Dinner Ideas - Thanksgiving
Hello, and welcome. Get yourself something to drink, pull up a chair and get comfy. We're going to talk about dinner ideas for this week, Thanksgiving. maybe you're cooking a turkey yourself, or maybe you are taking a dish to a family gathering, in any case let's take just a moment to be grateful. It has been a year of challenges, and we made it. We have many things to be thankful for, and high on that list is family.
Thanksgiving
I love Thanksgiving. I love the traditions of family all together around a table of lovingly made food, all with an attitude of gratitude. Plus there is no pressure of gift giving. Yay! Enough time for that later.
It's been a lean year. Can we splurge for Thanksgiving?
It has been a lean year. But yes, I think we can put together a lovely meal for our family and friends. The grocery stores are running great specials. Turkey is screamingly cheap. If you've got room in your freezer, why not buy two and stash one for later? At my supermarket it was just 59 cents a pound. You may have gotten an even better deal if you live in a more populated area than we do. My approach to Thanksgiving this year is to plan a great meal, and to eat several pantry meals and/or leftover meals the rest of the week. By eating out of my pantry for a few meals I can save a bundle and afford to splurge a bit for the big day.
The Main Event
For our turkey this year, I am doing the brined turkey featured on Anne Burrell's show on the Food Network. I am starting it the Sunday in the brine, removing in on Wednesday and slathering it in an herbed compound butter. Compound butter means butter with stuff in it. In this case the stuff is sage and rosemary. It will go into a 450 degree oven for about 40 minutes Thursday morning, then I'll reduce the temperature to 350 and roast it to an internal temperature of 155. Alton Brown says 151, but I am not quite that brave. He says the termperture continues to raise out of the oven, so we'll see. I'll have stuffing, mashed potatoes (or scalloed I haven't decided. My husband says mashers make a better vehicle for gravy. In fact, he has threatened to shape his into a '55 chevy pickup and fill the bed with gravy. My son prefers scalloped, which he calls " cheesy potatoes" because I load them up with cheddar cheese.)
Before the big day
For the meals before Thursday, I am relying heavily on my pantry. Yesterday we had pizza. I made a quick pizza dough in my bread machine, then topped it with whatever we have on hand. In this case I made a Pizza with Prosciutto, Fresh Mozzarella and Arugula. I topped it with the arugula when it came out of the oven and dressed the greens lightly with reduced balsamic vinegar. You could use any vinaigrette though. The bite of the slightly bitter greens pairs well with the creamy tanginess of the fresh mozzarella and the creamy saltiness of the prosciutto.
Tonight, I am making twice baked potatoes with ham
For Tuesday night's dinner, I am planning to make a pasta. I usually love my Lemon Cream Pasta with Shrimp , but since there is so much butter and cream in my recipes for Thursday, I'll stick with a baked pasta in tomato sauce, baked with some Spinach and Cheese Pasta Bake . Delicious.
For Wednesday night's dinner, I'll make a rustic Italian soup, Pasta and Bean Minestrone . The beans add good protein and the vegetables make it satisfying, yet light enough in advance of the holiday. I'll serve that with some cheesy breadsticks to make it a very satisying meal.
The Big Day
You'll probably think I am a nut, but I already have this day planned, and shopped for. I even have a drawing of which dishes go where in my ovens and on my stove. I am hoping to remain calm and cool, and get everything on the table perfectly. I'll let you know if it works! Beside the Anne/Alton turkey, and the potatoes (probably BOTH mashed and cheesy), I'll have sweet potatoes with the dreaded marshmallow topping my husband and daughter dearly love. I'll start with whole yams, peel and steam them early in the day, mash them with some butter and top them with the marshmallows. I'll have that done and standing by early in the day and pop them in to reheat and make the topping golden on the last half hour before dinner. On the Sunday before, I am making cheddar chive scones. I'll freeze them unbaked, then cook them just before dinner. They can go in the oven straight from the freezer and turn out really well. I thought about making herbed popovers, but with the gravy needing my last minute attention, I decided do ahead scones were a good choice, and the combination of the cheddar and chives is a standout. I have a fresh cranberry sauce I also make early in the week, which is cooked with dried cherries, cranberry juice, cranberries and currant jelly. I love do-ahead stuff. My other veggie dish besides the potatoes is Brussels sprouts, cooked on the stove with bacon. This is a total win-win-win dish, because my family loves them, my husband makes them AND they cook on the stove. That's a big plus when oven space is tight.
When the turkey comes out to rest (for at least 30 minutes) I'll pour off the pan drippings, let the fat separate and then use the fat to make a roux for my gravy. Remember equal parts flour and fat, cooked together till no lumps remain and the flour has a chance to cook, about 1 minute per tablespoon of fat. Then add the remaining, strained pan drippings and augment with chicken or turkey stock if needed, stir to boiling then continue until thickened.
An hour or so before serving I'll make a dressing. I don't stuff the turkey, because by the time the stuffing is hot enough to be safe to eat, the turkey would be very overdone and dry. I love several types of dressing, but my favorite is made from good sourdough bread left out overnight to dry. I combine it with sauteed celery and onion, pecans sauteed in butter, and then dried cranberries (craisons) for a sweet bite, and then my secret ingredient, prosciutto. I wanted to add some porky goodness, but I am not a big fan of Italian sausage, because I don't care for fennel, and I find it overwhelms everything you add it to. I also considered bacon (yay bacon!) but similarly, I didn't want to overwhelm it with bacon, so prosciuto it is. I'll taste it and if it isn't unctuous enough, I'll add pancetta. Pancetta is Italian bacon which isn't smoked like American bacon. It might be needed to get just the right amount of porky goodness.
If I have any turkey day advice, it would be to plan ahead, do as much as you can in advance, and then don't plan to have too much happening at the last moment. Hopefully you have good helpers and can delegate. A thermometer is really important. I like the kind where you can leave the thermometer in and set a temperature alarm.
Leftovers
Well sandwiches of course. I love to make a turkey sandwich on sourdough with mayonnaise and stuffing, warmed. A turkey melt is delicious as is a turkey, gravy and cranberry sandwich. I also use leftover cooked turkey in casseroles, rolled tacos, and enchiladas. I also love to load leftover turkey, vegetables and gravy into ramekins, top with puff pastry and baked up into individual pot pies. You can put leftover turkey, gravy and vegetables into a buttered dish and top with leftover mashed potatoes for a turkey shepherd's pie. You can also use a wide glass to cut circles of puff pastry or pie dough, stuff with leftovers, fold over, and crimp the edges to form delicious turkay empanadas. For all of the above, bake until golden. That's my plan for Friday and Saturday dinner.
And for next week ...
I'll meet you back here for more great dinner ideas. Have a wonderful time with your family.