Let's talk turkey and Christmas treats

Have a tip or recipe to share? Post it here!
Want to know how, or has anyone tried... Ask here!
"While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads",
Enjoy! Ric

Thanksgiving will be here again, 10 or so of us since DD2 will be in Va. at SIL's family gathering with their brood. That's one day a year the kitchen is Holly's, If I want to make pies it has to be the day before. She will allow me to make the mashed potatoes, Josh to carve the bird, and possible DD1 to roll the crescents on the cookie sheet. LOL Ric

Ok- where do I post my address so that Holly can get me some of those crescents? I can send the box. I only have an oversized box available....Please tell Holly that if she has anything 'blue' and shaped like what a chickens 'chute' should look like (please forgive this city gal - I don't know the proper name) she can put it in the box and I will pay the freight. Holly will know what I mean.

This Thread will be YUMMY!!!!

I will start off with my VERY tasty and different Cranberry Sauce....
Please make it--and you will never use that canned. jellied version again.
Start collecting small jars--or just buy a case of them.

I do not do any kind of sterilizing. This sauce will last for years in the refrigerator..so make a big batch-
This recipe will make about 7-8 jars-full. Jars like salad dressings come in, pickled beets, etc....


GITA’S CRANBERRY SAUCE—PLUS
(Measures given are all “ballpark”—)
Approx. 3lbs. sweet apples (any kind)-peeled, cored and very thinly sliced.
Three bags fresh Cranberries—washed, picked over and coarsely chopped in a
food processor (about 5 seconds) just until “broken up”.
3-4 cups sugar and 3 cups of water (can be part OJ)
***Note: since all items are in three’s, if you want to cut the recipe down, or increase it-- just do it in thirds of everything.

One full teaspoon of whole Cloves. Wrap in a gauze sachet for easy removal.
Zest of one Lemon—finely slivered—NO white pulp—it is bitter!
About 2 regular tsp. finely minced fresh Ginger root.
1/3 cup Cherry or Blackberry Brandy (optional) but it is yummy.

TO DO:
--Using a non-reactive, 6-8 qt. pot, add sliced apples, the water and the cloves sachet. Cook/simmer over low fire until it resembles chunky applesauce—stirring now and then…about 45 minutes.

--Add the sugar, and stirring often, simmer until sugar is dissolved—maybe 15 min.
--Add crushed cranberries. Process them in batches and add to pot.
--Bring back to a gentle boil. Lower heat way down and simmer for one hour or more--stirring often so it won’t burn.
Add the lemon zest and the chopped ginger. And-----
**2009 note***--a change I made--Tasted great!
--Per this size batch—section (in 1/8 th,) and seed, 2 sweet, juicy Temple Oranges. Grind up in food-processor—
Rind and pith and all—and add to the Sauce. Stir to mix in.
***At this point, you can taste for sweetness and adjust to your taste. ***
I usually end up adding another cup of sugar here...
Simmer another half hour or so stirring occasionally.

--When Sauce looks dark red, and all uniform in texture, remove from heat and add the Brandy.
Mix in well. Let cool down just a bit.
--Using a ladle, carefully, pour the hot sauce into clean jars and seal them immediately. I find the small
Salad Dressing jars work best, but any ones will do. Allow to cool down a bit, label with the year
(yes!—see note below!) and then refrigerate.

***Note: I have found that, kept in a refrigerator, this sauce lasts for years and years without losing any flavor!
HONEST!!!!!

I'm going to try it
Can you make recommendations for apple types - I like gala but maybe another better

I am going to skip the cloves ---my dad used to stud Lamb (lamb!!) (ugh) with these and .... when I smell cloves...... I think lamb!

Thank you Gita - I am going to make this and carry with me for the holiday.

missing---

Any of the sweeter eating apples---- mix of several ia Ok too...
I would not use Granny Smith. Cranberries are very tart as it is...

If any of your grocery stores have produce mark-down racks--
that is a good place to get apples cheap. You are just going to cut them up!
So--a blemish here and there won't matter.....
let me know how you liked the sauce....

Bummer on the Cloves--it gives this sauce a nice flavor....

