Good Eats Roast Turkey

Good Eats Roast Turkey

"We've been using this recipe for our turkeys for several years now, except we don't roast it, still cook it in the Oven Bags!" -Christy

For the brine:

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

1 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 gallon vegetable stock

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger

1 gallon heavily iced water

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

For the aromatics:

1 red apple, sliced

1/2 onion, sliced

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup water

4 sprigs rosemary

6 leaves sage

Canola oil

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Recipe from Christy

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe.html

Christy's Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie

"This is my favorite pumpkin pie recipe, will never make it without cream cheese again!"

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 cup half-and-half

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional

1 piece pre-made pie dough

Whipped cream, for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

Recipe from Christy 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-pie-recipe.html

Thanksgiving holiday food

I seem to have misplaced my Thanksgiving notebook and am trying to recall all the things that we liked to include in the traditional Thanksgiving meal... what am I missing?

Main meal

• Turkey
• Gravy

Sides

• Stuffing
• Mashed Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Butternut Squash and Apples
• Cranberry Sauce
• Olives
• Pickles
• Deviled Eggs
• Grammie's Strawberry Jello (how could I forget this?!)

Vegetables

• Broccoli with Cheese Sauce
• Glazed carrots

Bread

• Rolls
• Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

Desserts

• Pumpkin Pie
• Mince Pie
• Chocolate Pie

What are some traditional foods that you have added to your Thanksgivings over the years?

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Jo and John's Pumpkin Cookies

Jo and John's Pumpkin Cookies



2 3/4 cup Flour
1 1/3 cup Oats
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 1/2 tsp Cinnamon*
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Nutmeg*
1 tsp Ginger*
1 tsp Cloves*
1 c. Butter, softened
1 c. Brown Sugar
1 c. Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla
1 c. Pumpkin puree
Optional: 1 c. m&ms, Chocolate Chips, Peanut Butter Chips, Raisins, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. In separate bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, sugar, egg, and vanilla until fluffy. Add to dry mixture alternately with pumpkin. Fold in remaining ingredients. Drop on lightly greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

* You could substitute 2 Tbsp Pumpkin Spice for these spices (see http://vannessrecipes.blogspot.com/2016/10/making-your-own-pumpkin-spice-blend.html )

Chinese Noodles Chocolate Candy

Chinese Noodles Chocolate Candy

 

4 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
4 cups Butterscotch Chips
2 8.5-oz cans of Chinese Noodles (Chow Mein)
1 jar or can of Cocktail Peanuts (optional)

Melt chips in pan until melted to a smooth paste, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add noodles and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls on greased trays (or waxed paper) or spread in buttered dish. Chill.

Notes:
* The chips can be melted in double boiler fashion, with a bowl set on top of a pan with boiling water. It is very easy to burn the chips if you melt them in a pan directly on the stove. They can also be melted in the microwave.
* It can be really difficult to cut the candy into pieces when it's spread in a buttered dish. It's worth the extra effort to drop by spoonfuls.

Cherry Glaze Dessert

Cherry Glaze Dessert



Graham Crackers, 20 or so
1 cube (1/2 cup) Butter, melted
1/2 cup Sugar

1 large Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup sifted Powdered Sugar
2 cans Comstock Original Country Cherry ready pie filling

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

Crush crackers* with rolling pin in plastic bag. Combine with butter and sugar; spread in bottom of 9x12 inch Pyrex pan. Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool.

Beat the Cream Cheese. Add powdered sugar; mix. Whip heavy whipping cream and fold into the cream cheese mixture. Pour over the graham cracker crust. Spread cherry pie filling on top. Chill overnight, or until set.

From Grammie Cressy

* see Tips and Tricks for Crushing Cookies for helpful suggestions

Cranberry Orange Bread

Cranberry Orange Bread

2 cups Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 c. Sugar
1 beaten Egg
1/2 c. Orange Juice
Grated rind of 1 Orange
2 Tbsp melted Butter
2 Tbsp Hot Water
1 c. raw whole Cranberries
1 c. chopped Walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Yield: 1 loaf

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl beat together egg, orange juice, orange rind, butter, and hot water; add to the dry mixture. Blend well but do not beat. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts (if desired).

