Thanksgiving Dinner

This is not really compete but I'm posting anyway.  It covers what we did this past Thanksgiving

(revised Jan 26, 2021)

Turkey

Ingredients:

14 lb Turkey

Stuffing (see below)

Cooking bag

Flour

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F

Rinse turkey thoroughly and dry with paper towel. 

Remove and rinse giblets and set aside giblets.

Stuff turkey and place in cooking bag along with giblets and 2 table spoons flours.

Insert digital thermometer in the stuffing prior to sealing the bag.

Poke several holes in the bag with a fork. 

Start roasting the turkey at 350F for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 F

Roast until the turkey is 180 F, or the stuffing is 165 F (which ever happens last.). Assume about 3 1/2 hours for a stuffed 14 pound turkey.  (Note: the 18 pound  turkey I cooked several weeks later was also done in 3 1/2 hours.  What can I say.)

Stuffing

Ingredients:

8 cups dried white bread cut into cubes

2 cups Mushrooms sliced

2 teaspoons Tarragon

Heaping cup celery

Heaping half cup onion

1 Egg

7 tables spoons butter

1/2 table spoon salt 

3 table spoons milk

Instructions

Dice onions and celery keeping them separate.

Place dried bread cups in a large bowl and mix with tarragon salt and pepper.

Sauté onions and mushroom until soft and reduced, add celery and continue to sauté briefly

Mix sautéd vegetables with bread by hand. 

Beat egg with milk and add to the bread.

Mix thoroughly by hand.

Place in cavity of turkey.

Remaining stuffing can be baked separately in a covered greased casserole dish.  Bake at 325F for 60 minutes or until 165F.

Mix the two batches of stuffing (The portion from the turkey will be very moist.  The portion cooked separately will be relatively dry.  Mist together they are just right) 

Cranberry Sauce

Several versions used.  See earlier post for a unique version.  Canned cranberry sauce is perfectly OK as well.

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cans of cut green beans

1 can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup.

1 1/3 cups French's fried onions

Directions:

Follow directions on French's Fried Onions can

Sweet Potatoes (Draft)

can of sweet potatoes 

brown sugar

butter

Mashed Potatoes (Draft)

Peal cut into quarters and simmer until soft (usually about 50 minutes)

Mash with butter and cream as prefered.

Gravy (Draft)

Ingredients:

Turkey drippings

Water from boiled potatoes

Corn starch or flour

Instructions:

Draft

Pasta alla Vecchia

 

We had something like this at a bed and breakfast in Liguria some years back.  The recipe makes a main course for two people.  

Ingredients

250 grams spaghetti pasta

1+ tablespoon olive oil

Ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive pate'

8 oz cherry or grape tomatoes

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

Directions

Slice tomatoes in halves (if acidic, add a bit of sugar and mix with tomatoes)

Make pasta per package directions 

Drain pasta leaving a bit of pasta water and reserve 1 table spoon of pasta water.

Add olive oil and toss until lightly coated

Add olive pate' and mix well.

Mix reserved pasta water with ricotta then add to the spaghetti and mix well.

Add ground pepper and salt.

Serve.

Another Stir Fry Sauce

 I wanted something dark brown and a little thicker.  Thick is easy.  Just add corn starch.

Ingredients

8oz beef broth or bullion 

1/8th cup fish sauce

1/8th cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire  sauce

1/8 cup sesame oil 

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Ground black pepper as needed

(A little brown sugar would have been a good idea.  I add that net me.  Maybe a teaspoon.)

Corn starch as needed

3 cloves garlic diced

Any vegetables and/or meat you want (this is a good way of getting rid of odd amounts in the fridge.  Just make sure everything is still in good condition.)

Instructions

Add a couple table spoons of oil to a wok and add the diced garlic.  Bring up to temperature and brown the garlic slightly.  Then add your other vegetables.  

While the vegetables are frying.  

Add red pepper flakes.

Add ground pepper to your taste.

Mix all the liquid ingredients above into a large measuring cup and stir well. When the vegitables are approaching the desired texture, stir in the liquid sauce and allow it to come up to temperature.

Then added corn starch a bit at a time until the sauce has thickened slightly (a bit viscous but not a paste).

I generally fry meat separately and add it to wok at the end.

Serve over rice or scrambled eggs. 

Plum Sauce

Plume Sauce

For use as a glaze for pork or as a sauce for stir-fry.

Ingredients

About 10 plums (prune plums or similar)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions:

Pit and cut up plums

Simmer plums in a sauce pan with a splash of water.

Once the plums are starting to cook down, stir in sugar, salt and cayenne pepper.

Continue to simmer on low until the sauce has the desired constancy. 

