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Editor's Note: We recently had a holiday recipe exchange on the LOK forums. This entry was so good, we decided to use it as a stand-alone article. Hope you enjoy it. Following are some of this households favorite, "must haves" for Thanksgiving foods. My first recipe/tip that I feel should be included is meat safety. There are many people who end up in Emergency Room because of food poisoning from an improperly cooked Turkey. My husband, Ed, has spent a Thanksgiving day in E.R. after a "bad" turkey dinner. So he refused to let me "stuff" our bird. If in doubt, Norbest has a good website, and has the same thawing and cooking instructions Ive learned over the years. In the mean time...... Preparing and cooking "The BIRD"! If the bird is frozen, the safest way to thaw it is to place it on a tray. I use my turkey serving platter, it has sides so even if I tip the platter, juices don't run everywhere in the refrigerator. Plan 4 hours per pound. A 20 pound bird may take up to 4 days to thaw completely. In an emergency (I've forgotten to take the bird out of the freezer), sanitizing the tub first using the bleach dilution that follows. Once done, fill the tub with cold water (NOT WARM) so that it will cover the bird, Keeping the bird in its original wrap, place the bird in the cool water. Every 1/2 hour drain the water, and refill the tub with cool water, turning the bird over. Plan a 1/2 hour per pound for this emergency thawing. NEVER LEAVE A TURKEY ON THE COUNTER TO THAW. After the bird is thawed, remove and repeat the sanitizing of the sink. Scrub and bleach the sink for 10 minutes (1/4 c. bleach to 5 gallons water, be sure to rinse with clear water...ingesting bleach could make you sick too). Then we wash the bird with a mild soap or a vinegar solution, being sure to rinse it well, inside of the body cavity as well. This will help you to remember to take the neck and the bag of giblets/gizzards out, as well as wash away some of the bad bacteria. Also, be sure to re-sanitize the things that you touched or spilled the turkey juices with. There are different ways of cooking a turkey, and at my house, we roast it. Depending on the time I have, I either cook it at 350 (for a juicier bird) or at 450 (for a quick cook) degrees F. When the skin finally starts to turn brown, I stick my good ol meat thermometer into the breast meat, being sure not to hit the bone underneath. The turkey is "done" when it reaches 160 degrees farenheit. However, I prefer my turkey to reach 180 or higher, and IF you use the "Emergency Thaw," I would highly recommend cooking the bird until it reaches 180 degrees. If you are roasting your Turkey, and want to stuff it, remember that stuffing expands as it cooks, so be sure to "stuff" loosely. The general rule of thumb is 3/4 cup stuffing per pound of bird. I would also make sure my meat is cooked to a higher temperature (meat thermometer to 180), though it is "done" at 165. A turkey will take less time to cook if it is stuffed. Remove stuffing as soon as your "done" bird comes out of the oven, keep warm (165 degrees) in oven in a separate, oven safe dish. OUR MENU: Roasted Turkey: After thawing and cleaning the bird, I put an onion quarter, three baby carrots, and 1/2 stalk of celery in each body cavity, and a pat of butter with a sliver of garlic under the skin of the Turkey. I cover the wing tips in foil so they don't get over cooked. I then cook it until it reaches 180 degrees or falls off the bone. I love my roaster, because I just turn it on, the bird cooks, I don't have to think about it until it starts SMELLING GOOD, and I have my oven for other projects! I don't even "baste" my turkies. Turkey Gravy: Strain meat drippings into a "fat separator," pour the meat juices into a pan for stove top use. Bring meat juices up to a boil (you can dilute with equal amounts of water if you need more gravy). Add salt and pepper to taste. Measure 23 tablespoons of cornstarch into a cup and gradually add liquid by spoonfulls in the cup. Mix cornstarch until smooth. With a wire whisk, add cornstarch mixture gradually to boiling meat juices. Stir with wire whisk until gravy thickens. (Hint: Gradually adding liquid, while stirring, to the cornstarch to make the cornstarch "liquid" and using a liquid that is the same temperature as the liquid you are going to thicken, will stop the thickener from "clumping" when you add it to your liquid). Potatoes My husband prefers "boiled" potatoes. They are super simple to cook, terrible to prepare. As a mom of several kids, to me, it takes too much time, but.I learned a couple of short cuts. Boiled: Wash potatoes carefully, removing any "eyes." I dont peel mine, but you can. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes (French Fry Cutter with a variable setting works great). Place into a pot of salted water, bring to a boil and boil for 710 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl. Serve warm, with butter or margarine. Mashed/Whipped: I use a 20 lb bag of potatoes. Wash potatoes thoroughly, removing eyes and "bad" spots, then place potatoes into a pot of boiling water, cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork (about 20 minutes). Remove the skins, place the "meat" or potato in a "hot" bowl. If you have a masher, start mashing the potatoes, adding milk and butter until the potatoes reach the consistency you desire (about a cup of milk and about a cube of softened butter). If you dont have a masher, a fork works fine, it just takes longer. For whipped potatoes, once you have the potatoes mashed, bring out your mixer, and mix the potatoes with more milk (about a