A Thanksgiving Feast To Remember

EASY APPETIZERS

It's true that Thanksgiving is all about the turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberries. But hungry guests are going to need some snacks before dinner.

Deciding which appetizers to serve is always a challenge: You don't want anything too rich that's going to fill people up before the main events, and you certainly don't want time-consuming recipes -- you have enough work to do as it is!

Elizabeth had four appetizer suggestions that meet both of those challenges beautifully.

They include:

RECIPES

Alan's Mustard Dip for Raw Vegetables

Makes 1-3/4 cups

1 cup mayonnaise, preferably Hellmann's
1/2 cup strong Dijon mustard, such as Grey Poupon, Maille, or Amora
1 heaping tablespoon whole-grain French mustard, such as Pommery or Maille
2-1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
Freshly ground pepper
Assortment of cut raw vegetables, such as carrots, celery, white mushrooms, red and yellow bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, blanched asparagus, and sugar snap peas (about two pounds total)

In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and mustards until creamy and well combined. Add the garlic and pepper to taste (you will not need to add salt as the mayo and mustards are salty on their own).
Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. Serve with raw veggies of your choice. The dip can be made up to 1 week in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.

Tip: Alan's original recipe only called for mayo and Grey Poupon mustard (a very exotic ingredient for Greensboro, N.C., in the 1970s). Over the years, I added a whole-gain French Mustard-Moutarde de Meaux from Pommery is my favorite-to add texture and create a slightly more tangy and complex flavor. The dip is delicious either way-smooth or grainy.

Recipe adapted from "Taming the Flame," by Elizabeth Karmel
(John Wiley & Sons, 2005, $24.95)

Longhorn Cheddar and Cayenne Cheese Straws

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 pound Cabot extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated by hand
1/2 pound Vermont Grafton white cheddar, grated by hand
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons paprika
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups rice crispies cereal

Mix first six ingredients with a fork until all the ingredients are well distributed. It will be a stiff dough. Add rice crispies and mix until evenly distributed.
Cover and chill for 2 hours. Roll into small balls or logs, put on ungreased cookie sheet and mash with a fork in a criss-cross pattern. (Note: we may want to pipe these out.)
Bake at 325°F for about 15 minutes or until golden on the edges.
Cool and store in an airtight container.

Recipe adapted from "Pizza on the Grill: 100 Feisty Fire- Roasted Recipes for Pizza & More," by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer (The Taunton Press, 2008, $16)

Elizabeth's Soon-to-be-Famous Sugar & Spice Pecans

Makes 1 pound

1/3 Cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
2/3 Cup granulated sugar
1 Teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 Teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Large egg white, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon water
1 Pound pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Mix together the sugars, salt, cayenne, and cinnamon; set aside. Beat the egg white until frothy but not stiff in a medium bowl, add the water and stir until combined Add the pecans and stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle with the sugar mixture and stir until evenly coated.
Spread the sugared nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet fitted with a silicone liner or parchment paper.
Bake until the sugar coating is crusty and dry, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally as needed.
Remove from the oven and separate the nuts as they cool. Let cool for at least an hour before serving. These will keep, tightly covered, at room temperature for up to a month, though we guarantee they will disappear long before then!

Tumbled Tomatoes with Mediterranean Herbs>
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dehydrated garlic
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes (This time of year, try the Santa Claus variety)

Mix herbs, put in a salt grinder or pulverize slightly in a mortar and pestle. If you don't have either, just skip that step.

Wash tomatoes in cold water and remove all excess water, but do not dry. Place tomatoes in a bowl that is large enough so the tomatoes have room to be tumbled. Toss tomatoes with herb mixture until they are evenly coated. Refrigerate, tossing and "tumbling" in the bowl occasionally until all water is evaporated. Once the water has dried, the herb and salt mixture will form a crust on the tomatoes. Serve Chilled.

Note: The tomatoes keep for 2-3 days uncovered in the refrigerator-if they last that long-so make the full recipe and keep them on hand as a healthy snack, the drier and crustier the salt and herb coating, the better they taste.

Serves 4-6

For tips to help overcome "Turkey Trauma," go to Page 2.

TURKEY TRAUMA

Panicked that you may have messed up the all-important Thanksgiving turkey?

Elizabeth offered pointers to set your mind at ease, explaining how to fix certain mistakes and prevent others.

She supervised the Butterball Turkey Talk Line for over five years. That means she's heard a LOT of questions about turkey, and has solutions for every possible crisis, plus some good advice for preventing problems.

My turkey is still frozen!

Ideally, you want to defrost turkey in the refrigerator on a tray (to catch the drippings) for about three days. If your bird is still frozen on Thanksgiving morning, thaw in cold water (place in sink or cooler, and if possible, run water for the duration, which will help thaw the bird evenly). Depending on the size, it will take four-to-five hours.

