Thanksgivings

It's been two Thanksgivings since our last post - which should help explain why it's been so long. We hosted Thanksgiving this year, but since our families weren't both available on the same day, we decided to host two feasts - one on the 11th and one on Thanksgiving Day. We tried to make everything from scratch and use interesting recipes - so I thought I'd list them here, in case anyone want a tried-and-tasty recipe.

Thanksgiving #1 (for 8)

Turkey and Gravy - we used a Free Range, Grain-Fed American Bronze turkey, which we picked up at a farm just east of Madison. The American Bronze breed of turkey is what they call a "heritage" breed - meaning that they are traditional American turkeys that were almost extinct a few years ago, but are gaining popularity as people are preferring more flavorful natural birds over those that have been bred to have more breast meat and fed to become plump at a young age. They are also much leaner and are supposed to cook more quickly. We followed the recipe linked above, taking 30 minutes off the cooking time to account for our smaller bird. Though the thermometer indicated doneness, the turkey definitely not done, so we had to throw it back in the oven.

Trader Joe's Apple, Sausage & Chestnut Stuffing
1. • 1 medium Granny Smith apple, cored and diced into 1 inch cubes
   • 1 medium Gala apple, cored and diced into 1 inch cubes
   • 2 shallots, diced (we forgot to put these on the grocery list and used about 1.5 tablespoons diced onion instead)
   • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
   • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
   • 1/2 cup dry white wine (we ended up using Sherry cooking wine)
   • 6 ounces dried cranberries
   • 1/2 tablespoon sea salt & 1 teaspoon black pepper
   • 1 1/2 pounds Cantella's Cooked Smoked Turkey and Cranberry Sausage (we used Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage)
   • 7.6 ounce Trader Joe's Whole Natural Chestnuts, roughly chopped (orange box, about 4" tall and 3" wide, we found it stacked near produce)
   • 3/4 pound day old Trader Joe's cornbread, kernels removed, cooked according to package directions (we forgot to remove the kernels and weighed it at roughly half a 8"x8" pan)
   • pinch, red pepper flakes (we left them out)
   • 1 1/2 cups Kitchen Basics Chicken Stock (or any other stock)
2. 1. Preheat oven to 400° (or whatever the turkey is cooking at - since everything in this recipe is already cooked).
   2. In a medium sauté pan add the apples, shallots, 1 tbsp oil and 3 tbsp butter and cook over a medium low heat for 10 minutes to soften apples. Add the wine, cranberries, salt and pepper; simmer for about 5 minutes more. Remove pan from heat and allow mixture to cool.
   3. Remove casing from sausage (ours didn't have casing). In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and sausage. Break up sausage with a wooden spoon and heat through for approximately 5 minutes.
   4. In a medium bowl toss together the fruit and onion mixture, sausage, chestnuts, cornbread, and red pepper flakes. Gently mix well. Add the chicken stock. Place mixture into a glass baking dish and dot top with butter, as desired. Place dish in oven on middle rack and bake until top is golden brown, about 30 to 45 minutes.
   5. Serve with roast turkey and giblet gravy or pork chops. Serves 6.

Cranberry Sauce

Rosé Gelatin with Blackberries adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe in Martha Stewart's Healthy Quick Cook

3 Tbsp unflavored gelatin (about 3 envelopes)
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons rosé wine
1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar
4 cups blackberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Pour 2 cups of cold water into a large bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over the top and let stand 5 minutes to soften.

Bring 4 cups of wine, 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of blackberries to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Strain out berries and pour the liquid into the gelatin. Discard or eat the cooked berries. Add the lemon juice to the gelatin mixture and stir until the gelatin dissolves.
Place the remaining blackberries into 8 3/4-cup ramekins or one large bowl. Pour the mixture over them and chill, covering until set, at least 5 hours.

Mashed Potatoes don't require much of a recipe, but here's one.

Arugula and Pear Salad with Maple Vinaigrette from Real Simple

Turkey-Tail Rolls from Martha Stewart

And of course, Pumpkin Pie with Ginger Graham Cracker Crust

And that was Thanksgiving #1! Recipes from #2 are coming soon.