Thanksgiving Turkey

It occurred to me I had never written down all my mom's tips and tricks for cooking a Thanksgiving Turkey.  So here it goes.  This is going to include stuffing and gravy. 

Step 1:  Stuffing

2-3 loaves of cheap white bread
2 onions
1 -2 sticks of butter
poultry seasoning
season salt
olive oil

Purchase either 2 loaves for a small turkey or 3 loaves for a large turkey, cheap white bread.  The nice stuff turns into a soggy mess. Cut bread into about one-inch cubes, but don't use the ends of the bread.  Coat the bread in poultry seasoning, until it is thoroughly coated light and evenly.  Next melt butter and brown onion in the butter until thoroughly cooked.  If you add a little bit of olive oil, the butter won't burn.  Once onions are soft, slowly mix the butter and onions over the coated bread, a little at a time until the bread is moistened.  Adding a little milk will help moisten the bread. 

Step 2: Turkey

Make sure turkey is defrosted.  This takes several days in the fridge.  Clean out inside cavities in the front and the back of the bird.  Take out the innards.  Do what you want to with them because they are gross and we don't use them.  Rinse out the cavity and stuff both front and back with dressing mixture.  Place an onion over the ends, directly under the skin to ensure the stuffing won't burn in the oven.  Using meat pins, seal the skin over the stuffing.  Rub bird with olive oil to assist with browning.

Place bird in an oven bag.  Breast up or breast down?  It depends.  Breast up will give you more juice drippings and will brown the bird.  Breast down gives you moister meat.  Also place in the bag about a Tbsp. of flour and 2 pinches of Thyme.  Seal the bag.

Cook bird at 350 degrees in the bag.  (It's 325 without it.)  Sorry, the length of time depends on the size of bird.  You need to do math here.  Sorry.  You really did need it.  It wasn't a waste.

When bird is cooked thoroughly, take out of oven and let it cool for a bit.

Step 3: Gravy

Get the drippings and place in a pan.  Make with flour and chicken broth for extra flavor. Season how you like. 

Step 4: The stuffing

Sometimes the stuffing needs extra cooking. Especially if you cooking it breast down.  Place in a baking dish and cook at 350 degrees until heated through.

Cheeksecake Factory Thai Lettuce Wraps

We recently went to Cheesecake Factory and there were two things we REALLY enjoyed.  And so I found the recipes! Matt loved this one in particular.

Ingredients:
    6-8 butter lettuce leaves
    thai chicken satays (recipe below)
    julienne carrots
    sesame bean sprouts (recipe below)
    thai coconut curry noodles (recipe below)
    thai marinaded cucumbers (recipe below)
    1 tablespoon roasted peanuts – chopped
    tamarind cashew dipping sauce (recipe below)
    thai peanut sauce (recipe below)
    sweet red chili sauce (recipe below)

Directions:
Remove the hard stems from the bottom of each leaf of lettuce.
Wash and dry the leaves and arrange in a group on a larger platter.
Remove 2 red cabbage leaves, wash and dry and slice in half vertically.
Arrange on the serving platter and fill with each one of the fillings (chicken, bean sprouts, thai coconut curry noodles and marinated cucumbers).
Let your friends or family create their own lettuce wraps by choosing a filling or fillings and placing it on a leaf along with a choice of sauce.
Fold the leaf in half and enjoy!

Here are the individual recipes:

Thai Chicken Satays
Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic – minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons water
4 green onions – cut into 1? pieces
8 Bamboo skewers (10-12 inches)

Directions:

Cut chicken into 3/4-inch strips
Place in a shallow glass dish
Combine soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.
Add water and mix thoroughly.
Pour over chicken.
Toss to coat all of the chicken pieces.
Cover and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Soak bamboo skewers 20 minutes in cold water to keep them from burning.
Drain the chicken and reserve the marinade.
Weave the chicken strips onto each skewers, alternation with green onion pieces. You may need to use several pieces to cover each skewer.
Brush chicken and onions with reserved marinade.
Grill the skewers on an uncovered grill over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, turning halfway through the grilling.

Bean Sprouts
Ingredients:

1½ cups bean sprouts
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Heat the oil in a frying pan
Add the bean sprouts along with the other ingredients.
Cook over a medium-high heat until the bean sprouts are tender
Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Thai Coconut Curry Noodles
Ingredients:

12 oz fresh egg noodles
1 tbsp minced garlic cloves
1 tbsp red curry paste
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp curry powder
1 pinch turmeric powder
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp lime juice

Directions:

Place the noodles in hot water, separating with a fork.
Let the noodles soak until tender or according to the directions on the package.
Drain and keep warm.
In a medium saucepan, heat the coconut milk on low heat and slowly stir in the curry paste.
When it begins to simmer, add in the remaining ingredients.
Continue to simmer for approximately 2 minutes.
Stir in the noodles and serve.

Thai Marinated Cucumbers
Ingredients:

1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 large cucumber – seeded

Directions:

Combine the vinegar, sugar, water and salt in a small pan.
Cook over a medium heat, stirring until it boils and the sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.
Peel the cucumber and cut lengthwise into quarters and again crosswise into 1/8? slices.
Place in a serving bowl and pour marinade over cucumbers, stirring to blend.
Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

Tamarind Cashew Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped cashews
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 medium garlic cloves – minced
2 green onions – chopped
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
3 tsp honey
6 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp tamarind pulp
1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Combine cashews, hoisin sauce, garlic, green onion, cayenne pepper and black pepper in a blender or food processor and mix until smooth.
In a small sauce pan add oil, honey, rice wine vinegar and tamarind pulp.
Heat at medium for 1 minute.
Stir until the tamarind pulp is completely dissolved.
Add this to the cashew mixture and process until smooth
Pour into a serving bowl and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp water
4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp chili oil

Directions:

Combine peanut butter, water, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, and chili oil in a small saucepan.
Stir mixture over a medium heat until it begins to bubble.
Cover the pan and remove from the heat.

Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup hot water
2 tbsp sugar
1 lime – juiced
1 tsp garlic – minced
1 tsp red chili paste

Directions:

Combine the rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, hot water, sugar, lime juice, garlic and chili paste in a blender.
Puree until smooth.
Pour into bowls and serve.

Holiday Meatballs

This is a favorite of ours!


1 bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce
1 can of whole cranberries
1 package of frozen meatballs

--Place meatballs in a crockpot.  Mix chili sauce and whole cranberries together and pour over meatballs.  Cook meatballs on low for 2-3 hours.  Allow more time if you double the recipe.