Gita

LOL MissingRosie, I tried this summer sorry no pretty blue eggs. They did have some much smaller balls that I gave some thought to but they just didn't impress me very much. They were either black or such a dark blue that you thought they were black. I did pick up a couple of large blue strawberry pots the glazing on them isn't quite as nice as the blue egg but I think they will look great all planted up.
Gita, That Cranberry Sauce sounds yummy. My Aunt makes up a big batch of my Grandmothers Cranberry Sauce every year and delevers it to the families. It is so good. Not sure what all she puts in it but apples and oranges for sure I think there may be celery in it too. I don't know how long it would last in the fridge as any that doesn't get eaten at the meal doesn't last long. LOL

If you must skip the cloves in Gita's cranberry sauce, you might want to use some whole allspice and/or a cinnamon stick instead, just to give it that little something extra. I love oranges and cranberry together also -- great addition to your recipe, Gita!

Thanks---

Been making this forever--but, as usual, I always must "improve" on an existing recipe...
Used to be just apples and Cranberries and sugar. My Mom made it that way...

First i added Orange zest.......Sounded good!
Then fresh minced Ginger...i thought--"Why not?"
Then, last year, I skipped the orange zest and did the two whole oranges
"smithereened" in a processor....It was that "AHA MOMENT!!!"....
The whole oranges just add a touch of bitter but also a whole lot of orange taste....

Jill--I think Allspice might work in place of Cloves----just use a lot....

Funny--But in the last couple of years--so many of the Cranberry sauce recipes
I have seen include fresh Ginger....
Lets just say that i was ahead of my time....:o)

There is a woman I work with--Kim--and the first time I gave her a small jar of my C.Sauce--her father
went bonkers over it.. After that he used to beg Kim to beg me for a jar for their Th-G. meal.
Now I just bring it without being asked.....They have the recipe----but have never made it...

Hope you all give it a go--even if you just use 1/3 of this recipe.
One lb. of apples is about 3 med. apples....No harm if you do more....

Feedbacks are welcome! Gita

I'm having a large family re-union type gathering for Thanksgiving - count so far is 29 adults and 11 children under the age of 8. I'm responsible for the turkey and the ham, everyone else will be bringing the sides. If I have time, I'll try that cranberry recipe - it sounds really good.

still have an extra turkey in the freezer and I'm thinking about us guys frying it while Holly roast hers in the kitchen. We inject them before hand with a mixture of butter, garlic, pepper, an a little Worcester sauce. We end up with a crunchy butter ball. Jen, I agree, smoked turkey is awesome.
Ric
Forgot I started this thread and posted in What's Cookin. LOL Ric

lol Ric Hope you 'remember' to defrost that extra turkey! I'm hooked on fresh birds for the flavor and fogetfulness factor.

I also love listening to NPR's "The Splendid Table" on their extended Thanksgiving show. People call in with their turkey dilemas and they provide great rescues and awesome recipies..

Aspenhill That's quite a crowd. Most our family ever did was 24. Wonderful childhood memories at Grandmas house. I remember that the men ate first and then retired to the parlor sofa and easy chairs, where they unbottoned their top pants button and promptly fell asleep while us kids were seated for our feast complete with phone books on the big dining room chairs. As we finished we were sent upstairs to play quietly and make up our 'show' to perform for the women who finally got to sit themselves down and eat .

We kids were always admonished to be on our best behavior as Santa might be watching! Sure enough, one of us would hear jingling bells and we would run to the windows to see a jolly old man in a red suit, with a white beard passing by and waving to us! And then we'd all recite "T'was the nigh before Christmas" and sing Jingle Bells.

At this point the men would get up and go out on the back porch to smoke the cigars Uncle Fred always brought and set up a card table or two to play Pinaccle in silence with only the rapping on the table. Pies were cut and served while the women cleaned up. My Mom always got the turkey tail, the last part over the fence, as her favorite part (a long standing family joke)

As we were the only family that lived more than a mile away we had quite a time finding our coats and scarves and hats in the huge pile of same on Grandma's bed. My Mom would sit in the backseat of our car between my little brother and I while big brother woul sit in the front. Jim and I would each put our heads in Mom's lap and fall asleep nestled against her fur coat which she would spread over us for warmth. Talk about the lap of luxury!

Hope all of our thanksgivings can be as warm and snuggly. Judy

Wow Terri, that is a lot of people. My hubby would run the other way!! There will be 8 of us(hubby's family)
I see a lot of people mention the cran and orange, I may try that this year too. I always try 1 or 2 new dishes a year.
Last year did a cauliflower dish I couldn't stop eating.
Cauliflower side dish
Ingredients
• 1 head cauliflower, quartered
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup minced onion
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned dry bread crumbs
• salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
1. Place the cauliflower into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until fork-tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two; chop into bite-size pieces.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion in the butter until the onion is browned, about 5 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of butter and cook until the butter is melted. Stir in the bread crumbs and cook until the mixture bubbles. Mix the cauliflower into the skillet and cook until the cauliflower is warm, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper; serve hot.

