Thanksgiving 2011

We have so much to be thankful for this year!  It's been a great year in South Asia, our kids are growing and are healthy, and God has provided for our family in so many miraculous ways this year.


This year, our Thanksgiving celebration is turning out to be a lot smaller than in years past.  I'm okay with that. : )  We'll have five adults and our kids.  So my menu is pretty scaled down, and I haven't started cooking yet.  That's only because my husband is out of town, but coming back today, and I've not been feeling well.  Hopefully I'll be up to starting tomorrow.

So, this year, my menu looks like this:

-Baked Brie with maple syrup and pecans, crackers for appetizer
-Apple cider

-Roasted Rosemary Chickens
-Grandma's Stuffing
-Baked Winter Squash Gratin (I'm using kaddu)
-Mashed Potatoes
-Bay Scented Lentil and Red Cabbage Salad with Bacon
-Grandma's Yeast Rolls
-Iced Tea

-Pecan Pie
-Pumpkin Pie

This all sounds really good to me, but my only hesitation is that there's nothing really green on the table.  If I have time, I might do some bacon-wrapped green beans.  But I also have to remember that I'm working around a 2-hour morning power cut from 9-11.  That will throw a kink in my planning, I think. : )

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Thanksgiving Day

Well, this is late in coming! I was so beat on Thursday I didn't get around to posting, and we had a house guest arrive early Friday morning, then sickness set in the house, and, well, you know...

So here is the recipe for the Rosemary Roasted Chickens. It's so incredibly easy.

1 whole chicken, skin on

2 t. dried rosemary, chopped or crushed

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1/4 t. garlic

Olive oil

(Note: I'm guessing on these amounts, because I just threw it all in a bowl until it looked like a good ratio... so just judge for yourself if this looks right...)

Preheat the oven to 220. Mix up the spices together. Gently pull the skin away from the meat of the chicken, and rub the spice mixture into the meat, on the breast and thighs. Generously brush olive oil all over the chicken skin, and place breast up on a wire rack (with a drip pan below, preferably covered in foil to make the clean up easier!). Bake at 220 for about 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180. This locks in the juices and keeps that chicken nice and tender! Cook for another hour and check to make sure a thermometer inserted into a meaty part (not near a bone) comes to 180F or the juices run clear.

I don't think this could be any easier, and it is really yummy!

Thanksgiving Preparations, Day 3

Wow! This has been a full day! I couldn't have done all this without the help of my wonderful husband. I've hosted Thanksgiving before, but I've never done everything on my own, and I think I just wanted to see if I could do it. So far so good, but I'm not sure I'll do this again next year! :)

What I did today:

-Pecan Pie (http://www.joyofbaking.com/pecanpie.html)

-Pumpkin Pie(http://www.joyofbaking.com/pumpkinpie.html)

-Dressing

-Iced Tea

-Whipped Cream (by hand for the first time ever! I'm so excited!)

-Au Gratin Potatoes(recipe below)

-Crust for apple tart

-Cream soup base for green bean casserole

So here's one thing I learned today. :) Okay, two. Cream can be whipped by hand and it tastes gooood. :) I added a little sugar and vanilla, and whipped for 20 minutes. I thought my arm was going to die! But I did it, and it's chillin in the fridge right now. So excited...

Second thing. I made the equivalent of seven cans of pumpkin puree today as well. I was getting ready to make the pumpkin pie, and thankfully read on the Joy of Baking website that if you're using fresh pumpkin puree, it's best to strain it through a cheese cloth before using it. Otherwise your crust can get soggy. So, in the cheese cloth it went. I put 3 1/2 cups of my puree in the strainer, and after three hours when it finally stopped dripping, there was just barely two cups left! I couldn't believe how much water came out!!! Anyway, one other little tip I got from that website. To help prevent a soggy crust, they suggested crumbing some gingersnap cookies and pressing them into the crust before pouring the pumpkin filling in. What a great idea! I happened to have some of those McVities Ginger cookies in my pantry, so I crumbed them up and pressed them in the crust. I'll let you know tomorrow how it tasted. It sure does looks beautiful!

