Thanksgiving meal, all the good stuff.

This year for the first time in seven years, I won't be hosting Thanksgiving dinner.
I will still be sharing all my great recipes and tips, but since I am only making the stuffing, I have not been looking up new and creative recipes for one of my favorite holidays.

The best way to make Thanksgiving an enjoyable meal is to plan ahead and share the cooking.
There are things you can do in the next few days that will make life easier on Thursday.

Check your table linens, serving dishes, etc... to make sure you have ready and at hand everything you will need to serve the meal.

Make some of the dishes ahead of time.
Cranberry sauce can be made right now.
Bread or cornbread can be cubed and allowed to get stale for the stuffing.
Some people like to make their gravy drippings ahead of time using turkey wings.
Desserts can be made a day or two before depending on the what you are making.
You get the idea.

Here are some of my favorite recipes or tips by category.

Appetizers: Don't bother, let everyone get very hungry or if you must offer a plate of raw veggies.
It's a task you can assign to someone else anyway.

Side dishes; That's what it's all about !
Candied yams, made with maple syrup and rosemary.
Bacon roasted Brussel sprouts, bacon makes everything better, it's true.
Cranberry sauce, please make your own.
Cornbread stuffing, my sister's recipe.
Genna's and Laurie's hybrid stuffing, the best of both kinds.
Winter squash biscuits  these are great for breakfast too.
Roasted winter squash , tis' the season.
Stuffed baked squash, this dish would be great for your vegetarian and vegan dinner guests.
 Pumpkin cornbread

And if you need still more ideas here is a post : 101 Thanksgiving side dishes.

Check out this post for Alton Brown's explanation of why it's better NOT to stuff your turkey.

Desserts, you can never have too many, that could be our family motto.
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin cheesecake
Pecan pie
Pumpkin cake
Ginger cake with caramel topping
Baked apples
Pecan pie bars
Old fashion gingerbread 


Do have fun, love your friends and family as much as you can, be grateful for the bounty in your life.

In the words of the immortal Miss Piggy: Never eat more than you can lift !

Thanksgiving in two days: more ideas for your table.

I was looking through previous post about Thanksgiving and found the one about my favorite yams.
I love this yam dish, it is so good and easy. The post is rather clever too if you have time to read it.

 I've already covered stuffing and cranberry sauces.  What about other side dishes ??
We live in the biggest Brussel sprout growing area in the country here on the central California coast, why not try my pan fried Brussel sprouts  or my roasted broccoli and Brussel sprouts?

Here is another website with 101 Thanksgiving side dishes in case you need or want more inspiration.

Finally the second most important part of any Thanksgiving day menu ( after the stuffing)...Dessert !!

This will be the first time that I can remember that we will not be having pie for dessert.
My brother is making a pumpkin cheesecake, he makes great cheesecakes.
While I don't have his recipe, here is a pumpkin cheesecake recipe I love.
He is also making fudge !!

Back to pies, in my family multiple pies were a requirement.
Pecan pie , pumpkin pie, a berry pie, maybe apple, pear or occasionally a small mincemeat for my dad.
Pies are another thing you can make a few days ahead.
For pumpkin pie, the spice flavor deepens, berry and other fruit pies have time to set.
If pies are too much for you, bake some apples or make a fruit crisp. 

I have a friend who can't abide pie or any cooked fruit. For her I would go with a pumpkin cake,  gingerbread or my ginger cake with warm caramel sauce. All of these cakes can be made ahead of time or give the recipe to someone else and have them bring dessert !!

I have so much to be thankful for in so many part of my life.
I hope you enjoy the time you spend on Thanksgiving with friends and family.

And remember in the words of the immortal Miss Piggy: Never eat more than you can lift !

Let that bread get stale !! Another Thanksgiving Day tip.

Whole wheat sourdough.

Cornbread

Here is something very easy you can do ahead of time for your Thanksgiving meal.
Let that bread get stale !!

