Thanksgiving Day Dinner
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Cooking time: 3 - 4 hours for menu 1 - 2 hours earlier for cake Cooking schedule: see below for "menu" instructions |
This menu is for two but there will be leftover turkey, stuffing and cake. If you increase the soup and spinach it could easily serve 4; a little bit bigger bird and some Mashed Potatoes - 6 or 8. Everything expands easily...
If you don't feel like baking the Pumpkin Cake - pick up a pie at the local bakery.
Cream of Pumpkin Soup Time: 30 minutes
1 medium leek
1 cup pumpkin see pumpkins on how to prepare fresh or buy 'Libby's Pumpkin Pie Filling' which, I think,
is just pure pumpkin.
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbs butter
pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp thyme I have it frozen in cubes
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk
Clean and slice the leek. In medium sauce pan sauté leek in butter until transparent. Add pumpkin, stock, thyme and nutmeg. Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Puree soup - either with blender or immersion blender (see Williams-Sonoma if you don't know what that is). Add enough milk to get desired consistency. Gently reheat but do not boil. To serve, ladle into soup plates or bowls, sprinkle a bit of thyme and some fresh pepper on top and serve.
Roast Turkey with Sage Stuffing Time: 3 - 4 hours
A stuffed 8 - 10 pound turkey will take 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours to took. You need a meat thermometer so you don't over cook it. It is overcooking that causes dryness. I found a small, 7 pound turkey that will be perfect for us and should take 2 1/2 - 3 hours. BTW, I checked some of my many cookbooks for roasting times and they ranged from 2 1/2 hours to 4 hours for an 8 lb bird...that's a big range - get a thermometer.
1 small turkey, large chicken, medium capon 6 - 8 lbs
2 tbs soft butter
1 tsp sage
1 - 2 cups chicken stock or turkey stock - see below
1 cup Madeira
1/4 cup regular coffee or 1/4 tsp instant granules
2 - 4 tbs cornstarch dissolved in 2 - 4 tbs chicken stock or more, depending on how much stock you
have from the turkey
Loosen skin across top of bird by pinching gently. Work your hand under the skin on the breast. With your finger tips rub 1 tbs of the butter over the breast under the skin, then add the sage, spreading evenly. Rub the remaining tbs of butter over the outside of the skin. Spoon some stuffing inside the cavity loosely, about 3/4 full, and tie legs together. Spoon some more stuffing inside the neck cavity and skewer the neck flap closed. ( I have used anything from proper turkey skewers to toothpicks to safety pins.) Put turkey on a rack in a roasting pan and into a 450F (230C) degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325F (165C) and roast until temperature in thickest part of thigh reaches 180F (82.2C) or 170F (76.6C) in breast, or until juices run clear when pierced with a knife. For a 6 lb bird this should take about 2 1/4 hours; an 8 lb bird 3 hours. Combine the coffee and chicken stock. Baste the bird every 15 minutes or so alternating between stock, Madeira and the pan drippings.
Making turkey stock Time: 1 hour - earlier in the day
If your bird came with the neck and giblets - lucky you. This is what you do with it - before you make the stuffing:
Heat 2 cups of chicken stock with 2 cups of water. Add some celery tops (the ones you cut off the stalks for the stuffing, an onion, cut in half, a carrot cut into chunks and the neck. Bring to a boil, skim off any scum that rises. Simmer for 20 minutes, then add the gizzard and heart. Simmer another 20 minutes, skimming. Then add the liver. Simmer another 20 minutes. Strain the stock into a bowl and substitute for the chicken stock in both stuffing and turkey basting.
Finely chop the giblets. Pull the meat of the neck and chop. Add all to the stuffing along with the onions,celery, Prosciutto.
