Thanksgiving Menu 2009 - Interesting additions

What's on your menu this year beyond the typical fare? Doesn't have to be molecular gastronomy. Just something a little different... although if I hear turducken mentioned one more time I might stuff a chicken in both ears.

Our list
* Orange halves filled with sweet potato and brown sugar
* Garlic, bacon and pine nut Brussel sprouts
* Radish cole slaw
* 5 Cheese mac 'n cheese
* Stuffed mushrooms with minced mushroom, cream cheese, Parmagiana, green onion and lump crab meat filling

I would love the Brussels sprouts recipe. Thanksgiving is the one time that I try to make Brussels sprouts, which a couple of family members like.

The orange halves are an old tradition in my family, which we have abandoned as too much work, though I am tempted to revive them. (Okay, maybe we abandoned them because we couldn't forget that they used to have marshmallows on them; the other things I make are not exactly simpler.)

Pumpkin mousse is my biggest innovation, in an effort to avoid pie crust but keep the pumpkin in the dessert. I had a recipe that used evaporated milk, not cream, so it was not totally loaded with fat.

Two years ago, I made cranberry sorbet.

I'd definitely like to see the Brussel sprouts recipe myself, it is one of my favorite things to make to go with savory dishes in the colder months.

For the last couple years I've been making a shredded brussel sprout recipe that turns out really well. This is the basic recipe.

Trim and slice in half about a quart of sprouts
Drop into food processor using the slicing disc blade to shred
Put into a bowl and add 1/2 cup evoo and 1/4 cup balsamic
S+P to taste (truffle salt works really well)
Spread on an oiled baking sheet
Cook in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes
Sprinkle 1/4 cup toasted walnuts and a 1/2 cup grated hard cheese (aged Gouda works great) over the top
Put under a broiler for 5 minutes, or until it gets crisped a bit

A knock off of Avec's Chorizo stuffed, bacon wrapped dates (cooked on the smoker with the turkey) has been a big hit as well as an appetizer.

buttermilk brined smoked turkey, my first attempt.

If I was having more people over I would do a turducken again for sure.

jimswside wrote:buttermilk brined smoked turkey, my first attempt.

Jim -

Are you worried that the smoked turkey won't have a crisp-enough skin? Are you tweaking anything to achieve that?

aschie30 wrote:

jimswside wrote:buttermilk brined smoked turkey, my first attempt.

Jim -

Are you worried that the smoked turkey won't have a crisp-enough skin? Are you tweaking anything to achieve that?

I think the turkey should be ok, I will smoke it in the 250-260 range so it should crisp up based on chickens brined, and smoked the same way.

The doctor also says I should cut back on eating crisp animal and fowl skin... so if the skin does not crisp up like I hope I will make my heart happy.

The last few years at Thanksgiving, I have been making puréed rutabagas topped with crispy shallots, based on a recipe from The Union Square Café Cookbook via Ina Garten. You can see the complete recipe here.

Rutabaga is a food I learned to eat from my in-laws, although I like to think my preparation of it is an improvement on what my husband grew up eating. And even folks at my Thanksgiving table who never willingly ate rutabaga in their lives (they thought it only existed as a beloved-in-my-house Carl Sandburg children’s book) really enjoy this stuff.

The shallots are fabulous. They’re what the “crispy” onions in the can wannabe and never can be. My son would eat them as a snack by themselves if I could make enough, but try filling up a 16-year old boy with shallots.

Here’s the basic recipe:

Pureed Rutabaga:
Peel and chop 2 large rutabaga (yellow turnip) and bring to boil in salted water; cook until quite soft—30-40 minutes, depending on how big your pieces are. Drain and put them back in the pot. Add warmed whole milk (about 1 cup) and softened or melted butter (about 6 tablespoons). Mash and then purée, either with a stick blender or in the food processor, adding a good amount of pepper and salt to taste. Put them in a serving bowl or casserole dish. They can be made in advance and reheated in the oven or the microwave. When hot and ready to serve, top with the crispy shallots.

Crispy Shallots:
You cannot make too many of these in my experience.
For the 2 rutabagas above, use at least 6 shallots, but twice that is not too much! Peel and thinly slice. Heat vegetable or a light olive oil (Ina suggests 1 ½ cups) but keep the temperature at or below 260 degrees (she suggests starting at 220 degrees). I use an electric frying pan very successfully for this. Fry the shallots very slowly, turning occasionally, until they are quite dark—usually about 30 to 40 minutes. Watch the temperature so they don’t burn. Remove them and drain on paper towels. They supposedly keep in a container for several days once you have cooked them, but they’ve never lasted more than a half a day in my house.