Hubby is a traditionalist(basically hates changes to the menu).

Love cauliflower--every body would as long as they don't have it cooked to death. Boiling too long --not as in Jens recipe, --makes some sulfur compounds or something.
I bet that method would be great with Brussels sprouts too- same thing, don' t over boil

Went and did most of the shopping for next Thursday today. Coupons, sales, Bo gos, and redeemables, aligned with the planets in such a way I walked out with $158 worth of groceries for $81. I'm also up to $1.10 /gal off,on a 30 gal fill-up. I love it when you leave the checkout girl smiling and shaking her head. Ric

Good job!
I've gotten as far as scoring one 49 cent a pound frozen turkey to save for later. I like to get fresh for TG

Waiting here to see if frozen turkey prices drop a bit more... still remembering the year all the stores advertised that they would *beat* (not match) other prices, and the price went down day by day.. I think we bought 2 turkeys for something like 18 cents a pound and had rain checks for several more!

My best tip for a traditional roasted turkey is to take some of your stuffing and put a layer under the skin, especially on the breast, to add flavor and keep things most. Just loosen the skin by sliding your hand under and breaking the connections to the underlying meat (yuk, but just do it). If you're not stuffing your bird, loosen the skin like that anyway, and then rub a mixture of applesauce and herbs (be generous) between the skin and the meat. This year, I think I may be the only one who loves stuffing (DH & his folks would rather ignore it), so I'm planning to only stuff under then skin... I'll put apples and onions inside the cavity.

Big decision here is whether to limit ourselves to a 16-17 pounder that will fit inside our Nesco roaster, or get a really big bird (we love turkey in many dishes)... this year, it might be a smaller turkey so my MIL can use the oven to make whatever side dishes she'd like to do. I do sides in the Nesco (it's even got a convection fan), but I'm pretty sure that would be outside her comfort zone!

Early on in my "housefifey" life--I used to stuff turkeys with the stuffing----but it was never enough...

Now--for eons--I have made sausage stuffing on it's own--and baked it in the oven. It is MY--
and everyone elses favorites....
Tomorrow--we are having our annual Thanksgiving Dinner--Feast at the Home Depot....
MAN!!! What a pig-out!!!! SOOO good!!!!

All of us "cooks" contribute a dish or two----The bottomless pits (younger generation) just
eat and eat and eat....We have had a sign up sheet for dishes to bring---a la "Potluck"--
but only the die-hards cook and do....

I always make sausage Stuffing----and, this year, also will bring my "Macaroni, Cheese and Ham Casserole"...
The Recipe is in a post above....somewhere....
For the REAL Thanksgiving--I will be going to my daughter's....Mark is dying to cook a Turkey on the grill--
which he has done several times before....It is always delish!!!!!!!
I believe he rubs butter under the skin.....and OO all over it...Not sure....

I am bringing also Sausage Stuffing and Garlic mashed Potatoes...--all by request....Maye Wine too...
They have no money to speak of--so I usually bring all the $$$$ necessities....

I posted pictures before.......He is an excellent griller--no matter what!

Hope you all enjoy no matter HOW anything is prepared....We all do things OUR way!

Happy Gobble--gobble-----

Gita

Have a great prefeast feast tomorrow Gita! (Your store manager will miss more than your plants as he moves on.)

Got the last 6 locally grown white sweet potatoes at the store today. These white skinned are ten times sweeter than any others I've tasted...they need no additional sugar but sometimes I do do a splash of maple syrup. Have any of you tried them?

White inside too, right? Mom liked them. I don't think I ever tried them. Our local produce stand carrries them. I must stop there tomorrow and stock up--they close after TG.

Yes, Sally, kind of a cream colored flesh. The variety I get here doesn't 'keep' as long as the orange ones Cut in half inch slices and steam for 3-4 min. Very healthy, too. Will your son be home? (All during my college years I always wished I was a camel so I could store up TD food to fortify me til semester end.)

Critter The turkeys I have done in my small microwave/convection oven with turn table have always turned out better than conventional oven. Liked your ideas about stuffing or apple sauce under the skin. Thanks.

My favorite stuffing includes sauteed portabella mushrooms, onions, celery, Granny Smith and a red skinned apple and dried cherries and golden raisens. Have used dried cranberries, too.

How many of you serve saurkraut?

Do you prefer to use flour or corn starch for gravy thickening?

If I do not do a bird at my house for TDay, I have to do one soon after because I miss the smell of roasting turkey filling my house!

