Heading out to buy your some of the ingredients in your Thanksgiving menu? Are you already prepared? Do you need some help in deciding what you want to cook in order to prepare the most wonderful Thanksgiving feast for your family and friends? Then you might want to stick in just a bit and read on.
Thanksgiving Day a feast that lightens up our table with dozens of food. Turkey has long been connected with the holiday and most of the American homes make it the centerpiece of all the food surrounding it.
Like any other holidays, Thanksgiving is one of those that make any moms pressured and stressed out from shopping the ingredients and your turkey to the preparation of all the food in your menu. To help moms out there that still don't have a menu and recipe at hand, here are the Top 5 foods that are most commonly prepared this Thanksgiving.
Let's start from the bottom:
Top 5: Green Beans
Green Beans are really common in a Thanksgiving dinner. I noticed that a lot of food blogs that I’m reading offers a variety of ways you can make a Green Bean dish. Most common dish is the Green Bean Casserole but some folks don’t like it and prefer to have a lighter one with Lemon Juice and Toasted nuts. Love ‘em or Hate ‘em, these beans are here to stay.
Rachel Ray’s Green Bean Casserole
(source:rachaelraymag.com)
Ingredients
• 2 pounds green beans, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced separately
• 1 10 ounce package sliced mushrooms
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup crushed potato chips
Directions
1. Fill a medium skillet with enough water to reach a depth of half an inch. Bring to a boil, then add the green beans, lower the heat, cover and simmer, until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water until cool. Transfer to a serving dish.
2. Using the same skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the scallion whites and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until golden-brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the flour for 1 minute (the mixture will be dry). Gradually stir in the chicken broth and cream until thickened. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the scallion greens and remove from the heat.
3. Spoon the sauce over the green beans and sprinkle the potato chips on top.
Top 4: Stuffing
If there is a turkey then this surely will be in your list. Stuffing is a mix of food that you put in your turkey. Top Chefs said that you shouldn’t over-stuff your Turkey because it might get all the moisture. Great stuffing comes in slightly dry and crumbly.
Martha Stewart's Cornbread, Bacon, Leek, and Pecan Stuffing
(source:marthastewart.com)
Ingredients
• 2 cups pecans
• 2 cornbreads (rounds, squares, or loaves, 8 inches each), coarsely broken into 2-inch pieces (16 cups)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for dish
• 8 slices smoked bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 celery stalks, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 leeks (white and pale-green parts only), chopped into 1/2-inch pieces, rinsed well
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 1/2 cups Homemade Turkey Stock, Chicken Stock, or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in oven for 7 minutes. Let cool slightly; coarsely chop. Mix together pecans and cornbread in a large bowl.
2. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cook bacon in a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat until almost crisp, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; add celery and leeks. Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in thyme and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt; season with pepper. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Return skillet to medium-high heat, and add stock; bring to a simmer, scraping up brown bits and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Add to bowl with bacon-vegetable mixture. Stir in eggs. Gently mix in cornbread mixture. (Do not over mix.) Transfer to baking dish. Dot top with butter. Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes.
Top 3: Cranberry Sauce
Often debated whether call it Cranberry Sauce or Cranberry Jelly. It's a relish or sauce made out of, what else, Cranberries. Cranberry sauce is commonly associated in parts like North America and in the UK. Whatever you intend to call it; it's still one of the foods that will be prepared in Thanksgiving.
Bobby Flay's Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce with Pinot and Figs
(source: foodnetwork.com)
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups pinot noir
• 12 dried figs, halved if small, quartered if large
• Base Cranberry Sauce, recipe follows
• 2 tablespoons high-quality balsamic vinegar
Directions
Bring the wine to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the figs and let soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Drain, and add the chopped figs to the Base Cranberry Sauce and cook another minute or so. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, and, if desired, stir some of the soaking liquid into the finished sauce.
Base Cranberry Sauce:
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries
Directions
1. Heat the canola oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the ginger and shallots and cook, stirring, until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar, honey, orange juice, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves and mixture is nice and bubbly.
2. Add half the cranberries and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries pop and the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining cranberries and cook another 5 minutes or so.
Top 2: Pumpkin Pie
One thing that I noticed is that when you say thanksgiving the first thing people will think is Turkey and the second is Pumpkin Pie. When I do search most commonly it will display recipes about turkey and then next is the Pumpkin Pie. I was always curious about the impact of Pumpkin Pie have to American culture. Maybe understanding it will be a little hard without using my taste buds.
