What Are You Cooking Today? (Share your special recipes, tips, anecdotes)

Conservatrix

[Conservatrix]

Happy Thanksgiving Freepers! What are you cooking today? Anybody got a special recipie they would like to share? A cooking tip? A special Thanksgiving anecdote?

I will share my awsome Chunky Stuffing recipie:

BREAD (can be old corn bread or other wheat bread), cut into small chunks (can be toasted in oven beforehand if you like it less mushy)

FRESH CRANBERRIES

CELERY, chopped in curves

ONION, chopped

GARLIC, crushed (I like a lot of garlic)

DARK RED APPLES, chopped in small chunks, skin on, cored

WALNUTS, broken up or pieces

BUTTER, some interdespersed with the mix

FRESH SAGE LEAVES, ripped or chopped (any other form of sage will do)

DASH OF RED WINE

DASH OF SUGAR

SALT AND PEPPER

Make the proportions look pretty in the bowl. What I like to do is mix everything together and stir with my hands. Then stuff the bird. I am not particular about tying it shut. I think the stuffing pouring out of it looks cool. The juices of the bird soften the mixture. I'll eat this for a week straight afterward!

Please share yours! God bless your day!

[jimtorr]

I only have turkey on Thanksgiving when I can be with family. Since I'm in Maryland this year and all of my family is is Oregon, I'll not be having turkey.

Instead I'll have my traditional away from family feast of ham, Tater Tots, green peas (frozen only, please) and pumpkin pie with Cool Whip topping.

Normally I'd have peas with pearl onions, but I couldn't find any of that variety yesterday, so I'll have to have the ordinary frozen green peas with butter.

I'm not fit for polite company after this feast because peas gas me up something awful, but hey, a tradition is a tradition.

[WhirlwindAttack]

I't just me by myself this year. I thought, why really work hard?

[beaversmom]

Your stuffing recipe sounds very delicious.

In a couple of hours I'm going to be cooking a turkey to take to the in-laws. Got the recipe from Alton Brown/Good Eats of Food Network. I tried this recipie a couple of years ago--first turkey I had cooked. It turned out tasty except that I left one of the part packages in one of the cavities. I think it was the neck. So today's will be my second turkey. Wish me luck. I've also been up all night making sweet potato bread and sweet potato-pecan pie. Yesterday the oldest boy and I made pumpkin pies. And Tuesday night I made a cranberry dipping sauce--also got the recipe from Alton Brown.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_8389,00.html

Good Eats Roast Turkey
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Romancing the Bird (A Good Eats Thanksgiving)


1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon 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
Canola oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.
A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.
Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

[WhirlwindAttack]

I't = It's

Dooh too much beer. Beer Muuuuum.

And BTW down south gravy is a beverage.

[ChocChipCookie]

So far I've made two (small) turkeys using Alton Brown's brining technique. Good Eats Roast Turkey, http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_8389,00.html. The first one LOOKS really good, but we won't be eating for a few hours. I'm going to make one of those nasty green bean/cream of mushroom soup casseroles for my husband and maybe a pumpkin dump cake. We'll also be eating Costco pumpkin pies (we've eaten 1 1/2 pies so far, but who's counting).

[Vaduz]

Next to fish knuckles and deep fried lard balls.

[AmericanMade1776]

I agree....besides....you have portion control going on there..which is a good thing

[beaversmom]

Hey see post #43--Alton Brown's is the one I'm using as well. Did it a couple of year's ago and it turned out very tasty.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Let's see...turkey with my family's traditional corn bread dressing (made from a mix corn bread cooked with onion but no flour, biscuit, sage, broth and egg. I often add some pecans to it as well), green bean cassarole, baked yams. Hubby will make peach pies, I think. We put the peaches up ourselves in the freezer. Slice fresh peaches into orange concentrate, bag up, freeze. When it's time to make a pie, do the crust, pour four cups of thawed peaches into the pieshell. If its too juicy sprinkle a spoon of flour over it, top it, crimp and slash it, bake. Yummy!

[ChocChipCookie]

Ha!! Great minds think alike! I think a LOT of people are making this recipe. Last night at the store it was actually hard finding a couple of ingredients. The vegetable broth/ stock was almost gone, there was no fresh sage or rosemary. The recipe was easier than I thought. The only thing, this being my first turkey, the recipe didn't tell what to do with the neck and giblets. I left them both out of the first turkey (put the apple mixture in, though) and stuck the neck and giblets in the pan.

Later I'll have to make gravy. Tips anyone?

[mhking]

No turducken this year -- we're doing pork roast, turkey, sweet potatoes, dressing (with shrimp & crawfish), macaroni & cheese (I'm making this batch), 'n other stuff, and heading to my in-laws out in Fayetteville (south of Atlanta)...

[bert]

I'm not cooking today. I'm just eating.

So far, Cresent Sweet Rolls and sausage with coffee

[PeriwinkleMinniepaws]

Sounds tough. I wonder if that requires extra marianade? extra seasoning?

[ken5050]

I admire you for admitting , even in cyberspace, that you left the neck in the turkey..brining is the absolute best way to go..been doing it for years..next year..try somehing a tad different..instead of water and usgar int the brine mixture..use the same volume of Coca-Cola..

[geege]

Oh risotto it so easy.....just sautee the Arborio rice
in a pot with some finely chopped shallots and olive
oil....for a few minutes till the rice starts to get
nice and golden...then you slowly add whatever
kind of broth you like...I usually use low sodium chicken
and keep stirring the rice....after about 20 minutes
it will start to get nice and creamy...you have to keep
adding the broth till the rice is soft...then you can
add if you like some grated cheese and fresh herbs...I
stand by the stove and eat the risotto as it's trying to
cook...can't help myself....I love it....good luck!!!!

[varina davis]

Daughter is doing a deep fried turkey for the first time. Delicious, but have to have the gravy, etc. Sooo, am roasting a small turkey breast and legs for the gravy to go along with mashed potatoes, yam casserole, dressing, the ubiquitious green bean casserole and homemade pecan pie. Have to keep it at least sem-traditional!

Happy Thanksgiving Day to al Freepers!

[In The Crease]

I live in Canada so I will be having meat loaf.

Happy turkey day to all of you stateside.

P.S. Our Thanksgiving Day was in October.

[Andyman]

Orange Juice Yams

Cook 2 lbs yams
Mash 'em
Add 2 TBSP margarine and 2 tsp orange zest to yams.
Beat until fluffy
Take 6 large oranges and halve them
Juice the oranges, retain the juice and orange halves (should be 1/2 cup OJ)
Mix the juice with the cooked yams
Put the mixture back into the orange halves
Sprinkle mini marrshmallows on top of the yams/juice
Cook 20 min at 350.
Serve with BBQ'd turkey
Eat

[beaversmom]

I had trouble finding the candied ginger. Wal-Mart didn't carry it at all. The first time I made it a couple of years ago I just left that part out or used regular ground ginger--I can't remember. This time I decided to get some. Boy is it expensive. I did some looking and found some on sale at King Soopers--it was the last one left! I forgot the gravy. Doubt MIL will think of it either. Oh well. I'm just using the bottled rosemary and sage.

[beaversmom]

What kind of stuff do you guys have up in Canada? Same things we do?