Grand Mariner Cranberry Sauce

Its almost time for Thanksgiving.  One of my favorite meals of the year.  Its so epic.  I know not everyone goes crazy over turkey but I love it. I always do Alton Brown's brined turkey recipe.  Comes out moist and delicious and we all love it.  I like to do the cranberry sauce ahead of time and freeze it.  One less thing to do when there are a thousand other things to do.

Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce

24 ounces cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
2 teaspoons orange zest


1.  Zest oranges. Set aside.

2.  Cook cranberries and zest until cranberries have mostly broken down. 

3.  Add sugar and Grand Marnier and cook five minutes more.

Happy Thanksgiving

“Whatever our individual troubles and challenges may be, it’s important to pause every now and then to appreciate all that we have, on every level. We need to literally “count our blessings,” give thanks for them, allow ourselves to enjoy them, and relish the experience of prosperity we already have.” — Shakti Gawain

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” — Albert Schweitzer

“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach

Happy Thanksgiving

From my home to yours, I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving, filled with love and gratitude.

My Mothers Beloved Stuffing

My brother goes crazy over my Moms stuffing.  I like it but I am always tring new stuff so it has not been high on my priority list to make. Over the years I have come to appreciate it.  Now, I really love it.

The stuffing pictured above is not my Moms.  I will get a picture as soon as possible. 

I asked my Mom for the recipe.  Mom says, "I dont really have a recipe but I will do my best."


Mom's Stuffing


2 cups celery, chopped
2 cups onions, chopped
1/4 pound butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups of giblets
1 teaspoon dried and crushed sage
giblet broth
if needed canned or boxed broth
stuffing bread or Country white bread, kind of a dense bread (dried a little)

Cut bread into cubes, spread out on a cookie sheet and air dry over night.

Rinse giblets.  Boil in salted water until soft.  Save broth, set aside. Trim giblets and cut into little pieces.

Sauté onions and celery in butter with a little salt and pepper until soft. Remove from heat.

In  large bowl combine everything and two beaten eggs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put enough giblet broth in there to get it really wet but not soupy.

Lightly grease pan. Bake at 350F covered initially (first 20 minutes) then remove cover. Bake a total of 45 minutes approximately.  If it is still really wet leave in oven 15 mire minutes. It won't hurt anything, says Mom.

Note:  You can add sausage or bacon, already cooked as well. Mom prefers Jimmy Dean, breakfast sausage.

Wet Brining Your Turkey

If you haven't brined your turkey, you must absolutely try this.  I know, probably a lot of you deep fry your turkey.  Color me jealous, I have never had that kind of turkey.  I know, crazy, huh?   I hear everyone go on and on about it.  Since I have never even had it and it costs money, plus money for the oil, I just can't justify it.  Some day, at a garage sale, I will find one, and I might just buy it.

Until then, I will happily make my brined turkey. It's juicy and delicious and the gravy you make with the juices is amazing!

One week away till the American Thanksgiving!

Source:  Graphics Fairy

Brined Turkey

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger or a chunk of ginger

oil, peanut, vegetable or corn

About 2 to 3 days before roasting: Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature. Add in the vegetable stock.  Refrigerate.

About 24 hours before you plan to cook the bird start with these instructions. Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours. Turn the bird over about half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine. Place the bird on a roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels. I know this temp seems counter intuitive but really it puts a beautiful brown crust on the bird and traps in the moisture for the remainder of the baking process. Tuck the wings underneath the bird. Liberally smooth oil all over turkey skin.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500°F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161° F.

It's about 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting for a 20 pound turkey. Remove from oven. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving. A perfect amount of time to get your gravy done.


I may not be the best carver but this turkey is moist.  Even though it looks brown and crispy above. The skin and the roasting at the beginning help to lock in the moisture.

Brussels Sprouts with Grapes and Almonds

This is something our family usually has on Thanksgiving.  My mother either saw a recipe or made it up, can't remember.  I do know we have been making it for a long time now and it has come to be somewhat of a tradition.  However, when we have a lot of guests over who don't like brussels sprouts, it usually gets opted out for green beans.

Most of the cooking for this dish could actually be done the day before.  Then you just throw it all in the pan for the final mix and heat.

Brussels Sprouts with Grapes and Almonds

6 cups brussels sprout, end cut off, large ones cut in half
2 cups green grapes, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 tablespoons butter

Bring brussels sprouts to a boil in a sauce pan with about 2 cups water and a teaspoon of salt. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until tender.  Remove from heat and drain. Set aside.  At this point you could put them in the refrigerator if you are doing them a day in advance.

In a large skillet melt butter and add in cooked brussels sprouts.  Make sure brussels sprouts are heated through.  Add in grapes and heat until grapes are warm.  Season with salt and pepper as desired.  Sprinkle almonds over top and serve.

