So I've been pretty slack on the food blogging lately. Here are the pics from our Thankgiving. Actually on Thanksgiving Don and I dined at Waffle House on bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches...we entertained the weekend after. Thank you to Kim, Ceteka, Sibley, Jennifer, Eric, and Chon for joining Don and I for dinner and Trivial Pursuit.
Turkey with White Truffle Gravy
For the turkey I just coated it with some melted butter and added kosher salt and fresh pepper. I roasted it on 325 and covered it with aluminum foil halfway through. Tips on prepairing a turkey.
Truffle Gravy
4 cups water
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped carrot
1/3 cup chopped celery
6 black peppercorns
4 parsley sprigs
2 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
3 1/2 Tblsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp white truffle oil
To prepare gravy, while turkey roats, heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan wiht cooking spray. Add reserved turkey neck and giblets to pan; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Add 4 cups water and next 7 ingredients (through bay leaf); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is reduced to about 2 1/2 cups (about 1 hour). Strain through a colander over a bowl. Discard solids. Return mixture to the saucepan; stir in 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Pour turkey pan drippings into back; let stand 10 minutes (fat will rise to the top). Seal bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner of the bag. Drain drippings into strained stock in saucepan, stopping befoe fat layer reaches opening; discard fat. Combine 1/2 cup stock mixture and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Stir flour mixture into stock. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, simmer 3 minutes or slightly thickened. Remove from heat; add oil, stirring with a whisk.
Cranberry Salsa
This is a cranberry salsa that I served before dinner with blue corn chips. I actually got the recipe from a lady at work:
1 bag fresh cranberries
4-5 scallions coarsely chopped
1 cup cilantro (her recipe said 3, it was way too much and I had to add more cranberries)
1 1/2 cup mint leaves
2 Tblsp jalapeno pepper
1 Tblsp orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup honey
2 Tblsp fresh lime juice
2-3 dashes Tabasco
Chop all ingredients from cranberries down to orange zest in a food processor. Combine the last 4 ingredients and mix into the chopped ingredients. Place in fridge for at least 1 hour and serve with blue corn chips (it's prettier that way).
Raspberry Chipotle Sauce with Cream Cheese
I served this before dinner as well. Thanks to Ceteka for introducing this raspberry chipotle sauce (which I purchased at Whole Foods). I just poured some of the sauce over some cream cheese and served with water crackers. I've also used the sauce on chicken and pork tenderloin. It's amazing. I recently saw in Kroger that the company (Bronco Bob's) also makes a chipotle bacon sauce I think - which I will totally be purchasing.Green Bean Casserole
To make my green bean casserole, I simply follow the directions on the back of French's Fried Onions. I use two regular sized cans of cut green beans.Squash Souffle
I got this recipe from Gourmet magazine about a year ago.
3 Tblsp unsalted butter plus additional greasing
3 Tblsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 package frozen winter squash puree, thawed (I used Cascade Farm winter squash that I
found at Whole Foods)
1 cup coarsely grated swiss cheese
1 Tblsp packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (I used just powdered nutmeg)
3 large egg yolks
4 large egg whites
Generously butter a 2-quart shallow ceramic or glass baking dish.
Melt butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until foam subsides, then add flour and cook roux, whisking, 2 minutes. Add milk in a slow stream and boil, whisking, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Whisk in squash, cheese, brown sugar, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg until combined (mixture may not be completely smooth), then transfer to a large bowl and whisk in yolks.
Beat whites with a pinch of salt in another bowl with an electric mixer until they just hold stiff peaks. Fold one fourth of whites into squash mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Spoon into baking dish and bake, uncovered, 15 minutes. Loosely cover top with foil and bake until puffed, golden brown, and just set, 25-30 minutes. Serve immediately with freshly ground pepper.
Sage Stuffing
This recipe was my great grandmother's. First, I made a pan of buttermilk corn bread (I just used the recipe on the back of the corn meal bag). Crumble the cornbread into a large mixing bowl. I also baked 1 can of flaky biscuits (I used Pilsbury) and crumbled those and combined them with the cornbread. Next, add some dried sage. I used ALOT of sage (6 Tblsp maybe?). I mixed everything together and placed in a brown paper bag overnight. The next day, I sauted a chopped yellow onion and 2 stalks of chopped celery with some butter and combined it with the bread/sage mixture. Next, I added 2 cans of chicken broth (you can also use the broth from the turkey) to the mixture, 1 raw egg, 2 hard boiled eggs chopped, and about 3 more tblsp of sage. I mixed everything together and baked in the oven on 350 until browned (20-30 minutes?).Sweet Potato Casserole
For the sweet potato casserole, peel 4 sweet potatoes and cut into large chunks. Boil the sweet potatoes until tender with fork. Drain and place back into pot. Add 3 tblsp butter, 1 tbsp packed brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg. Mash sweet potatoes and ingredients. Add just a bit of milk until creamy. Place mixture in a glass dish. For the topping, melt some butter in a sauce pan and add some brown sugar (3 tblsp butter and 4 tblsp brown sugar?). Spread the mixture on top of the sweet potato mixture. I am not sure about the amounts of butter to brown sugar ratio for the topping, I usually just wing it. Next, sprinkle some chopped pecans on top and then crumble some cornflakes over that. Bake in oven on 350 until corn flakes begin to brown.