Be sure everyone gets a good helping of the rutabaga with the crispy shallots to mix in.

EvA-

I love rutabaga. My traditional prep stops at the mashed rutabaga with butter, milk, salt and pepper. The fried shallots sounds like a great addition! Thanks for sharing.

-Mary

bookmarking this for later. having my first "friends Thanksgiving" this year. I'll be doing the turkey and stuffing, and gravy. But I'll also maybe do an app or something. I'm excited. 11/22!

The GP wrote:EvA-

I love rutabaga. My traditional prep stops at the mashed rutabaga with butter, milk, salt and pepper. The fried shallots sounds like a great addition! Thanks for sharing.

-Mary

Mary,

You're welcome! You can't go wrong with those crispy shallots.

Evy

A basic menu for me(thanksgiving isnt a meal I mess around with too much).

Appetizers:
- Sweet pickle and horseradis deviled eggs
- Vegetable crudite(carrots, celery, cucumber, green pepper) w/ ranch dip
- Boiled then chilled shrimp w/ homemade cocktai sauce


Mains:
- Smoked, buttermilk brined turkey breast
- Stuffed oven roasted turkey

Sides:
- Sausage stuffing)(1/2 done in the bird 1/2 done in a casserole dish
- Garlic mashed potatoes w/buttermilk
- Brussel sprouts sauteed in bacon fat
- pan dripping gravy with giblets
- cranberry sauce
- dinner rolls

Dessert:
- Homemade pumpkin pie(crust made with lard)

planning on sitting down between 2 & 3, depending on the smoked item, and the football games.

The above should be just enough for 3 adults and 1 toddler.

Happy Thanksgiving

Cooking on Friday for 7 people.

16lb HoKa turkey, brined and roasted
Turkey Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Au Gratin Potatoes
Bacon-Jalapeno Cornbread Stuffing
Fennel-Sausage Stuffing
Green Beans
Cranberry Sauce
Dinner Rolls
Pumpkin Mouse
French Silk Pie
Apple Pie

So much food, can't wait for the leftovers.

you forgot the best thing, sweet potatoes

not a fan of sweet potatoes, so they dont make the menu.

jimswside wrote:not a fan of sweet potatoes, so they dont make the menu.

ouch. i never really was either until I had them done right. You have to almost purre' them and then top with nuts and brown sugar. mmmm....


btw, awesome blog!

Chitown B wrote:

jimswside wrote:not a fan of sweet potatoes, so they dont make the menu.

ouch. i never really was either until I had them done right. You have to almost purre' them and then top with nuts and brown sugar. mmmm....


btw, awesome blog!

thanks.

The version of sweet potatoes you reference sounds more along the lines of a way I might enjoy them.

jimswside wrote:

Chitown B wrote:

jimswside wrote:not a fan of sweet potatoes, so they dont make the menu.

ouch. i never really was either until I had them done right. You have to almost purre' them and then top with nuts and brown sugar. mmmm....


btw, awesome blog!

thanks.

The version of sweet potatoes you reference sounds more along the lines of a way I might enjoy them.

not my picture, just from google - but similar to this:

ableiman wrote:* Radish cole slaw

can you please share your radish coleslaw recipe?

Nothing too exotic for me on Thanksgiving:

Butternut squash soup
Slow-roasted whole duck with crispy skin
Mushroom-potato gratin
Creamed spinach
Gingered yams
Cranberry-orange relish
Gingerbread cake with pumpkin frosting
Cinnamon ice cream

menu looks good to me kenny, especially the duck, and mshroom potato gratin.

With plenty of other desserts, I decided to gamble a bit and I tried to duplicate the vinegar chess pie I've had at Hoosier Mama using Paula's lemon chess pie recipe featured in the Chicago Sun Times as a guide. Instead of using the lemon listed in the recipe, I substituted 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and I used my own pie crust.

We tried it last night and the result is that it's close but no cigar - there's too much vinegar/tang in the custard, although the custard came out wonderfully smooth and the pie had a nice crackly top just like the chess pies I've had at Hoosier Mama. It was also a tad too sweet. All in all, not too bad though.

I will be giving this another attempt very soon, but probably cutting down the vinegar by at least a couple of tablespoons, maybe even mixing in some cider vinegar, cutting down the sugar by about 2 tablespoons and perhaps adding some fresh vanilla bean (I think Paula uses this in hers).

