Thanksgiving Menu

From Meg's Kitchen

Over the years I have occasionally had themes for our Thanksgiving feast - such as Mexican (spicy) or French (think Julia Child).  Other years I just looked for interesting recipes which is what my older son and I are doing this year.  There will be 6 of us for dinner and I do not want a ton of leftovers which are the usual result after even a small Thanksgiving dinner.  So we are pairing down the menu and trying some new dishes along with some old favorites.

Before I share our chosen menu I must share the story of our first Thanksgiving after moving north from the CA Bay Area.  By chance we landed in the town where my mother's college roommate lived.  We got lots of advice about where to shop from Mom's roomie including a referral to a computer engineer who also raised turkeys.  I had never tried a really fresh turkey and put in my order.  It was to be delivered on Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  Tuesday night I got a call from the engineer/farmer that he had run out of turkeys and would deliver our turkey the next day.  Big breath in and I hoped for the best.  This could be a roasted chicken or vegetarian Thanksgiving.  But the guy did come through with a turkey on Wednesday evening.  Turns out that freshly slaughtered and plucked turkeys are not finished with rigor mortis.  The legs were sticking straight up and there was nothing that I could do to get them to lay flat against the thigh bones.  Fortunately our new house had a large oven and by lowering one rack to the lowest level and removing the other rack, I could just barely fit the bird into the oven.  I had planned to rub a flavored butter underneath the skin of the bird but the skin was very tightly adhered to the meat, so I adjusted my plan and rubbed the butter mixture all over the skin.  It turned out to be one of the most unusual looking turkeys but it tasted divine - soft and juicy.  That was 20 years ago and I have never purchased another turkey direct from a farmer.

Thanksgiving Menu 2016

Appetizer

Cheese plate with 3 cheeses (brie, manchego & blue), fresh grapes & dried apricots with crackers

Stuffing flavored potato chips (our son is making these - he has 2 deep fat fryers so that when he is making the second batch of chips he can eat the first batch and then have homemade chips to eat while watching sports)

Drinks

Spiced apple cider with sparkling water 

Chardonnay

Red wine (something light)

Main and Sides

Spatchcocked turkey

Spicy cornbread and sausage dressing (recipe follows)

Hasselback potato gratin (click here for the recipe)
Sauteed green beans with mushrooms and caramelized cipollini onions (click here for this recipe) Cranberry sauce 

Dessert

Pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream - both store bought

I was planning on only one dessert since we will only be 6 people. My son wanted only vanilla ice cream, which I was going to make from scratch but forgot to bring the ice cream maker from our other home. The hubs wants just plain pumpkin pie and picked up a frozen one from his favorite market. Thus, the compromise.

Spicy Cornbread and Sausage Dressing (serves 8 to 10)

Savory Cornbread (for Dressing)
Make the cornbread ahead of time - the baking time varies by as much as a half hour.

3 cups corn kernels - fresh, frozen or canned
1 pkg Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix

1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil or melted butter plus a bit to oil the baking dish
2 eggs

8 ounces white Cheddar cheese, shredded

4 ounces poblano chiles, roasted, seeded and diced
Cornstarch

Grind the corn by pulsing batches in the food processor until coarsely crushed but not pureed. Set aside.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Follow the directions on the cornbread mix package and then fold the ground corn into the batter, followed by the cheese and chiles.  Butter a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish, and lightly dust with cornstarch. Pour the mixture into dish and bake for 30 to 60 minutes or until crust is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The extra baking time is a result of the added somewhat moist ingredients.

Sausage Cornbread Dressing

About 5 cups Note: this is the original recipe that I used for a large group. This year I am halving this recipe.  This recipe can be assembled up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated (covered) before baking.

4 cups coarsely crumbled cornbread (this will not use all of the above recipe for cornbread)
½ lb sweet or hot Italian sausage meat
4 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried tarragon

½ cup turkey stock or chicken broth

Salt and pepper

Place oven rack in the middle portion of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Butter a 2-3 quart shallow baking dish.  Spread cornbread-crumbs on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden and dry. About 15 minutes. Let crumbs cool and then transfer to a large bowl. (If not making ahead, leave oven on).  Cook sausage in a dry, nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring and breaking it up with a fork, until browned and cooked through – 6-8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with crumbs. Wipe out skillet with a paper towel. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in the same skillet. Add onions, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper, thyme, and tarragon. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until onion is softened – about 10 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to the bowl with crumbs and sausage and toss gently but thoroughly. Spoon dressing into prepared baking dish. Drizzle with stock and dot with remaining 1 Tbsp butter. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes more.