After cooking up a big Thanksgiving feast, I figure there’s no better way to kick off my blog than with some recipes and photos. Note: It may benefit you to read the “Notes” before you do any actual cooking. And without further ado, Thanksgiving dinner is go!
Here is the dinner spread:
It took about 10 hours to make everything, because what is seen here is only a fraction of what I actually ended up cooking; about twice as much overall. We had tons of leftovers before we even began eating. And then there were the pies… which were a whole other beast that I’ll get to later. But to start, there’s the turkey…
Herb Roasted Turkey Breast
Ingredients:
- 4-5 lb turkey breast (thawed)
- ½ cup butter (melted)
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (because this stuff is amazing with everything!)
- 1 14 oz. can of chicken broth
1. Preheat oven to 325o F.
2. Place the turkey in a roasting pan (I used a nice disposable one for easy cleanup. And it was made entirely from recycled aluminum, so double thumbs up!) and insert an ovenproof meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast. If a meat thermometer is not available, just be sure to cut into the roasted breast after completing the cooking time to check for pinkness.
3. Pour the 14 oz. can of chicken broth into the roasting pan so that it forms a shallow pool around the turkey breast. I’ve learned from experience that this really helps keep the breast juicy so as not to dry out in the cooking process. And yes, it is hard to word a sentence using the words “breast” and “juicy” together without sounding funny… Damn, too late.
4. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter with the thyme, salt, paprika, and parsley. Brush the melted butter mixture over the skin of the turkey breast. Doing so helps keep the skin from drying and gives it that herb flavor. If you don’t have a brush, just gently pour the mixture over the breast so as to coat it. Don’t worry, Julia Child is not standing beside you judging you harshly with her eyes.
5. Sprinkle the Old Bay Seasoning over the top of the coated breast. The amount doesn’t have to be precise, but I’ve found that this sprinkling helps add a nice browning to the top of the roasted breast as well as some of that tasty Old Bay flavor.
6. Cover the roasting pan with two sheets of aluminum foil so as to form a dome-like shape over the top of the pan.
7. Place the roasting pan in the center rack of the oven, and roast for 2 ½ hours. Be careful when placing the pan because if it is a slightly flimsy disposable pan (like the one I used) you run the risk of it bending and spilling out that layer of broth that the breast in sitting in.
8. After the breast has roasted for 2 ½ hours remove the aluminum foil dome from the pan and allow the turkey to continue to cook at 325o for another 25-30 minutes so as to brown the top of the breast.
9. Gently remove the pan from the oven and transfer the roasted turkey breast onto a serving plate. Slice and enjoy!
Note: If you like gravy with your turkey (like I do) you can make gravy using the pan drippings by adding some cornstarch for thickening. Just pour the pan drippings into a large measuring cup, and skim off the fat from the top. Next, add enough water to measure about 2 cups total liquid and transfer to a saucepan over medium heat. Once the drippings have reached a boil, mix in cornstarch 1 tsp at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Continue boiling and stirring for one minute afterwards before removing from the heat. As for me, I took the easy route and bought premade turkey gravy in jars. A lot less fuss, a lot less mess, and I was pressed for cooking time anyway. It was tasty just the same! Sometimes the easy route works out just fine.
Celery and Onion Stuffing
Ingredients:
- 14-16 oz. Stuffing mix or one 1 lb loaf of day-old white bread torn into pieces
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 3 stalks of celery (chopped)
- 1 14 oz. can of chicken broth
1. Preheat oven to 350o F.
2. In a skillet or pan, melt ¼ cup of the butter over medium heat. Toss in onion and celery and sauté until soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, toss in the stuffing mix or torn bread pieces. Melt and add in remaining ½ cup of butter. Pour in 14 oz. can of chicken broth and stir to coat and moisten the bread with the butter and broth.
4. Toss in sautéed vegetables and stir so that the entire mixture of stuffing and vegetables is evenly distributed.
5. Grease a deep casserole dish with cooking spray and pour in the stuffing mix. Pat down so as to form a generally even layer of stuffing.
6. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes.
7. After 35 minutes has passed, remove the aluminum foil cover from the dish and allow the stuffing to bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the top has slightly browned.
Note: I doubled this recipe so as to have lots of stuffing, and the cooking times remained the same. All it required was double the ingredients, and an extra-deep casserole dish.
Cautionary Tale: I forgot how badly peeling and chopping fresh onions can make you tear up! AUGH! It’s the worst! If you want to be merciful to yourself, you can always buy frozen chopped onions and use them just as easily. They may not be as fresh, but the sautéing process will make them taste great just the same. Best of all, you avoid the pains of chopping fresh onions. “Agggh! I’m gonna eat you, onions! I’m gonna eat you SO BAD!”
Red-Skinned Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
- 2-3 lbs red potatoes
- 2 tsps chopped garlic
- ¾ cup butter
- ½ cup half-and-half cream
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp Old Bay Seasoning (because it makes everything better!)
1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover them. Add the chopped garlic to the water to flavor the potatoes as they boil. Bring the pot to a boil and cook, stirring regularly, until the potatoes can easily be pierced with a fork. It is usually easier to select potatoes of generally even size so as to help them all cook evenly.
2. Drain the potatoes, and add the butter. Mash the potatoes until the butter is melted. Mix in the half-and-half, parsley, garlic powder, and Old Bay. If you like your potatoes extra garlicky feel free to add in extra garlic powder to your liking (I did). Continue to mash and mix the potatoes until they are smooth and evenly mixed.
Note: It’s best not to peel the potatoes so as to maintain their skin which really adds to the texture and flavor of the mashed potatoes. Make sure to wash the potatoes beforehand of course, and if you see any of those spuds growing some unwanted roots, just chop those parts off.
Cautionary Tale: As with all garlicky foods, excess is not always a good thing. Sure, garlic is tasty, but too much and you’ll be dealing with the dreaded garlic mouth. If you have a hot date, this can be a particularly nasty problem. In those situations it is best to ensure that you both eat garlicky foods so as to even the playing field. Then have yourselves a good ol’ breath-off and kiss like there’s no tomorrow!
Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients:
- 2 cups elbow macaroni
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup half-and-half cream
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup Italian bread crumbs
1. Preheat oven to 350o F.
2. Fill a large pot with water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once boiling, stir in the elbow macaroni and return to a boil. Cook the macaroni, stirring regularly, until the pasta is al dente, around 8-10 minutes.
3. Once al dente, drain the macaroni, set aside, and cover with foil to help retain its heat.
4. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and stir in the flour and mix until it forms a paste.
5. Gradually stir in the milk, and half-and-half into the butter and flour mixture. Pour in 2 cups of the cheddar cheese and ¼ cup of the parmesan cheese, and stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce mixture has thickened, about 7-10 minutes.
6. Add the cheese sauce in with the cooked macaroni and stir to coat. Pour the mixture into a greased large baking dish (I used a glass 9X13 dish, but still had enough to toss into a second casserole dish as well.).
7. Mix the ¾ cup of Italian bread crumbs with the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese and ¼ cup of parmesan cheese, and evenly scatter the mixture over the top of the macaroni.
8. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
Note: I used a bit more cheddar cheese in the sauce when I was cooking. I’ve always figured that the more cheese the better. If the sauce is too thick however, simply stir in more milk while in the sauce pan and stir until it has reached the desired consistency. A sauce that is too thick will not evenly cover all of the macaroni once tossed in. You’ll just end up with a hilarious (and probably delicious) ball of cheese sprinkled with macaroni pieces. Also, if you like the crust of your macaroni and cheese extra crusty, toss in more bread crumbs. A little can go a long way, but that top crust of cheese and bread crumbs is sooo good.
