Gobble Gobble!

Here I am with my beautifully browned bird on this year's turkey day. I cannot believe another Thanksgiving has come and gone. I found myself feeling what can only be described as bluesy as I woke up on Black Friday (and had to go to WORK-no wonder). Thanksgiving is a day I look forward to all year; it's the culmination and celebration of everything a I love- cooking and eating, family and friends. And it always seems to come and go so quickly leaving only Tupperware after Tupperware of leftovers and a minor wine and tryptophan induced hangover. Luckily, Thanksgiving blues quickly turn into Christmas red and greens. You sure don't have much time to digest your Thanksgiving before Black Friday and Cyber Monday shove Christmas down your throat. It's not even December 1st and I have already watched a handful of Christmas movies courtesy of ABC Family Channel. I'm not complaining though- I love this most wonderful time of year. The key is to avoid the commercial chaos, enjoy the beauty of the season, and spend time with those you love. It's all about getting back to how the holidays felt when you were a kid. Full of magic and excitement, happiness and wonder. I hope you will all get back there this holiday season...

So where was I....oh, yes. Thanksgiving. I'm getting one holiday ahead of myself. This years feast turned out great (not to toot my own turkey or anything).  I doubt anyone is in a rush to make stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce for dinner, but just in case here are my recipes.

Citrus and Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 12 oz. fresh cranberries with 2 cups white sugar, 1/3 cup orange juice, 1.5 teaspoons grated orange peel, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Boil for 8-10 minutes or until the cranberries pop. Let cool and store in the refrigerator.

Sweet and Savory Stuffing

Cook about 1.5-2 pounds of sweet Italian sausage until just done, crumbling into small bits as you cook. Remove. In the same pan, saute a medium onion (chopped) and 2-3 ribs of celery (chopped) in the sausage drippings and additional butter butter or olive oil. If you desire, add fresh herbs here (sage, parsley) and salt and pepper to taste. Combine the veggies with the sausage and mix in a cup of dried cranberries and 16 oz or so of bread cubes (homemade or prepackaged- I used a combo). Gradually add about 2-4 cups of chicken broth until the stuffing is well coated (not soggy, not dry). 

Now, you can stuff it in your bird (not my cup of tea but to each his own) OR bake in a 350 degree oven (or whatever your turkey is at) until the top starts to crisp up.

*As you can tell, my stuffing recipe isn't spot on with measurements. The staples for stuffing is celery, onion, bread cubes, and chicken broth to moisten- everything else is up to you. But I will say the sweet-bitterness from the cranberries and the savory-richness from the sausage was a great combo!*

Classic Masshed Potatoes 

Figure about 1 potato per serving. Peel and dice the potatoes then put them in a large stock pot and cover them with cold water. Bring the potatoes and water up to a boil and cooked until tender (when a fork goes through easily). Then mash them up with the flavors of your choosing. Milk, butter, roasted garlic, cheese, bacon, chives. The sky is the limit. We had some soft herb cheese spread (like Rondele or Boursin) from our pre-Thanksgiving snacks that make these extra indulgent. 

Sweet Potato Casserole

Figure the same serving suggestion and cooking style as the mashed potatoes. Mash them up with milk, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Again, no real science to measurements. Start by adding each ingredient in a small amount, take a taste, and see what it needs. Spread the mashed sweet taters in a baking dish and top with mini marshmallow and chopped pecans. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven until the marshmallows are just starting to brown. 

*This is a great dish to get ready a day ahead of time. Just leave off the topping and store (covered) in the fridge. When you're ready to eat, you will need to bake the potatoes alone about 30 minutes before putting the topping on so that the potatoes can get warm without burning the marshmallows.*

From Scratch Green Bean Casserole

This is a fresher take on the Campbell's Soup classic.

Start by making your own fried onions. I thinly sliced a white onion and coated it in a Panko, flour, S&P mixture. Spread the onions on a foil-covered baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in a HOT (475 degree or so) oven until browned and fragrant. You can make these a day ahead of time and store them (once cooled) in an airtight container).

Blanch 1-2 pounds of green beans (boil for about 5 minutes). Drain then cook in a bowl of ice water. This stops the cooking process. Essentially, you want the green beans to be slightly cooked (they should still have some bite to them). 

In a large skillet, saute one diced shallot with 12 ounces of sliced mushrooms in a couple tablespoons of butter (yes, more butter). Once the mushrooms are almost done, season them lightly with salt, pepper, and fresh grated nutmeg. Add a cup of half and half to the mushroom mix and cook over low heat until slightly reduced (8 minutes or so).

Combine the mushroom mix with the cooked/drained green beans in a baking dish and top with homemade french fried onions. Bake until the onions are browned and the casserole is bubbly.  

Cheesecloth Turkey

This was the easiest turkey I have ever made and it turned our moist and perfectly brown. I never thought you could put a cotton cheesecloth in the oven, but it can be done. 

Start by prepping your turkey as you like (removing neck and giblets, seasoning the skin, and stuffing the cavity). I recommend a simple salt and pepper dusting on the skin and stuffing the cavity not with dressing but with aromatics. I used a lemon, a green apple (both quartered), a whole head of garlic (split horizontally), fresh sage and rosemary. Position the turkey breast side up on a roasting pan and tie up any loose ends (literally). Next, melt a stick of butter (yes, another one) with 1/3 cup of fresh apple cider and soak a cheesecloth (big enough to cover the turkey) until it soaks up the liquid. Drape the butter-cider infused cheesecloth over the turkey, trying to cover as much bird as possible. 

Begin cooking your turkey in a hot (500 degree) over for 15 minutes, then decrease the temperature to 350 degrees and cook for about 12-15 minutes per pound or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.  

During the cooking process, we basted our bird ever 30 minutes or so. The cheesecloth liquid didn't create any drippings so we ended up pouring a white wine-chicken broth-apple cider combo over the turkey after the initial heat blast, then used that liquid for basting.  This ultimately created more drippings in the bottom of the pan which turned into a wonderful gravy.