Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving my husband, the kids & I traveled to his Mom's house in Tacoma. Gerritt's godfather Ananth joined us as well. We cooked most of the food at our house in the morning & took it with us in order to fully enjoy visiting & relaxing with grandma. We were planning to deep fry the organic, free-range turkey I bought at Costco at one of the nearby Chinese restaurants for a small fee, however, the restaurant has discontinued this service. So we were responsible for providing the main course for the Thanksgiving dinner. We have not had a good experience baking turkey in the past (it turned out too dry), so we were understandably nervous. Thankfully, my husband has done some investigating & borrowed a tried-and-true brined turkey recipe from one of his coworkers. We were not going to rely on brining alone, so he bought the Reynolds Oven Bag to ensure a moist bird. Our efforts were successful as the turkey turned out great! I've immediately decided to post the turkey recipe on my blog (before it gets lost) & a few of my other favorite Thanksgiving dish recipes. Some day, Sophia & Gerritt may ask for family Thanksgiving recipes & here they will be for all to read!


Baked Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Preparation & cooking time: about 1 1/4 hours
Makes: about 2 cups, 8-12 servings

Ingredients:
One 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries, picked over & rinsed
1 1/4 cups of sugar
1/2 cups of orange flavored liquer (or orange juice)
1 tsp of grated orange peel (or more to taste)

Mix all ingredients in an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven, stirring occasionally, until berries are tender when pierced & juices are syrupy, about 1 hour. Serve warm or cool.


Sauteed Brussel Sprouts with Bacon & Dijon Mustard

Makes: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh Brussel sprouts
1/3 lb bacon (I like to use the nitrite-free turkey bacon from Trader Joe's)
1 Tbsp finelly chopped garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp maple syrup

Soak the sprouts for 10 minutes to clean them, then rinse under running water. Trim the bottom of each Brussel sprout & discard any tough outer leaves. Quater the sprouts.
In a large skillet, cook the bacon slices until they are fully cooked, but not crispy (an iron cast skillet is perfect for this). Remove when done & set aside, leaving the fat in the pan. If not enough fat was left, add additional coconut oil to the pan. Add the garlic & the sprouts to the pan at the same time. Saute the sprouts until they begin to turn golden, then add maple syrup, salt, pepper, Dijon & water. Stir well to combine. While the Brussel sprouts are cooking, cut the bacon into small pieces (1/4 inch or so) & add back to the pan with the sprouts & seasoning. Cook for about 2 minutes more, while stirring occasionally, until sprouts are barely limp. Taste & adjust seasoning. Serve immediately.



Roast Turkey with Sage Garlic Butter

Preparation & cooking time: 2 3/4 - 3 3/4 hours, plus overnight to brine
Makes: 12-16 servings

Ingredients:
Brine & Turkey
1 cup kosher salt
1 turkey (12-18 lbs) (I really liked the organic, free-range turkey from Costco)

Sage Garlic Butter
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
2 Tbsp chopped garlic

Gravy
1/2 cup flour
1 qt. reduced-sodium chicken broth, warmed
1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage leaves

1) Make brine: Boil 1 qt. water with salt in a pot, stirring until salt is dissolved. Add 2 qts. cold water & let cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, remove leg truss from turkey & discard. Remove neck, tail, & giblets & save for broth if you like. Pull off & discard lumps of fat. Rinse bird inside & out. Lower the turkey into a container big enough to hold it & cover with brine. If breast isn't submerged, make more brine, cool, & add. Chill, covered, at least 12 hours.
2) Make butter: In a food processor, whirl butter, sage, & garlic until smooth.
3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lift turkey from brine, rinse, & pat dry. Set turkey on a V-shaped rack in a 12- to 17-inch roasting pan (big enough so turkey fits inside rim).
4) Slide your fingers between skin & flesh of bird, turning bird to make pockets of space on the breast, back, & leg areas. Still using your fingers, slide about 1 Tbsp. sage butter at a time under skin in all the pockets. Place bird, breast up, on rack.
5) Roast turkey, basting occasionally with pan drippings, until a meat thermometer insterted straight down through thickest part of breast to the bone registers 160 degrees, 2-3 hours. Transfer turkey to a platter & tent with foil. Let rest in a warm place 15-30 minutes, then carve.
6) Meanwhile, make gravy: Pour drippings into a clear measuring cup, using a flat spatula to scrape off browned bits stuck to pan. Skim fat from drippings, reserve 1/4 cup of fat, & discard the rest. Measure drippings; add hot water if needed to make 1 cup total.
7) In a large frying pan, heat reserved fat over medium heat. Add flour & cook, whisking constantly, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add drippings, whisking into a smooth paste. Whisk in about 1/2 cup broth at a time, letting mixture come to a boil between additions. Stir in sage.

Make ahead: Chill sage garlic butter, covered, up to 4 days; bring to room temperature when ready to use.
Note: If you want a guaranteed moist turkey, bake the turkey in the Reynolds Oven Bag (turkey size). The bags are commonly sold in Safeway, QFC & Top Foods around holiday time. Just follow the directions on the package.


Pumpkin Pie

I've used a common pumpkin pie recipe, but added 1/2 cup of ground flax seeds (get your omega-3s whenever you can!) & substituted dry ginger with fresh ground ginger (to taste) for a more flavorful pie.


Gerritt enjoys playing with grandma


Sophia!


More love from grandma


Sophia & Daddy


The Thanksgiving table (Gerritt has his hands on what's important)