Thanksgiving Collection

Thanksgiving in the USA is quickly approaching.  You ready?  Much to get ready if you are preparing this massive dinner.   So many things can be done ahead and the internet is rich with how to's and ideas for making life easier on yourself.  Do your research, it will make it so much easier.

I just want to share a few things I have done for Thanksgiving in the past.

One of my all time favorite ways to prepare a turkey is Alton Brown's, brined turkey.  Some people swear by brining and some thing dry brining is sufficient.  Some don't know what it is and others are sold on other ways of preparing turkey such as deep frying or in a bag.  I personally like the brine method best.  It always gives me a moist turkey.  Of course one year, we had a lot of company and I used the dry brined method.  Really bad idea.  It just want as moist.

A nice appetizer recipe that we have nearly every year is cranberry salsa.

A nice side- sweet potato casserole.
 
As far as pumpkin pies go- my two favorites are the recipe on the can of Libby's Pumpkin and this one from Food Network.
 
In case you want to learn more about Thanksgiving, click here to go to The History Channels collection of videos about various aspects of Thanksgiving.  Its pretty interesting.

Happy Thanksgiving

I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.  For those of you who are not American, I 'd like to wish you a happy day.  I will be celebrating with friends and family.  A bit of a reunion of sorts.  A family who has long needed to come together will be together this weekend.  I am very grateful for that.  For my husband who I love dearly - who continues to amaze me each and every day.  We are not perfect, we have had our ups and downs like everyone else, but I must say that here in our tenth year of knowing each other we have come to some kind of good ground.  I am thankful for that too.  I am thankful for all the things in my life really.  My children, my home, my family, my friends, the opportunities that have been presented to me.  I wish each of you the same today and every day.  Even if you find yourself in a bad spot.  Look for something to be grateful for- whatever it is.  Start focusing on it and more and more may come to you.

What am I doing for our meal?

Cranberry Orange Relish- but no cinnamon or walnuts this time
Baked Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans
Turkey- roasted in parts which will be something new for me.  I will let you know how that goes.
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Stuffing
Relish Tray- pickles, olives, dilly beans, etc.
And dessert-
all pies, My Mom will be making an assortment

I will not be doing much posting over the next couple of days.  I will be enjoying our company. Cheers.

Turkey Mulligatawny

I have wanted to make mulligatawny for a few years now.  Finally.  Man, this is good soup.With some turkey on the horizon, this is something wonderful and different to have with some of that leftover broth.

Turkey Mulligatawny Soup
The recipes I used came from Epicurious and The Kitchn and a book called 400 SOUPS, publisher: Hermes House.

Turkey broth
Two turkey legs and wings
1 large onion, quartered
1 inch fresh ginger, about 1 ounce
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
water to cover
black pepper corns

The Soup
turkey that has been removed from the bones
1/4 cup red lentils

1 tablespoon garam masala

4 cups chopped onion
3 carrots, sliced
3 large garlic cloves

1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon canola oil

freshly crushed black pepper

Separate the turkey wings into individual joints, and place in a stockpot and cover with cold water. Quarter 2 onions and stir into the pot. Add in unpeeled fresh ginger and garlic cloves, smashed.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook at an extremely gentle simmer for 1 to 2 hours.

After at least 1 1/2 hours of cooking at a gentle simmer remove from heat.  Take the turkey pieces out of the broth.  When cool enough to handle, strip off the skin and discard. Shred the meat from the bones and cut into small pieces. Discard the bones.

At this point you can cool your broth in the refrigerator overnight, allowing you to remove excess fat from the top.

Now to make the soup with your fine soup:

Saute onion in butter and oil. Add carrots and garlic cloves.  Cook one minute and add the remainder of the ingredients except for the coconut milk.  Add in the coconut milk after about twenty minutes.  Heat five more minutes. 

Cilantro goes well and/or a little lemon juice served in each bowl. 

Sweet Potato Casserole

This shot will never win a photo award but this recipe could.  It stole the show on Thanksgiving Day.  I would totally make it again.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.  I wanted to share it with you despite its terrible photo.  We were in a hurry to eat and there was no time for snapping pictures.  Unless I wanted an angry mob.  I highly recommend this creamy and delicious side!

Sweet Potato Casserole

adapted from this recipe at My Recipes/Cooking Light.

4 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups cornflakes cereal, crushed

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Bake sweet potatoes at 400° for about 1 hour or until tender. Let cool to touch; peel and mash sweet potatoes. I did this ahead of time which made it much easier.

Beat mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, and next 5 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon potato mixture into a greased casserole dish or an 11- x 7-inch baking dish.

Combine cornflakes cereal and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle diagonally over casserole in rows 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle alternate rows with marshmallows; bake 10 additional minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.