Thanksgiving Day Dinner for Two or 4..or 6..
Butternut Squash Soup
Roast Turkey with Madeira
Sage, (Giblet) and Celery Stuffing
Fresh Spinach Gratin
Cranberry Cheesecake Pie
Cooking time: 4 - 5 hours for menu Cooking schedule: see below for instructions
This menu is for a small group, 2 - 4 but there will be leftover turkey, stuffing and pie. If you increase the soup, stuffing and add potatoes, it could easily serve 6 - 8; Everything expands easily...
You could serve the soup in coffee mugs for your guests (or you) to sip while standing around chatting rather than a proper sit-down first course if you are feeling cramped for either space or time!
I've given an additional favorite recipe Maple Sweet Potatoes I should be made ahead as should the Cranberry Cheesecake Pie and the Ginger Cranberry Sauce.
Simple Butternut Squash Soup
Total time: 30 minutes
Butternut squash makes a lovely, creamy soup with no cream and very little fat. A dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream to finish and you have the perfect autumn soup.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium leek
- 1/3 butternut squash about 2 cups, cubed
- 2 cups (16oz, 480ml) chicken stock
- 1 tbs olive oil
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 2 tbs crème fraiche or Greek Yogurt
Instructions:
- Cut the squash into small cubes, roughly 2 cups.
- Clean and slice the leek.
- In medium sauce pan sauté leek in oil until transparent.
- Add squash, stock, sage and nutmeg.
- Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer 15 - 20 minutes, until squash is tender.
- Purée soup - either with blender or immersion blender.
- At this point you can add more stock if you prefer a thinner soup.
- Add parsley and gently reheat.
- To serve: ladle into soup plates or bowls, put dollop of yogurt or crème fraiche in the center and serve.
Note: To clean butternut squash first peel it, using a potato/vegetable peeler. If it's large (typically) cut it in half between the 'neck' and 'bowl' ends. Then cut those in half the 'long' way. Scoop the seeds out of the round end and discard. I use the neck end for uniform pieces and the bowl end for soups and smaller pieces. Wrap what you're not using in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Roast Turkey with Sage Stuffing
Total time: 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. 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.
Ingredients:
- 1 small (8 - 10lb, 4 - 5 kg) turkey or large capon
- 3 tbs soft butter
- 2 tsp dried sage
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp Dijon-style mustard
- 1 - 2 cups turkey or chicken stock see below
- 1 cup (8oz, 240ml) 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
Instructions:
- Mix 2 tbs of the butter, the herbs and the mustard.
- Loosen skin across top of bird by pinching gently. Work your hand under the skin on the breast. With your finger tips rub butter mixture over the breast under the skin, covering as much of the surface as you can.
- Rub the remaining 1 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 bird 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.
- To baste:
- Combine the coffee and 1 cup stock. Baste the bird every 15 minutes or so alternating between stock, Madeira and the pan drippings.
- The stock: earlier in the day If your bird came with the neck and giblets
- 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, uncovered, 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 use in both stuffing and basting.
- Discard the vegetables.
- Finely chop the giblets.
- Pull the meat off the neck and chop. Add the meats to the stuffing along with the onions, celery, Prosciutto.
Sage, Prosciutto, (Giblet) and Celery Stuffing
Lay the bread out the night before to let it dry. It, doesn't have to be perfectly, evenly
dried. If you are using the giblets add 4 more slices of bread.
Ingredients:
- 12 (16) slices white bread, dried
- 1 - 2 cups turkey or chicken stock
- 1 large onion
- 4 ribs celery
- 3 - 4 slices Prosciutto
- 4oz (120gr) mushrooms optional, instead of giblets
- chopped giblets if you have them
- 1 tbs sage
- 1 tsp thyme
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 egg
Instructions:
- 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 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 bird.
- Refrigerate the remaining stuffing until ready to bake.
- An hour before dinner:
- Put the refrigerated 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 bird will be very moist and in the pan rather dry - mix the 2 before serving.
The finish:
- Remove the bird 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 saucepan, adding stock to roasting pan to help scrape up the bits on the bottom if necessary.
- Skim off as much fat as you can.
- 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 bird.
- Remove stuffing from bird - both ends, and combine with baked stuffing.
- Carve, serve with stuffing and gravy on the side.
Fresh Spinach Gratin with Ricotta
Total time: 45 minutes
This is a bit decadent for such a healthy vegetable as spinach, but it will please even those who don't normally like spinach.
Ingredients:
- 16oz (480gr) fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup flour
- 4 tbs butter
- 1/2 cup (4oz, 120gr) ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup (3oz, 90ml) cream or milk
- 2 eggs
- pinch of nutmeg
Instructions:
- 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.