Garlic Cheddar Biscuits
Ingredients:
- 4 cups baking mix (I used Bisquick)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 1/3 cups water
- ½ cup butter (melted)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp parsley
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp Old Bay Seasoning (you’re probably noticing a trend by now… but just do it! I’ll explain later)
1. Preheat oven to 375o F.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the water and butter with the baking mix and mix until the dough is firm. Add in the cheese and the remaining ingredients, and stir until they all appear to be evenly dispersed throughout the dough.
3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with a non-stick cooking spray. Scoop out small balls of the dough and evenly distribute them on the prepared pan.
4. Bake on the center oven rack for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the biscuits appear to be golden brown on top.
Note: Depending on the size of the baking pans that you have available, you may need to use more than one here because this recipe makes quite a few little good-sized balls of biscuit dough. If need be, simply use a second pan, and if the two do not fit on the same rack, place one on a lower rack and swap the two every so often during the cooking process. This of course may result in a longer overall cooking time, but hey, more biscuits!
Old Bay Note: Why Old Bay? Why in biscuits?? Well, if you haven’t already guessed, this is actually the recipe for those Cheddar Bay Biscuits that they serve at Red Lobster. But rather than call them that (because this is Thanksgiving and Red Lobster has no place here!), I’ve gone with the simple garlic cheddar biscuits name. Still fits, right? As for the use of the Old Bay Seasoning, it just so happens that that is an essential ingredient in the original Cheddar Bay Biscuits (or so I am told). Where else do you think the “Bay” part of Cheddar Bay came from? Hmmm??! I doubt there is an actual Cheddar Bay out there somewhere. And if there is, then I want to go there, like right now, because that sounds delicious!
Okay, so that’s it for the actual Thanksgiving meal. It took an extremely long time because, like most people, I only have one oven, and I had to constantly rotate dishes through the dishwasher to ensure a constant stream of clean ones for use with each following food item. I mean, how many saucepans can one person have?? Not enough, I can assure you of that. And then there’s the matter of the pies. Oh those glorious pies. When I think of Thanksgiving, do I think of the turkey or the stuffing or the mashed potatoes? No! I think of the pies! If my pancreas could take it, I would just have a feast of pies every year. Wouldn’t we all? There are so many kinds of pies out there, and everyone is bound to find one that they love. As for this Thanksgiving in particular, I decided to try something a little out of the ordinary with my pie-making decisions. Two pie varieties that were new to me in that they were sweeter variations of some of the classics. Pumpkin pie? Apple pie? No. Chocolate Pumpkin and Caramel Apple pie! Great googly moogly! Let’s get cookin’!
Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
- 16 graham crackers
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsps light-brown sugar (packed)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup bittersweet chocolate
- ¾ cup milk chocolate
- 1 15 oz. can solid-pack pumpkin
- 1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
- ¾ cup light-brown sugar (packed)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1. Preheat the oven to 350o F.
2. To begin, you need to finely grind the graham crackers into crumbs. There are two ways to go about doing this. One way is simply and precise, the other is difficult, annoying, and imprecise. Guess which route I took? Route 1: If you have a food processor available, simply grind the graham crackers into crumbs and place into a bowl, nice and simple. Route 2: Why are you doing this to yourself? Don’t make my mistake! What, you don’t have a food processor either? Well hop on the fun bus, because things are about to get tedious! Place the graham crackers into a large Ziploc bag, remove as much air as possible from the bag, and zip it securely shut. Next, crush the heck out of those graham crackers! With what? Your hands, silly! Don’t use a hammer (trust me, I did this once, broke the bag, and was left with graham cracker bits in all the wrong places). Just crush them within the bag using your hands, and be sure to mix it around so as to crush every bit of graham cracker down to crumbs. Not as easy as it sounds, is it? Of course it’s not! You’ll be doing this for over ten minutes and still find little rebel graham cracker bits that pop out of the sea of crumbs to say hello and spit in your eye. Crush them! Crush them into oblivion! Crush them so hard that their great great great great grandmother Graham feels it! Do it! They’ll still deny you and you’ll never get the fine bunch of crumbs that a food processor would. Use that anger! Use that resentment! Show them that you don’t need some stinkin’ food processor to get the job done! Well, actually, you probably do… because even if you are crushing away at those buggers for a good half hour, you’ll still find little chunks to laugh at you. That’s okay though, you did your best. Give yourself a pat on the back. Find comfort in the fact that in a few short minutes those little deceitful buggers will be cooking inside at 350o oven. Yeah… who’s laughing now!
