Tomato Basil Bisque

  

1/2 cup butter 2 onions, finely chopped 2 stalks celery, finely chopped 2 carrots, finely chopped 5 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1 can tomato paste 8 cups chicken broth 2 (14.5 ounce) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes 1 or 2 cans Campbell's tomato soup 3 tablespoons white sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons basil 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream salt and black pepper to taste

1.	Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Cook and stir until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute longer, stirring constantly.
2.	Stir in the tomato paste, tomato soup, chicken broth, tomatoes, sugar, basil, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes until the vegetables are very tender.
3.	Cool slightly and blend or use a stick blender and puree in pan.
4.	Return the pureed soup to the saucepan and stir in the cream. Cook over medium heat until the soup is hot. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving

   

Sweet Potatoes from Nov. 2012 Thanksgiving

Ingredients

• 14 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato (about 5 pounds)
• 1/2 cup half-and-half $
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• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray $
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• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces $
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• 1/2 cup chopped pecans $
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Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Place potato in a Dutch oven, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 12 minutes or until tender. Drain.
3. Combine the half-and-half and next 4 ingredients (half-and-half through egg) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add potato to egg mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Spoon potato mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
4. Combine flour and sugar in a food processor; pulse to combine. Add chilled butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in pecans; sprinkle over potato mixture.
5. Cover and bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes or until the topping is browned and the potatoes are thoroughly heated.

Apple Crumb Pie (favorite apple pie)

 Pastry for singe-crust pie (9 inches)
6 cups-- peeled, sliced apples (abt 7)
2 T. butter
4 t. lemon juice
½ c. sugar
1 T. all-purpose flour
½ t. ground cinnamon
½ t. ground nutmeg

Topping:
½ c. all-purpose flour
½ c. sugar
¼ c. cold butter

Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry; flute edges.  In a bowl, combine the apples, butter, and lemon juice.  In a separate bowl , combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Mix together.  Spoon into the pastry shell.  For topping, combine flour and sugar in a bowl, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle over filling. 

Bake at 375 degrees for abt. 60 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the apples are tender.  Use a metal pie ring so the fluted crust doesn’t burn or use tin foil to make one.  Cool on a wire rack.   Yields 6 to 8 servings.

 

 

Gluten-free Chocolate Pie

Meringue Shell
2 egg whites, room temperature
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. cream of tartar
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. finely chopped nuts
1/2 t. vanilla

Filling
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
1 t. vanilla
1 (8 oz.) milk chocolate bar with almonds

For meringue shell:  In a medium bowl, beat egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until frothy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.  Fold in nuts and vanilla.  Spread into a greased 9-inch pie pan, building up on sides of pan.  Bake at 300 degrees F. for 50 minutes.  Cool completely.

For filling:  Whip cream with vanilla; set aside.  Break up three-fourths of a chocolate bar into pieces and melt in top of double boiler or microwave in a glass bowl.  When chocolate is just lukewarm, fold into whipped cream and vanilla.  Pile chocolate filling into cooled meringue shell.  Grate remaining chocolate to garnish pie.  Chill in refrigerator at least two hours before serving.  Makes 1 pie.  (from Lion House Pies)

Turkey--How to thaw and cook

Thaw and Cook Turkey  (FYI)

A frozen 20 pound bird can take four days to thaw in the refrigerator.  Plan on one day per 5 pounds of turkey and always thaw in the refrigerator. 

How long to roast:

Raw weight         Servings                   Roast time

12-14 lbs.            10-12                       2 - 2 ½ hours

15-17 lbs.            15-17 lbs.                2 ½ - 3 hours

18-22 lbs.            20-22                       3 – 31/2  hours  

It used to be that when you wanted to cook a turkey, you had only one choice:  FROZEN.  But now you can choose from fresh and kosher birds.  America’s Test Kitchen taste testers wondered whether there was a difference.  After tasking a number of turkeys—fresh, frozen and kosher—most tasters liked the flavor of the fresh turkeys when they were brined (soaked in a solution of water and salt before cooking).  Tasters thought they were dry when they weren’t brined.  When not brining, our tasters preferred the self-basting Butterball.  Because these turkeys are injected with a salt solution (hence the self-basting claim), tasters found them juicy and flavorful.  

