Happy Thanksgiving! Menu & Recipes

Thanksgiving Delights

 

On Thanksgiving Day we’re thankful for

Our blessings all year through,

For family we dearly love,

For good friends, old and new.

 

For sun to light and warm our days,

For stars that glow at night,

For trees of green and skies of blue,

And puffy clouds of white.

 

We’re grateful for our eyes that see

The beauty all around,

For arms to hug, and legs to walk,

And ears to hear each sound.

 

The list of all we’re grateful for

Would fill a great big book;

Our thankful hearts find new delights

Everywhere we look!

 

By Joanna Fuchs

www.poemsource.com

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My Family's Thanksgiving 2010 Menu

Cheese Ball & Crackers

Roast Turkey

Pan Gravy

Cornbread Dressing with Bacon & Onions*

Buttery Corn Pudding

Mashed Potatoes

Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

Honey-Nut Crunch Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries

Pumpkin Yeast Rolls*

Sweet Peas with Pearl Onions

Simple Pumpkin Mousse

Crustless Pumpkin Pie*

Pumpkin Bread Pudding*

Banana Bread

Apple Crisp*

Vanilla Ice Cream

*Recipe follows

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Hints for a Delicious Turkey

I don't inject my bird. I don't deep fry it. I don't really do anything special. But my turkey is always the moistest, most delicious around. How do I do it? Well, Grammy always taught me that the most important thing about cooking is paying attention to detail. Not skill. Not talent. But rather taking care...doing the job at hand and doing it well. Pay attention to the foods you're cooking. My biggest turkey tip:

Baste it. A lot.

Keep squirting or spooning the juices over your bird. This keeps the bird moist and helps even browning.

More tips:

Rub your bird, inside and out, with a high-quality olive oil. Then, rub in your favorite herbs. I like to use garlic, pepper, and salt..only those three. You can get fancier, but I find that those three make the best flavor.

To stuff, or not to stuff?

I've done both. I prefer unstuffed. I like to cook my dressing on the side, and I stick a whole onion (stick it with a fork a few times first), a couple cut-up carrots, and some celery in the cavity to add flavor to both the bird and the drippings -- which you'll use for gravy later!

Use a meat thermometer. These are available at low cost. They're tremendously useful. Another way to tell when your bird is probably done: The wings and drums will wiggle loosely in their sockets. A meat thermometer is your best bet, though.

Avoid cross-contamination.

Defrost in the fridge. I pulled out my turkey on Sunday and it was perfectly thawed this morning.

Emergency thawing: place the WRAPPED turkey in a clean sink full of cold water. Change the water every thirty minutes until the turkey is thawed.

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Thanksgiving Recipes

Cornbread Dressing with Bacon & Onions

I rely on boxed stuffing mix for this quick, delicious variation on dressing. It's a favorite with my entire family.

What You Need:

• 2 boxes of cornbread stuffing mix
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1/2 cup butter, divided
• 1/4 lb bacon, diced

How it's Done:

1. Heat 1/4 cup butter in a skillet. Add bacon and onion. Cook and stir until onion is translucent and bacon is cooked.
2. Bring to a boil 3 cups of water.
3. Put the dry stuffing mix in a large mixing bowl. Cover with the bacon and onion. Top with the rest of the butter. When the water boils, pour it over the entire thing.
4. Let the stuffing stand for five minutes.
5. Grease a 2 quart baking dish. Transfer the stuffing to the dish. Pack it down tightly. Bake in the oven with your turkey for the last hour of cooking.

Pumpkin Yeast Rolls

These beauties are just a spin off of my favorite sweet potato rolls. They're easy to make and taste delicious.

What You Need:

• 1 cup warm milk
• 2 packets active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 to 4 cups flour (I used White Lily all-purpose flour)

How it's Done:

1.Proof your yeast: In your mixing bowl, combine warm milk, sugar, and yeast. Stir it up and then let it sit undisturbed for ten to twelve minutes. It should get bubbly and double in volume. (If it doesn't, don't proceed, because it means your yeast is dead. Go out and buy new, fresh yeast. Yeast should be used by the expiration date. If you buy it in a jar, use it within 6 months of opening.)

2.Stir in egg yolk, butter, and salt. Add pumpkin puree and stir to combine.


3.Half a cup at a time, stir in your flour. If you're not using a stand mixer, a wooden spoon is the best tool for this job. Your dough will be slightly sticky when all the flour is stirred in.


4.Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. You could also use your stand mixer for this job. By hand, it will take about 8 minutes.


5.Form the dough into a ball. Coat lightly with oil and place in a large mixing bowl. Cover gently and let rise until doubled in size. This will take anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes.


6.Punch down your dough. Divide it into 10 equal parts. Roll each piece into a rope. Roll cinnamon-roll style, pinching the end seam to seal. Place each on a cookie sheet that's been oiled and dusted with cornmeal. Cover loosely. Let rise again, until doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour.


