Turkey Dinner
Cooking Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings is one of my favorite things to do. I love coordinating everything to be done at the same time - it combines all my favorite things: planning, organizing, shopping, chopping, cutting, cooking, basting, mixing, baking,
keeping busy and tasting dishes for seasoning!
Several years ago, (the second year I ever cooked a turkey on my own) I found the absolutely flawless recipe for tender, juicy, flavorful turkey every time.. Before then, I was never a big turkey fan and neither were my kids. Now - with this recipe - we are all huge turkey fans so that I get a few turkeys while they're on sale to throw in the freezer and cook every few months or so.
The other recipes here are my favorite Thanksgiving trimmings. We stayed home this year so it was just me, my husband and our 5 kids. I love enlisting my husband and kids' help in the kitchen. It's so much fun to talk and work together to get the feast made.
Below are the recipes and instructions for all the dishes I made this year:
Herb Roasted Turkey
Turkey Gravy
Cranberry Apple Sausage Stuffing
Sweet Potato Casserole
Garlic Roasted Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Cranberry Sauce
Deviled Eggs
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Chocolate Toffee Cream Pie
Turkey
1. Thaw and unwrap the turkey. Heat the oven to 475 degrees. (That is not a typo - you want the oven really hot at first!!)
2. Take the neck and giblets out of the inner cavity.
3. Peel the skin up- and slide your hand underneath. Be careful not to separate it completely, only at the opening to make a "pocket." Then slide and rub butter all over the meat inside the pocket you've made
4. Slide fresh herbs into the "pocket" - like rosemary, thyme, parsley and/or sage.
(See the bottom two pictures - you can "see through" the skin to see the butter and herbs underneath. The butter will melt and baste the skin as the turkey cooks- and the herbs will flavor the meat with the melting butter)
5. Salt and pepper the outside of the skin
6. Place turkey in the oven (uncovered) for 20 minutes - it will "seal" the skin to keep the juices in.
7. Turn heat down to 250 degrees. Cover with foil. Cook for about 20 minutes per pound (or until pop up thermometer "pops up").
8. If necessary, remove foil for turkey to reach right temperature and brown the skin. Then remove from oven. Let rest at least 20 minutes.
9. Slice the meat. It will be flavorful and unbelievably moist and tender!
GARLIC ROASTED MASHED POTATOES
1. Peel the desired number of potatoes.
2. Chop the potatoes into chunks.
3. Chop an onion or two.
4. Place the chopped potatoes and onions in the crockpot.
5. Add broth or water and bouillon.
6. Add broth garlic, salt and pepper.
7. Place the lid on and cook on LOW for several hours until potatoes are "mushy."
8. Either use a hand mixer or pour contents into the bowl of a mixer
9. Add butter, sour cream or other creamy ingredients if desired. Then whip the potatoes into a creamy mixture.
10. Taste and salt and pepper if necessary. Transfer to serving dish. ENJOY!
TURKEY GRAVY
1. Pour pan drippings from pan turkey was cooked in into a saucepan. Heat over medium heat.
2. If there aren't enough drippings you may need to add a little water or broth to make more. Salt and pepper it.
3. Mix a Tablespoon or 2 of cornstarch with 1/4 cup or so of cold water in a small bowl or measuring cup. Let the cornstarch dissolve in the cold water. Then, mix in a little of the warm drippings into the cornstarch/water mixture. Quickly whisk the cornstarch/water mixture into the pan drippings.
4. Bring to a boil over medium or medium-high heat. Cook until thickened. ENJOY!
CRANBERRY APPLE SAUSAGE STUFFING
1. Chop the onion and celery
2. Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat with a little olive oil or butter. Add chopped onion, celery and some garlic. Cook until translucent.
3. Meanwhile, cook and crumble sausage.
4. Peel and chop apples into chunks.
5. Chop sage, rosemary and parsley.
6. Rinse, dry and chop cranberries (if desired) or leave whole.
7. Add all (except sausage) to the frying pan with the onions and celery.
8. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray. Pour dried bread chunks (either store bought or dried out loaves cut into rough inch sized cubes) into pan.
9. Pour broth or water with dissolved bouillon into crumbs, stir well to soak.
10. Pour sausage and frying pan ingredients in with bread crumbs, stir to combine.
11. Cover with foil and cook at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, then remove foil and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until slightly crisp on top. ENJOY!
SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
1. Peel desired number of sweet potatoes.
2. Chop into roughly (large) bite-sized pieces. Place in greased casserole dish.
3. Add sugar, butter, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and ginger
in heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar
dissolves.
