Thanksgiving Food Deconstructed: Part 3

The centerpiece of our simple dinner this year: a roasted turkey breast. Salt and peppered and brushed with butter. This was about an 8-lb breast.

Mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy rounded out the meal with the turkey and green bean casserole featured previously. Table decor provided by my daughter. A non-traditional pumpkin pie. This was one of those vanilla pudding-pumpkin-Cool Whip versions with caramel sauce on a graham cracker crust.

Thanksgiving Food Deconstructed: Part 2

I really didn't need THIS many dinner rolls for our dinner :) But once cooked, they freeze well.

My daughter wanted to help with these this year. Punching down the dough is the best part.

She helped shape the rolls before their final rise.

Here they are ready to go into the oven. The recipe:

2 1/2 cups of warm milk

4 teaspoons of active dry yeast

1/2 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup of butter melted and slightly cooled

2 teaspoons of salt

7 cups of all-purpose flour

Pour milk into the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle with yeast. Let it rest and foam for 5 minutes. Beat in sugar, eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter. Use dough hook and gradually add flour and salt. This is a soft and slightly sticky dough. More or less flour may be needed.

Put dough in a large bowl sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise about an hour. Dough should double in size. Punch down and turn. Repeat two more times.

Break off 2-3 inch size pieces of dough to roll and tuck into rounds. Place in a baking dish prepared with cooking spray. (2 9-inch rounds work well for this amount of dough)

Cover and let rise until doubled in size.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes - until tops and nice and brown. Brush with melted butter (optional).

Thanksgiving Food Deconstructed: Part 1

I thought I'd start this series with the dish I made just for myself, because no one else in my immediate family would touch something like this: green bean casserole.

After steaming the beans to a par-cooked state and rinsing in cold water, I made the sauce. Saute a little chopped onion, 1 clove of minced garlic in butter until browned. Add heaving cream and summer until it thickens. Sprinkl with fresh ground pepper. Put beans in a casserole dish and pour sauce over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly. Top with fried onions. Yep, those kind out of a can. Bake until top is extra browned. This was really good and my family politely asked what was in it...but still wouldn't taste it.

Two Turkeys

A tale of two turkeys for our Thanksgiving dinner in the D.C.-area this year. The deep-fried turkey was injected with Cajun butter seasoning. We also had a traditional turkey that was brined with seasoning, cider and orange juice and stuffed with cranberry and sausage dressing. Both were excellent!

Gravy All Done

Here is the finished product after making the base for our turkey gravy in advance. I scraped the fat off the top, which was easy because the base was cold. Then I put it in a pan over medium heat. Mixed about a quarter cup of flour in some water, and then whisked it in when the base got bubbly. I did add salt and pepper right before serving.
I did a bone-in turkey breast this Thanksgiving and I like the way it turned out. I always "turn" my turkey - rotating it every 25 minutes while it's cooking to make sure it's brown all over. I did rub this turkey with butter before cooking - that was the only seasoning.

Gravy-to-Be

Now that I look at this picture, it kind of looks like pumpkin pie filling. It's really "gravy-to-be." I roasted two turkey wings, chopped onions, celery and garlic for about an hour. Then, simmered it all in some white wine and chicken broth, adding a little chopped thyme (still had some in the yard that was usable). I let the liquids reduce by about one-third. Then I removed the wings, and chopped up the meat for my spoiled rotten kitties. I then strained everything, mushing it to get all the juice. I threw away the vegetables and this is what is left. This will stay in the refrigerator until Thursday. I'll show you then how to finish up the gravy. It will be quick!