Thanksgiving 2018: Accardo Style!

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Below you will find the recipes used for thanksgiving our way!  Hardware used was as follows:

Aluminum foil roasting rack for turkey with supports.  Large foil for stuffing.  Two smaller foil pans with kids for Mac and Cheese and Chex Mix.

Laurelin’s Gravy:

Salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, oregano, 1 cup milk with good amount of cornstarch.  Boil drippings, add seasonings, whisk cornstarch and milk together then add slowly to pan while whisking gravy.

Good Eats Turkey:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe.html

Changes: 

No seasonings, whole head of garlic cut in half, leave plastic leg thing on, 500 for 35min for 20 lb turkey

Ingredients

Roasting pan (foil or otherwise)
1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Directions
2 to 3 days before roasting:
Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you’d like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey’s cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, also featured in Food Network Magazine

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe.html?oc=linkback

 

Apple Almond Cranberry Salad:

Dressing found from, no cheese used, or apples, so basically salad with cranberries and almonds.

http://lecremedelacrumb.com/2014/10/apple-cranberry-walnut-salad.html

  • 1 cup apple juice
  • 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar in a pinch)
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • scant ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ cup oil

Fannie Farmers Mac and Cheese:

http://www.food.com/recipe/fannie-farmers-classic-baked-macaroni-cheese-135350

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside.
  3. In a large saucepan melt butter.
  4. Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended.
  5. Pour milk and cream in gradually; stirring constantly.
  6. Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly).
  7. Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) 10 minutes.
  8. Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.
  9. Turn off flame.
  10. Add macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce.
  11. Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish.
  12. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
  13. Bake 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.
  14. (You can also freeze this recipe in zip-lock bags for later use – once you have mixed the macaroni along with the cheese sauce allow to cool to room temperature before adding to your freezer – I generally pull it out the night before and allow macaroni and cheese to reach room temperature; I then add the macaroni and cheese to a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs and then bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and bubbling.

 

Cranberry Relish:

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cranberry_relish/

Changes: 1.5 times the fruit, 1/4 cup sugar.  Really good mixed into vodka, gin, etc

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rinsed raw cranberries
  • 2 skinned and cored tart green apples, cut into thick slices
  • 1 large, whole (peel ON) seedless orange, cut into sections
  • 1 to 2 cups granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you would like your relish to be)

Method

1 If you are using an old fashioned grinder, use the medium-sized grinder plate and set the grinder on the edge of a table with a large bowl or pan to catch the fruit mix as it is ground. Old fashioned grinders tend to leak juice down the grinder base, so you may want to set up a bowl underneath to catch the drips.

If you don’t have an old fashioned grinder, you can use the grinder attachment to a KitchenAid mixer, or you can use a food processor. If you use a food processor, be careful not to over-pulse! Or you’ll have mush instead of relish.

You can also just chop very finely by hand, but that’s difficult, especially with the cranberries.

2 Push the cranberries, orange sections, and apple slices through the grinder. Include the orange peel! Alternate the fruit as you push it through the grinder so that different fruits get ground together.

3 Stir in the sugar. (Start with less than a cup and keep adding 1/4 cups until you reach your desired level of sweetness.) Let sit at room temperature until the sugar dissolves, about 45 minutes. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Read more: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cranberry_relish/#ixzz3KOVx5R6x

The Neely’s Cornbread Stuffing:

Changes: Used bacon ends, cooked in advance, chopped finely and the follow.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/neelys-holiday-cornbread-stuffing-recipe.html

Ingredients
3/4 pounds bacon, cut into chunks
2 large onions, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 (16-ounce) bags dried corn bread stuffing mix
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 stick butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook bacon in a heavy skillet until crisp. Turn heat down and add onions and celery; saute until tender, about 6 minutes. Add the thyme and sage and saute until fragrant. Stir in pecans.

In a large bowl, add the cornbread mix, bacon and vegetables, and stir in the chicken broth. Add to a 13 by 9 by 2-inch casserole dish. Add butter slices to the top of the casserole and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes then remove foil and cook until top is crisp, about 15 more minutes.

Recipe courtesy The Neelys

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/neelys-holiday-cornbread-stuffing-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Candied Cranberries:

https://damndelicious.net/2013/12/22/sugared-cranberries/

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 12 ounce bag fresh cranberries

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, about 2-3 minutes.
  2. Stir in cranberries until well coated.
  3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to wire rack; let dry for at least 1 hour.
  4. Working in batches, roll cranberries in remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar until well coated
  5. let dry for at least 1 hour.

Holiday Sangria:

Inspirational credit: http://decorandthedog.net/decorandthedog/2013/12/9/holiday-sangria#disqus_thread

Note: we doubled this for 10 people, with other drinks being served.  If in doubt double and drink more.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Orange
  • 1 Apple
  • 1 Cup Cranberries (Fresh)
  • 1 Bottle Sparkling Apple Cider
  • 1 Bottle White Wine (Moscato, Pinot Grigio)

Directions:

Night before mix wine and fruits in serving container, let marry overnight in refrigerator.  Prior to serving add in chilled cider to keep carbonation from flattening.

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