7.Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned.


8.Immediately upon removal from oven, brush rolls with melted butter.
 
 
 
Crustless Pumpkin Pie (a.k.a. Pumpkin Pudding)

This wonderful dessert will satisfy your desire for pumpkin pie and you won't even miss the crust! Better still: you can make it in your slow cooker, freeing up time AND oven space!

What You Need:

• 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
• 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

How it's Done:

1. Beat eggs well. Add the rest of the ingredients and keep stirring until it's uniform in texture and color.
2. Pour into a greased slow cooker.
3. Cook on high for three to four hours. Start checking for doneness at the 3 hour mark. You'll know it's done when the center is set and it looks like a pumpkin pie.
4. Serve as is or with whipped cream.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Make the most out of this favorite American fall food. Who says you need to stop at pumpkin pie? Try this delicious twist on a traditional bread pudding. I've used milk in place of heavy cream to cut down on calories, but make no mistake: this is a very rich dessert that's full of sugar. A little bit will do you well.

What You Need:

for the pumpkin bread:

• 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

for the custard:

• 3 cups milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

for the nonalcoholic vanilla sauce:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• vanilla bean, scraped

How it's Done:

1. Bake the pumpkin bread.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line three loaf pans (8x5 is fine) with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set them aside.
2. Beat together the pumpkin, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, soda, and all the spices.
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients all at once and stir only until combined.
5. Divide amongst loaf pans and bake for about an hour, until a pick inserted near center comes out clean.
6. Let the loaves cool completely. I like to wrap mine and store them overnight before use.
7. Cut two of the loaves into 1/2" cubes. Spread them out on cookie sheets and bake at 325 for about 20 to 30 minutes, until they're toasted dry. You can use the other loaf another time.
8. Set the cubes aside and prepare the custard. Bring the milk and vanilla extract to a simmer over medium heat, stirring very frequently to prevent scorching.
9. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, pumpkin puree, and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
10. Slowly drizzle in the heated milk, stirring the whole time to prevent the eggs from cooking.
11. Butter a 9x11" baking dish. Spread the pumpkin bread cubes evenly in the dish.
12. Drizzle the custard over the cubes, stirring and pressing the cubes to fully saturate them with custard. Let it stand up to 30 minutes so that the bread soaks up the custard as much as possible.
13. You need to cook this in a water bath, so find a pan bigger than the one you're cooking it in. Place the bread pudding dish into the larger dish and position the whole thing on the middle shelf in your oven.
14. Pour hot water into the bottom dish.
15. Bake for an hour. You want to see it puffed up, but the center will still be a bit jiggly. Take it out of the oven and out of its water bath. Let it stand 30 minutes before topping with sauce and serving.
16. While it sits undisturbed, make your vanilla sauce. Bring all the ingredients (just the seeds of the vanilla bean, not the bean itself) to a boil in a sauce pan with high sides. Cook and stir for two minutes. Remove from heat.
17. You can either drizzle the sauce over the entire dish, or you can drizzle a bit over eat individual serving. For additional flavor and eye appeal, sprinkle each serving with a combination of ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, to taste.

Apple Crisp

What You Need:

• 3 lb tart apples, cored (peel them if you want to. I left my peels on for color and texture)
• big bowl of water with Fruit Fresh added (for dipping the sliced apples)
• 2 Tbsp apple cider, orange juice, apple juice, lemon juice, or water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional, I omitted them today)
• 1/4 cup softened butter

How it's Done:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Slice the apples thinly as you would for pie. Dunk them in the Fruit Fresh water ( I leave all the slices in the bowl until I'm ready to proceed).
3. In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp all purpose flour. Toss apples in sugar mixture.
4. Grease a 2 quart baking dish. Pour the coated apples into the dish and distribute them evenly.
5. Drizzle with whatever juice you prefer.
6. Combine the topping ingredients: softened butter, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if using). Sprinkle topping evenly on apples.
7. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, or until apples are tender and dish is bubbling.
8. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

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I'd like to leave you with one final verse:

May your stuffing be tasty,

May your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes & gravy

Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious.

May your pies take the prize.

May your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off of your thighs.



Thanksgiving -- Another Great Recipe for You

I won't be able to post a completed picture of this dish until Thanksgiving, because it's one of the few dishes I insist on making the day of the dinner. However, it's so good that I want to get this recipe into your hands in time for your big day. I'll update the recipe with completed photos once I prepare it. Of course, I could always just make one just for the blog, and another for my family's celebration. However, that's not economical for my wallet or my waistline. I can't resist this dish, so twice a year is all it gets. :)

There are so many versions of corn pudding available to try. Some use saltine crackers. Some use bread crumbs. Some use bell pepper. Some use bacon. Some include green beans. Mine is a result of my family loving corn but not being satisfied with the recipes out there. It takes a while to bake, so be patient. It's well worth the wait.