Pour mixture into greased loaf pan and bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes (or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean). Cool 15 minutes before removing from pan.

From Country magazine

Creamy Sweet Potatoes

Creamy Sweet Potatoes

5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cooked (canned sweet potatoes also works!)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Miniature marshmallows (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, mash sweet potatoes. Add eggs, orange juice, butter, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and salt; mix well. Transfer to a greased 3-quart baking dish (or 9x13 inch pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until set. Top with marshmallows, if desired. Return to oven until they just begin to puff and melt, about 5-10 minutes.

Yield: 10-12 servings

From Taste of Home magazine

Butternut Squash with Apples

Butternut Squash with Apples

4-5 lbs Butternut Squash
4 Baking Apples
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Cinnamon

Cut squash in half, remove seeds and fibers; pare; cut in 1/2" slices. Pare and core apples; cut in 1/2" slices. Combine melted butter, sugar, flour, salt and cinnamon. Layer one half of squash in bottom of crock pot; top with half of apple slices and half of sugar mixture. Repeat layers.

Cook time options:
* Auto 5 hours
* High 3-4 hours
* Low 6-7 hours

Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

2 16-oz pkgs frozen broccoli florets
6 tbsp butter
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Paprika

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Slightly cook broccoli and spread in buttered 9x12 pan. Heat butter and flour in pan. Once butter is melted, add the salt, pepper, and milk. Stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Pour sauce over the broccoli and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

From Grammie Cressy

Grammie's Strawberry Jello

Grammie's Strawberry Jello

3- 3oz packages strawberry jello
4 c. hot water
3 medium bananas, mashed (about 1 c.)
8oz can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice, undrained
16 oz package unsweetened frozen strawberries, thawed slightly and sliced
1 pint sour cream






Combine the jello and hot water, stirring until dissolved.

Add the mashed bananas, pineapple and strawberries to jello mixture.

Put half of jello mixture in 9x13 pan. Let it set (at least one hour) in refrigerator, leaving the other half out at room temperature. Once the first layer is set, spread the sour cream on top and pour remaining jello over the sour cream. Refrigerate until fully set (at least a couple of hours).

From Grammie Cressy

Pilgrim's Pumpkin Bread or Muffins

Pilgrim's Pumpkin Bread or Muffins
Makes 2 loaves or 4 dozen muffins

2 1/2 c. unbleached flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
2/3 c. vegetable oil
2/3 c. water
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 c. pumpkin
1 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Beat together until well blended. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans (or muffin tins). Bake about an hour (muffins 20 minutes).

Recipe from Gladys Battson

Apple Snickers Dessert Trifle

Apple Snickers Dessert Trifle

Prep time: 10 mins
Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 10-15

Ingredients:
5-7 green apples
6 Snickers candy bars
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
1 tub Cool Whip

Instructions:
Prepare the instant pudding according to box directions. Place in refrigerator to set while you prep the other ingredients.
Wash, core, and chop apples into small bite-size pieces (you can toss the apples with a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning).
Chop Snickers bars into small chunks.
Layer the ingredients into a large trifle bowl. Begin with pudding, then cover with apples & Snickers. Repeat 1-2 more times. Then, top with a layer of Cool Whip and add some additional apple & candy pieces.

Notes:
There's really no way you can go wrong with this--add additional layers, add Cool Whip to each layer, use a few more or a few less of the apples or Snickers bars...you could even add a little caramel drizzle.
It keeps for a few days in the fridge, but it really is best served soon after making.

Stef's family serves this with holiday meals! They don't layer it, just mix it all together. This way it qualifies as a "salad" instead of a dessert!




http://www.momendeavors.com/2014/02/apple-snickers-dessert-trifle.html