4. SPREAD some of the pale beige frosting on top, working with 3 cupcakes at a time. Arrange about 5 straight rows of jelly beans, side by side and close together, on each cupcake. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes, frosting, and jelly beans.

5. For each ear of corn, place 3 cupcakes end to end on a serving platter, aligning the rows of jelly beans. Arrange the phyllo husks on either side of the corn.
 

INDIAN CORN HISTORY

Every fall, Indian corn appears along with the pumpkins, a symbol of the harvest season. Also known as flint corn, these ears of multicolored kernels—blue, brown, red, white and yellow—adorn front doors and centerpieces.

Corn was domesticated some 10,000 years from teosinte, a variety of wild Mexican grass. It was brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus in the late 1400s and soon made its way to much of the rest of the globe via explorers and traders. Corn became a dietary staple for humans and livestock.

Indian corn, or flint corn, is one of the oldest varieties of corn. It’s the variety that the early colonists learned how to cultivate from Native Americans. The kernel shells are “hard as flint”, hence the name. A small amount of soft starch is surrounded by a larger amount of hard starch. This tough exterior means that the kernels shrink uniformly when drying and are dent-free and less prone to spoiling. That’s why they work so well as décor.

While it is edible, other varieties of corn evolved. In modern times, the most commonly cultivated kind of corn in America is dent corn (also called field corn), which is used primarily to feed livestock.

Dent corn gets its name from the indentation that appears on the outside of its mature kernels, a result of the hard and soft starch contained in each kernel shrinking unequally during ripening. It is also used in the manufacture of industrial products and processed foods (by some accounts, corn is contained in 75% of all grocery items). Dent corn is also used to make a wide range of non-culinary products, including cosmetics, ethanol, explosives, fabrics, paints, paper goods, and pharmaceuticals.

The type of corn typically eaten by people is sweet corn. Like dent corn, its kernels are usually yellow or white.

The United States is the world’s top producer and exporter of corn, the majority of which is grown in the Midwest, the “Corn Belt.” (Source: History.com)

Sorbet is made in a breadth of colors and flavors, which leads to today’s tip: “fall harvest” sorbet.

Look at this combination with Ciao Bella Gelato’s Blackberry Cabernet, Blood Orange and Ginger Peach sorbets. Even though the flavors aren’t classic fall, the color medley is spot on. It looks seasonal.

Fall-specific flavor include apple, fig, grape and pear (although the latter tends to be whitish—not part of the fall color palette).

You may even find beet sorbet (or make your own).

Mango and pomegranate sorbets, popular year-round, contribute both richness of flavor and color.

All you need are:

 
Then, just scoop and serve! What could be better at the end of a long dinner? (Answer: someone to do all the dishes!)
  

It looks like grape juice, but don’t let that fool you: It’s a bit grape-like, but currant tastes distinctive, bold, pleasantly tart and sophisticated. It’s the kind of juice wine drinkers would choose if they were designated drivers.

And the extraordinarily high antioxidant levels of currants make blueberries, chocolate and green tea dull news.

Look for CurrantC currant juice, or buy the concentrate online. Then, replace your morning O.J. with an even better-for-you glass of currant juice, cook with it (Cumberland Sauce is a classic for game, duck and pork), make sorbet and other desserts.

And start with this delicious cocktail, a great fit with holiday celebrations. The recipe is courtesy CurrantC.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice; shake and strain into a chilled Martini glass.

2. GARNISH with line and serve.

The juice is also delicious frozen into high-antioxidant popsicles.

MIX CURRANT JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE

It’s cost-effective to buy the concentrate and mix your own juice: 8 ounces cold water to 1 teaspoon CurrantC black currant concentrate. If you’d like it sweeter, you can add sweetener to taste—and keep the calories lower with a non-caloric sweetener.

Look for recipes and buy currant concentrate and juice at CurrantC.com.

CURRANT HISTORY: FORBIDDEN FRUIT

Black currants are extremely popular in Europe and, prior to 1911, were big in the U.S. In 1911, the commercial cultivation of currants in the U.S. was outlawed by an act of Congress—for its alleged part in spreading the disease, white pine blister rust, which threatened the U.S. timber industry. The ban was based on incomplete scientific knowledge of the disease.

At the behest of New York State farmers in this century, scientists from Cornell University revisited the white pine disease issue and concluded that currants didn’t pose the threat to white pines that was once believed.

Until April 2003, black currants were “forbidden fruit” in the U.S. Then, following the Cornell studies, New York State* overturned the black currant farming ban, opening the door for New York currants—for eating, juice, jam, yogurt, tea and other applications. It’s also a boon for family farms, which now have an in-demand, non-commodity crop to revive sagging revenue.
 
*The ban still stands today in several states.

A bowl of fresh-picked currants. Photo courtesy CurrantC.

CURRANTS VS. RAISINS

Since domestic currants only began to appear in the marketplace recently, what are those things we’ve been calling currants?

They are the so-called Zante Currants, which are actually raisins (dried grapes) that have nothing to do with real currants.

Why the confusion?

After the commercial cultivation of currants was outlawed in 1911, currants dropped off the culinary radar screen. In the 1920s, Greece began to export small dried seedless grapes, one-fourth the size of the average raisin, from the area of Corinth, known in the U.S. as Zante currants

Zante currants are not currants: They are the dried form of an ancient Greek grape variety properly called the Black Corinth, Vitis vinifera, the smallest of the seedless grapes. They come from the third largest Ionian Island called Zakýnthos, which is often called Zante (and where they were first cultivated more than 2,000 years ago).

On the first shipment, the Greek writing for the word “Corinth” was mistakenly translated at the pier into “currant.”
  

If you’re looking for a special yet affordable bubbly for the holiday season, take a look at this limited edition sparkler from Chandon, a Blanc de Noirs champagne-style wine.

Blanc de Noirs means “white from black,” referring to the white wine that is produced from black* Pinot Noir grapes. Its counterpart is Blanc de Blancs, a white wine produced from white (Chardonnay) grapes.

Most champagne-style wines are a mix of Pinot Noir and chardonnay grapes. A Blanc de Noir is all Pinot Noir; a Blanc de Blanc is all Chardonnay. (The winemaker may add a small amount of a black grape, Pinot Meunier, to add structure to the wine.)

Blanc de Noirs is a versatile wine, a great match with everything from fruity to spicy to salty foods, and the often hard-to-mach Asian, Latin American, Mexican and Southwestern cuisines. Pair it with just about anything.
 
*Actually dark purple.

The suggested retail price is $24.00 at wine stores nationwide or Shop.Chandon.com.