I realize that I am making the assumption that you will be making your own stuffing and not using the stuff out of the bag or box. You do know that the packaged stuff is just stale bread cubes with salt and a few seasonings ??
Just like cranberry sauce it is so easy and so much better to make yourself.
If you are pressed for time and can't do all the vegetable prep required by the recipe below, keep it simple and just use bread and seasonings.

In years past we were required by tradition to have TWO kinds of stuffing, a cornbread stuffing of my sister's recipe and a traditional bread stuffing.
I will admit that stuffing is probably my favorite part of the meal, so I never minded.

Last year when we were doing the whole meal for only four of us, we decided to make up a hybrid.
This stuffing has both cornbread and whole wheat sourdough.
It is amazing !! And definitely satisfied all my stuffing needs.

This weekend I will be making the cornbread and cubing the sourdough and allowing both to sit out and get stale.

You could even saute all the veggies that go in this recipe and set them aside until T-day or the day before.

Here is a list of what goes in that stuffing.

1 8X8 pan of cornbread, cubed and staled
1/2 loaf of sourdough whole wheat bread, cubed and staled
3 cups broth, vegetable or fowl
6 tablespoons melted butter
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 chopped red bell pepper
small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fennel bulb ( optional)
3/4 cup chopped tart apple, Granny Smith or Pippin
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
fresh sage and thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Here's the recipe.

Great Stuffing: the last Thanksgiving post...

I know almost a week has past since that exquisite meal...
I do promise this will be the last post concerning Thanksgiving.

This year we decided to cut down and only do one stuffing, usually we do a cornbread stuffing and a bread stuffing, so we made up this hybrid version.

It was so good, I needed to preserve it here for posterity and next year's meal.
I may not be able to wait that long to make this stuffing again. It would be a nice addition to any roasted chicken dinner.

Laurie & Genna's Best of Both Stuffing

Ingredients

1 8X8 pan of cornbread, cubed and staled
1/2 loaf of sourdough whole wheat bread, cubed and staled
3 cups broth, vegetable or fowl
6 tablespoons melted butter
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 chopped red bell pepper
small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fennel bulb ( optional)
3/4 cup chopped tart apple, Granny Smith or Pippin
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
fresh sage and thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1) Make an 8 X 8 pan of cornbread, cool, cut into cubes and allow to become stale. Or to speed that up heat the cubes in a low ( 225 F) oven for an hour or so.

2) Cube the whole wheat sourdough bread and allow to become stale or add it to the cornbread cubes in the oven.

3) Preheat the oven to 350 F and butter a 13 X 9 inch glass baking dish.

4) In skillet, saute the onions, fennel and fresh herbs in the olive oil until soft.

5) Add the chopped pepper, celery and apple, continue to saute until the whole mixture is soft. Set aside in a large bowl.

6) Saute the mushrooms in the same pan with a little more olive oil until most of the moisture has cooked out of them. Add them to the bowl.

7) Toss the bread cubes into the bowl with all the cooked vegetables, add the broth,melted butter, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Make sure all the bread is moistened, feel free to add more broth if it looks dry.

8) Fill the glass baking dish with stuffing.

9) Cover with foil, bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil cover and bake for another 15 minutes.

Serve with roasted bird or just by itself.

Thanksgiving's Eve, a few more ideas.

There are a few more things you can do ahead of time, especially if you like your meal earlier in the day like we do.

The day before I try to do as much as I can to free up the oven for that long turkey roast.

Tonight I will make my favorite yam casserole, this has become a family favorite. The sweetness of the yams, apple cider and maple syrup are set off by the sprigs of fresh rosemary.

I will also saute the vegetables and put together my stuffing so it will be ready to bake tomorrow when the turkey comes out of the oven to rest. Remember to let it rest at least 20 to 40 minutes depending on the size. Cover it with foil  loosely to retain the heat.

Here's what Alton Brown says about cooking your stuffing in the bird.

