Yankee Cook’s Thanksgiving

Ours was a the perfect day of family, fun in the kitchen and a very successful feast. I didn’t get a lot of pictures from the process, which started on Monday, but I wanted to share a few of my recipes with you anyway. The recipes below are some of my most tried and true Thanksgiving recipes – I’ve been making the Cranberry Sauce since I was eight.

As much as I love to experiment with creating interesting menus, Thanksgiving is the exception. It’s the one day out of the year when the perfect menu has already been devised by years of regional tradition. All of the vegetables came from local organic farms and everything was made from scratch, from the rolls, right down to the stock used in the gravy.

Yankee Cook’s Thanksgiving Menu

Yankee Cook’s Turkey Gravy - makes 6 cups

2 C turkey pan drippings (should yield 1 C fat)
1 C flour
3 C Turkey Stock, heated (recipe below)
Helpful equipment: baster, gravy separator

After the turkey is finished cooking and while it’s resting, use a baster to collect two cups of pan drippings into a gravy separator. Wait a moment for the fat to float to the top. Pour off the brown (non-fat) liquid that sinks to the bottom into the stock. There should be about a cup of fat left over.

Pour the fat into a medium saucepan and bring to a slight simmer over medium heat. Gradually stir a cup of flour into the fat, stirring with a whisk to smooth out any lumps. Stir for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Mixture should thicken to the consistency of Greek yogurt.

Gradually whisk in the four cups of stock. Stir over medium heat until thickened to desired consistency.

Taste before seasoning. If using drippings from a brined or salted turkey, the gravy should turn out to be well seasoned already.

Turkey Stock – makes 3 – 4 cups (depending on how reduced it becomes while simmering)

8 C water
4-6 C or chopped potatoes, onion, celery, herbs, etc. or reserved vegetable trimmings
Turkey neck, heart and gizzard

In a large stockpot simmer the vegetables in water for two to three hours partially covered. Remove from heat, discard vegetables and strain to remove any solids.

Return the liquid to stockpot and add the neck, gizzard and heart. Do not add the liver, as it will add a strong liver flavor to the stock. (I saved ours this Thanksgiving and fried it up in butter on Tuesday night. I called it Poor Man’s Foie Gras. It was quite good.)

Simmer for two to three hours, partially covered until the neck is totally cooked and browned and the stock is reduced. Remove the neck, gizzard and heart. Strain the stock again to remove any solids.

Note: This can be made a one or two days in advance. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Yankee Cook’s Maple Butternut Squash - serves 4 – 6

2 medium Butternut Squash
water
1/2 C half and half
1/2 C butter
2-3 T Maple Syrup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half and de-gunk. Place cut-side down in a large baking dish with a half inch of water. Cook for 40-50 minutes until tender.

Scoop squash from shell. In a medium saucepan, mash the squash with a potato masher, add butter, half and half, and maple syrup. Combine with masher until the butter, half and half and maple syrup are evenly distributed.

Yankee Cook’s Cranberry Sauce - makes 4 cups

4 C cranberries
2 C sugar
Water

Pour cranberries into medium saucepan cover with water, add sugar, bring to a boil and simmer 20 min. Pour into heat resistant serving dish and refrigerate. Serve chilled.

Ingredient Origins: Antibiotic/Hormone/Preservative-free Turkey – Vermont; Organic Milk and Bread for stuffing – Vermont; Butter – Maine; Pumpkin – Maine; Organic Shallots, squash, spinach, Brussel’s sprouts, beets, potatoes – New Hampshire; Organic Half and Half – Massachusetts; Herb stuffing seasoning – Massachusetts; Cranberries – Cape Cod; Organic sweetened condensed milk – Iowa; Pecans – Arizona; Corn Syrup – UK