Thanksgiving Recipes

It's the Thanksgiving round up!

Here are some the recipes for our first Thanksgiving in our Arizona home:

Menu

Herb Roasted and Braised Turkey
Cornbread Sausage Dressing with Dried Cranberries
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Orange-Spiced Cranberry Sauce
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Garlic
Green Bean Casserole with Wild Mushrooms
King's Hawaiian rolls

A very full Mangia to you and yours!

Herb Roasted and Braised Turkey
Food Network

Total Time:

4 hr 55 min

One 17-pound whole fresh turkey, rinsed well and patted dry

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 large stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 large onions, quartered

12 cups homemade chicken stock

Gravy:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 head roasted garlic, cloves removed and peeled

Splash of white wine, optional

Mixed chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme. optional

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the turkey: Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting.

Combine the butter, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme and in a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Sprinkle the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper and fill the cavity with half the carrots, celery and onions. Rub the entire turkey with the herb butter and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Put 4 cups of the chicken stock in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat.

Place the remaining vegetables on the bottom of a large roasting pan. Put the turkey on top of the vegetables, put in the oven and roast until lightly golden brown, about 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue roasting, basting with the warm chicken stock every 15 minutes, 2 to 2 hours 15 minutes hours longer. (An instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh should register 160 degrees F.)

Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer to baking sheet, tent loosely with foil and let rest 30 minutes before slicing. Remove the legs for braising. Strain the drippings into a bowl and discard the solids. Add enough stock to make 4 cups liquid.

Bring the liquid to a simmer, transfer to a roasting pan, add the legs, cover with foil and braise until tender in a 350 F degree oven about 1 hour.

For the gravy: Melt the butter in a medium pan over high heat. Add the roasted garlic and cook for a minute. Whisk in the flour and cook until lightly golden brown. Slowly whisk the drippings into the flour mixture, bring to a boil and whisk until the mixture begins to thicken and the flour taste has been cooked out, about 5 minutes. Add a splash of the white wine if desired and cook for 1 minute longer. Fold in fresh herbs if desired and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Cornbread Sausage Dressing with Dried Cranberries

This is a family recipe. Bake a couple of pans of cornbread using the recipe (or mix) of your choice. Brown a package of Farmer John breakfast sausage links; cool and crumble. Saute chopped onions and celery in the sausage drippings, add chopped parsley, sage and dried cranberries. Crumble the cornbread and mix the vegetables, sausage and as much chicken broth to make the mixture very moist. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 35 to 40 minutes until browned on top. Very good the next day mixed with a little egg, formed into patties and fried.

Green Bean Casserole with Wild Mushrooms
Adapted from Campbell's

The casserole is made the way it is on the label of the French's Fried Onions container with the exception of the addition of sauteed wild mushrooms.

I used a couple of handfuls of dried wild mushrooms, reconstituted in boiling water form about 30 minutes, chopped and sauteed with shallots and olive oil for about 10 minutes. I threw in a good couple of slugs of dry sherry and let that cook out. Mix with the green bean and soup mixture.

Orange-Spiced Cranberry Sauce 
by Season with Spice

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh cranberries

3/4 cup raw sugar or light brown sugar

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 teaspoon orange zest

1/4 tsp Season with Spice's ground ginger or 1 tsp freshly grated ginger

1/4 tsp of Season with Spice's ground Ceylon cinnamon

1/8 tsp of Season with Spice's ground clove

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

A squeeze of lemon juice (optional, but it adds a refreshing note)

For a fancier version, add in a swirl of bourbon or port.

Method:

1. Combine cranberries and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix well and as the sugar starts to dissolve, about 2 to 3 minutes, add water along with orange juice, zest, spices (and Bourbon or Port if using) and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook mixture gently for about 12-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Continue to cook until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency. Finally, squeeze in some fresh lemon juice.

2. Remove from heat, cover pan, and let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Or you can prepare the sauce a few days ahead, and then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Garlic

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)

2 oz pancetta, visible fat discarded and pancetta minced

10 garlic cloves, peeled

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Toss together Brussels sprouts, pancetta, garlic, oil, and salt and pepper to taste in an 11- by 7-inch baking pan and spread in 1 layer.

Roast in upper third of oven, stirring once halfway through roasting, until sprouts are brown on edges and tender, about 25 minutes total. Stir in vinegar, scraping up brown bits. Serve warm