Saturday, October 13, 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

My ward had a workshop for all the ladies that wanted some tips on how to make a Thanksgiving dinner the other night..
...it was at Susan's house... Susan lives in a mansion.. it is furnished fancier than some museums I have been in.. here are the tips that she gave us about " how to do Thanksgiving"

* PLAN AHEAD!!!! make your list and go shopping for the things that you do not need fresh a week or two ahead of time..

* on the day of before you start to cook.. make sure you are clean and showered, that your hands are clean.. that your outfit is clean..that your counter is clean.. that your sink is cleaned out and there is nothing dirty around.. isn't it sad she had to say that.. ? but you know that she did..

* when people get there make sure you have a few appetizers sitting out. one good idea for an appetizer is brie..

* here is a simple brie recipe she gave us
-buy a wheel of brie..which is about $10 she said ..cut the top of it off if you don't like that flavor and pour some brown sugar on it and top it with craisens..cook it at 375 for 15 or 20 minutes..buy a variety pack of crackers and there you go .. done

* if you are having kids ( or may I add picky adults) MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOME KID FRIENDLY APPETIZERS!

* if you buy a frozen turkey.. here are some tips..
-make sure it is completely thawed for two or three days in the refrigerator.. make sure that you put it in some sort of pan..because it will drip.. and you do NOT want it dripping all over your refrigerator or worse .. other stuff you plan on serving...
-another tip from Shelly in my ward is that if you forget you can just put in the sink and run COLD water over it till it thaws..
-after it is thawed, empty the turkey and rinse it out. Dry with paper towels. Fill the turkey with stuffing, onion and or lemon or orange quarters. Season with herbs, salt and pepper and chicken broth. Bake according to directions on the package. Add water to cover the bottom of the pan.

* if you buy a fresh turkey here are some tips
- ORDER IT LIKE RIGHT NOW!!! because places are already taking orders....she said that it was hard to find one right now but she managed to at Wegmans..
-these turkeys are a little more moist and tender.Empty the turkey and rinse out. Dry with paper towels. Fill turkey with stuffing and onion. Season with herbs, salt and pepper and chicken broth. Bake according to directions on the package. Add water to cover the bottom of the pan.

* KELI'S NOTES- IF I was going to buy a turkey.. I am sure that I would probably buy one that was raised on a farm.. AT the farm.. BUT after seeing that demonstration the other night I don't see myself EVER fixing a turkey like um ever in the history of EVER.. I don't want to be  reaching in it taking out the neck or all that other stuff.. I don't want to do ANY of that stuff.. I don't want to reach up under the skin and put seasonings in I don't want to hold it under my faucet to MAKE sure I got all the stuff out.. .. no no no no no no... NO in fact I was SO GROSSED out by the whole thing I looked up tofurkeys on the internent WHILE I WAS SITTING THERE..I am not even kidding you...
and FYI .. in case you were wondering the apparently have them at Harris Teeter, Whole Foods and Trader Joes..
BUT I will say that the turkey breast that she had made that was there for us to sample was probably the best turkey I have ever had.. it was very moist..and her husband took the bones out .. always a plus..

*gravy tips
-here is a recipe for gravy- 1 cup flour, with 1 cup water mix with a wire whisk before adding turkey juices. Season with chicken bullion ...not the kind that is cubed but the kind that you can scoop out like a spice.add water for thickness whole turkeys need a little water...
-take meat out of the roasting pan. Skim the fat. skin pieces etc. from the drippings. Put the roasting pan on top of the stove on medium heat and add water and flour mixture. Stir constantly with a wire whisk until mixed together. Do not let it burn on the bottom. As the gravy thickens add chicken bouillon and additional water for taste and texture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook and stir until bubbly and thickened. Taste for additional seasonings.

* Keli's notes
-THIS IS RUTH FAUST'S authentic gravy recipe!!! which is kinda exciting because she was married to James E. Faust and well if you are LDS this is well kinda cool...
-this gravy was delicious..but it is safe to say I will also never eat this because well it involves turkey juices and I might get grossed out making it.

* stuffing tips
here is a recipe for stuffing.
- 1 16 oz package of dry bread crumbs ( Susan uses Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasonal stuffing mix)
1 stick of butter
1 cup of chopped celery
1 onion chopped
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 16 oz can of chicken broth
1 1/2-2 cups of water
melt butter and saute onion and celery ( can add mushrooms water chestnuts or cranberries if desired when the vegetables are soft.) Put bread crumbs in a large bowl and add salt,pepper and poultry seasoning. Add chicken broth and water. Mix until wet, soft consistency.
she did not write this but I am sure she meant to but if you don't put it in the turkey ..back in oven in a 9x13 for 30 minutes

*KELI'S NOTES
- I hate onions and refused to cut them..and made Karen do it..BUT I decided to try this.. and it was SO GOOD I could have eaten the WHOLE PAN I am not even kidding you..

* roll tips
- here is her recipe for rolls
basic roll dough
2 packages of yeast or 2 T
1/2 cup warm water needs to be like 115 degrees
1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 t salt
3 eggs beaten
4 and a half to five cups of flour
soften the yeast in warm water in a small bowl. Put milk in pan and heat to scalding or boiling on edges of pan. Take off heat. Add butter to milk to melt. Let cool.

In a large bowl mix sugar, salt and eggs. Add the softened yeast mixture. Add flour and slowly add the milk and butter mixture ( after it is cooled). Mix in a mixer until even consistency. Cover bowl and let rise for two hours. Susan said do not let it rise on a granite counter top to let it rise somewhere else like your table because well granite is cold. When doubled in bulk, turn dough out on a lightly flowered flat surface. Divide into two balls. Roll out each ball of dough separately. you can make parker house, crescent, cinnamon or orange or whatever with these. When dough is cut into desired roll, let rise for two more hours .Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

- recipe for Orange Rolls
1 stick of butter
2 grated orange peels
1 cup of sugar
-mix together and spread over rectangle of roll dough. Use both balls of dough.Roll up dough jelly roll style and cut into one inch slices. Put into a greased muffin tin and let rise for two hours or until full over the tip of the tin bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

-recipe for glaze
juice of two oranges..Susan buys seedless oranges and then uses something that she got at Williams and Sonoma that she juices it with .. 1 1/2 -2 cups of powdered sugar
mix well until it is like a thick soup.
Pour over slightly cooled rolls.

*Keli's notes..
-orange rolls remind me of Easter so I personally would not do them for Thanksgiving ..but I did not mind eating a couple the other night THEY WERE GOOD!!!

* Susan also says to have the table set and decorated, I said that is if you have more than one table.. she said that if you don't then just tell people anything else that they want to eat they can do it picnic style.

* Susan says she does her pies the day before and she makes about four pies.
-she does a pumpkin
-she does a lemon creme because her husband likes that
-she does a banana creme because her sons like that.
- she does one other.
-she also makes sure she has a kid friendly dessert for the kids like rice krispies that have Thanksgiving like sprinkles or something on the top.

* Fresh Cranberry Sauce tips
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
mix water and sugar together and bring to a boil. Add cranberries and cook for five minutes. Cool and serve.
OR
the same as above with
1/4 cup OJ
1 cinnamon stick
3 quarters of a cup of water
orange zest
-we had both and they were good!

so that is all that is all the tips from the other night! I hope this helped someone! :)

and speaking of help.. I had FOUR helpings of this stuff the other night.. hahahah









 

No comments: