After
several years of not cooking for Thanksgiving, it’s my turn this year. I’ve
asked guests to bring something that says Thanksgiving to them, something from
their childhood perhaps. I’m making the usual turkey, mashed potatoes,
stuffing, gravy, etc. but I'm mixing up some things and using some new recipes
for some things.
Appetizers are phyllo-based.
The first recipe uses less than half a box of phyllo dough so I made two
different fillings. I made these ahead
and froze them so all I need to do for the big day is heat them up.
Mushroom
and goat cheese triangles which got big thumbs up from testers and spinach
pesto bundles for which I have no recipe because I didn’t measure
anything. It was basically pesto I’d
made and froze, a bunch of frozen chopped spinach cooked to remove the
moisture, and a 4 oz of cream cheese to hold everything together.
My other make and freeze item were the rolls. I used a Bernard Clayton “New Complete Book
of Breads” recipe for potato bread and instead used the dough to make knots,
similar to garlic knots but obviously not garlicy.
Potato Rolls
24 rolls
2 small to medium size potatoes
2 c water
5 c bread flour
2 pkg dry yeast (4 ½ tsp)
1 T salt
2 T sugar
¼ stick butter
Poppy seeds and sesame seeds for topping and a beaten egg with
a little water in it to hold the seed in place, if desired.
Boil the potatoes in the water until they’re soft. Pour off the liquid and save it – the recipe
says to add water to bring it back up to 1 ¾ c water total but that seemed like
more than needed. Mash the potatoes. Mix them back together and add the butter so
it melts.
Blend 3 c of flour, the yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the liquid, which should be about 120
F. Mix with the paddle (I used a mixer)
and add flour, ¼ c at a time. Switch to
the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes, adding bits of flour to keep it from
sticking to the bowl (I didn’t measure what I added but I bet it was at least
another cup) until the dough is developed – I ended up hand kneading it for a
bit afterward to get a nice smooth, easy
to work with dough.
Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until
doubled. It took only about 45 minutes
but the recipe calls for 1.5 hours. Punch down and form the rolls – I rolled them
into a log about 6-7” long and tied them in a knot, and place them on
parchment-lined sheets. Let rise, covered, to double. Preheat oven to 375F. Brush with egg and sprinkle with seeds if
desired. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.
I’m trying a recipe for Sweet
Potato Salad With Orange-Maple Dressing from the Washington Post but I’m
copying it here because not everyone has access. I made a couple of changes…I used dried
cherries in place of the raisins, added extra pecans, and skipped the parsley. It’s
served cold or at room temperature which is awesome, one thing that doesn’t
need to be done at the last minute.
Sweet Potato Salad with Orange-Maple Dressing
3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch
cubes
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or more as needed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (from 1 orange)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground of freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped scallions (about 3)
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup dark raisins
Freshly ground black pepper
In a large pot, combine the sweet potatoes and enough
lightly salted water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook
until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and allow the potatoes to cool to
room temperature, then transfer to a large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, maple syrup, orange
juice, vinegar, ginger, nutmeg and the 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Add the scallions, parsley, pecans and raisins to the sweet
potatoes and toss to combine. Gently stir in the dressing, tossing just until
combined. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to
serve.
The stuffing I make is based on what my mom made and
measures are very approximate. It’s done
by taste, even though I know I’m risking salmonella. I found that using whole wheat bread of any
type makes it too sweet and heavy so I stick with basic white bread. It’s just a carrier and no one ever said that
stuffing was good for you. It’s mainly a
carrier for butter and herbs, right?
Stuffing
It’s important to prep the bread days ahead so it’s nice and
stale by the time you actually make the stuffing.
2 loaves of bread, cut or torn into ½- ¾ inch pieces
About two onions per loaf - diced
An equal amount of celery - diced
Butter, enough to cook the onions and celery - don’t
think about how much
Chicken stock
2-3 peeled apples
2-3 beaten eggs
Fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage, chopped finely
Salt
Pepper
Slowly sauté the onions and celery in the butter until soft. Slowly pour the mix over the bread, stirring
to mix it in evenly. I find it’s best
to use my hands for mixing to keep things as light as possible, basically tossing
it like a salad, because it also helps me judge if it’s moist enough. Dice the
apples into very tiny pieces, less than ¼”, and add to the mix. Add the eggs slowly, mixing as they’re added
for thorough distribution. Then add
stock until it’s the right texture – not too wet, not too dry. It should hold together nicely but not be
soggy. Then add the flavors, the
rosemary, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper until it tastes how it’s supposed to
taste. Yes, that’s not specific but you
should enjoy the flavor! Remember that rosemary
is a pretty strong flavor so don’t add too much.
Stuff the turkey and anything left can go into a pan, to be heated
and served with dinner.
I’ve got three kinds of cranberry this year. The standard off-the-back-of-the-package sauce
that’s decent. The canned stuff that
appeals to people who grew up with it and I don’t think anyone else, and a
cranberry relish that I love. It’s very
simple.
Cranberry Relish
1 pkg of cranberries
2 oranges and their zest,
1 granny smith apple
1 c sugar
Chop all the fruit in the food processor until it's your
desired consistency. Stir the sugar in
and let sit for 45 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin pie but it’s tradition and
must be included. Typically, I just use
the Libby’s recipe and people generally seem to like it just fine. Libby’s has apparently come up with an updated
recipe this year and I haven’t decided which way I’m going to go with it yet
but I got a recipe for a press in crust from my friend Caroline that uses oil
in place of shortening or butter and I’m going for ease this year and using
that. It’s nice and tender and flaky or
I’d have never asked for the recipe.
Pat in Pie Crust
1 ½ c flour plus 3 T
1 ½ t sugar
½ t salt
½ c vegetable oil
3 T cold milk
Place dry ingredients in the pie pan and mix with your
fingers. Combine the oil and milk in a
cup and beat with a fork until creamy.
Pour all at once over the flour mixture and mix with a fork until the
flour is completely moistened. Pat into the
plate, first up the sides, then the bottom.
Flute the edges. If you need to
prebake the crust, preheat over to 425F, prick the surface with a fork and bake
15 minutes. Check often and prick as
needed.