Maybe on the sauerkraut. MIL made it once, I think she simmered the neck in with it. Do you rinse it before cooking? I used to think you just dump it out of the can or bag, now I've read it should be rinsed.

Flour.

I do a very basic stuffing and yes my son is really looking forward to some time at home , Yay!

I never served sauerkraut at Thanksgiving. LONG time ago our Pastor's wife stuffed their turkey with sauerkraut.
I love chestnut stuffing but hubby doesn't like chestnuts...so i never make it :( my mom made the best!

We have those Jersey white yams at our local farmer's market, they are sooooo GOOD.

totally FLOUR for thickening gravy, but if anybody is scared of lumps (a few lumps makes it look homemade, right?), then try "wondra" or another brand of quick-dissolving flour. I'm not sure the gravy tastes exactly the same with it, but it's very close.

Sometimes I use regular flour sprinkled over the fat on top of the pan juices, but then if I underestimate the amount of flour or want to add some stock and stretch the amount of gravy, I'll use Wondra flour for additional thickening.

My FIL's mother used to make some sort of sweet stuffing with nuts and prunes... I've had it at their house and am not a fan... for me, stuffing should be savory! I use the pepperige farm cubes but add ground beef & pork sausage (browned & crumbled), sauteed onions and mushrooms, then just enough hot water or stock to moisten it a bit.

If it doesn't go inside the bird, it's "dressing" not "stuffing"... with my trick of stuffing under the skin, I can get a really remarkable amount of stuffing into a turkey. It's still good cooked in its own pan, just not quite the same.

Butter under the skin is good also, but appplesauce does a remarkably similar job of moistening and flavoring the meat without the added fat (save it for your mashed potatoes LOL). Of course, you should not try these "under the skin" tricks with a "self basting" turkey -- they are already loaded up with grease under the skin! If you try to put your hand under the skin of one of those, ewwww, disgusting. LOL

I'm getting hungry!

Sauerkraut IN the turkey sounds like a tragic misinterpretation of presentation...

I'm putting Wondra on my list.

I like to make enough dressing/ stuffing so that we have the moist stuff from in the turkey, and a dish of drier stuff baked in the oven.

Now if only I had that antigravity unit working--where the turkey could roast 'face down' and not get all squished on the pretty side

Do you brine? I watched Alton Brown's show about brining, and do it.

This message was edited Nov 18, 2010 9:11 PM

Wondra is wheat flour and malted barley flour. I use it all the time, even in rues. You can get the same smooth effect by dry mixing approximately 1/3 corn starch with your flour before making gravy. I'm pretty sure my GM used that trick. I swear that woman could take a tablespoon of bacon grease and make the most flavorful brown gravy to feed the entire family. LOL
I've read that rinsing sauerkraut removes a good bit of the salt, which is a good thing according to my doctor, but I like the saltiness and love it when the kraut come out all golden on top.
The only time we play with stuffings is on game birds, last year Josh roasted a goose and used apples, onions, and orange juice in the stuffing. It was gone before we put a dent in the ham and was loved even by the family that prefer white meat.
I plan to try a new pumpkin custard in my gingerbread crust, a pecan, and possibly a wet bottom shoe-fly pie this year. Ric

I brined our Thanksgiving turkey one year, and it was good, but no more moist than our regular bird (remember the trick with stuffing under the skin LOL)... a couple of family members commented that it tasted like "restaurant turkey" -- not necessarily a bad thing, but not exactly a rave review.

If I have a smallish bird, I do flip it (roast breast side down for the first 1/2 to 2/3 of cooking time). I know it doesn't end up as pretty, since the breast does get a little flattened, but it will still get brown on top after you flip it. I'll still use applesauce & herbs under the skin if I'm planning to flip the turkey, but I don't flip a bird with stuffing under the skin of the breast -- it just gets soggy.

Oh, and how could I forget our other "secret" for a moist bird and the BEST gravy you every tasted... during the roasting time, we pour most of a bottle of white wine over it! (Chardonnay works well, but the last couple of years we've switched to one called Domaine de Pouy.)

Do you go white or red for Thanksgiving wine? With all the flavors on the table, I think it needs to be a fairly robust wine. We've especially enjoyed Merlot wines in the past. Sometimes we get both red and white and pass them around.

We did the brining last year with the Alton Brown directions and didn't find it any more tender than it usually is.

Thanks for the cornstarch and flour idea.

Oh- I often get a layer of extra fat separating on top of my gravy. ??

Sally at my house that is where the war begins.