I forgot to remove the giblets!

You know the little turkey parts that typically come inside a plastic bag, in the cavity of the turkey? Elizabeth has found that over half of first-time turkey chefs, and even many experienced cooks, leave this bag in the cavity while cooking the bird. While this is embarresing when you begin to carve the turkey, there's no real danger here. The bag itself is food-safe, so you're not going to poison anyone!

Do I need to rinse the turkey?

No. This is one of those things that people do because their mother did it and their grandmother did it. The idea is that you are rinsing off any extra bacteria that may be clinging to the bird. However, cooking the turkey will remove this bacteria, and rinsing the bird will only spread germs around your sink and prep areas.

How do I keep my turkey from drying out?

For starters, it's not too late to brine your turkey! Elizabeth says brining it for even two or three hours will make a big difference. Simply submerge the bird in water, equal amounts salt and sugar, and any other flavoring ingredients you like.

After this (or if you don't have time to brine the turkey), prep it for the oven by simply rubbing the skin with olive oil. That will help trap the juices inside the turkey, and promote browning of the skin.

"Stuff the cavity with stalks of celery, carrots and onions and rub a thin coat of olive oil on the skin," Elizabeth said. "Just before putting in the oven, sprinkle the bird with Kosher salt and pepper. You don't need a butter-soaked cheese cloth, or to put herb butter under the skin or any other complicated recipe. I've tried it all and found a little oil and a little salt makes the best roasted turkey. Don't stuff the bird -- it will take longer to cook and the stuffing might not be cooked thoroughly."

Do I need to baste my turkey?

Good news -- no! Place the turkey breast side up in your roasting pan and place in the oven. You don't have to touch it again. No need to flip the turkey over, no need to baste with juices or add liquid to the pan during cooking. Simply leave it alone, and you'll get the best results!

When is my turkey done?

The turkey is done when it reads 165 F in the breast and 185 F in the thickest part of the thigh (be careful NOT to hit the thighbone when probing). Use a handy-dandy meat thermometer instead of the pop-up thermometers, which don't always work. By roasting at 325 degrees, the bird should be done on the outside at the same time as the inside. As a general rule, the juices should run clear when the bird is done.

For recipes for "Stuffing and Mashed Potatoes 101," head for Page 3.

STUFFING AND MASHED POTATOES 101

No Thanksgiving is complete without stuffing and mashed potatoes, and NOBODY wants to mess those up those mainstays! Many sins can be forgiven on Thanksgiving, but bad side dishes isn't one of them.

Elizabeth offered tips and recipes to make top-notch stuffing and mashed potatoes.

Stuffing 101

1. Use Plenty of Butter!
Butter makes everything better, and you simply can't use too much in your stuffing. Most stuffing recipes start by sautéing onions and celery. Elizabeth sweats her vegetables in a lot of butter, then even adds some melted butter when combing all of the stuffing ingredients.

2. Use Packaged AND Fresh Breadcrumbs:
Elizabeth admits that stuffing mix in the bag can be delicious -- it's packed with seasoning. But it's really, really dry, so she suggests mixing some fresh bread crumbs in, as well. Proportion-wise, use 1 cup packaged-to-1 cup fresh.

3. Dress Up Canned Chicken Stock:
Many people don't have homemade chicken or turkey stock on hand, so they turn to the store-bought stuff. You'll add a real depth of flavor to your stuffing if you doctor this broth up with some white wine, veggies, garlic or herbs. Simply simmer these ingredients together, then strain them out before using the stock. Adding the stock in general is the "tricky" part of making stuffing. You don't want it too dry, you don't want it too wet.

Elizabeth prefers baking her stuffing in a buttered baking dish, rather than stuffing it inside the turkey, because you get that crusty top. You can make the stuffing up to two hours before dinner is served, then serve it at room temperature if you like.

Also, you can totally change the character of your stuffing by adding just a couple of ingredients to this basic recipe. Elizabeth suggests add spicy sausage, or oysters and saltines, or raisins and apples.

Mashed Potatoes 101

1. Drain Potatoes in Pan
After boiling your potatoes, drain out the water, but leave the potatoes in the pan and the stove heat on. Shake the pan to move the potatoes around; that enables them to dry; any excess moisture that might affect the texture of your finished dish will be absorbed.

2. Don't Over-Mix!!
Over-mixing your mashed potatoes makes them gluey. You can't go wrong if you use a ricer or a potato masher.

3. Add Hot Milk:
No matter which dairy product you choose -- milk, cream, half and half -- heat it up before mixing. It will combine more smoothly, and won't cool down your potatoes.

Elizabeth also suggests a healthier version of mashed potatoes that uses olive oil and roasted garlic to achieve great flavor, rather than cream and butter.