I got this recipe from my teammate.. this by far was the best dessert served today:

White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 ½ cups crushed gingersnap cookies (about 32 cookies)

¼ cup butter, melted

3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 squares (1 oz each) white baking chocolate, melted and cooled

¾ cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Almond Topping

½ cup chopped almonds

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp sugar

In a small bowl, combine gingersnap crumbs and butter. Press into the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in melted white chocolate.

Combine pumpkin and spices; gently fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour over crust. Place pan on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350’ for 55-60 minutes or until center is just set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the topping ingredients; spread in a shallow baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring twice. Cool.

Carefully run a knife around the edge of springform pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Transfer topping to an airtight container; store in the refrigerator.

Just before serving, remove sides of pan; sprinkle topping over cheesecake. Refrigerate leftovers.
Yield: 12 servings

Tried a tomato pudding this year based on this recipe from this week's Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/chi-1122-tomato-puddingnov22,0,1070746.story

I tripled the recipe and added a little dill. Also scattered some dill on top for color. Everyone loved it.

Other standouts were my garlic mashed potatoes made with the America's Test Kitchen recipe and method; a shrimp, bacon and collard greens stuffing; and an apple and sausage stuffing, both made by my daughter, abe_froeman.

Buddy

Nibbles were a plate of antipasto (mostly olives but also some onions, mushrooms and peppers), goat cheese with a bit of truffle oil (Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor), Dubliner cheese with stout (Kerrygold), those awesome multigrain crackers from Costco, spiced pecans, red onion jam (with bacon and Templeton rye), pomegranate martinis (with fresh-squeezed poms and Meyer lemons) and Original Sin hard cider (great stuff, imho... not as sweet as most of those commercial hard ciders).

Dinner was a brined turkey (roasted upside down for the first hour then covered in wine/butter-soaked cheesecloth for another hour, then finished with just basting), cranberry sauce with orange and ginger, apple/sausage/barley stuffing (outside the bird), sweet potatoes (simmered in a cast iron pan with butter and brown sugar), Yukon Gold potatoes (boiled whole, riced, mixed with warm cream and butter), gravy, green beans amandine, Parker House rolls (from Rose Levy-Berenbaum's "Bread Bible"), and a 2007 Pacific Rim Riesling (Martinelli's for the kids).

Dessert will be the sour-cream-pumpkin pie (from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking") and egg nog (Jeffrey Morganthaler's recipe).

I love seeing what others are doing!

It’s leftover heaven at Chez EvA et Cabbagehead! We had a lovely Thanksgiving and hope all did as well.

The menu:
Appetizer—smoked salmon (from Costco) with lemon and capers, cocktail rye
Bacon-wrapped roasted Ho-Ka turkey, as described here, and gravy
Wild rice, white rice, and mushroom stuffing (baked in a casserole, so much easier than stuffing the bird)
Mashed potatoes
Rutabagas with crispy shallots, recipe here
Green beans with shitake mushrooms
Homemade whole berry cranberry sauce
Lingonberries*
Sweet potato and apples cooked with apple cider casserole*
Door County cherry pie*
Pumpkin bars*
Brownies**
French Vanilla ice cream

*excellently prepared by cousin M.
**baked with love and expertise by sister-in-law J. and my 4 ½ year old nephew G.

Tonight we are going to Sun Wah to celebrate my son’s 17th birthday with Beijing duck. Club sandwiches, lots of leftover veggies, and turkey soup coming soon…

This year, I'd planned to make beet chips - but, as I do every Thanksgiving with at least one idea - I forgot. So I didn't.

Our dinner was pretty much the usual: turkey, roasted cauliflower with lemon-mustard-butter, brussels sprouts, sherry-orange sweet potatoes, sage, dried fruit, nut, and ciabatta stuffing in a pumpkin shell, and raw cranberry relish - quickly becoming my signature T-day dishes (except the brussels sprouts - wasn't really happy with them) I did find a new salad, very simple to bring together at the last minute if you've got a mandoline with a matchstick blade: sour apple and celery root matchsticks dressed simply with parsley leaves, orange juice, salt, and olive oil. I thought I didn't like the first bite, but it grew on me as I ate it with dinner: the flavors are spot-on for the meal, and it took only moments to make.



Sadly, the thanksgiving pies were something of a bust this year - the pecan came out overly sweet, making me wonder if I mistranscribed the recipe here last year, and the pumpkin was just OK. I made the crusts with frozen ghee, vinegar and egg - and it just didn't work out the way I'd hoped.