Buttery Corn Pudding

What You Need:

• 2 cans of corn, drained
• 2 cans of creamed corn
• 1/2 lb cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 a large onion, minced
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups of Ritz-type cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• ground black pepper to taste

How it's Done:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (or, leave it at your turkey roasting temperature). Spray a 9x11" casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray or coat with butter. Set it aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine all four cans of corn, 3/4 of the shredded cheese, the onion, the eggs, 1 cup of the cracker crumbs, and pepper if desired. Pour this mixture into your baking dish.
3. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top of your corn mixture.
4. Combine the other cup of crumbs with the melted butter, and sprinkle the crumbs over the top of your casserole.
5. Bake, uncovered, for an hour at 350 degrees, or 90 minutes to 2 hours if you're baking it alongside your turkey.
6. Let the dish stand for ten minutes before serving.

Thanksgiving -- Day 3

I hope you've been enjoying my recipes so far. Today, I bring you a dessert that's both light and rich at the same time: Simple Pumpkin Mousse.

This won't be the last time I share a pumpkin recipe with you this week. My family loves pumpkin, and since it's an orange vegetable, I make as many dishes with it as I can all autumn and winter long. It's cost-effective, versatile, pretty to behold, and delicious. You can't get much better than that.

Simple Pumpkin Mousse, Two Ways
Traditional Method (Fat-Free, Low Sugar Method in parentheses)

What You Need:

• 1 can pure pumpkin, 15 oz size (same)
• 1 3/4 cups whipped heavy cream (16 oz fat-free Cool Whip)
• 4-serving size instant pudding mix, white chocolate or similar flavor (use sugar-free, fat free)
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice for garnish (same)

How it's Done:

1. Blend pudding mix with pumpkin.
2. Gently fold in whipped cream or Cool Whip.
3. Store refrigerated until ready to serve.
4. Before serving, sprinkle evenly with pumpkin pie spice.

I'm thankful for my ability to cook, which has blessed my family with nutrition and delicious-tasting meals, and has brought friends together, and has allowed me to share my passion with the world via this blog. What are you thankful for today?

Thanksgiving -- Day 2

Now, I have this problem that may or may not be unique to my little family. You see, I'm the only one who loves cranberry sauce! Every year, I buy a whole container of cranberry sauce, only to have one or two servings before throwing the rest away. What a waste! I can't simply give it up. Oh, no! It wouldn't be Thanksgiving dinner without my cranberry sauce! So I've devised a simple method to have my cranberry sauce without waste. I make a small batch.

This recipe easily doubles to accommodate a family that's more appreciative of a good cranberry sauce.

Whole Berry Stove Top Cranberry Sauce
Serves 2 to 4 depending on portion size

What You Need:

• 6 oz fresh cranberries (use the other half of the bag bought for the sweet potatoes!)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup water

How it's Done:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan with high sides.

2. Bring to a boil. Stir frequently.
3. Cook and stir about 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

I'm thankful for loving family and good friends to keep nearby during this holiday season and always. What are you thankful for?

Thanksgiving

Do I even need to mention that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday? I see it as my showcase day: the day when I share my cooking passion and skill with friends and family. My wares are on display. I get to see cleaned plates and food-drunken grins. It's quite an ego-stroke.

This year, I'm toning my Thanksgiving down quite a bit, for two reasons. First, because I want a stress-free holiday season. In years past, I have worked myself into a frenzy cooking ten or more side dishes and an equal number of desserts. Also, I'm working on my weight, so I need to be careful what I serve. There are a couple dishes that I'm going to make that are very fattening but very worth the caloric cost. Other than those, I'm making my dinner plans healthier.

Each day this week, I'll share with you a recipe that I'm using for my family's Thanksgiving celebration. I'm cooking these in real time, and freezing them to use on the big day. That's another way to de-stress your holidays: plan ahead, prepare ahead. I hope you enjoy my recipes.

First recipe: Sweet Potatoes made healthier

Normally, my sweet potato recipe consists of tons of butter, brown sugar, pineapple, and pecans. Here's a healthier option:

Honey-Nut Crunch Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries

What You Need:

• 2 1/2 lb peeled, cubed sweet potatoes (1" cubes)
• 6 oz fresh cranberries
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup apple cider
• 6 oz whole almonds (unsalted), ground into a coarse meal
• 1/4 cup honey

How it's Done:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Layer the sweet potatoes and cranberries in a 2 quart baking dish.

3. Pour the apple cider over the sweet potatoes, then sprinkle with the cinnamon.
4. Combine ground almonds and honey. Sprinkle over the top of the sweet potatoes.


5. Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. Remove lid and bake an additional 15 minutes to brown top.

I'm thankful for full bellies and full cupboards...I'm thankful my family never

needs to experience true hunger. What are you thankful for?