Sage, Prosciutto, (Giblet) and Celery Stuffing
12 slices white bread, dried lay it out the night before to let it dry out, doesn't have to be perfectly,
evenly
dried - mind the cats, dogs, whatever
If you are using the giblets add 4 more slices of bread
1 - 2 cups chicken stock or turkey stock see above
1 large onion
4 stalks celery
3 slice Prosciutto
4 oz mushrooms optional, but I have them
chopped giblets if you have them see above and any leftover chicken livers from last week
1 tbs sage
1 tsp thyme
2 tbs butter
1 egg
Chop the onion and celery. Trim and chop the mushrooms, if using. Heat the butter in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions, celery, mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Chop the Prosciutto and add to the onions. Sauté another 5 minutes. Set aside. Tear bread into small chunks and put into a large bowl. Add sage and thyme and mix well. Add celery/onions and chopped giblets and mix well. Now comes the hard part: I can't tell you how much chicken stock to use. It depends on how dry your bread is, how moist the celery and onions are, etc. Start with 1/2 cup and drizzle over the top of the bread chunks. Mix well. Continue adding 1/4 cup at a time and mixing well. Mixture should just start to cling together, not all of it but most of it, and none of the bread cubes should be totally dry nor should they be mushy. Got it? At this stage stop adding stock. In small bowl lightly whisk egg. Fold into stuffing mixture and combine thoroughly. Stuff turkey. Refrigerate the remaining stuffing until ready to bake. An hour before dinner, (turkey should be almost done) put the stuffing into a roasting pan, cover and put into the oven. Bake the stuffing for 30 minutes, remove cover and bake 15 minutes longer. Oven temp is whatever works for the rest of the dinner. The stuffing in the turkey will be very moist and in the pan rather dry - mix the 2 before serving.
The finish: Remove the turkey and put on a platter. Cover with a foil 'tent' and let rest for 20 - 30 minutes. Pour juices from the roasting pan into a sauce pan, adding stock to roasting pan to help scrape up the bits on the bottom if necessary. Skim off as much fat as you can (butter?). Add any remaining stock and/or Madeira and bring to a boil over medium heat. Taste - need anything? Give cornstarch mix a stir and slowly whisk into the stock, stirring until thickened to your liking - more or less cornstarch as needed. Keep the gravy warm while you carve the turkey. Remove stuffing from turkey - both ends, and combine with baked stuffing. Carve turkey, serve with stuffing and gravy on the side.
Fresh Spinach Gratin Time: 45 minutes
1 lb fresh spinach (450gr)
1/4 cup flour
4 tbs butter
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (4 oz 125gr)
1/3 cup cream or milk
2 eggs
pinch of nutmeg
Wash spinach, if needed, remove thick stems, and roughly chop. In large bowl mix remaining ingredients. It's a messy job but fingers work the best. When you have a sticky paste add the spinach and mix well. Put into a buttered gratin dish - a glass baking dish with low sides and bake at 375F (190 C) for about 30 minutes. Serve.
Cooking schedule: Time: 3 - 4 hours |
Wash spinach if needed, trim and chop |
Pumpkin Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting Time: 2 hours - includes 1 hour
baking time 350 F (175C)
1/2 cup soft butter - room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 cup milk
1 cup pumpkin - see techniques on how to prepare or buy 'Libby's Pumpkin Pie Filling'
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Chop the walnuts if needed. Butter a 9 inch cake pan, then line the bottom with wax paper and butter the paper. In medium bowl measure flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Gently stir to combine. In another bowl combine pumpkin, milk and baking soda. Now you are ready to start: Cream butter and sugar. (Using a hand or stand mixer beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light, fluffy and a pale yellow.) Add eggs, one at a time, and beat in on medium. Add half of the pumpkin and the flour, mix well at low speed then add the rest. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the nuts. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes. It is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and dry. Test it at 50 minutes - oven temperatures may vary. When done remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Then, putting a wire rack on top of the cake, flip it over, remove pan and paper from bottom and allow to cool completely. When cool flip over so the top is up again and frost. I serve it with Praline Ice Cream on the side.
Brown Sugar Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup warm milk
2 - 3 cups powdered sugar - confectioners' sugar, icing sugar,...
Melt butter in medium sauce pan. Add brown sugar and stirring constantly bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Add milk and stir vigorously. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time stirring well after each addition. Add just enough to make it thick but spreadable (and frosting like), not runny. I used 2 1/4 cups.
Note: I didn't quite use all the frosting on the Pumpkin Cake (if you have graham crackers you can make sandwich "cookies" with any leftovers).
Cooking for Two? Or more?
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