I'll jump on the anti-frying bandwagon. 3 years ago I invited about 30 people over and did 2 turkeys. 1 deep-fried, and 1 smoked on the grill. I brined them both identically and out of 30 people I think maybe 3 actually preferred the deep-fried over the smoked. Here's how I do it these days: Brine the turkey the night before in water, salt, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. The following morning, pat it completely dry, and season the entire bird (top & bottom, inside & out) with salt & pepper and your favorite BBQ rub. I try to use one made for poultry or pork, or make your own. Quarter 1 yellow onion and 1 apple and shove it inside the bird. Lay down some bread in a roasting pan (use a shitty pan, it will get destroyed) and put the bird on top. The bread will keep the turkey from burning and sticking to the roasting pan. Drizzle the bird with olive oil and put inside a preheated gas grill. I heat 1 side of the grill to medium and place the bird on the opposite side. You could use charcoal if you wanted but I don't have the patience because it cooks for several hours. Place a smoker box filled with wood chips - I prefer maple & apple, but cherry or pear works fine too. Hickory or Mesquite is a little too much for turkey IMO. Use your digital thermometer placed into the deepest part of the thigh and cook to 175 degrees. Make sure you don't run the thermometer wire across the hot side of the grill. Trust me on this. Remove the turkey and cover with foil for 30 mins to let it rest. The smoke won't overpower the turkey if you don't soak the chips first and ends up tasting great with gravy. --- Couple of tips: I've used injections with this method before, and really haven't noticed any difference in moistness. In fact those butter marinades kinda detract from the turkey flavor I think. Learn how to carve a turkey properly. DON"T cut slices off the breast. DO remove the entire breast in 1 piece from the bird. Then slice cross-wise so you're going against the grain. You don't want to waste all day cooking a killer turkey just to fuck it up when you carve. I like using the grill because it frees my ovens up for sides & pies. Fuck, I'm hungry now.
I've been told I make a hell of a great red velvet cheesecake. So great I am consistently asked to bring it to any holiday get together. CRUST: 17 regular-sized Oreo cookies, crushed finely (I use the chocolate cream filled Oreos) ¼ cup butter, melted 1 Tbs granulated sugar CHEESECAKE: Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened 1½ cups granulated sugar 4 large eggs, lightly beaten 3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa 1 cup sour cream ½ cup buttermilk 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp distilled white vinegar Two 1-ounce bottles red food coloring FROSTING: One 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened ¼ cup butter, softened 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted 1 tsp vanilla extract 1. Prepare crust: Stir together oreo crumbs, melted butter, and 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar; press mixture into bottom of 9-inch springform pan. 2. Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare water bath: Fill large roasting pan (big enough for springform pan to fit into) with about 1 inch of water. Place in oven and allow to preheat along with the oven. 3. Prepare filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium-low speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add eggs and remaining cheesecake ingredients, mixing on low speed just until fully combined. Pour batter into prepared crust. 4. Take out two sheets of heavy duty foil and layer them on top of one another. Place springform pan on top of the foil and wrap the foil gently around the pan and up the sides. Make sure that there are no tears or holes and that the foil comes all the way up around all sides of the cake. Carefully place the foil-protected pan into the water bath in the preheated oven. 5. Bake for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300°F. Bake for an additional 75 minutes or until the center is firm. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven for 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven. Carefully remove cheesecake from water bath and place on wire rack. Run a thin knife around the outer edge of the cheesecake. Cool on rack for a couple of hours, until the cheesecake becomes close to room temperature. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours (or overnight). Remove sides of springform pan. 6. Prepare frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth. Spread evenly on top of cheesecake.
