Yankee Cook’s Thanksgiving

We hosted Thanksgiving this year and what a blast! 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. All of the vegetables came from local farms and everything was made from scratch, which was why the process took a few days, but it was so fun and so worth it! I’ve been making the Cranberry Sauce since I was eight, which wasn’t difficult, since it’s basically the recipe on the bag. Now we buy our cranberries fresh and local, not frozen. Check your local farmer’s market for a vendor. Fresh cranberries are becoming more and more popular.

As much as I love to experiment with new things, 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. Also, wouldn’t it be a little disappointing to show up to someone’s house for Thanksgiving and only to be presented with something other than what popular culture has told us the Pilgrims served? I mean really, when else are you going to roast a whole turkey? Any time, I suppose, but you get my point.

One last comment on turkey: We got a 19 lb beast of a turkey. Not the best move. I thought that brining would save the meat from drying out, but even so, the length of time it took to roast caused the breast meat to get a little more dry than I would have liked. In the future I plan to impose a 10 lb limit and get two turkeys if the crowd is that big. Sure, then we’d have competing stars, but I think they’d get over it. Each could hold court at opposite ends of the table and then there are more drumsticks to go around.

Yankee Cook’s Thanksgiving Menu

Turkey Gravy - makes 6 cups

2 C turkey pan drippings (should yield 1 C fat)
3/4 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 the 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 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. (Really, I just like to fried it in butter while I prepare the stock since no one else seems to like liver. I call it Frugal Gal’s Foie Gras. Yum.)

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.

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.

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