Gobble it Up!

mini apple pies with Star Crust
below mini chocolate cream Pies

 My 3rd year of thanksgiving! I have learned a few things over the years, but first a quick recap of the last 2 years.  Year one was crazy I cooked solid for 2 days and had 15 people coming to my house. The term go big applied here! I made 4 different desserts (sweet potato pie, apple pie, chocolate pecan tart, and cream puffs), a 24 pound turkey named Hank, 5 different sides (carrots, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, green bean casserole and stuffing) I truly have no clue how I pulled it all off.

Last year I had a smaller crowd, only cooking dinner for 8 was way more manageable. I also had to work on the day before and the day of. I still made 4 different desserts in the form of mini pies (apple, sweet potato, pecan, and chocolate cream) a 17 pound turkey,  and 4 sides (green bean casserole, Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, and stuffing) Everything was in smaller portions so a bit easier to handle. 

Now that I have bored you all with a not so quick overview of the last 2 years- lets get on to this year. I am hosting about 10 people. I learned last year that my mini pies were cute- however they took a really long time to make. This year I am sticking to two desserts.  I have a 20 pound turkey courtesy of my work! yeah I got a free Turkey! I am going to add a cocktail. That should be fun! Now for the recipe roundup!
To start the day off right I will be serving a Special cocktail in addtion to Ryan's homemade beer. In trying to be festive I thought of a Cranberry Margarita- Here is a recipe simple and easy.
Cranberry Margaritas!
1 1/2 cups cranberry juice
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
3/4 cup tequila
1/2 cup Triple Sec

-Pour everything over ice and stir to combine. garnish with some salt rimmed glasses and lime!

Turkey Brining in my largest pot. -  (beer brine)

I asked Lukas to name the Turkey-  as we do every year since I was young, usually it's Tom. He has named our Turkey- Bunny. Yes! that is not a typo- A turkey named Bunny!  Last year I did a beer brine bird, and the year before was a cider brine. Both were amazingly delicious. No other recipes I saw looked as good as the cider-brined-turkey-with-star-anise-and-cinnamon . It will go down as one of my favorite turkey brines of all time. I will just warn you now, doing a wet brine like this one takes up alot of space in the fridge. If you have an extra fridge or even a large cooler it will help to keep your fridge free for other ingredients. And for easy clean up use a brine bag- yes they do make heavy duty bags just for this, don't use a garbage bag- they are NOT food safe.
this year really jumped out at me. So  I am going to go with the
Now on to the sides. Really if it ain't  broke don't fix it right? Well I am only changing a few things around.
But not the Mashed Potatoes! They are the co-star to any thanksgiving dinner for me. Served with any creamy mashed potatoes goes the gravy! Gotta have gravy! here is a fantastic rich-and-silky-turkey-gravy recipe.
Green Bean Casserole- A can of green beans and mushroom soup just doesn't cut it. 2 years ago  I made up my own version- Using fresh green beans, and a thick mushroom sauce. I am a sucker for the fried onions so they have to stay. The first year it was devoured, no leftovers for me. Last year I  made double and it was still all gone. This we will see if I can make enough! -yet still no recipe. I am such a slacker. 

Once again I am here with Stuffing- I can't explain how it's made. I can say whats in it but it's going to have to be by feel. I have watched my dad make it countless times- It's a basic stuffing recipe with onions, celery, mushrooms, olives, chicken stock, sausage, bread, salt, pepper, garlic. Mix together and either stuff or bake in the oven. Dad I'll be calling you on Thursday morning!

Last but not least Brussels sprouts! My favorite! My sister in law never liked Brussels sprouts until I made them for her. SO I get to make a whole bunch because I know they will at last be eaten by both of us. With any leftovers I will use for pizza later in the week. (SO YUMMY)

 Now onto Desserts! This is usually the section that takes the most amount of time to make. So happy I am only going to make 2 different kinds. 