I also make a variation of the corn thing... (copied my post from the cooking thread) Chocolate Bundt Cake This is my own recipe... I modified one I found online years ago. I leave off the glaze (and keep it warm) until the cake is sliced and plated. It's deliciously moist and dense. CAKE 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup water 1/2 cup Kaluha (can be omitted but increase water by 1/2 cup) 6 squares (1 oz. each) semisweet baking chocolate 2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 large eggs CHOCOLATE GLAZE 2 squares (1 oz. each) semisweet baking chocolate 3 tablespoons butter 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted 1 teaspoon water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract CAKE: PREHEAT oven to 325° F. Grease 10-inch Bundt pan. Mix flour, baking soda and baking powder in small bowl. Bring water and Kaluha to a boil in small saucepan; remove from heat. Add 6 squares chocolate, stir until smooth. BEAT granulated sugar, butter and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat on high speed for 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture alternately with chocolate mixture. Pour into prepared Bundt pan. BAKE for 60 to 65 minutes or until pick comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes. Invert to cool completely & turn out. CHOCOLATE GLAZE: MELT 2 squares chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar alternately with water until of desired consistency. Stir in vanilla extract. Pastrami Dip This is a family favorite except we eat it with Nacho Cheese Doritos, not the bread. I dislike almost all the ingredients but together they are awesome. The amount of pastrami is up to you, depending on how 'meaty' you want it. I recommend trying it with Doritos. 1 cup Mayonnaise 1 cup sour cream 1 1/2 teaspoon minced onion 1 1/2 teaspoon dill weed 1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley 1/4 - 1/2 lb thin sliced pastrami, chopped Mix all ingredients and chill before serving. Hollow a round bread loaf and serve dip in the bread bowl. Cube the bread you remove & reserve for dipping. (or put it in a bowl and eat it with the Doritos like I told you to) Corn Casserole An easy side dish that we always have at Thanksgiving. 1 tsp butter 1 med onion, diced 1 cup sour cream 1 egg 16 oz. can creamed corn 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1 box corn muffin mix (Jiffy) 1/3 cup milk 1/4 teaspoon salt Saute onion in butter. Add sour cream, salt & 1/2 cup cheese. Set aside. Mix muffin mix with egg, milk & corn. Spread into greased 9x9 pan. Cover with sour cream mixture. Top with remaining cheese. Bake 25 - 30 minutes @ 425° F There are over 80 cookbooks in my house. I have a recipe for everything.
After you try this and come back looking for someone to green dot - remember that they go to tntnikki, not me. Newfoundland Savoury. It's proof that there is a god, who loves us and wants us to be happy while we eat Turkey. Turkey isn't a common thing here. Most people cook it way too dry and ruin it. My wife being a North American who can actually cook the shit right is a fucking life saver. Her dad posts us packets of savoury (which looks exactly like marijuana, and he insists on taking it out of the packet he buys it in and re packing it in Ziplock bags - which I'm sure confuses the fuck out of the dog handlers at the post office) and every year the line of people who want to come to Christmas at our house gets longer. We usually get about a dozen people ask us if Nikki will cook them a Turkey now.
Possumcoon Surprise Indgredients: 1 Big fucking possum 1 Big 'coon (A raccoon you racist bastards, you don't find these things in Watts.) A lot of other shit that you find handy. Directions: Shoot the possum. Shoot the raccoon. Shoot two if neccissary. Hell, shoot a every damn one you see, just because they're raccoons. Field dress. (The game you just killed not yourself, I'm not advocating hunting naked. Although there's nothing wrong with that unless you're really hairy and Sasquatch has been seen in your neck of the woods.) Pick the BB's out of the meat. Please. For God's sake those things will break a tooth. Drink a dozen or so beers. Go to the store and buy some more beer. Drink five more beers, grab your shotgun and fire a few rounds at the moon just to show your superiority. The moon is mocking you...if you look real close you can see it laughing. Fuck you moon. Fire off a few more shots at the neighbors for yelling at you. Go light a big fucking fire. Cut off the possum's tail and swing it over your head making helicopter noises. Laugh yourself silly and fall down, trying to avoid the fire. Trust me, rolling around in a fire does not make for a Happy Thanksgiving. Don't ask me how I know this. Wake up the next morning surrounded by dead animals, internal organs, empties, and a smoldering fire. Figure out where the rest of your beer is at, find it and drink it. And that's a Missississippi Thanksgiving. At least one of mine.
Being from the gulf coast, this is one of my favorites to make. Crabmeat Au Gratin 6 ounces butter 6 ounces flour 1 quart half and half 1 egg yolk 1-1/2 cups diced onion – sauteed in an additional 6 ounces butter Salt and pepper, to taste 1 pound crabmeat 6 ounces Parmesan cheese Melt butter and flour on medium heat, stirring for five minutes, but do not brown. Add half and half and bring to just a simmer. Turn Heat off. Place egg yolk in a bowl and add three to four ounces of hot cream sauce and mix well. Repeat this step with three to four more ounces of cream sauce. Add remaining cream sauce and blend well. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in the sauteed onion and crabmeat. Place in a casserole dish and top with parmesan cheese. Bake in 375 degree oven until lightly browned and bubbly.