Giada De Laurentiis' Persimmon-Pumpkin Pie
(source: foodnetwork.com)
Ingredients
Crust:
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
• 3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese, chilled
• 2 to 3 tablespoons apricot preserves
Filling:
• 1 cup canned pure pumpkin
• Two 6- to 7-ounce ripe Fuyu persimmons, trimmed, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (or 1 cup of persimmon pulp from two 6- to 7-ounce very ripe Hachiya persimmons)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup mascarpone
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• Powdered sugar, for dusting
Directions
1. Cook's Note: To remove the pulp from Hachiya persimmons, remove the top with a knife and scoop out the pulp with a spoon.
2. For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9-inch-diameter glass or ceramic pie dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.
3. In a food processor, blend the flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add the butter and mascarpone cheese and blend until moist clumps form. Gather the dough into a ball. Drop 2-inch pieces of dough over the bottom and sides of the pie dish. Using moist fingertips press the dough together to form a smooth crust. Using the tines of a fork, prick the dough all over.
4. Bake the crust until the edge is browned and the center of the crust is pale golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer the crust to a work surface. Brush the bottom and sides of the crust with apricot preserves.
5. For the filling: In a food processor, combine the pumpkin and persimmon. Blend until smooth. Add the sugar, mascarpone, cream, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and eggs. Blend until smooth. Pour the filling into the cooked crust.
6. Bake the pie until slits or cracks appear around the edge and the center is set, about 35 minutes. Cool the pie on a rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Bake and cool to room temperature. Cover loosely with plastic wraps and refrigerate.)
7. Just before serving, dust the top of the pie with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges and serve.
Top 1: The Perfect Turkey
Of course, the perfect Turkey! Who would ever forget about this favorite big bird especially on Thanksgiving? This is most usually the centerpiece of all the food in a Thanksgiving dinner. You can buy one or cook one whichever you prefer to do. Just make sure that you follow food safety procedures.
Tyler Florence's Maple-Roasted Turkey with Sage, Smoked Bacon, and Cornbread Stuffing
(source: foodnetwork.com)
Ingredients
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 bunch fresh sage, leaves finely chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 1 loaf cornbread, cubed (about 6 cups)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 (12 to 14 pound) fresh turkey
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 8 strips smoked bacon
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and remove the top rack.
2. Combine the butter and sage in a mixing bowl, mash with a fork or spoon until the sage is well incorporated and the butter has flecks of green in it; season with salt and pepper.
3. In a saute pan, melt 4 tablespoons of the sage butter, add the onions, cook and stir for 15 minutes until soft and golden. Remove from heat. Put the cornbread in a large mixing bowl and scrape the sautéed onion mixture on top. Add the egg, heavy cream, and just enough chicken stock to moisten the stuffing without making it soggy (about 1/2 cup.) Toss well to combine, season with salt and pepper.
4. Remove the neck and gizzards from the inside of the turkey and discard. Rinse the bird thoroughly inside and out with cold water, pat dry. Sprinkle the cavity and skin liberally with salt and pepper. Using your fingers, gently lift the skin from the breast and legs, and slip pieces of the sage butter underneath; massaging it in as you go. Fill the bird with the cornbread stuffing without packing too tightly; cook the remaining stuffing separately in a buttered baking dish. Truss the turkey; place it on a rack in a large roasting pan, and put into the oven.
5. Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and hot water to thin the glaze out a bit; use this to baste the turkey every 30 minutes. The turkey should take about 3 hours to cook (i.e. 15 to 20 minutes per pound.) If the legs or breast brown too quickly, cover with foil.
6. About 2 hours into cooking, shingle the strips of bacon oven the turkey breast to cover; continue to roast and baste for another hour or so. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meatiest part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F (the thigh juices will also run clear when pricked with a knife.) Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes before carving, so the juices can settle back into the meat.
7. Skim off the excess fat from the pan drippings with a spoon and place the roasting pan over 2 burners set on medium-high heat. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up brown bits stuck to bottom of pan. Whisk the flour into the drippings, stirring as it thickens to prevent lumps. Add the remaining chicken stock and bring to a simmer; season with salt and pepper and hit it with a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten the flavor. Simmer for 5 minutes and then strain to remove any particles. Serve the gravy with the maple-roasted turkey and cornbread stuffing.
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