I hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving! The day is winding down and I don’t think I could eat another bite. I had a small dish of Multigrain Puffins for breakfast, saving my appetite for the big meal at noon. It was my turn to take call for work and the first one came at 7:17 a.m. Luckily I only had two more calls before lunchtime so I was able to keep my menu pretty much on schedule. This year’s menu included:
Lobster Bisque
Green Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
Maple Whiskey Turkey with Maple Whiskey Gravy
Baked Cranberry Sauce
Green Bean Casserole
Baked Potatoes Romano
Dinner Rolls
Limoncello-Amaretti Crumble Pie
The turkey and gravy recipe is a carry-over from last year because it produced such a moist and flavorful turkey breast. As usual, I used a fresh whole breast as my family prefers the white meat. In fact, I made two so that we could have some for sandwiches and maybe a soup or casserole. The question then arose, do I bake this by total poundage or treat them individually? Both were about 6 1/2 lbs. A quick Google search confirmed that both could share the oven and cook for the same length of time as a single bird, as long as there was adequate room for the air to circulate around each.
I started with the do-ahead items last night (which was most of them) since I wanted to have as much done in advance in case I had a lot of calls to answer. The turkey went in the brine yesterday morning. Kevin decided to use his great-grandmother’s Flow Blue China. It came to us from Kevin’s aunt, Willie, and this is probably only about the third time we’ve used it in 16 years. For being made in 1891, it’s in very good shape, all things considered. Thanks Mom, for helping with the dishes! These definitely cannot go in the dishwasher.
Here’s the recipe link:
Ree Drummond’s Maple Whiskey Turkey
The pie is not a traditional Thanksgiving pick, but I saw it in the Food Network Magazine and it looked soooooo good.
Limoncello-Amaretti Crumble Pie
I searched the grocery store aisles for Amaretti cookies, but there were none to be found. What to do? Make my own. I found the recipe on King Arthur’s website:
Almond flour turns out to be pretty pricey, but these are a delicacy! I only needed 8 for the pie so there are some left for snacking. The topping really does make the pie spectacular. Note to self: these are gluten-free and would be great for my friends with gluten intolerance challenges.
The Lobster Bisque is a recipe I’ve made before and it is one of the best soups I’ve made in a while. The recipe is from the Junior League, St. Louis Days/St. Louis Nights cookbook.
Lobster Bisque
Makes 4 servings, but can easily be doubled
6 tablespoons butter, divided
4 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper, about 1/2 of a large pepper
4 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 finely chopped green onions
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 cups cooked lobster meat, canned or frozen
3 tablespoons dry sherry
Heat 4 tablespoons of butter in a skillet. Sauté the green peppers, onion, green onions, parsley and mushrooms until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. In a saucepan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the flour to blend. Add milk and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth. Stir in salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste. Add the sautéed vegetables and the half-and-half. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce heat. Add the lobster meat. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Just before serving stir in the sherry. I sauteed the vegetables last night, refrigerated them and finished the soup this morning.
This Thanksgiving was very much an on-line recipe year. Both the cranberry sauce and salad recipes are also available on the web. You’ve got to love the Food Network! The cranberry sauce is baked, which I think is an unusual approach, but it was so simple and easy, not to mention tasty.
We had traditional Green Bean Casserole and my go-to Butter-Rich dinner rolls. This year I split the dough in half and made Cinnamon Rolls, some of which went home with our guests (my Mom and Dad and our daughter).
The salad recipe was definitely on theme and featured fresh parsley and tarragon leaves mixed in with the greens and a cooked cranberry vinaigrette. The fresh herbs really lent a distinctly fresh taste to the salad. I thought the vinaigrette turned out too thick, so I just thinned it down with some more red wine vinegar.
Green Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
No Thanksgiving meal would be complete without potatoes. I tried a new recipe this year that could be made ahead and heated in the oven. This recipe is from the Junior League of Rockford Brunch Basket cookbook.
baked Potatoes Romano
10 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup milk
3 egg yolks
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
Sour Cream, chives and/or paprika (optional)
Cook potatoes in water until tender. Drain well. Place in bowl of stand mixer with butter, milk and egg yolks. Beat until well blended and no lumps remain. Beat in cream cheese. I added about 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh chives. If I’d had any sour cream on hand I probably would have also put in about 1/2 cup of sour cream. To finish, pour into well-greased large high-sided casserole dish. To serve, bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes. Top will be lightly browned. If preparing ahead, cover and refrigerate. When ready to serve, bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 to 60 minutes. These had a great creamy texture and flavor and could still take some gravy without conflicting flavors.
We served Ste. Genevieve Winery Pear Wine and Cranberry Wine and an Oliver Winery & Vineyard Apple Pie Wine with dinner and had a Twin Oaks Vineyard & Winery 2011 Royal Ruby after dinner. Early in the evening we package up and reheated some leftovers to bring to Kevin’s mom at the Nursing Home. Her Alzheimer’s disease has advanced and she is no longer able to get to our house for dinner so we brought dinner to her. She was in her wheelchair at the dining room table, but had not begun eating. She did not remember that we’d told her we were coming for supper. She still knows and recognizes us, but 40 minutes after we ate, she could not remember what she had eaten or that we had supper together. No matter. She lives in the moment and enjoyed the meal as she ate and was in good spirits.
Some Enchanted Eating 