Let cool and refrigerate until needed.

Fall Beef, Carrots and Tarragon

 

Came up with this on a very cold, wet, and extremely windy Nov 15, 2020.  Queen Bee said it was one of my best.

1 lb Beef stew meat

1 to 2 table spoons vegetable oil

1 Large onion

4 to 5 Carrots

3 Celery stalks

1 Teaspoon Provence Herbs

1/2 Teaspoon Tarragon

Salt

Pepper

1 Cup hot water with Beef bouillon(or Better tThan Bouillon) 

1/2 to 1 cup Sherry

1/2 cup Sour Cream

Instructions:

In an oven safe skillet...

- Slice and brown onion in oil

- While onions are browning, clean and slice carrots and celery into 1/4 inch pieces.

- Remove onions from skillet and add beef.  Brown lightly.

- Add onions, carrot, and celery.  Continue to sauté for about 5 minutes. 

- Add Provence Herbs and Tarragon.  Add a paper and salt as desired.  

- Add bouillon, cover and place in oven at 350 F.

- Bake for about 2 hours, adding Sherry as needed to maintain liquid. (Check and stir at 20 minute intervals)

- After 2 hours, remove from oven and place on range top.  Let cool about 5 minutes, than stir in sour cream.  Turn on burner to low for a few minutes while continuing to stir the sour cream into the mixture.

Serve over mashed potatoes or noodles.

Herb Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

1 table spoon oil
2 table spoons butter
4 chicken thighs (bone in and skin on)
1 table spoon Provence herbs
Salt
Pepper
1 medium onion diced
4 cloves garlic sliced
2 table spoons flour
1/4 cup sour cream

Instructions

Heat oil and butter in a frying pan (I use a teflon pan for this one)

Add chicken skin side down and fry until brown

Flip thighs skin side up, sprinkle with Provence herb, salt and pepper

Add garlic and diced onion

Turn down to a simmer and cover for 90 minutes, the simmering chicken will generate a significant amount of juice.

Mix flour and water to make a thickening paste.

Remove the chicken and set aside.

Stir in the flour and water mixture a bit at a time to thicken the juice into a gravy.

Stir in sour cream until well mixed.

Serve.  The gravy can be used with rice, potatoes, bread, etc...

Queen Bee really liked it.

Stir Fry Beef and Curry Rice

Figuring out how to make do tonight.  There's some beef roast that didn't get cooked last night, a partial box of chicken broth from a few nights ago, a bit of broccoli, a couple onions and one shallot that has been kicking around.  I also have some mixed nuts from Costco (think I'll sort out the cashews)

There is always rice, generic spices and condoments around the kitchen somewhere.

Here we go...

Ingredients: Curry Rice

2 cups chicken broth (I used the boxed broth from Costco)
1 cup dried rice
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Bring broth to a boil in a sauce pan
Add curry powder
Add pepper flakes
Add rice, turn down to a simmer and cover.
Simmer for about 30 minutes (as you normally would for rice)

Ingredients: Beef Stir Fry

1/2 to 3/4 lb lean beef sliced and cut into strips (I used eye of round roast)
1 head or 2 cups of broccoli florets
1 large or 2 medium onion chunked
1 shallot chunked
1/2 teaspoon dried garlic flakes
ground black pepper
1/2 cup cashews
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup Lee & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
Vegetable oil (I used peanut oil but some people are allergic to this, so be careful)

Heat 2 table spoons oil to a wok or frying pan.
Add onions and shallot and cook until they are partially brown
Add broccoli and garlic flakes, black pepper (to your preference) and fry for about 10 minutes on medium heat.  Add oil as needed if the wok begins to dry out.
Remove everything from the wok and set aside.
Add 2 table spoons oil and heat, and add beef.  Spread the beef evenly around the pan to brown.
Once the beef is mostly browned on all sides, add soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.  Stir well.
Return vegetables to the wok and heat everything through and mix so everything is coated in the sauce.

Serve the rice and serve the stir fry mixture over the rice.

It is actually quite good for something thrown together on the fly.

Chicken Paprika

To give credit where credit is due, I started with the recipe from a 1970's Good Housekeeping cook book...  but added from there.

1 to 2 tablespoons vegitable oil
2 chicken halves (one per serving)
1 medium onion coarsely chopped
3/4 cup bullion
1/4 cup Dry Marsala wine
1 table spoon dried minced garlic
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
1 cup sour cream
250 grams egg noodles.

Coat frying pan lightly with oil (12 inch Lodge iron pan in my car)
Bring up to temperature and add the chicken halves, skin side up.  Brown lightly then flip to skin side down and brown lightly on skin side.  Flip one more time and sprinkle chicken with paprika, salt and pepper.