RECIPES

Basic Stuffing/Dressing for a 14-Pound Turkey and Five Variations

2 sticks of unsalted butter
2 cups chopped onions
1-1/2 cups chopped celery and leaves
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
14 cups of bread crumbs*, divided (1 cup of bread crumbs per pound of turkey)
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (sage, thyme, dry mustard)
1-2 cups warm chicken stock or broth

Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions, celery salt and pepper and cook until translucent, about 15 minutes. Season with the chile flakes and poultry seasoning and add half the bread crumbs. Mix well. Saute mixture for 5 minutes or until moist and the flavors are melded together. Remove from heat and pour warm mixture into a large bowl.. Add the rest of the bread crumbs and mix well. Add enough broth to make the mixture moist but not soggy. The amount of broth you need depends on how dry your breadcrumbs are. Note: If you use the packaged breadcrumbs, they are very dry. Cubed fresh bread is moister. Place in a buttered casserole dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until crispy on top.

*Packaged breadcrumbs are already seasoned and a good option, but supplement them with fresh cubed bread "crumbs."

Serves 10

Variations:

Southern Sausage:
Add 2 pounds of cooked and crumbled hot bulk sausage to recipe

Chestnut:
Add 3 cups of roasted or canned-cooked chestnuts

Oyster:
Add 3 cups of drained raw oysters and one sleeve of crumbled saltines to the bread crumbs

Cornbread:
Substitute half of the bread crumbs for day-old crumbled cornbread and add 1 cup of toasted pecan pieces

Sweet Apples and Raisins:
Chop four crisp apples such as Granny Smith and saute in butter with a little cinnamon and sugar until just tender. Add sauteed apples, 1 cup of raisins to basic recipe. Substitute cinnamon raisin bread for half the breadcrumbs to really make this variation delicious!

Classic Mashed Potatoes

Serves 8

10 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1 sticks unsalted butter
1/2-1 cup whole milk, heated
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until tender, not mushy. Drain, keeping the potatoes in the pan. Shake potatoes in the pan over medium heat until potatoes are dry and any excess water has evaporated. Mash thoroughly with a potato masher, ricer or blending fork. Add butter and heated milk until you get the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Whip potatoes, beating by hand until fluffy.

To keep Mashed Potatoes hot: Cover and place pan in skillet of hot water or double boiler.

Mash Potatoes Tips:

"Mealy" potatoes such as Idahos or Yukon golds are best for baking or boiling for classic mashed potatoes.
New potatoes can be boiled or baked in their skins for smashed potatoes.

For classic mashed potatoes:
Peel and cook in boiling, salted water in a heavy-duty sauce pan. Keeps the water boiling to prevent pieces of potato from dissolving and sogginess.

Drain potatoes in the pan; shake over the burner on medium heat to dry them.

Cover with a cloth (kitchen towel) while they stand to prevent getting soggy (the cloth absorbs steam).

Recipe from Taming the Flame by Elizabeth Karmel
(John Wiley & Sons, 2005, $24.95)

Smashed Potatoes

Makes 6 servings

Grilling Method: Indirect/Direct Medium Heat

2 heads garlic, roasted
24 new potatoes, cleaned (about 3 pounds)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

1. Build a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill.
2. Squeeze the garlic from the individual cloves into a small bowl.
3. Toss the potatoes with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in the center of the cooking grate over indirect medium heat, cover, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender.
4. While still warm, put the potatoes in a large bowl and smash them with a large fork. Add the garlic to the potatoes and continue to smash, adding about 1/3 cup of olive oil or more to taste. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Smashed Potatoes with Cheese: Before the final seasoning of the potatoes, add ½ cup grated parmesan and ½ cup grated white cheddar to the hot potatoes. Stir until the cheeses are well distributed and melted. Taste and adjust the seasonings. You probably won't need any salt, as the cheese is very salty, but you may need to add pepper.

Smashed Potatoes with Raw Garlic and Fresh Basil: Omit the roasted garlic. Before the final seasoning of the potatoes, add ½ cup of finely hopped basil and 4 cloves of minced garlic. The heat in the potatoes releases the natural flavors of the garlic and basil, making these the freshest tasting smashed potatoes ever-season to taste and serve immediately.

For "Sexy Sides," go to Page 4.

SEXY SIDES

Many dishes are staples at the Thanksgiving table. Why not delight everyone by jazzing up some of these sides? The addition of an ingredient or two can make a big difference, adding extra flavor. Elizabeth showcased her secrets to sexy brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, cranberries and green bean casserole.

She demonstrated some easy ways to upgrade, update and up the flavor of these dishes.

For the most part, these updates are very simple, and make use of ingredients that most home cooks already have around the house, or ingredients that are very easy to run out and buy Thanksgiving morning.

Making these sides a little "sexier" won't make them unfamiliar to your guests, just a tad bit more delicious!

