Thanksgiving Series #5: Recovery

After all of the planning, all of the cooking and all of the glorious eating- there is RECOVERY!

It is customary for The Hubster to do the dishes after Thanksgiving dinner. His mom usually helps too, and this year my sister pitched in and packed up the left overs. Everyone in the house gets a job on Thanksgiving... the kids and my father-in-law help take everything back to the kitchen! Me, I almost feel like I need to shower after dinner! It is a long day and I always look forward to laying around afterwards!

This is the carnage even after the dishwasher was loaded and many things had been hand washed! We use a lot of dishes for holidays!

And perhaps more beautiful than the Thanksgiving meal when it is first placed on the table, the leftovers!!

This was the first year that we did not have much left over to nibble on in the days following Thanksgiving. After this "Thanksgiving 1" I think we may make a little more for "Thanksgiving 2" so I have some tasty vittles to nosh on during the official start of the Christmas shopping season!

Thanksgiving Series #4: Dessert

Okay, okay... I will admit that dessert is my favorite part of a meal. I am known for my love of sweets and I really enjoy being able to take small portions of more than one sweet! So Thanksgiving is the perfect time to have several desserts! I try to get a few different kinds of dessert in there to appeal to as many people as possible. I have done cakes, cookies, pies- you get the point.

On this "Thanksgiving 1" we had just two sweets, an apple crisp and a cheesecake. The apple crisp is one of my all time favorites, not too sweet and a little sour. The cheesecake is another one of Grandma's specialties on The Hubster's side of the family and I am a sucker for traditions!

 

In this installment of the Thanksgiving Series I will give you the apple crisp recipe but not one for the cheesecake. No one but my mother-in-law and my husband know how to make it. In fact, the only thing written down for the cheesecake in our house are the ingredients- Mike won't even let me know the way to make it! This cheesecake was the first thing he learned to make from a recipe. It was his "get out of jail" card, the one thing I could not make. Ever. Everyone needs one of those recipes, right? For me it is my chocolate cupcake recipe!

Ingredients

Filling:

• 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped (about 3 1/2 pounds)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Topping:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Bourbon Cream:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon bourbon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the Filling:

Butter a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. In a large bowl mix all the filling ingredients together and toss to coat all the apples. Pour in the prepared baking dish

For topping:

In a food processor combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in large bowl. Pulse to blend. Pulse in the butter until mixture forms pea size lumps. Add the pecans and pulse 1 or 2 more times. Sprinkle over filling. Bake crisp for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

For Bourbon cream:

In a medium sized bowl, beat the cream until it begins to thicken. While beating, add the sugar and bourbon and beat until soft peaks form. Dollop over servings of apple crisp (vanilla ice cream is also tasty with this dish!)

You can go directly to the recipe at food network here 

I did not think I would like the bourbon cream but it really did add a nice touch to the apple crisp. The men in the house also sipped on a small serving of the bourbon while I was preparing the desserts for serving.

While half of the cheesecake was left, barely two serving were leftover of the crisp- and my sister and I gobbled that up the very next day!

Thanksgiving Series #3: Side Dishes

Side dishes for a holiday dinner are probably as personal as the soap you use. Sure, there are traditional things to serve at special meals but there are also side dishes that are special to each family. The perfect example in my family are Grandma's Baked beans. While I do not consider them an important part of anything but a cook out, my husband feels that it is not a holiday with out them. So I make them, for every holiday dinner. It is a beautiful tradition that makes my husband and his dad happy so it's no big deal to add them to the menu!

When planing a dinner, I am very careful to make sure the sides are diverse in color, flavors and textures. Standard issue sides for Thanksgiving here are Mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, rolls and a green veggie. Stuffing has made it's appearance but it doesn't seem to make or break anyone's holiday so it is not a staple dish.

I love to make mashed potatoes from scratch (although I have made the stuff in a box on more than one occasion)  My sister loves to help with this dish! This year I wanted to teach her something new, so instead of whipped potatoes with a little cream cheese, we used a food mill!

This was the first time Lindsay had seen and operated a food mill. Both she and her fiance were a little grossed out by the way the potatoes looked when they came out but I assured them it would be great!

You know how much my boys love to "help" in the kitchen!!

Milled potatoes, a little butter and a little milk and VOILA! Creamy Potatoes- and there was nothing left over!

Here is the method I used:

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 ounces unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Peel the potatoes and cut into uniform 1/2-inch pieces. Place into a 4-quart saucepan and cover with cold water by at least 1-inch. Cover, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove the lid, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the potatoes can easily be crushed with a pair of tongs, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Drain in a colander.

Put the cream, butter, salt and pepper into the now empty 4-quart saucepan and place back over the heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and set a food mill fitted with the smallest die, on top of the pot. Add 1 cup of potatoes at a time to the mill. Once all of the potatoes have passed through the mill, stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve immediately.

of course, it came from my Kitchen Idol: Alton Brown. You can find the original recipe here

Another favorite of mine are the Roasted Sweet Potatoes. It is a really simple recipie that can be made ahead and is great left over!

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup dried cranberries
6 tablespoons butter, cut up, divided
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, orange juice, vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon each of the cinnamon and ginger, and salt in large bowl. Add sweet potatoes; toss to coat well. Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with cranberries. Dot with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix flour, remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon each cinnamon and ginger in medium bowl. Cut in remaining 4 tablespoons butter with a fork until coarse crumbs form. Stir in pecans. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and stir gently. Sprinkle evenly with pecan topping.

