Thanksgiving Dream

It is! 

     What is really funny around our house is we start Christmas decorations on November 1st.  You are probably thinking "what the heck".  Well it's this way, when your guests for Thanksgiving come into your house they get a blast of color, it is always fun to see the expressions on their faces.  Especially the children (if they are invited).  The only difference they smell the best aromas of what is cooking.  Thanksgiving dinner.  Here are some of my favorite recipes.

Easy Sourdough Stuffing

Ingredients

• 1 loaf sourdough bread, cut into cubes (about 10 cups)
•  tablespoons avocado oil
• 2 onions, diced (2 cups total)
• 1 shallot, diced (about 1/4 cup total)
• 4 large or 6 small celery stalks, sliced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• equal parts chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage to equal 1/4 cup total
• 4 tablespoons butter (use a vegan butter alternative for dairy-free, vegan stuffing)
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (chicken or turkey broth may be used also)

Steps

1. Dry the bread. Place your bread cubes on a large baking sheet and bake at 275 degrees until dry to the touch, but not toasted/brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool and place the cubes in a large bowl.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  
3. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoon avocado oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion, shallots, and celery until soft and starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another 30 seconds. Add in your fresh herbs and cook another 30 seconds. Add this mixture to the bread in the large bowl.
4. In the same pan, melt the butter. Scrape up any browned bits and then pour the butter over the top of the bread and vegetables. Add the broth and gently toss the mixture.
5. Transfer the mixture to a lightly greased baking dish (9 X 13″) and bake in the 350 degree oven, covered with foil, for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Enjoy!

15-Minute Healthy Cranberry Orange Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or honey)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon whiskey, bourbon, brandy or scotch (optional)
• zest from 1 orange

Steps

1. Add cranberries, orange juice, maple syrup, vanilla extract and bourbon in a small pot and place over medium high heat.Once mixture begins to boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes or until the sauce becomes nice and thick, coating the back of a spoon. You may notice a popping sound; this is the cranberries bursting so don't worry.
2. After 10 minutes I recommend removing the lid and allowing cranberries to simmer a few minutes to thicken the sauce up. If you are using frozen cranberries, this may take a bit longer.
3. Once the sauce is thick, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve, then garnish with orange zest. Serves 6 (about 1/4 cup each). Feel free to double the recipe!

Notes

If you use frozen cranberries, you may need to remove the lid in the last 5 minutes of cooking to give the sauce time to really thicken up. 

How to make cranberry sauce ahead of time: Simply cook as instructed in the recipe, then allow to cool completely, place in an airtight container and serve when ready. I prefer to serve my cranberry sauce but you can also feel free to heat it up over low heat in a small pot on the stove. This orange cranberry sauce recipe can be made up to 3 days in advance. 

Foolproof Turkey Gravy

Servings: 8

Ingredients

1. 1/4 cup turkey drippings (fat and juices from roasted turkey)
2. 1/4 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
3. 2 cups liquid (juices from roasted turkey, broth, water)
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt, or less, if using turkey drippings
5. 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Steps

1. Pour drippings from roasting pan into bowl, leaving brown particles in pan. Return 1/4 cup drippings to roasting pan. (Measure accurately because too little fat makes gravy lumpy.) Stir in flour. (Measure accurately so gravy is not greasy.)
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Stir in liquid. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in salt and pepper.

Notes

• If you’d like a thicker gravy, mix 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour with 2 tablespoons water or broth then whisk it into the hot gravy, bring to a boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. 
• Taste as you go! Gravy is often the star of a turkey dinner, the condiment that ties the meat, potatoes, and veggies together. So be sure it’s well seasoned before the gravy boat is set on the table. 
• Do like the pros: use a medium-sized wire whisk to stir up the gravy, vigorously mixing in the flour into the pan drippings to create a roux (a thickening mixture that’s equal parts fat and flour), then as you stir in the liquid. 
• End up with a few lumps? Pour the gravy through a wire mesh sieve to smooth the gravy to a silky smoothness. 
• A flavorful broth is a traditional liquid for many gravies, but you could mix things up by using wine, milk, or half-and-half with the broth.