Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thanksgiving Part 2: Everything Else

This weekend was so exhausting! I thought Thanksgiving was for rejuvenation? Oh well, I had a great holiday. I saw so many friends who flew in town from various places from the country and ate like a Queen and wined like a fish and life was sweet.
The whole delicious plate.
I'm sleepy. But I'm also feeling gracious and I want to bless you with a few more old tried and true family recipes. Talking Grandma's type deal, ya dig?
The major chef, Sue.
The bird, browned and stuffed.
Turkey Gravy (kind of like liquid heroin, I'd imagine)
What ya need:
Giblets and neck from turkey
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 onion, sliced
1 large carrot, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
8 cups water
½ cup flour
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp poultry seasoning
¼ tsp pepper


What ya do:
Wash giblets and neck; refrigerate liver. Place gizzard, heart and neck in a sauce pan with vegetables, a bay leaf, 1 tsp of salt and water. Heat to boiling; simmer about 2 hours, adding the liver the last 20 minutes. Strain liquid, discard neck, vegetables and gizzards (EW) so you only have the broth.


When turkey has been removed to a warm platter, pour drippings into a bowl leaving the brown particles in the pan. Let the fat rise to the top of drippings. Skim off fat. Place ½ cup fat in the roasting pan, blend in flour. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Measure broth, add meat juice if necessary to make 4 cups. Stir broth into flour mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Stir in salt, poultry seasoning and pepper. Heat through. Makes 4 ½ cups.
It's our first holiday with my baby!
Canned crannberries, exciting.
Stuffin' ya'll
Perfect Stuffing
What ya need:
1 pound sage pork sausage (Jimmy Dean)
1 bag (Pepperidge Farm) dehydrated herb bread cubes
½ cup butter
¾ cup finely minced onion
1 ½ cups chopped celery
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp dried sage
Poultry seasoning to taste


What ya do:
1. Plan a cup of stuffing per each pound of ready-to-cook weight. Brown and crumble pork sausage (You need 1/3 lb for each quart of stuffing). Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add onions and cook until yellow, stirring occasionally. Stir in some of the bread cubes.
2. Continue to stir to prevent too much browning. Turn into a deep bowl. Mix remaining ingredients lightly.
3. Cool and place stuffing loosely in turkey
4. Bake that sucker. Enjoy and delight in how fantastic it tastes


Love me some mashed taters, but there isn't really a recipe here
I need to fast; We had Thanksgiving round two tonight.
Delish bottles of wine
Oh yum.
Looking sleepy PRE tryptophan. Sheesh.
Grandma's Recipe
Glorified Cauliflower
What ya need:
1 medium cauliflower (about 2 pounds)
3 cups frozen peas
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp dry mustard
¼ tsp salt
Dash of pepper
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice (used a mix of cheddar and feta, nice bite!)
Hot pepper to taste


What ya do:
1. Heat one inch salter water to boiling. Add cauliflower. Cover and heat to boiling. Cook until tender, whole 20 to 25 minutes. Drain. Set aside. Cook frozen peas. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat butter over low heat until melted. Blend in flour, mustard, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly.
3. Remove from heat and stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil about one minute and stir in cheese and hot pepper sauce to taste. Cook and stir until cheese is melted.
4. Plate peas on a large platter; place cauliflower in the middle. Drizzle cheese over vegetables and serve.


The Lovely Tablescape
My roomies... 36 Thanksgivings together
Who let the 12 year old drink?
Happy Thanksgiving and prepare yourself for the rest of the holiday season in The Messie Kitchen!!

2 comments:

Ang said...

Looks like you had a fantastic day. The joy is getting everyone together, making really good food, and feeling blessed:)

Monet said...

Talk about some great food! It seems like you had a wonderful feast with those that you love. Your glorified cauliflower looks DIVINE! Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you have a wonderful Monday night!