Salted Caramel Cream puffs- Oh YES! thanksgiving doesn't have to be all about pies. I declare cream puffs just as good if not better then pie. They are light and fun to eat! need I say more?!

As always I will make Ryan's favorite- Chocolate Pecan tart. Rich and full of a toffee and chocolate flavor is a great end to a turkey dinner. 

This year I will take  more pictures.  I hope I have inspired some ideas. And wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. 

Apple Pie Filling in a Jar

I recently was blessed with a huge bag full of apples. I needed to work fast so I wouldn't lose them like the box of plums a few weeks ago. I thought of making apple pie filling. When I want to make a apple pie later all I have to do is make a crust. This was fairly easy. However a small amount of canning equipment will be key. As stated in my post jars-jars-and-more-jars from last year everyone knows that I have way too many canning jars, and I have acquired even more in the last year. I used quart jars, and ended  up with 7. It was hard to say how many apples I used since they were all different sizes. I used about 1/2 of a paper grocery bag full. If you are new to canning and want to learn How to Can this is a great website that will help with the safety precautions. It takes some time to peel, core and slice the apples.

This is only 2/3 of the apples I used

Put lemon juice in the water to prevent browning

Apple Pie Filling:

Apples peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
8 cups of water
1 cup water
1 cup Cornstarch
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 TBS Cinnamon
2 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Salt
1 TBS lemon Juice
7 Cinnamon sticks

Have hot clean quart jars with 1 cinnamon stick per jar ready. Have your boiling water ready, and lids and bands ready to place on jars once they are ready. With sliced apples standing by.
Combine 8 cups of water with Sugar, Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Salt in  a large pot and bring to a boil. Mix 1 cup water with cornstarch. Slowly add the cornstarch "slurry" into the boiling sugar mixture while mixing vigurously with a wire whisk.  Once it's thickened up take it off the heat and add the sliced apples. Stir the apples in and quickly add to the hot quart jars leaving 1 inch headspace.  Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.
Once it's all stored away you can make apple pie with ease.

Chicken Pot Pie

I am still using up that giant chunk of pie dough that I brought home from work. I overdosed on Pop Tarts, chicken pot pie sounded good and easy. I do have to admit that I have never made chicken pot pie at home, however plenty of times at work. I had a limited supply of vegetables, and two picky boys. My filling wasn't as exciting as most but still Delicious. As long as the basics are covered- it doesn't matter.  On to Chicken pot pie! For the recipe below I have added a few vegetables to make it more exciting. In my actual pot pie there was chicken, potatoes, onion, carrots and corn.

Chicken Pot Pie
butter_pie_crust
2-3 Chicken breasts
2 Potatoes
2 Carrots
1 Onion
1 Zucchini
2 Celery stalks
1/4 cup Olive OIL
1/3 cup  corn kernels
1/3 cup  peas
1 cup broccoli blanched- chopped
1 egg
For the Sauce:
4 TBS butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 TBS sherry
2 tsp Dill weed
1 tsp black or white pepper

Make pie crust, and roll into 2 rounds, place 1 in a pie dish the other is for the top- set aside.
Preheat oven 375*
In oven proof baking dish cook chicken till no longer pink inside.  While chicken is cooking prep the vegetables: dice potatoes, carrots, onion, zucchini, celery- make sure to dice everything the same size. Toss them together in a bowl with the olive oil and garlic. Put them on a baking sheet and roast for about 15 min.  Toss the cooked chicken and vegetables with broccoli, corn and peas.
To make the sauce: in a saucepan on medium heat melt the butter. Once melted add flour and whisk for 1-2 minutes, slowly add the milk while whisking. Whisk over medium heat till thickened. Once sauce is thick add the sherry, dill, and pepper.

To assemble: pour sauce over the chicken and vegetable mix.  Add to pie shell. Take the top pie crust and lay over the top of the pie. Trim and crimp the sides, and cut slits in the top. brush the top with egg wash.  Bake at 375* for 45 -60 minutes. Wait 10 min before cutting into it will be HOT!