3. Bake, uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes longer or until sweet potatoes are tender and topping is lightly browned.

This recipe is by McCormick, you can find it here 

What ever you choose to customize and complete your holiday spread, have fun and don't be afraid to add something new this year!

Thanksgiving Series #2: Turkey

 Turkey is the centerpiece of nearly every Thanksgiving dinner. You can buy birds that are frozen, fresh or free range. I have cooked and eaten all three and can't say I personally saw much of a difference. No matter what kind of bird you plan to roast, the method of roasting is that really matters.

I remember the Thanksgiving bird being made in a roasting bag when I was young, which often yielded meat that dried out moments after hitting the table. I grew up thinking that cranberry and gravy were to moisten the meat so you could chew it!

When I hosted my very first Thanksgiving dinner I opted to use the method I watched Martha Stewart demonstrate on her own show. It was delicious but time and labor intensive and the meat didn't stay moist during left over mode.

Two years ago I was watching a Thanksgiving special  Food Network and Alton Brown's turkey brine was featured. The Hubster proclaimed that we should try it and the rest is history! Brining a bird is magical. It changed our Thanksgiving. I will never cook our bird another way!

The method is so easy, once you get the brine and bird hanging out in a container- you just leave it. You can cook the brined turkey at a higher temp for shorter amount of time- which means waking up at a normal time on Thanksgiving! And probably the best part of all... the leftovers are super moist! Gravy and cranberry are served for flavor rather than moisture!

So here is the Alton Brown Method (as we call it in our house):

Ingredients

• 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
• 1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Canola oil

Directions

Click here to SEE how it's done.

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

I have serious sanitation issues, so we use brining bas we bought at Williams Sonoma- which come with a warning label!

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

TAKE THE POP-UP TIMER OUT!

This picture is to show that your bird will be discolored, and that is a good thing!

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage.

Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

 The Hubster always makes sure he acts as quality control...

And that it is the trick to super moist turkey that yields next to no leftovers!

Alton also has a terrific gravy recipeto go on your Turkey Day table- I highly recommend it too!

Thanksgiving Series #1: Planning & Preparation

I am a list maker. It is just how I keep things in order and keep myself calm in the wake of a major event such as vacation or a holiday. I highly recommend keeping a list for Thanksgiving preparation. Three is best; one for things to do, another for things you need to buy and a last one for the actual event of cooking.

This year my "to do list" included things like cleaning the table cloth, finding new dishes and flatware , making sure all dishes, bar towels and dish towels were clean. A deep clean of the kitchen was necessary as well! These are the things that can be done a few days in advance, which is a sanity saver! 

The next thing I do is plan a menu. Having it all in writing helps me to make sure I have a rounded spread. I like to make sure that the table and plates are visually pleasing and there are a variety of colors to eat. Another advantage of putting your menu in writing is to make sure you are not too heavy on one course or element of your dinner. This year I discovered I had planned too many starchy things and had no vegetable! Luckily I had my planned menu, otherwise I would have discovered the dinner was all neural tones as I was putting the platters on the table! Use your menu as a guide to make sure you have enough serving vessels, I have learned this that hard way in years past!

To help determine just how much food to buy, here is a guide:

Turkey: 1 pound per adult, 1/2 of a pound per child. If you want left overs, round up! We had 12 people here (7 adults and and 5 kids. and a 16 pound bird yielded barely any left overs)

Potato dishes: 1/2 of a pound of raw potatoes per person

Veggies & stuffing/dressing: 1/3 to 1/2 cup per person

Rolls: 2 per person is good for a typical crowd. In this house we use parker house rolls which are small, so we estimate 3 to 4 per person.

Once my menu is established, I make it look pretty and print it out. Guests love seeing it displayed on the kitchen counter like a restaurant! Sometimes I put it in a picture frame and sometimes I print on cardstock an use a plate stand/easel to hold it up. It all depends on my mood.

Here is the menu for this year:

Now that you have a menu you can make a plan of attack! Is there anything you can make in advance? We make the baked beans a few days before Thanksgiving (they actually taste better that way!) and the cheesecake gets made the night before because it needs to hang out in the fridge overnight. Turkey takes the longest, so that should be the first thing you tackle. After we have the bird in the oven I start getting the appetizers ready. Next is the sweet potato dish followed by the mashed potatoes. While those are cooking, I get the apple crisp ready to go in the oven once the turkey comes out. The gravy is made with the drippings while the bids is resting on a cutting board.

At that point all of the non cooking people help to set the table and they carry the filled serving vessels to the table as they become ready. Rolls, cranberry and steamed (frozen) broccoli are the last thing to be done for dinner. As we eat, the apple crisp bakes and bubbles away in the oven. It comes out of the oven just as we are finishing dinner and cools on the counter during clean up.

After dinner is cleared from the table, the massive job of dishes and packing up leftovers starts!

this is the actual aftermath of our first Thanksgiving of the year. One load is in the dishwasher and The Hubster had already washed a sink full of larger items by hand!

Not much left over this year!

And THAT is how we plan and prepare Thanksgiving for a herd!