3. Once you have your graham cracker crumbs, toss them in a bowl and mix them with ½ cup of the melted butter, the 1 tbsp granulated sugar, the 2 tbsps of brown sugar, and ½ tsp ground cinnamon. Using a spoon, firmly press the graham cracker mixture into a deep 9 ½ inch pie dish so as to evenly cover the bottom and the sides. Bake the crust in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until firm.
4. Remove the crust from the oven and sprinkle your ¾ cup of bittersweet chocolate over the bottom of the crust and return the crust to the oven to melt the chocolate, around 1-2 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven again, and using a butter knife, spread the chocolate in a thin layer so as to cover the bottom and the sides of the graham cracker crust. Set the crust aside to cool.
5. In a mixing bowl, mix the pumpkin, evaporated milk, ¾ cup brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and then stir into the pumpkin mixture. In a microwave safe dish (I used a Pyrex measuring cup) combine ¼ cup butter with the milk chocolate chips and melt, about a minute on 60% power. Whisk the melted chocolate mixture into the pumpkin mixture, turning the orange pumpkin mixture slightly brown in color.
6. Transfer the crust and pie dish to a cookie sheet to avoid any problems from possible runoff. Be sure that the chocolate within the crust has cooled (otherwise it will mix with the filling), then pour the pumpkin mixture into the crust.
7. Bake until the center of the pie is firm yet still wobbly, for about 50 to 60 minutes. Once removed from oven, let the pie cool before transferring to the refrigerator to be chilled. The Chocolate Pumpkin Pie is best served chilled so as to maintain its firmness and really bring out the crunchy layer of bittersweet chocolate between the filling and the crust.
Pan Note: If you are using a simple disposable 9 ½ inch pie pan like I did, then all of these ingredient measures make enough for two pans worth of pies in both crust and filling. You may need to adjust the chocolate accordingly like I did, but it all turns out fine. And if you’re like me and made the mistake of buying a giant Costco sized can of pumpkin, guess what… you’re making 4 pies! Yep, just double all of the other ingredients and have at it. No one ever said that one can have too many pies. And if someone ever did, then they can just shut it. Pies are amazing. Your argument is invalid.
Butter Note: When making the graham cracker crust, more butter is better. ½ cup of butter is what I used when making my crusts, but it still left the crust a little crumbly post-baking. Go ahead and use a whole ¾ cups of butter or more here to ensure that your crust stays firm and together. Speaking of the crust…
Graham-Crackers-are-the-Devil Note: Seriously, just buy a food processor. Or you can always buy the pre-ground graham cracker crumbs from the grocery store. Or, even better yet, you can just buy a premade graham cracker crust and skip right to the melted bittersweet chocolate step. That’s what I would recommend. No need to be a hero here. I mean, sure you tried your best grinding up those graham crackers with your bare hands, and you deserve a gold star for your efforts. But this is Thanksgiving, give yourself a break. It’s nice to make everything from scratch, but in this case, go ahead and buy the premade crust. No one will think less of you (don’t look at me, Julia Child), and it’ll taste just as great. I promise. But if you did decide to tough it out and you made the graham cracker crust yourself, good for you. Enjoy every last crunch of that pie as you are eating it, and revel in the fact that those little graham cracker bastards are meeting their final destination… in your tummy.