First Thanksgiving

Yesterday was my Epic thanksgiving. It was the first time cooking all the dishes, along with  a 20 pound turkey. In my family we name our turkey, this year was no different to me. I named him "Hank" I know some people think of it a little strange that I would name my dead frozen turkey before cooking it and eat it.

 I will recount the crazy 2 days of thanksgiving.  I did make every recipe from my post gobble-gobble, I only strayed a little bit, we will get to that later.
It all started on Wednesday morning. The brine was ready and it was time for hank to be tucked away for 24 hours. It was not the usual brine, the base was apple cider, soy sauce, ginger, salt, peppercorns, cinnamon, garlic and cilantro. For the brining process I found a brininig bag at the store, this bag saved me a whole lot trouble. Turkeys are big-O birds and to accommodate brining for 24 hours and still have everything for the sides and desserts in my fridge. I brined hank in a bag in a cooler with 3 bags of ice. The cooler stayed in the cold garage. To be safe I checked it during the day.

Apple Blackberry Filling

Wednesday was off with a bang. The goal for the day was desserts. I was a little ambitious with picking 4 completely different desserts. First the graham cracker crust, I added one secret ingredient- Candied Ginger, it got ground up with the graham crackers. For the crusts the food processor was my best friend, it makes the doughs effortless. Next was chocolate tart dough, then the cinnamon and ginger double crust pie. Once I had all the doughs done, a break was in order. I am sure it would have taken less time if I hadn't taken so many breaks, that's the luxury of baking from home.

Assembled Apple Blackberry Pie

While reading through my sweet potato pie recipe I realized that  I bought the Wrong kind of sweet potato- WHAT?! I had no clue there was different kinds! Oh great now I had to head to the store on Wednesday night! Needless to say it was a zoo, but getting the right kind of sweet potato (yams) was worth it. After that fiasco I put together the apple blackberry pie. When looking for my mini cookie cutters, they were nowhere to be found. Instead I did a classic lattice crust, I just love that look. With the pie assembled, and pecan toffee tart baking in the oven, I was half way done!  Sometimes I amaze myself when I don't read the whole recipe and then at 9 o'clock at night realize I need to roast the yams for 1 1/2 hours. Luckily I had plenty of sugar in my system so I was just getting started, and with the baby asleep I had less distractions.

Baked Cream Puffs

 On to the cream puffs! You have no idea how many times I tried to talk myself out of making them , then convince myself that it was a yummy idea and they had to be made. So on to making cream puffs at 9:30 at night! While they were baking I made the pastry cream and caramel sauce. Once the cream puffs came out it was time for the sweet potato pie to go in. By the time the pie came out it was almost midnight.  But lucky me all the desserts were done and it was time for bed. Oh my bed felt so good after the day I had.

Thursday was the Big day. I got up and pulled hank out of the brine, patted dry and let sit at room temp for 1 hour. Thursday seemed relatively  easy, all I had to do was the sides.  Once I got the turkey in the oven, it was time to peel 10 pounds of potatoes, 3 pounds of carrots, clean 2 pounds of brussels sprouts and green beans.  I was prepared for the turkey to cook for 4 hours, no way it was ready in 2 1/2!! I was so surprised when I checked the temperature.  I pulled it out and covered with foil. Once the sides were ready I covered them with foil and placed in the oven on warm. I was done! Finally I sat down and had a glass of wine.

 I mentioned I only strayed from the plan a bit. Well on Wednesday night I realized I was not going to make rolls, I had lack of oven space. I made a call and she was happy to make rolls, they were not cranberry but who cares? They were delish! I also added mushrooms to the green bean casserole, I was amazed that mushrooms were not included, just chopped them up and folded in.