Grandma Lola's Turkey and Dressing

Turkey and Dressing

1 large, thawed turkey

WASH IN COLD WATER   

Cut off tail

Cook all giblets and tail for stock in gravy for a long time with chicken bouillon

Melt butter to brush on turkey

Butter pan

Salt inside and out

Sprinkle bottom of pan with salt

Butter back of turkey and under wings

Place tin foil over turkey

2 loaves of bread (broken the night before)

5 onions (small)

1 stock of celery (chopped and par boiled in bouillon and cube of butter)

Butter

Grind or chop the onions (could brown the onions)

1 T. poultry seasoning

1 T. sage (add sage first)

Salt

Cook turkey until there is about 2 hours left.  Take out and put dressing under the turkey.  Put turkey back in and stir every 45 minutes or so.

WATCH

Make gravy with some drippings and with sauce from giblets

(Another recipe for Dressing)

Jan’s ‘In the Bird’ Stuffing

Enough for a 12 lb. Turkey

Divide in half for smaller Turkey or Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup melted butter

1 1/2 cups diced onion

3 cups diced celery

9 cups white bread cubes slightly slightly dried

3 tsp. salt

3 tsp. rubbed sage

2 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. summer savory

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 tsp. pepper

Turkey broth

Place bread cubes in large bowl. Add onion, celery and spices and stir to mix. Stir thoroughly to mix. Add broth (Can be stuffed into Turkey or Chicken just before roasting).

In the morning mix your stuffing dry ingredients following any recipe and place in a slow cooker on medium or low (depending on how soon you need it). Now add broth from the turkey and let cook throughout the day. If you like dryer stuffing use less broth and if you like moist stuffing add more.

* note - any leftover broth is great when added to the gravy so I can it all.

Make-Ahead Yummy Gravy

All-purpose gravy 

Makes about 2 cups

Prep time:  10 minutes

Total time:  55 minutes (includes 20 minutes simmering time)

You don’t need pan drippings to make great gravy.  This version relies on vegetables and chicken and beef broths for a rich, full-bodied gravy that can be served with almost any type of meat or poultry or simply over mashed potatoes.  If you would like to double the recipe, use a Dutch oven to give the vegetables ample room for browning and increase the cooking times by roughly 50 percent.  To prevent lumps from forming, be sure to whisk constantly when adding the broths.

3 T. unsalted butter

1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine

1 rib celery, chopped fine

1 onion, minced

¼ c. all-purpose flour

2 c. low-sodium chicken broth

2 c. low-sodium beef broth

1 bay leaf

1 t. minced fresh thyme or ¼ t. dried

5 whole black peppercorns

Salt and Pepper

1.      Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the vegetables and cook until softened and well browned, about 9 minutes.  Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly browned, about 5 minutes.

2.     Gradually whisk in the broths and bring to a boil.  Add the bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened 20 to 25 minutes, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface.

3.     Pour the gravy through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.  Discard the solids.  Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste.

Test Kitchen Tip:  The color and flavor of this gravy come from the cooking the vegetables and flour until they are well-browned.  It may seem as though they are turning too dark, but trust us, it is a step necessary to produce richly flavored and colored gravy.

To make ahead:  The gravy can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months.  Reheat over low heat, stirring to recombine, or microwave, stirring often, until warm and smooth, 1 to 3 minutes.  To thaw, place the gravy and 1 T. of water in a saucepan over low heat and bring to a simmer slowly.  The gravy may appear broken or curdled as it thaws, but a vigorous whisking will recombine it.

Cranberry Sauce

Skip the can:  Buy fresh cranberries and follow the recipe on the back of the bag, plus add one-quarter teaspoon of salt.  “It’s incredibly simply, can be made ahead, and it’s 10 times better than anything you can buy in a can.”  -- USA Today Nov 15, 2006 

                                                                                     The American’s Test Kitchen

From the Ocean Spray Cranberry Bag:

1 c. water

1 c. sugar

1 (12 oz) bag of frozen or fresh cranberries

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add cranberries and return to a boil  Reduce heat and  boil gently for ten minutes, stirring occasionally   Pour sauce into a bowl, cover and cool completely at room temperature.  Refrigerate until serving time.

Day-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

 12 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, cubed
¼ c. butter, softened
½ c. sour cream
½ c. milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 t. salt
¼ t. white pepper
¼ t. nutmeg

Boil potatoes in salted water in a large saucepan, cover and cook until tender.  Drain and place in large mixing bowl.  Mash or beat until smooth.  Add cream cheese and butter.  Beat until smooth and stir in sour cream

In small bowl, blend milk, eggs, onions and seasonings.  Add to potato mixture and whip until mixture is light and fluffy.

Put in 9” x 13” greased glass baking dish; cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.   Bake, uncovered, 45 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees or until puffed and golden brown.

FAVORITES, a Collection of Favorite Ivory Family Recipes, Third Edition, 2010, p. 123