Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thanksgiving Dinner

I've started prepping my meals for tomorrow and thought maybe I'd post my menu with my recipes in case anyone's looking for last minute ideas.

Brunch:
Spinach salad w/ fried deviled eggs and honey mustard dressing.

DINNER:
Tofurky with cranberry onion sauce.
Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Mushroom gravy
Risotto stuffed butternut squash.
Sweet-Potato Casserole
Banana & Pumpkin nut bread

DESSERT:
Pumpkin Cheesecake


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Tofurky with cranberry onion sauce
Turtle Island Foods (Tofurky Website)

1 Tofurky roast (can be frozen)1 can cranberry sauce (chunky or smooth)
1 package dry vegetarian onion soup mix
16 ounces vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon garlic powder

Empty packet of soup mix into crock-pot and add 16 ounces of vegetable broth and garlic powder. Add the can of cranberry sauce stirring to mix.

Place Tofurky in the center of the pot. For the frozen Tofurky cook on high for about three hours basting the Tofurky with the sauce every half hour or so while a thawed Tofurky should take about two hours. Slice the Tofurky and pour sauce on top to serve. Enjoy.


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Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Alton Brown

3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
16 fluid ounces (2 cups) half-and-half
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 ounces grated Parmesan

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.
Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture, salt, and Parmesan; stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve

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Mushroom Gravy
Recipe by: Wife Mom Blogger (Makes 2 cups / 4 servings)


6-ounce package mushrooms (portabello or shiitake for example), finely chopped

Small onion, finely chopped

Pepper to taste

2 teaspoons oil

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/4 cup unbleached white flour

2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce

1-1/2 cups water

Sauté the mushrooms, onion, and pepper in the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and continue heating for 3 minutes, stirring until the gravy thickens. Serve warm.

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Butternut Risotto
Recipe by Wife Mom Blogger


One medium size butternut squash
Three Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1 cup aborio rice

One medium yellow onion
32 ounces vegetable stock


Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and pulp and discard. Brush olive oil on each side and sprinkle with sea salt on. Place face down in lipped baking dish and bake for one hour or until soft when pierced with a fork. Remove and let cool. When cooled scoop insides out and place in bowl. Set aside.

In a 2 quart saucepan place vegetable stock and bring to warm temperature. Heat 4 quart saucepan to medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add chopped onion and cook until soft. Add aborio rice and stir. Ladle vegetable stock into rice one ladle at a time until rice absorbs all of the liquid, stirring often. As liquid is absorbed add another ladle at a time until all vegetable stock has been absorbed. Add butternut squash and stir. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper or fresh parsley.


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Sweet Potato Casserole


Martha Stewart

3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 8), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups mini marshmallows or chopped regular marshmallows


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan, and cover with cold water by 1 inch; salt generously. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, and return to pan. Heat over medium, stirring, until liquid has evaporated and a thin film covers bottom of pan, about 2 minutes.

Remove pan from heat; add milk, butter, and nutmeg. Mash until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Transfer sweet-potato mixture to a 2-quart baking dish. (To make ahead, refrigerate, up to 1 day.)
Top casserole with marshmallows; bake until center is warmed through and marshmallows are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

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Banana & Pumpkin Nut Bread
Recipe by Wife Mom Blogger

3 c. All-Purpose Flour
1c. Sugar
1/2c. Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 c. canned pumpkin
3 med. ripe bananas

3/4 c. Butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine the white and brown sugar, butter, and eggs. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin and mashed bananas; continue beating until mixed (mixture will have curdled appearance). Add remaining ingredients except nuts; mix until moistened. Fold in nuts.

Spread into 2 greased 8x4 loaf pans. Bake 50-60 minutes or until wooden pick in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. This is a moist bread that keeps for days but doesn't last that long at our house.


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Pumpkin Pie
Paula Deen

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
1 piece pre-made pie dough
Whipped cream, for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.