Well, I am finally getting around to posting my Thanksgiving recipes and photos. I hope you all had a fabulous holiday...I, for one, am still in a food coma...and there is another pan of dressing in the fridge!!
We had a wonderful day Thursday. I cooked all morning, and once Justin got home from work, we pigged out. The best part about Thanksgiving for two?...Immediately changing into stretchy PJ pants after we ate!!!
Here are all my recipes...
Appetizer:
Brie, drizzled with honey, and topped with pecans. Served with cracked pepper water crackers
Katie's brined, buttered turkey breast with gravy
1 7-8 lb fresh turkey breast
1/3 cup cider vinegar per 1/2 gallon of water
1/3 cup kosher salt per 1/2 gallon of water
1/3 cup brown sugar per 1/2 gallon of water
6-8 whole peppercorns
1 whole head garlic, cut in half; plus 3 cloves, minced
1 bunch each: fresh sage, rosemary, thyme
1 shallot, cut in half
ice
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 lemon
1 Tbsp dry mustard
2 squirts Tabasco
2 tsp EVOO
1 stalk celery, cut into sticks
1 onion, quartered
1 carrot, cut into sticks
1 cup apple cider
2-3 tbsp burre manie (50/50 paste of butter and flour)
1. Brine the turkey: In a large bucket or stockpot with a lid, bring 4 quarts of water to a simmer. Add vinegar, salt, sugar, peppercorns, garlic head, 2 sprigs rosemary, 5-6 sage leaves, 3-4 sprigs thyme, and shallot. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Add ice to brine until you have enough liquid to completely submerge the turkey. Cover and refrigerate 8-12 hours.
2. Butter the turkey: Remove your turkey breast from the brine and pat dry, set aside. In a small bowl, combine butter, minced garlic, dry mustard, 1 tbsp chopped rosemary, 1 tbsp chopped thyme, 1 tbsp chopped sage, EVOO, juice of 1 lemon (reserve lemon halves), and tabasco. Separate the skin from the turkey breast. Place 1/2 of butter under the skin and 1/2 on top of the skin. (Don't be shy! Generously coat inside and out)
3. Prepare your pan: Place a rack in the bottom of a roasting pan. Arrange celery and carrot sticks, lemon halves, onion halves, and remaining herbs in the bottom of the pan. Pour cider into pan. Place buttered turkey on the rack.
4. Roast the turkey: Heat oven to 325. Roast turkey for 2 hours 15 min or until instant read thermometer shows 160 degrees. Remove from oven and transfer to serving platter. Tent with foil and allow to rest 20 min before carving.
5. Prepare gravy: Strain drippings from roasting pan. Place drippings in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Skim fat from drippings. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Add burre manie and whisk until desired thickness is achieved. Strain gravy into serving dish.
Serve turkey with gravy.
Deep South Cornbread Dressing
"Southern Seasons"
1 Cornish hen
2 quarts chicken broth
1/2 onion
1/2 carrot
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup bell pepper, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup onion, diced
2 tsp celery salt
2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 cups mushroom bechamel (recipe follows)
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups chicken broth strained from cooking hen
4 eggs
1 recipe cornbread, crumbled
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Place the hen, broth, onion, carrot, and bayleaf in a medium stock pot. Simmer 1 hour and 20 minutes over medium heat. Remove hen and strain broth. Allow hen to cool and pull meat from bones. Chop meat.
Preheat oven to 325
In a medium skillet, heat oil over low heat. Add bell pepper, celery, onion, celery salt, and poultry seasoning and cook slowly for 10 minutes.
Pour into a mixing bowl. Add mushroom bechamel, cream, broth, and eggs mixing well. Add crumbled cornbread, boiled egg, and chicken. Mix. Pour into 3 qt baking dish. Bake 1 hour and 15 min. Dressing should be moist, but not runny.
Mushroom Bechamel
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp onion, minced
1 tbsp shallot, minced
1 tbsp celery, minced
1/2 tsp salt
3 oz mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 cup chicken broth, heated
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/8 tsp dried thyme
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup whipping cream, warmed
Heat oil in a 3 qt saucepan over low heat. Add onion, shallot, celery, and salt. cook vegetables until tender. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium. cook 10 minutes, stirring often. Add chicken broth, garlic, and thyme. Bring back to simmer and cook 10 more minutes.
In a separate skillet, make a light blond roux by melting butter and stirring in flour. Add to simmering broth mixture. Cook 3-4 min and add cream.
Mama's Sweet Potato Casserole
Filling:
3 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
Topping:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans
Mix all ingredients for filling in a mixing bowl with hand mixer until smooth. Pour into casserole dish. Mix topping ingredients until well incorporated. Sprinkle on top of filling. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Parker House RollsBobby Flay
click link for recipe
Pumpkin Cheesecake
"Southern Seasons"
Filling:
1 1/2 lb cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
pinch salt
5 eggs
4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
Crust:
2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
Preheat oven to 275
Place softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat using paddle attachment on medium speed until very smooth. Scrape sides and beat again to ensure there are no lumps. Add sugar and salt and mix well. Add eggs and yolks, a few at a time, allowing them to incorporate well before adding more. Set the mixer to low and add vanilla, pumpkin buree, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Blend well another 2-3 minutes.
Combine crumbs, cinnamon and sugar and mix by hand. Add butter in stages, mixing well before each addition. Evenly distribute crust in a 10 inch springform pan, pressing firmly on the bottom of the pan and building crust up 2 inches on the sides.
Pour the cheesecake batter and bake 1- 1 1/2 hours. The cheesecake should jiggle slightly when tapped. Remove and refrigerate overnight before serving.