4. Pour sugar mixture over sweet potatoes. Toss to coat, cover with foil and bake for potatoes 50 minutes. Uncover; bake until
potatoes are tender and syrup thickens slightly, basting occasionally, about 20
minutes.
5. Increase oven temperature to 500°F. Top potatoes
with marshmallows (and chopped nuts if desired). Return to oven; bake until marshmallows begin to
melt and become toasty - and nuts begin to brown (if using), about 3 minutes. ENJOY!
GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
1. Snip ends of fresh green beans off, rinse well. Cut in half or thirds.
2. Steam in microwave with a little water or boil in broth in sauce pan on stove - until tender.. then strain.
3. Meanwhile, grease casserole dish. Mix mushroom soup and milk in dish.
4. Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper.
5. Stir in steamed green beans. Mix well. Top with French fried onions.
6. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. ENJOY!
ROLLS
1. Boil 4 cups of milk in the microwave (to scald it). I cook it for 6 minutes and then let it cool a bit.
2. Pour hot milk into bowl of stand mixer. Dissolve the potato flakes, sugar and salt in the hot milk. Let cool to room until just warm to touch.
3. Add yeast and let sit until foamy.
4. Meanwhile, put eggs in bowl of warm water to bring to room temperature. Melt butter. After yeast is foamy add eggs and melted butter to mixing bowl.
5. Add flour a cup at a time, mixing continuously until dough to pull from the sides of the bowl but it still just slightly sticky and very soft.
6. Place in greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until double (about an hour to an hour and a half).
7. Punch down and let "rest" for 10 minutes or so.
8. Grease large baking sheets. Divide dough in half (I use a large knife). Set one aside. Divide the half in half and in half again. (There should be four pieces now).
9. Divide each fourth in half and then each of those into fourths - for a total of 24 pieces. Work quickly and roll the pieces into smooth "rolls". Place on greased sheet. Do the same with the other half of the dough.
10. Spray rolls with cooking spray to lubricate the outside for optimal rising. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double. About 30-60 minutes.
11. Bake for about 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden. ENJOY!
CRANBERRY SAUCE
1. Pour fresh cranberries into a medium size sauce pan, over medium heat.
2. Add sugar and water.
3. Grate the very outside of the peel of an orange. Add to saucepan and squeeze some juice from the orange into the pan too.
4. Heat until the cranberries become juicy and then the sauce thickens. ENJOY!
DEVILED EGGS
1. Boil desired number of eggs by placing in a saucepan and adding just enough cold water to cover the eggs- (try to make add enough eggs so that the eggs are close together to prevent moving around too much while they boil to prevent cracking). Turn on high. As soon as the water boils set the timer for 10 minutes. Then drain hot water immediately and cool eggs. I add ice cold water to cool as quickly as possible.
2. Peel the eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Place the egg white halves on a serving dish and the firm yolk in a mixing bowl.
3. Add mayonnaise and mustard to egg yolks.
4. Add a little sour cream, salt and pepper to egg yolks.
5. Add a little pepper sauce, vinegar and pickle juice. Mix well until creamy.
6. Stir in some relish.
7. Divide the yolk mixture between the egg white halves.
8. Sprinkle with paprika. ENJOY!
PUMPKIN PIE
1. Preheat oven to 375◦ F. Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and
nutmeg in small bowl.
2. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin
and sugar-spice mixture.
3. Gradually stir in evaporated milk and sweetened
condensed milk. Whip for a few minutes – until the mixture becomes slightly
lighter in color
4. Pour mixture into two pie crusts.
5. Bake
for 35 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. (Do
not overcook; overcooking leads to pie cracking in the middle.) Cool on wire
rack for 2 hours. ENJOY!
5. Arrange pecans on top of crust. I like to make a pattern -this is a quirk of mine. Most people just pour pecans into the pie crust first and then pour the sugar mixture over.
6. Bake 60 to 70 minutes until pecans and sugar mixture are golden and firm. Cool l for 2 hours on wire rack before serving. ENJOY!
6. Bake 60 to 70 minutes until pecans and sugar mixture are golden and firm. Cool l for 2 hours on wire rack before serving. ENJOY!
CHOCOLATE SYMPHONY PIE
1. Chop Symphony bar into small pieces.
2. Meanwhile, in chilled bowl of stand mixer, add milk and chocolate pudding mixes. Beat until thick.
3. Stir in Cool Whip.
4. Fold into chocolate pieces.
5. Pour into graham cracker or Oreo cookie pie crust.
6. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or until set. Garnish as desired.(Sliced strawberries arranged on top are amazing) Store
in refrigerator. ENJOY!