Caramel Apple Pie
Ingredients:
- 4 prepared pie crusts (I went with the frozen Pillsbury brand pie crusts. Worked great)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 tbsps all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 10 granny smith apples
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 bag of caramels
1. Preheat oven to 425o F.
2. To start I should warn that this recipe makes two Caramel Apple pies. The original recipe that I spawned mine from said that it is only enough for one pie, but I say that they are a bunch of liars. I don’t know how deep their 9 ½ inch pie dishes were, but there’s no way I could have fit it all into one of mine. That’s why you are using 4 prepared pie crusts rather than two (which would be sufficient for only one pie). Unless you have an impossibly deep pie dish that stretches from here to Narnia, this recipe will make enough filling for two delicious 9 ½ inch deep caramel apple pies. The more pies, the merrier.
3. Peel, core, and slice apples into small chunks (about the size of the end of your thumb, 1 inch pieces). If you have an apple peeler and corer, good for you; I bet you had that food processor we needed earlier too. If not, then get ready to embark on the tedious task of peeling, coring, and slicing apples. Watch out for those fingers and don’t get carried away; cooking is made much more difficult when your fingers have apple-cutting battle wounds (again, from experience).
4. In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter and stir in the flour until if forms an even paste.
5. Add the water, vanilla, sugars, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice and bring the mixture to a boil.
6. Once the mixture has reached a boil, reduce the temperature and simmer while continuing to stir constantly.
7. Remove the caramel mixture from heat and pour it over the apples, tossing to coat.
8. Place a pie crust into the bottoms of each of two pie pans and gently press into the corners so as to form the bottom of the pies.
9. Fill both of the pies with equal portions of the apple caramel mixture, using excess apples to create a mound toward the center.
10. Unwrap the caramels (10-12 for each pie) and tear into quarters, evenly distributing throughout the mound of the apple caramel mixture.
11. Setting aside the two yet unused prepared pie crusts slice venting holes in the shape of leaves near the center of the crust dough (this is where things get artsy!). Removing the sliced dough portions, pinch each into place within the spaces left between the whole made by the slices (Use the photos for reference). Doing this not only helps by venting the pie during the cooking process, but it also leaves you with a nice little festive leaf design on the tops of your pies. Sure, you could just stab some are slits into the top of the pies like you do a TV dinner your about to throw into the microwave, but where is the fun in that?! Live it up, find art in your cooking, and it will show that you put more time and thought into your cooking. Alternatively, you could carve a jack-o-lantern face into the top of your pie crust. It will still achieve the desired venting effect, and you’re sure to drawn some attention from your friends and family who will be eventually eating this thing. Halloween was only a month ago, right? It’s still festive. Just don’t tell anyone that it was my idea. Send me photos though. I always enjoy a good laugh.
12. Pinch or flute the top and bottom pie crust together. Place the pies on a cookie sheet for possible runoff, and bake for 15 minutes.
13. After the 15 minutes is complete, reduce the oven temperature to 350o F and cover the pie crust continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes until the apples are soft.
Note: Making the caramel mixture in the saucepan can become a sticky brown mess if you don’t stir it constantly. Smell that awful burning smell? That’s the caramel mixture that you let burn to the sides of your sauce pan. Whoops! Just keep stirring and it will all be okay. Be sure not to leave it on medium heat for too long though or you will end up boiling off all of the water in your mixture. Just turn it down, let it simmer for a bit while you stir, then toss it in with the apples. Once you get the apples mixed in the caramel mixture you can breathe a sigh of relief because it will start to resemble what you expect from apple pie filling. As for that saucepan left with some sticky caramel sauce residue at the bottom… well, let’s just hope you are not the one on dishes duty following the cooking and eating of the Thanksgiving dinner.
And that’s it! Thanksgiving dinner and two different kinds of sweet pie variations. If you do decide to make the pies, I recommend making them the night beforehand as I did. I do not however recommend that you do as I did by starting the baking process at ten o’clock at night and finishing at seven in the morning. Just make a few pies, enjoy them, and let your friends and family share in the delicious outcome of your pie-making prowess. Don’t do like me, don’t aim for that all-night pie baking crown. I’m wearing that crown, and it tastes like nine pies worth of sleep deprivation, burnt caramel, and blind graham cracker crushing fury.
I hope you enjoyed the recipes. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!!