Sweet Potato & Apple Pie

In the long run we had 10 adults and 3 kids. Turned out 2 people couldn't make it. I might have gone over board with the mashed potatoes, we have a ton leftover.The sides went fast, only about 1-2 servings leftover. I got rave reviews on the desserts. The cream puffs were the first to go, then the sweet potato pie. Only 2 slices of apple blackberry pie, and chocolate pecan tart are lingering in my fridge. I thought I had made too much dessert, well I was Wrong! Everyone had plenty of food, after dinner we played board games. It was truly a fun night. It was been requested that I do Thanksgiving again next year. So I have officially taken over thanksgiving! Woo whoo! My only regret was that I was so hungry that I didn't take photos of the turkey or sides. I managed to snap a few of the desserts as we were slicing them.

GOBBLE GOBBLE!

 I am getting ready for Thanksgiving! This is my first year going the whole nine yards, we are having 15 people over and boy am I in over my head. I have been making lists and lists and lists. I have a shopping list which I have been comparing to the store ads and coupons. One list for all the dishes I will be making, another list of ingredients I already have, I even have a list to keep my lists in order. Oh it's going to get crazy in this house come November 23. I am not going to be doing test runs of the food since it's about a week away. I will share with all of you what I am planning on. If the recipes are online I will share them too. So bring on the Lists!
List 1: Dishes- This was way longer until I looked at it and freaked out. Way too much food, but I do love some leftovers! This list doesn't include the actual dishes I will have to be doing after dinner.. 
 I am taking a lot of advice from bon appetit and Martha Stewart

 

Photograph by Marcus Nilsson  


• 20 pound Turkey- did I really have to list this? Yes! it is the star of the day, GOBBLE GOBBLE! It's all in the way that you prepare it. I have cooked turkey before but not one this large.I have decided the cider-brined-turkey-with-star-anise-and-cinnamon is the way to go!
•  Garlic Mashed Potatoes-  now when making them you need a ton, it is the co-star to the turkey in my world. I just use a basic recipe but will add 6 cloves of roasted garlic cloves to 10 pounds of potatoes. mashed-potatoes

• Carrots- Usually it is a ton of starches and turkey, this year I want good veggie sides for everyone to choose from. spiced-glazed-carrots-with-sherry-and-citrus sounds yummy!
• Green Beans- Lets face it the traditional green bean casserole isn't the cat's meow. I found this updated recipe that includes artichokes, I think I will add the fried onions and some spices since they sound better then chunks of bread. green-bean-and-artichoke-casserole sure does look tasty. 
• Brussels Sprouts- Ever since I started liking them about a year ago I can't  get enough of them, plus paired with pancetta will be amazing this is a great recipe brussels_sprouts_with_pancetta.
• Gravy ties everything on the plate together. I am using this as a guide to silky-turkey-gravy but i will be using chicken stock that I have made already. 
• Rolls- cranberry_nut_rolls  I will omit the nuts, just a preference of mine. 
• Cranberry Sauce and Stuffing-  I am delegating it for someone to bring, com'on I can't do it all!

• Sweet Potato Pie- YES we have made it to dessert ! Instead of having sweet potatoes as a side dish, this pie will be replacing pumpkin pie at our feast- I hope I don't get in too much trouble for this.This looks so much better sweet_potato_pie
• Apple Blackberry Pie- Since I went a little blackberry picking crazy this summer I have a ton of blackberries to use up, this seems fitting and enclosed in a all butter double crust how can anyone resist? apple-blackberry-pie
• Chocolate Pecan Tart- I made this last year and it was Amazing, it has been requested this year. chocolate-toffee-pecan-tart
• Salted Caramel Cream Puffs- I am using this recipe but changing it a bit, I am only going to make the cream puffs with salted caramel pastry cream dipped in dark chocolate. Oh YES I went there! this is what I am going to have for dessert! milk-chocolate-and-salted-caramel

I have my work cut out for me, however I do have Wednesday off and I do some of this for a living, so it will be like working from home. But I don't get paid- darn!  It will definitely be a feast. I will report back after and let everyone know if I had a melt down or not.  Well I hope everyone has a great Turkey day. And I am thankful for my 4 followers, lets hope for a few more in the new year!

Cheers!