I have a lot of recipes somewhere around. Some I've written and some come from an old crazy lady that I lived next to for a few years. I was always scared she wanted to rape me with a chef's knife but that old bat sure could cook. Here is one of her Thanksgiving recipes. Cajun Baked Cabbage Jambayala 1 small head of cabbage, chopped 1 can of Ro-tel tomatoes 1lb ground beef 1lb smoked sausage, cut in bite size pieces 1/4C. cooking oil 1 C. raw rice, uncooked 2 ribs of celery 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. chili powder Saute ground beef in oil. Season with your favorite seasoning, (such as salt & pepper or a spice blend) Add onion, celery and smoked sausage. Cook till onion and celery is clear (about 10 min.) Combine meat and rest of the ingredients and place in a large baking dish. Cover and bake at 275 for 2 hours, stirring about halfway through cooking time. This recipe makes a large amount. You can divide and make half of recipe.
This is a recipe my mom makes every year on Thanksgiving. It's the only time of the year she makes it (along with the occasional Christmas), and it's worth the wait. Because my parents are currently overseas, this will be my first year making it myself. Wish me luck. When done right, this stuff will make you cum in your pants. Sweet Potato Casserole 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (not that canned nonsense; use fresh sweet potatoes, sans skins) 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup melted butter 2 eggs, beaten 1 tsp. vanilla 1/3 cup milk Topping: 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup flour 2-1/2 Tbsp. melted butter 1/2 cup chopped pecans Mix together the first set of ingredients, and pour into a 9" x 13" pan (10" x 13" works too). Evenly cover with the topping. Cook for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.
This is our method. It tastes better when you incorporate the drippings in the pan at the end, but it still comes out good without that. Boil the giblets, including the neck, along with one carrot and one celery stalk, in about 2 quarts of water for an hour or so. Take out the liver about halfway through. Pull everything out, and pour the resulting broth in a saute pan. Pick the meat off the neck and toss it into he pan with the broth, then add two teaspoons of Gravy Master. Fill a 12oz glass halfway with water, and the rest of the way with flour, and stir it up, Then slowly add this to the pan while stirring over medium heat. When it thickens up, your'e done. Add more or less flour, depending on how thick you like your gravy, and a touch of salt.
I like to drape some thickly sliced bacon over the turkey while it cooks to help self-baste it, and add some great flavour to the potatoes later on. I usually take the roasting pan with the turkey bits and pieces found in the bottom of it, add some more pieces/parts that might be hanging off the bird, then slowly reduce it all in the liquid that has been collected, until the bits and pieces cook and brown and stick to the pan... almost to the point of burning. Then I deglaze those glorious bits of flavour with some white whine, add some chicken broth or vegetable stock (I buy the Campbell's tetris packs from Costco), and then thicken with a bit of flour or pureed potatoes (sometimes with a bit of leek in the puree). Reduce heat and let it slowly reduce and thicken. Not a fan of the overly floured or corn starched gravies... you know, the ones that set up in the fridge to be more gelatinous than the cranberry jelly.
Fried Turkey is in fact delicious, but it's pretty expensive to make a good size one with cost of peanut oil. In any event, Paula Dean's Sweet Potato Souffle. It's on the food network site and it's retarded. We made it as an experiment for the wife's birthday dinner and it was DESTROYED. So much butter, so much sugar. Definitely doing it for Thanksgiving.
My cousin once found a recipe for sweet potatoes in some magazine, and sine she cooked them, we've never made them any other way: Get enough sweet potatoes to feed whoever the hell you're gonna feed. Peel and slice those bad boys into apple slice sized pieces. Get enough Granny Smith apples that you can slice them and the sweet potatoes, and alternate slices of apple-sweet potato-apple-sweet potato in a shallow casserole dish. Feel me? One apple slice, one sweet potato slice. Come on, it doesn't take a Mensa membership. Put some pats of butter evenly over the apple/sweet potato line up. Drop as many whole cranberries as you'd like on there, more to look pretty than to eat. Put some brown sugar over them, too. Then, drizzle maple syrup on top of the whole thing. Bake at 350 until done. Enjoy.