My husband says LEAVE it - it makes everything taste good.

I say OK I will leave it ....5 minutes after you increase your life insurance policy payout.

lol the fat war is alive and well!

Sally, do you use one of those measuring cups with the long pour spout at the bottom? It lets the fat rise and then you can pour off the bottom and see when to stop just before including the fat layer.

Any suggestions for what to do with skimmed off fat? Can it be fed to birds, for instance?

Good idea - but keep it high - the mice like it.

I suppose you can run an engine off of it ; 0)

Jen, just heard a "chestnut " lovers suggestion on tv.. Use chestnut paste as a condiment for those who want.

Critter, You are so good with herbs..any tips on harvest and inclusion of sage for TDay?

Ric, I'd love your recipe for gingerbread crust!

Now where to find chestnut paste....

I'm not a fan of sage dressing, but I love love love a simple sauce of browned butter and crisped sage leaves over noodles... makes a great side dish! For directions & photos, see my sage article: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2948/

yes, yes, need to know how to make gingerbread crust!!

Sally, will try to bbl with some easy gravy instructions...

missingrosie- LOL

Well the dang fat seperator confuses me. I have this big pan of fatty drippings. Then the fat sep thing. Well, if I put all the dripping in the fat thing, then how do I get the fat for the roux? At that point I throw my hands up and use an extra bowl or something... I guess I muddle through every year LOL Maybe I'm supposed to make a quart of gravy. = 0
But I'm curious about alternate fat uses too. Sub for butter with a vegetable?

Jen, Trader Joes has pkgs of steamed chestnuts al la Post article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110202667.html

Or make your own http://www.fantes.com/chestnuts.html

Here's a recipe for chestnut dressing using either
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/roasted-chestnut-sausage-dressing-recipe/index.html

Sometimes (rarely) I use a fat separator. Usually I just tilt the roaster pan and spoon out the extra fat, leaving what I judge to be "enough" floating on top of the gravy (not more than 1/8 inch, probably more like 1/16 inch). then I put the pan on the stove and heat it until it's simmering.

Sprinkle flour over the surface until it looks like all the fat has been soaked up by the flour and stir away, usually with one of those spatulas with slots in it (scrape to get the good bits up, press it down against the bottom as you stir to work out any lumps, and yes a flat bottom whisk would probably work just great but the spatula is what my mom used). If you see more fat on the surface, just sprinkle on a little more flour.

As you continue to heat and stir, the drippings will start to thicken up with the flour. Now is the time to add water -- or better yet, some low sodium chicken broth or stock, maybe even a splash or two of white wine if you didn't pour any over your turkey as it cooked.

That's sort of a "flying by the seat of your pants" method. A friend of ours once came out into the kitchen to look over Mom's shoulder as she made gravy... suddenly it started to thicken up on her and threatened to burn, and, not having any more water handy she grabbed her glass of Coke and tossed some into the pan. Bob retreated, saying "I can't stand to watch." LOL

Of course, you can also separate the fat from the drippings and make a roux with fat and flour in the pan, then add the drippings, then add more water/stock as needed. Julia Childs would probably have done it that way.

Sally--

A much easier way to separate fat from the rest of the drippings is to use a basting bulb.

Tilt your pan so all the drippings go to one end--better yet--to one corner. Allow to separate.
Compress the basting bulb before you stick it into the drippings all the way to the bottom.
Gently release the bulb so it sucks up the drippings from the bottom--fat stays on top--right!
Repeat this until you have sucked up all the non-fat part of the drippings--then stop....
Or--continue if you want to save the fat separately.

De-glaze the roasting pan with whatever--water- broth-Wine?...and you have all the goodies
with almost no fat.
I use this technique a lot....No mess--No fuss......:o)

As for alternate uses of fat--I save drippings from Bacon and Marrow and even rendered
Chicken fat in small bowls in the fridge. They don't spoil!

Then I use them as flavorings to pan-fry something.
If I am using beef--I dig out some of the marrow.
If I am frying up some potatoes or Lima Beans--I dig out some of the bacon drippings...
The Chicken fat gives a lot of flavor to any and all veggies or pasta...Use your imagination.

You could save all the fat from the Turkey drippings in a similar way....I bet it would be most flavorful
In whatever you think could go with it.
Fat is fat--no matter what the source. It is all 100 calories per Tablespoon. Of course--different fats
have different no-no's...."Good fats"---vs. "Bad fats"....

Hope this helps some---Gita

Jill--we cross-posted.....

This message was edited Nov 19, 2010 8:19 PM