[Sca-cooks] Thanksgiving at my house (includes some recipes)

[Pat]

I could wish that everyone should have as pleasant a family Holiday as I.  We had all the family who live in the area at our house for the feast yesterday: My mother, various siblings, children, grandchildren, and assorted spouses, and two of the three young bachelors who live next door (the third is a chef, and was working.)  Early last week I made up the menu and assigned dishes to each household to bring, along with the suggestion that they bring along a favorite that wasn't on the menu.   It went remarkably well.
I was responsible for Turkey, Dressing, Giblet Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, Cheese Pie, Cornbread, "Russian" Tea, and coffee.  Others brought baked ham, the obligatory green bean casserole, squash casserole, corn casserole, baby lima beans, sweet potato souffle, chow-chow, homemade pepper sauce, sourdough rolls, spinach pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, Lane cake, and gallons of iced tea.
 
I brined a 12 lb. Turkey overnight in
1 gal. water
1 lb. sea salt
1/2 cup fresh Rosemary
1/4 cup dried Thyme
4 cloves garlic
Drained it and patted it dry.  Then cut a bosc pear, 2 stalks of celery and 2 small onions into quarters, drizzled with a bit of olive oil, and used this mix to stuff the cavities.  Placed the bird breast side down on a rack in a roaster, drizzled a bit more of olive oil over it, covered it.  Allowed to roast at 325 for 2 hours, turned her over, let her roast another 2 hours, uncovered her, and let her get a suntan for another half hour or so.  Final internal temp - 160 degrees at breast and deep in thigh.
 
I made both cornbread dressing and bread dressing in one large roaster:
Made cornbread :
Turn oven to 425 F
Place in it a 10 inch cast iron frying pan with 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
take
2 cups yellow self rising corn meal
1 cup self rising flour
2 well beaten eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
Mix just until all ingredients are thoroughly moistened.  Pour into frying pan and return to oven.  Allow to bake 30 minutes.
Crumble into a well greased disposable roaster.  
In a 2 quart bowl mix
1 finely chopped head celery, leaves and all
2 small onions
2 well beaten eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 cup buttermilk
Add 2/3 of this mix to the cornbread in the pan and pack it into one end of the pan.  In the bowl with the rest of the celery mix add 1 box of bread stuffing mix.  Mix well, then pack into the other end of the pan.  Cover entire mess with chicken stock about an inch thick.  Bake at 425 for about 45 minutes.
 
Cranberry Orange Compote
1 lb fresh cranberries
1/2 cup water
2 cups Splenda or Sugar
2 cups orange juice
12 oz. orange marmelade (I used sugar-free marmelade)
Boil cranberries in water until they begin to burst (about 10 minutes).  Add sweetener and orange juice and return to boil.  Add marmelade and remove from heat.  Refrigerate at least overnight to meld flavors.  I made mine a week early.
 
Cheese Pie
 
1 stack (more or less) Premium Saltine crackers
1 lb. shredded cheese (The sharper the better for me, I used extra sharp white cheddar)
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 tsp. ground black pepper
3 cups (more or less) whole milk
In a greased 2 qt. casserole, alternate layers of crackers and shredded cheese, ending with a layer of cheese.  Dot top with butter, and sprinkle on pepper.  Add milk just to the top layer of crackers.  Bake at 350 for about 30 to 45 minutes.  Remove when top is spotted dark brown.  
 
We had a warm, wonderful time, nobody was overworked or stressed, and cleanup was easy - I cleaned as I cooked, dined on paper and plastic, and sent all the leftovers home in disposable plastic containers, bought just for the occasion.  
 


Pat Griffin
Lady Anne du Bosc
known as Mordonna the Cook
www.mordonnasplace.com