" When it comes to turkey, Stuffing Is Evil. That's because stuffing goes into the middle of the bird and is extremely porous. That means that as the turkey around it cooks, juices that may contain salmonella bacteria soak into the stuffing, which then must be cooked to a minimum of 165°F in order to be safe. Getting the stuffing to this temperature usually means overcooking the turkey.
The way I see it, cooking stuffing inside a turkey turns the turkey into a rather costly seal-a-meal bag. If you're a stuffing fan, I suggest cooking it separately (in which case it's "dressing," not stuffing) and inserting it into the bird while it rests. Odds are no one will notice the difference."

Personally I like the crusty edges that form when you cook the stuffing in the baking dish. I do like Alton's compromise of stuffing the bird after it and the stuffing have cooked.

Pies: they can be made ahead as well. In fact pumpkin pie is better the next day in my opinion.

For me Thanksgiving is about being thankful for the people in my life. Enjoy !!

There's the crew form last year's gathering.

Yams

Candied Yams
I know the name "candied" yams conjures mental images of canned spuds and little marshmallows, yuk.  These tasty tuber are so far removed they are not even in the same time zone.

I discovered this recipe years ago in Martha Stewart's Living magazine. It has become a staple at our Thanksgiving table. The fresh rosemary makes the dish, it helps to cut the sweetness of the maple syrup.

This dish can be baked ahead of time then reheated just before serving.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 lbs. small yams, peeled and  cut into inch thick wedges.

1 1/2 cup apple cider

1/2 cup maple syrup

3 to 4 springs fresh rosemary

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1) Preheat oven to 375 F
2) Peel and cut the potatoes into thick wedges.

3) Place the potatoes in a enamel pot or cast iron skillet with a lid.

4) Add the maple syrup, apple cider and toss gently.

5) Tuck in the rosemary and dot with pieces of butter, sprinkle with salt.

6) Bake for 45 minutes covered, remove cover and toss gently.

7) Bake for 15 to 30 minutes more depending on how tender you want them.
8) Serve right away or they will keep for several days. Reheat and serve.

Cornbread stuffing
My sister makes this cornbread stuffing, it may be my favorite part of the whole meal ( except for maybe the pies ;-)

Four to six days before Thanksgiving I make a pan of cornbread, and when it is cool, I cut it into cubes (about 1/2").  I let the cubes sit around and get stale or dry them out in the oven.

When ready to make the stuffing, toss with cubes:

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1 cup cut up dried apricots ( the Turkish ones are the best)

1 green bell pepper cut into thin, 1-2" strips

anything else you'd like

salt & pepper to taste

Add both melted butter and turkey/chicken/veggie stock until stuffing is desired moistness.  

I use more melted butter than stock.

Place in  a buttered glass baking dish and bake for 35-45 minutes. 

Cranberry Sauce, please make your own.

Thanksgiving is one of my daughter's favorite holidays, mostly because it revolves around food !

In the next couple of days I will be sharing a few tips and twists to add to your Thanksgiving menu. 

I'll start with cranberry sauce since you can make it a week ahead of time. The only trick is not snacking on it before hand ;-)

Please, please, please make your own cranberry sauce, it is SO EASY there are not many excuses. You can make it ahead of time in 15 minutes !!

Here is the basic recipe:

In a saucepan place:

one 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries

one cup water

one cup sugar

1) Stir together to dissolve the sugar. 

2) Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until the cranberries burst. 

3) That's it, refrigerate until you want to use it. Now wasn't that simple ??

There are many way to give cranberry sauce that added boost.

The most common way is to use orange juice instead of water and add orange zest.

There are also lots of fresh cranberry relish recipes.

My favorite twist, use red wine instead of the water and add a small muslin bag with 1 cinnamon stick, 2 whole cloves and 2 whole allspice. 

Add the spice bag once the mixture has come to a boil and remove it once the cranberries are done cooking. This cranberry sauce has an amazing subtle richness I love.