Sweet Potatoes

Elizabeth makes mashed sweet potatoes. But there are a handful of secret ingredients: bourbon, dark brown sugar, and molasses. Once she mashes all of these together, she then cooks the mixture on the stovetop for another 30 minutes. That enables any hard potato parts you missed in the initial mashing to break down.

Green Bean Casserole
We all know this one, complete with cream of mushroom soup. Elizabeth supplements that soup with some fresh sliced mushrooms and shallots. She says you'll also get better flavor if you use frozen green beans instead of canned.

Brussels Sprouts
Granted, this green vegetable may not be on everyone's Thanksgiving table, but it is a staple for many. How to jazz it up? Add chopped bacon, some of the sweet/spicy pecans that Elizabeth served at appetizer time. Finally, she tosses the dish with just a bit of maple syrup for sweetness.

Cranberry Sauce
For this dish, she essentially follows the recipe that's on the back of the cranberry bag, then adds some chopped apples and -- ready for this? -- port wine!

RECIPES

Sweet Potato Bourbon Mash

8 large Garnet sweet potatoes, roasted in the grill or oven
1 pint heavy cream
1/2-3/4 cup drinking Bourbon (Hill Country uses Makers Mark)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
3 dashes of Tabasco
Freshly grated nutmeg, optional

Make sure to prick the potatoes with a fork before roasting. When done and cool to the touch, peel potatoes and cut them in quarters. Put in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Add cream, Bourbon, sugar, molasses and salt to potatoes. Simultaneously, mash potatoes with a large fork or potato masher and mix all the ingredients together. If the potatoes need more liquid, add a little water. Stir until smooth.

Simmer covered, for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are so soft that they resemble a rough puree. This second cooking makes the potatoes foolproof since any hard pieces of sweet potato have a chance to cook down before serving. When potatoes have cooked down, add the Tabasco and nutmeg if using and taste. Adjust salt as necessary. Serve immediately and refrigerate any leftovers. The mash re-heats very well.

Serves 8-10

Green Bean Casserole with Durkee Onions

1 28-ounce bag of frozen green beans, cut or french style, thawed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped shallot
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Olive oil
Kosher salt
1 can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup white Cheddar cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cans Durkee fried onion rings

Pre-cook green beans for ½ the total cooking time, about 5 minutes. Drain and reserve. In a skillet, melt butter and a pinch of salt, stir and sauté shallots for about 5 minutes or until translucent and beginning to color. Drain shallots and reserve for later use. Add olive oil if necessary to the skillet to sauté mushrooms. Heat oil and add mushrooms; saute until golden.

Stir soup and cream together in a large bowl, Add shallots and mushrooms and stir to combine. Stir in the cheddar cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in green beans and toss until well combined.

Transfer to a buttered 9x13x2 casserole. Top with fried onions and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Double-Smoked Bacon Bits and Candied Pecans and a Foie Gras Vinaigrette

3 pound brussles sprouts, cleaned and trimmed
Olive oil
Kosher salt or sea salt
1 cup smoked bacon cubes, cooked
1 cup candied pecans, crushed
1 T maple syrup

Clean and trim sprouts. Toss them in olive oil and season with salt. Place on a rack set into a sheet pan and roast in a pre-heated 325° F oven for 20 minutes or until brown and crispy on the outside and crisp tender. Cover with foil and keep in warmer. Place in a cast-iron casserole dish and sprinkle with the crispy bacon cubes and the candied pecans. Drizzle with the syrup and serve.

Candied Pecans (OR, use the pecans Elizabeth made as an appetizer, earlier in the show)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
3 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 pound pecan halves
1 egg whites, room temperature
1 tablespoons water

Preheat Oven to 300°F

Mix together sugars, salt, cayenne and cinnamon; set aside. Beat egg whites until frothy but not stiff, add water and stir until combined. Add nuts and stir to coat evenly with the egg white foam. Sprinkle nuts with sugar mixture and stir until evenly coated. Spread sugared nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet fitted with a SilPat or parchment paper-you may need to put mixture on 2 cookie sheets.

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally as needed. Remove from oven and separate nuts as they cool. Let cool for at least hour before storing in tightly closed container.

Cranberry Sauce with Port Wine
4 quarts fresh or frozen cranberries, cleaned
3-1/2 cups granulated (white) sugar
Zest of three orange
1-1/4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 cups port wine
1 teaspoon salt
3 granny smith apples, chopped

Rinse cranberries discarding any over-ripe berries. Set aside. Mix sugar, orange zest and liquids in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, add a pinch of salt and stir. Add cranberries and apples and bring to a boil. Reduce heat.
Simmer for 20-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when thick and cranberries are popping. Do not stir until completely smooth, you want some texture.
Cool completely. Refrigerate and serve cold or at room temperature. Best made the day (or days) before.

Yield: 3 quarts
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