Cranberry Cheesecake Pie
Total time: 15 minutes plus 2 hours chilling
We've had enough pumpkin and need some cranberries to round out our dinner. This is a no-bake pie and goes together quickly. And it's yummy! Or you could buy one... then you wouldn't have leftovers.... Based on a recipe from 'My Great Recipes'
Ingredients:
- 1 8 - 9 inch (20cm) graham cracker or cookie pie shell
- 8 oz (240gr) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbs milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup whipping cream, or heavy cream, whipped
- 1 can cranberry sauce, 16oz (480gr)
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions:
- Whip the cream, using whisk or electric mixer, until you have soft peaks.
- Stir together the soft cream cheese, sugar, milk and vanilla. Should be well blended, soft and creamy.
- Carefully fold in whipped cream (Stir very gently from the bottom up through the top and only until blended. You don't want to deflate the whipped cream.)
- Spread mixture into pie shell.
- Mix cranberry sauce, marmalade and walnuts.
- Spread on top. Chill for at least 2 hours to set.
Cooking schedule: Time: 3 - 4 hours
Cranberry Pie: 15 minutes at least 2 hours earlier
Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes - 20 minutes earlier
recipe below, bake at the same time as the stuffing
Additional Utensils: baking dish
The Dinner:
Evening before: Lay out bread to dry
Earlier in the day or the day/night before:
Utensils: measuring cups, spoons, knives, small, medium and large saucepans with lids, blender, whisk or mixer, roasting pan for turkey, small, medium and large bowls, baking dish for spinach, baking dish for stuffing, foil
Take cream cheese out of fridge to warm.
Put stock, onion, celery tops, carrot and neck in pan
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer, skim
Set table, arrange centerpiece
Tear bread
Add gizzard and heart to stock, skim
Whip cream
Mix cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, fold in cream
Mix cranberry, marmalade, nuts
Assemble pie, refrigerate
Add liver to stock, skim
Tidy kitchen, do whatever
Drain stock and cool
Dinner time:
Chop onion and celery, trim and chop mushrooms
Sauté onion and celery (and mushrooms)
Chop Prosciutto and add to onion/celery
Chop giblets and neck meat if using
Make stuffing
Mix herbs, butter and mustard
Prepare turkey, spread butter under skin |
Stuff turkey, truss and start to roast
Put unused stuffing in fridge
Reduce heat on turkey
Prepare spinach
Roughly chop spinach and set aside
Mix coffee with turkey/chicken stock
Relax for an hour or 2 - just remember to baste
45 minutes before dinner: Turkey temp should be about 20 degrees from desired finish
Start to bake stuffing
Clean and slice leek, sauté
Add squash, stock, sage, nutmeg to leeks
Cover soup and simmer
Make spinach gratin, set aside
Baste the turkey some more
Heat the reserved stock for the gravy
Dissolve cornstarch in cold stock or water
Remove turkey (when done), tent
Turn oven to 375F (190C)
Bake spinach
Purée soup, finish and serve
Relax and enjoy
Done?
Uncover stuffing
Put turkey on carving board
Drain pan juices, skim fat, scrape brown bits
Add leftover stock, Madeira
Heat pan juices for gravy
Un-truss turkey and remove stuffing
Hand the knife to someone else to carve
Remove stuffing from oven and mix
Finish gravy
Remove spinach
Serve and enjoy
Happy Thanksgiving!
Don't forget the pie... |
Ginger Cranberry Sauce
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup (6oz, 180ml) apple juice
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tbs minced fresh ginger, more or less
- 2 cups whole cranberries
Instructions:
- Heat juice, sugar and half of the ginger until sugar is dissolved.
- Add the whole cranberries and cook, simmering, just until most of them 'pop'.
- Remove and, with a potato masher, mash 2 or 3 times, no more.
- Add the rest of the ginger, stir well and cool.
This will get very thick when cool and will keep for several weeks in the fridge.
Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Total time: 60 minutes
These are not overly sweet - no mini-marshmallows. The taste of the sweet potatoes shines through and is enhanced, rather than overpowered, by the maple.
Ingredients:
- 24oz (1 1/2 lb, 720gr) sweet potatoes, 2 large
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbs butter
- pinch of nutmeg
Instructions:
- Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 3/4 inch (2cm) rounds (the short way).
- Cook in boiling, salted water until just tender, easily pierced with a knife.
- Remove and drain.
- While potatoes cook heat the syrup, butter and brown sugar to boiling in a small saucepan.
- Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
- To assemble: Lay the potatoes in a baking dish just large enough to hold them all easily. Don't fuss with the layers but do spoon a bit of syrup over each potato slice.
- Pour the rest of the syrup over the top and bake, uncovered, 350F (175F) for 30 minutes.
- Baste once after 15 minutes with the syrup from the bottom of the baking dish. Serve.