Carolyn’s MotherSip Thanksgiving Feast!
Growing up, my Mom used to always say that Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday. It would blow my mind as a kid because how could that be? We don’t get any presents on Thanksgiving! But, as I’ve grown older, I now realize where she was coming from. Thanksgiving is all about gathering with your loved ones and eating delicious food. A LOT of delicious food! What’s not to love about that? No stress from trying to find the perfect present or trying to remember who gave you what last year so you don’t re-gift it this year to the same person. Nope, just lots and lots of delicious food…and football, Go Cowboys! I’m a Denver Broncos fan through and through, but on Thanksgiving, it’s all about America’s second favorite team, the Cowboys. (Alisha is going to love that!)
As we all prepare for this amazing holiday, even though our gatherings this year are likely to be smaller than usual, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite go-to Thanksgiving recipes.
In order to keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed, please feel free to take advantage of my Type A personality and follow the below plan so you can make as much as you can in advance of the big day.
Here is my Thanksgiving week plan:
Monday: If using a frozen turkey, put in refrigerator to thaw. If it is a big turkey, you may need to do this on Sunday. Check the package thawing instructions to be sure.
Tuesday: Make Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart
Wednesday: Put Turkey in brine in the morning. Make mashed potatoes. Prep sweet potatoes (up until the point that you put the marshmallows on top) creamed spinach (up until the point you put in the oven) Green Bean Casserole (up until the point you put it in the oven the first time) and green chile corn pudding. Put these prepped dishes in the refrigerator, covered.
Thanksgiving Thursday:
Morning:
Start roasting the turkey
Start the turkey broth
One hour before the turkey comes out of the oven:
Put together Mac and Cheese
Pull green bean casserole, creamed spinach, green chile corn pudding out of the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature.
30 minutes before the Turkey comes out of the oven:
Start baking Mac and Cheese
Start baking Green Chile Corn Pudding
When the turkey comes out of the oven and is resting:
Start baking Green Bean Casserole
Start baking Creamed Spinach
Make Gravy
Warm up Mashed Potatoes
Here are all of my favorite Thanksgiving Recipes:
Plus a few of my favorites from other chefs: Cauliflower with Pumpkin Seeds, Brown Butter and Lime (Bon Appetit), Coconut-Marshmallow Spiced Sweet Potatoes (Whole Foods), and Pumpkin Banana Moose Tart.
Buttermilk Brine for a Whole Turkey
When I discovered the brining technique for poultry, it was literally life changing. I prefer to buy my turkey fresh, but if you are working with a frozen turkey, you will want a fully defrosted turkey before you put it in the brine, so try to time it so it is just barely all the way thawed the day before Thanksgiving so that you have a full 24 hours for it to sit in the brine before you need to put it in the oven. If you thaw it too far in advance, it could spoil. I use buttermilk in my poultry brines. The acid in the buttermilk breaks down the meat so it is tender and juicy. The garlic, onion, hot sauce, salt and pepper add a tremendous amount of flavor. It is almost impossible to overcook or dry out a turkey that has been brined in buttermilk.
Ingredients:
1 bulb of fresh garlic cloves, roughly chopped, (skin can be left on)
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
3-4 quarts Buttermilk, depending on the size of your turkey
Few dashes of Franks Red Hot Sauce
3 TBS Kosher Salt
2 tsp freshly ground pepper
3 tsp sugar
Directions:
In a large pot mix together one quart of buttermilk, garlic, onion, hot sauce, salt, pepper and sugar. Remove the gizzards, neckbone, etc. from the cavity of the turkey and set aside in the refrigerator and use later for gravy. Add the turkey, breast side facing toward the bottom of the pot. Add more buttermilk until the pot is completely full and the turkey is fully submerged. Mix the brine together with your hands. Cover tightly and let sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Rotate the turkey and mix the brine a few times, if possible, but keep the breast facing down so it is fully submerged.
Cooking the Turkey
Ingredients:
1 lemon sliced into eight slices
1 small yellow onion, large dice
1 bunch of fresh garlic cloves, cut in half
1 package of fresh poultry seasoning (usually thyme, rosemary, sage and oregano)
1 stick of butter softened but not melted
A shit-ton of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:
About an hour before you need to start cooking the turkey, pull it out of the brine and drain all of the buttermilk. Gently pat dry with paper towels. Season the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper. Bend the wings back so that the turkey is sort of propped up on the wings. Stuff the cavity of the turkey with the lemon slices, onion, garlic, and herbs. Use kitchen string to tie the legs closed. Use your hands to spread the butter all over the outside of the turkey. Spread it as evenly as possible. Cover with a generous layer of kosher salt and pepper. The kosher salt not only provides amazing seasoning, but it also acts as a barrier from the heat of the oven and keeps the skin from burning. Roast at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes per pound, until a thermometer inserted into the thigh reaches 180 degrees. Gently cover, loosely, with foil and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes. Even though the cavity of the turkey is stuffed with lemon and herbs, it is considered an “unstuffed” turkey. You need to cook a turkey that is stuffed with bread or cornbread stuffing longer, but not this turkey because air and heat are still able to circulate through the cavity. I always review the package roasting directions as there are usually a lot of great tips!