Megan's Au Gratin Potatoes

1. 5 kg potatoes, peeled, and thinly sliced

3 T. butter

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 c. milk

1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

pinch of thyme

pinch of paprika

3/4 c. gouda

1/2 c. cheddar

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the sliced potatoes in and cook for about five minutes. You just want to start them getting soft, but not cook them all the way through. They should still have a bite to them. Strain the water off and set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and saute till browned.

3. Dissolve the flour in the milk. (If you want to substitute 1/4 c. of cream for 1/4 c. of the milk, that'd be fine!) Add this to the saucepan and cook, stirring continuously.

4. Add salt, pepper, and thyme. Continue stirring until the sauce becomes thick and bubbly. Then remove from heat, stir in paprika, and 1/4 c. gouda and 1/4 c. cheddar.

5. Combine the potatoes and the cheese sauce. Place half of the potato mixture in a large casserole dish. Layer 1/4 c. gouda and 1/4 c. cheddar on top of that. Place remaining potatoes on top, and top with remaining gouda cheese, a sprinkle of paprika, and some fresh chopped parsley, if you like.

6. Bake at 180 for 15-20 minutes. Cover if the cheese is starting to brown too much.

Pina Colada

Again, this is a Stafford family tradition on Thanksgiving. I always looked forward to getting to Grandma's and having some of this pina colada. I love the way the frozen juice flakes off into the drink. So yummy...

Pina Colada

1 box of Tropicana pineapple juice

3 packets of Maggi Coconut milk powder

1 1/2 c. water

2 litre of Sprite

Combine the coconut milk powder with the 1 1/2 c. water. Stir till it's thoroughly combined. Pour whole box of pineapple juice and coconut milk into a bundt pan and freeze it. When you're ready to serve, place the bundt pan in a bowl of warm water to loosen the ring. Place the frozen ring in a punch bowl or serving bowl, and pour the sprite over the top!

So I did this last year with the boxed coconut milk, and it just wasn't quite right. My grandmother actually uses a small can of coconut cream, but I have not been able to find any coconut cream here. This year I'm trying the thick milk using the powder, we'll see how it goes! If any of you know where or how to get coconut cream, please let me know! : )

Grandma's Dressing

My grandma has made this dressing every Thanksgiving since I can remember. There was no recipe, just all done on instinct until I forced her to tell me how she did it! :) Here is what we got:

1/2 an 8 inch skillet of cornbread

1 loaf of bread (think American sized loafs!), crumbled

2 packages Monaco crackers

1 c. chopped onion, cooked

1/2 c. chopped celery, cooked (if you can get this, if not, it's okay, you can throw in some dried celery if you have it, or nothing...)

Rubbed sage, till it smells good :) (That's what Grandma said!) (approx, 1 tsp)

3-4 cups of drippings, broth, almost boiling (I use chicken broth)

1/2 stick butter

1 egg

Toast half the loaf of bread. Crumble all the breads and crackers together in a 9x13 pan. Add the onion and celery and sage, combine well. Add enough liquid to look soupy, and the butter. Stir the egg in the hot mixture. Bake at 150 for an hour.

Thanksgiving Preparations, Day 2

Got a lot accomplished today! Here's what is finished tonight as I sit down to watch Masterchef Australia: :)

1. Trimmed and boiled green beans to get ready for the Green Bean Casserole

2. Cored, peeled and baked apples in preparation for the Country Apple Tart with Spiced Brown Butter

3. Baked cornbread, getting ready for Grandma's Dressing (recipe to follow)

4. Froze a ring as a starter to Grandma's Pina

Colada (recipe to follow)

Now, just gotta get everything done tomorrow! So far I'm on track! I love Thanksgiving! :)

In case you're wondering, this is the pina colada freezing. :)

Thanksgiving Preparations, Day 1

Another recipe I made today. This is from my Grandma Stafford...

Spinach Balls

4 slices of thick, dense bread

2/3 c. water

2 T. butter

1/4 t. sage

1/4 t. poultry seasoning

1 T. chopped celery

2 t. onion powder

2 t. parsley

1/8 t. pepper

1 large bunch of spinach (6 c. chopped)

1 small onion, chopped very finely

3 beaten eggs

6 T. butter

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. thyme

1/4 c. parmesan

1. Cut the crust off the bread slices and cut the bread into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes, like stove top. :) This should be four cups when you start toasting, about two cups when you're done.