Add onion and allow them to brown lightly.

Add bullion and Marsala, cover and simmer until cooked through and tender (about 30 minutes)

Remove chicken and set aside.

Stir in sour cream slowly, under low heat, until you have smooth sauce.  Do not allow the sauce to come to a boil.

Serve chicken along with noodles and cover with sauce.

Tomato Cream Pasta

Ingredients:

2 table spoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves diced
1 medium onion diced
One 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (Costco Kirkland in my case.)
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon Herbs De Provence
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Salt
Pepper
250 gram of pasta.  I used Garofalo Penne. (https://www.pasta-garofalo.com/us/)


Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  When it is up to temperature (a small drop of water should sizzle on the oil) add diced garlic and brown lightly, then add diced onions and partially cook them.

Added diced tomatoes including their liquid.  Simmer about 10 minutes until the liquid has condensed by half.  Add salt and pepper to taste starting with a half teaspoon of each.

Add 1 table spoon of butter, half cup white wine and one teaspoon of Herbs De Provence.  Simmer roughly 20 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half.

Stir in remaining butter and simmer on low for about until the butter is well integrated in the sauce  (about 10 minutes). Do not boil off much more liquid.  Mash down any remaining chunks of tomatoes with a spatula.

At the very end, slowly add the whipping cream and, while stirring, heat through.  Do not bring the sauce to a boil.

Serve over pasta.

Tangerine Shrimp

Tangerine Shrimp

Ingredients

20 raw pealed and cleaned shrimp
One table spoon olive oil
2 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon  paprika
1/2 teaspoon curry
Juice of one tangerine

Prepare shrimp (clean)

In a microwaveable container, heat (very briefly) two tablespoons butter to partially melt it. Remover from microwave an add curry, paprika, and ginger.  Set aside.

In a pan heat the oil (sprinkle with a drop or two of water to test if it is hot. water should sizzle a bit),  Add shrimp, and partially cook on both sides.  Stir in the butter mixture and continue to cook until the shrimp are cooked through, stirring occationally.  Turn of the burner.  Drizzle with the tangerine juice then serve.

We served along with black ben and broccoli.  Nice quick weekday meal.

Mushroom Pasta Sauce

Made this today for the two of us.  It goes with 250 grams of spaghetti

Ingredients:

12 to 14 oz white button mushrooms.
3 table spoons dry marsala wine
2 table spoons olive oil
2 table spoons butter
2 table spoons parmesan grated fine
1 table spoon dried parsley
2 to 3 diced garlic cloves
1/2 beef bouillon cube  (vegetable bouillon is an option)
1/4 cup full cream
salt
pepper

About 50 minutes before serving...

Clean and slice the button mushrooms. Dice up about on half of them.

Begin to heat the marsala in a sauce pan and add all the mushrooms, garlic, parsley and let the mixture begin to simmer covered (always covered until the cream is added at the end).  Add olive oil.

After about 20 minutes the mushrooms will have released a lot of liquid.  Break up the bouillon and add to the simmering mixture.

About 15 minutes before serving add the butter.  Add salt and pepper to  taste.

5 minutes before serving, add cream (very low simmer at this point).

Just before serving, fold in the grated parmesan

Serve over your favorite spaghetti.

Christmas and New Year Menus

Christmas Morning Breakfast

Pilsbury Pup-Up Cinnamon Rolls (large)
English Muffins/Hearty Bread for toast
Philidelphia Cream Cheese
Sliced Onions
Scrambled Eggs
Smoked Salmon (from Costco)
Fruit Bowl (Clementine Wedges and Sugared Cranberries)

Pre-dinner

Beer
Beverages
Light snacks


Christmas  Dinner

Tenderloin from Costco (Prime but not the trimmed version)
See: https://fromcondove.blogspot.com/2018/03/christmas-tenderloin.html for roasting suggestions

Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Cassorole (Campbell's  Mushroom Soup, frozen green beans, French's Onions) thaw beans ahead.  Bake it for 45 minutes.
Mushroom Gravy (Mushrooms, table spoon oil, 1/2 cup https://fromcondove.blogspot.com/2018/03/christmas-tenderloin.html wine, one cup veggie broth, (simmer until reduced by half); add Progresso Mushroom Soup, Sour Cream)
A main course item suitable for vegetarians
Roasted Olives
Good bread or rolls
Red and white wine
Ginger Cake with Cream Cheese and Cranbery frosting

New Year's Eve Dinner

Prosecco and white whine
Crab Cakes (tinned crab from Holiday Market) follow recipe from Joy of Cooking
Baguet
Buttered Peas
French fries
Follow with  Grass Hoppers for a toast to mom.