Oyster Dressing 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups yellow onions, finely chopped 3/4 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped 3/4 cup celery, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon garlic minced 1/2 cup green onions, finely chopped green tops and whites 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped 1/2 cup chicken stock (or canned low-sodium chicken broth) 6 cups stale French bread, cubed 1 large egg 1 pint fresh oysters, drained, and their strained liquor 1 cup Parmesan cheese (grated) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heavily butter a 2-quart baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside. Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell pepper, celery, salt, cayenne, and bay leaves to the pan and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, green onions, and parsley, and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir the chicken stock into the vegetables and remove from the heat. Add the bread cubes and stir well to incorporate. Break the egg into the mixture and stir well, then add the oysters and their liquor, and the cheese. Pour the oyster dressing into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and bubbling on top, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Ran out of Quik powder the other day, improvised myself a better hot cocoa. What you need : - milk (3.25% is better, 2% is ok) - cocoa - brown sugar - a tiny bit of butter ( for that creamy taste ) Put it all in a pot and leave it on low heat ( this is a slow brew). Keep stirring to integrate the cocoa. Quantities depend on taste, but for every teaspoon of cocoa, I like to put in 6-8 of brown sugar ( I like it sweet) . Leave the little bit of butter to melt over time (floating around the pot).
I've had various versions of sweet potato casserole over the years. I have a vague memory a long time ago of a version that had both marshmallows and the crunchy brown sugar/pecan topping. I'd love to do that, but most of the recipes I've seen online only have one or the other. Have you ever had it with both? If so, do you mix it together and sprinkle it on top, or do you do layers? If you do layers, which layer goes on first - marshmallows or the crumble?
So a lot of people seem to make sweet potatoes. All well and good, but frankly the marshmallows and all that shit is pretty gross to me. If you want to try something new, do this: Go out and get either pre-cubed Butternut Squash, or a whole squash. I recommend getting pre-cut if available. Whole Paycheck usually has pre-cut at this time of year: 1 2 1/4-pound butternut squash, halved, seeded, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch cubes 3 tablespoons butter, melted 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves Heat your oven to 375, pour the melted butter over the squash in a bowl. Mix all the spices with the sugar, then pour half into the bowl of squash, mix, and then add the rest and mix. Pour it into a baking dish, bake for about 45 minutes, or until the squash is tender. It is vaguely like sweet potato, but also like pumpkin pie.
This recipe is from Bon Apatite that is part of a larger recipe for a whole turkey and what not. The turkey is so-so, but as someone who usually makes gravy without a recipe for any other meat, this is the only thing I use for turkey. It is labor intensive, but if you make the base the night before, you are set. I have modified it a bit as most people use their own turkey recipe, but this is more or less of this is verbatim from the magazine: Gravy base 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 pounds turkey necks and/or wings 2 cups diced onions 1 cup diced peeled carrots 1 cup diced celery 10 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth 1/4 cup flour Unsalted butter and low salt broth are really important. Melt butter in heavy large deep skillet over high heat. Add turkey necks and/or wings and sauté until deep brown, about 15 minutes. Add onions, carrots, and celery and sauté until vegetables are deep brown, about 15 minutes. Add 6 cups chicken broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour gravy base through strainer set over 4-cup measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract liquid. If necessary, add enough chicken broth to gravy base to measure 4 cups. (Gravy base can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before using.) So in the course of cooking your turkey, add an additional 3 cups and 3 tablespoons of butter to the bottom of the roasting pan. You can baste if you want, but I don't think basting really does much. So after the bird is done: Strain pan juices into bowl; whisk in gravy base. Melt reserved 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat; add flour and whisk constantly until roux is golden brown, about 6 minutes. Gradually add pan juice-gravy base mixture; increase heat and whisk constantly until gravy thickens, boils, and is smooth. Reduce heat to medium; boil gently until gravy is reduced to 4 1/2 cups, whisking often, about 10 minutes. Season gravy with salt and pepper. Make sure the roux doesn't get too brown, as I have found this can add a bit of a burned flavor. Don't bother with a fat separator unless you really notice that there is a lot in there.
I love doing buttered squash but like a creme brule. Take the brown sugar and clove and pepper and caramelize it over the top in creme brule dishes. Awesome.