cup), until smooth. It is during this phase that I like to add garlic salt and parsley to "flavored" potatoes. Sweet Potatoes: I use the same cooking instructions as above. I also do an "ice bath" after they have cooked as their skins come off so easily that way. Then I reheat them for serving. Since becoming diabetic, I use sweet potatoes with pumpkin spice butter. Pretty good. Pumpkin Spice Butter Melt 1 stick of butter in a sauce pan. Add 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice and stir until well mixed. Cook on low for 10 minutes, until flavor is well incorporated into butter, being careful not to burn the butter. Pour into a plastic-film lined butter dish lid or other container. Refrigerate until set. If you used a plastic film, the butter will turn out nicely onto a butter dish. You can use any flavoring in your butter.strawberry jam, vanilla, honey, chili powder, etc. This is an easy and fun thing for kids to do a head of time. My Dad's Stuffing (Basic Bread Stuffing) Start by cooking the neck, and "organs" package that came in the turkey, in 2 cups of water. This forms a broth (stock if you put in a carrot, celery rib, an onion and seasonings) that you will be using later. Reserve the broth, toss the organs, neck and vegetables (if you used them). Rub a freshly bruised garlic clove on both sides of the "heals" of 13 loaves of bread. Tear and toast in the oven on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Finely chop 2 large onions, a head of celery (4 5 stalks), and 4 -5 carrots. Saut in a pan with two cubes of butter, until the vegetables are soft. Mix onion mixture, toasted bread, and broth in a bowl, adding the following as you mix: 4 eggs, beaten; 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. basil, 1 tsp. parsley, 1 tsp sage, 1 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp thyme, 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper. My dad would sing Scarborough Fair when he was making this dish. Place loosely in bird, or add a 1/4 cup more broth and cook in a covered, greased casserole at 350 degrees for 45 min. Remove lid for last 10 minutes so "dressing" can form a "crust." Easy, EASY Candied Yams Ingredients: 1 16oz Can Yams, 1/2 cube butter 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves 1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg 1/4 cup Brown Sugar 1/2 bag Miniature Marshmallows Directions: In a quart sauce pan, pour yams, juice and all. Heat up and mash. Add butter, spices and brown sugar. Mix until smooth. Pour mixture into a greased 9x9 baking dish. Top with marshmallows. Put in oven at 350 until marshmallows are browned and bubbly about 15 20 minutes. My Ambrosia (Or Moms 5 cup Salad) Ingredients: 1 cup (canned)Mandarin Oranges 1 cup mixed fruit (Del Monte Canned fruit) 1 cup coconut flakes 1 cup Mini Marshmallows 1 cup Sour Cream Directions: Drain canned fruits, reserving liquid for the THANKSGIVING JUICE. Mix all ingredients in a 2 quart bowl until all fruit is covered with the sour cream, refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve cold. *We've also used bananas, slice them and soak in lemon juice so they don't turn brown. My Campbell's Green Bean Casserole Ingredients: 2 cans Del Monte French cut green beans, drained 1 can Campbells Cream of Garlic Mushroom Soup 1 bag of Slivered Almonds, toasted, separated. 1 med. Onion, finely chopped, grilled if desired Frenchs Fried onions or crispy breaded onion rings 1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese Dried Oregano Directions: Mix the green beans, soup, 1/2 of the almonds, and the chopped onion in a casserole dish. Place Frenchs Onions or onion rings over the top of the mixture, sprinkle the other half of the almonds over that, the cheese over that, and top with a sprinkling of oregano. Heat in a 350 degree oven until hot and bubbly and cheese has melted. Thanksgiving Juice Ingredients: Pour the reserved liquid from the canned fruits into a gallon pitcher. Add: 1 quart Pineapple juice 1 quart apple juice 1 quart Orange juice 1 Pint Grape juice 1 Pint sparkling water Directions: Stir to mix, chill well, and serve cold. Chocolate Pudding Pie - 9 inch pie, serves 8 (9 inch pie, serves 8) This is my husbands second favorite pie, and a couple of my kids most favorite. We have to have at least 3 for Thanksgiving, and at least one for Christmas dinner too. I added the "mint crust" when "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" came out. Ingredients: Crust: 1 2/3 cups Graham crackers, ground (or pkg Oreo cookies, crushed) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons Butter 1015 drops green food coloring (optional) 1015 drops mint flavoring (optional) Filling: 2 eggs, beaten 21/4 cups white sugar 1/4 cup and 1 teaspoon cornstarch 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 4 1/2 cups milk 1 tbsp and 11/2 tsp butter 2 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups whipped topping Directions: For Crust: Melt butter. Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Press crumb mixture evenly over bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie tin/plate. For this recipe, bake in oven at 350 degrees F. for 8-10 minutes. Filling: In a large mixing bowl, cream together eggs and sugar. Mix in cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt. Add milk and stir gently with wire whisk. Pour mixture into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla extract. Cool slightly, then pour mixture into shell. Put a piece of cling wrap on top so pie doesn't develop a "skin." Chill before serving. Garnish with whipped cream. This recipe does not double well. 2006 - Lotsofkids.com |