[Sca-cooks] Thanksgiving experiments-Op

[wildecelery at aol.com]

On Turkey:

I use this idea from a friend... put the still frozen turkey in the 
oven at 225 at about midnight the night before with  1and 1/2 -2 cups 
of water ....makes for a super-moist bird done at about noon, remove 
from oven and cover...leaving the oven open for baking!

I put a stick of butter into the body cavity during the overnight 
cooking portion, and then add the stuffing  at about 10 am.....

On Stuffing /Dressing:

...my father uses pecans which I can't stand the cooked texture of 
...so this year...I tried Hazelnuts in the stuffing...divine!

Pies:

I made a late apple pie(our guests ended up cancelling last minute, soi 
I figured Pumkin cookies and  indian pudding was enough dessert for 
only 2 of us) Last night.... and managed to do so without adding 
regular sugar!

I used my 3x gret-grandmother's Pennsylvania Dutch crust recipe
Peeled, sliced  and cored the apples( leaving on sking where the 
peller/slicer/correr didn't get it off)
Sliced apples into smaller chunks and tossed with Tupperware cinnamon 
vanilla seasoning, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and 3 tablespoons of 
Ginger Liquer, and about 1/4 cup of leftover honey/water mixture (from 
making dried, honeyed apples)
Placed into the crust, topped with pats of butter and top crust.

My husband, who generall dislikes pies (unless made specifically by my 
father) loved it, and felt that the lack of additional sufgar allowed 
for better contrast between the tart, mushy apples and the firm, mellow 
crust.

-Ardenia