2. Toast the bread at 175 for five minutes. Bas. (Hindi for enough)

3. Boil the water and butter together until butter is melted. Add seasonings, sage through pepper.

4. Stir in the toasted bread cubes. Voila. Stove Top. :)

5. Chop the spinach coarsely. Measure out six cups. Heat a skillet on high heat. Toss in the spinach.

6. Saute until dark green and wilted. Add a bit of oil if you need to keep it from sticking.

7. Mix together all the ingredients. (Stove Top stuffing mix, spinach, and everything else)

8. Measure out 1 T. balls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 175 for 10 minutes.

9. Let them cool, and remove to a freezer bag. Stick them in the freezer!

When you're ready to serve, pull them out and cook another 10-15 minutes, until crispy and brown. If you want to make and serve them the same day, just cook them about 20 minutes. Yum! :) This makes about 30 balls.

Thanksgiving Preparations, Day 1

Here's what I made today! It's all sitting in the freezer, waiting to be pulled up and gobbled up on Thursday...

Pumpkin Soup

5 1/4 c. pumpkin puree

3 c. chicken broth

2 c. milk

2 t. cumin powder

1/4 t. cinnamon

salt and pepper to taste

1 T. corn starch

Heat up chicken broth in a Dutch oven. Add pumpkin puree, milk, and spices. Depending on the thickness of your pumpkin puree, you may need to add corn starch to thicken the soup. I ladled out about 1/4 c. of soup into a measuring cup, added 1 T. corn starch, dissolved it, and put it back in the pot. Keep it over a low heat, stirring regularly, till you get the desired consistency.

Thanksgiving Menu!

Gearing up for Thanksgiving this week! I've got my menu planned and am figuring out when I'll do what! Here's what's on the menu for Thanksgiving in the Iris apartments:

Appetizers:

Pumpkin Soup

Spinach balls

Stuff mushrooms (maybe)

Grandma's Pina Colada

Apple Cider

Dinner:

Rotisserie Chickens

Some kind of potatoes: garlic and herb mashed, au gratin, haven't decided

Butter Pecan Sweet Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole

Grandma's Dressing

Spinach Salad with cranberries, walnuts, vinaigrette

Garlic Rosemary rolls

Iced Tea

Dessert:

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Country Apple Tart

Pumpkin Spiced Lattes

I'll try to post recipes for a few of these things in the coming days. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Green Bean Casserole-From Scratch

Hopefully this is in time for your Thanksgiving preparations!

Homemade Green Bean Casserole

1 kg of green beans, trimmed and cut to 1 inch pieces

3-4 mushrooms, finely chopped

2 T. butter

2/3 c. cream soup mix

2 1/2 c. water or vegetable broth or chicken broth/bullion

1 c. milk

2 t. soy sauce

Fried onions (recipe below)

1. Boil the green beans until nice and tender and dark green. (You can do this several days ahead of time and refrigerate).

2. Melt butter in a sauce pan and add the mushrooms. Saute a few minutes till mushrooms are browned. Add water or broth and cream soup mix and stir to combine. Cook over a low heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in milk and soy sauce.

3. Combine soup mixture and green beans. Stir in 1/3-1/2 of the fried onions. Bake at 175 for 25 minutes. Top with remaining onions and bake five more minutes.

For Fried onions:

2-3 onions, sliced into rings (more if you like, depends on your personal taste, how much onion you like!)

1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1/4 t. cayenne or red pepper

1 c. buttermilk (regular milk with 1 T. vinegar added, sit for 5 minutes)

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

Heat 2-3 c. of oil in a deep pot.

Combine flour, salt, pepper and cayenne. Combine butter milk, salt and pepper. Dredge onion rings in flour, then in the buttermilk, then back in the flour.

Deep fry for about four minutes, turning once, until both sides are golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

You can do everything ahead except the onions. I would do them the day you serve the casserole. Fresh fried food is best! :)