Mashed Potatoes
We love cauliflower in our household, but this is the day to leave that stuff in the refrigerator and treat yo’ self to some real potatoes! Yellow gold potatoes are creamier than russet, and real butter and cream add flavor and elevated deliciousness. Take the time to cook the potatoes in large chunks to keep them from getting too watered down.
Ingredients:
5lb bag of yellow gold potatoes, peeled and cut in half
½ C of butter
About 2C heavy cream, warm
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Place potatoes in pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes. Test the potatoes with a fork to make sure they are soft and break apart easily. Cook a little longer if necessary, you don’t want to under cook the potatoes. Drain the potatoes being mindful to get all of the water out of the colander. Return to warm pan and add butter, salt and pepper. Mash with potato masher until smooth and creamy. Add cream a little at a time until you reach a good consistency. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
Gravy
After I put the turkey in the oven, I put the gizzards, neck bone (and all of the other weird stuff that comes in the package stuffed in the cavity of the turkey) into a large pot with some celery, carrots, a chopped onion, six cloves of garlic, salt, pepper and about 8-10 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few hours while the turkey cooks. When I’m ready to make gravy, I strain the broth and discard the chunks. Also, when you take the turkey out of the oven to rest, pull out some of the pan drippings and set aside for the gravy.
Ingredients:
½ C butter
½ C flour
6 C homemade turkey broth (see description above) or chicken broth
½ C heavy cream, warm
Pan drippings from the turkey
Pepper
Directions:
In a large pan over medium to medium low heat, melt butter. Add flour and cook for two minutes, whisking constantly and creating a rue. Whisk in about a quarter to half a cup of pan drippings from the turkey pan. The pan drippings will be salty, so be careful not to add too much. You can always add more later. Slowly add cream and broth to the rue, about a cup of liquid at a time, whisking constantly to make sure there not any lumps from the flour. Continue to add broth until you reach your desired gravy consistency. Taste and add more pan drippings and/or broth to the gravy until the consistency and flavor is exactly how you like it.
Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:
10 ½ oz can cream of mushroom soup
½ C whole milk
2 tsp. soy sauce
½ tsp. black pepper
Two 14 ½ oz cans of green beans, drained (French or cut style)
2.8 oz container french fried onions
Directions:
Grease a casserole dish with non-stick oil spray or butter. Add the soup, whole milk, soy sauce, pepper, green beans and half of the onions and mix well. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and gently stir. Top with the remaining onions and bake 10 more minutes.
Creamed Spinach
Ingredients:
15oz fresh spinach
3 Tbls. butter
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion
2 Tbls. flour
½ C heavy cream (warm)
1 C milk (warm)
¾ C shredded parmesan cheese
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. pepper
3 Tbls. real mayonnaise
Directions:
Sautee spinach about 3-5 minutes until fully cooked. Place in kitchen towels and squeeze all of the liquid out. Chop and set aside. Slowly sauté onions in butter over medium to medium low heat, until onions are clear. Add garlic and cook five minutes. Add flour and cook two minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly add milk and cream, a little bit at a time (the mixture should get thicker) Remove from heat and mix in ½ C of the parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, mayo and spinach. Pour into an 8x8 square pan or small casserole dish and top with remaining ¼ C parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. You can make this dish one day in advance by following all of the steps through adding the parmesan cheese. Cover and keep in the refrigerator, pull out an hour before you need to bake it for the big dinner.
Green Chile Corn Pudding
Ingredients:
½ C butter, plus more for greasing dish
3 C frozen corn kernels
2 eggs
1 C sour cream
12 oz pepper jack cheese, cut into ¼ inch cubes
½ C cornmeal
4oz can of diced green chiles, drained
2 oz canned diced jalapenos
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. black pepper
½ C parmesan cheese, shredded
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a square 8x8 casserole dish with butter and set aside. In a food processor puree one cup of the corn kernels with melted butter and eggs. In a large bowl, combine remaining corn kernels, sour cream, pepper jack cheese cubes, cornmeal, green chiles, jalapenos, salt and pepper. Add pureed corn mixture and mix well. Pour into prepared casserole dish and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour, until puffed and golden. When you shake the pan, the center shouldn’t jiggle and should be set.
Mac and Cheese
Ingredients:
2 Tbls. butter, divided
1 C whole fat cottage cheese
2 C whole milk
1 tsp. dry ground mustard
4 dashes Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
Pinch of nutmeg
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. black pepper
One pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
½ pound small elbow macaroni pasta, uncooked
½ C shredded parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large casserole dish with one tablespoon butter. In a blender or food processer, puree cottage cheese, milk, mustard, Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, nutmeg, salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine cheddar cheese, milk mixture, and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes. Cut remaining tablespoon of butter into six cubes. Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and dot with butter cubes, evenly spaced across the top of the dish. Bake uncovered 30 minutes more. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Here are three more recipes that I think are amazing and wouldn’t change a thing:
Cauliflower with Pumpkin Seeds, Brown Butter and Lime (Bon Appetit)
Coconut-Marshmallow Spiced Sweet Potatoes (Whole Foods)
Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart (Ina Garten)
We are grateful for our listeners and readers! Have a wonderful holiday and stay safe and healthy!
With Love - Alana, Alisha, and Carolyn
