How To Cook A Thanksgiving Turkey

I had all good intentions of writing a nice long post on how I cook a turkey.  I really did.  But there are hundreds of sites online that do the same, so I thought I’d put together a small list of sites that contain videos, to help show and teach you how to cook a turkey.  The videos are all aptly named “How to cook a turkey”..lol.

Quickly, and without much more information, I cook a 13-15 pound turkey at 500F for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 375F for 9 minutes per pound.  See Alton Brown’s version of the video below…

Want more videos:  Click here for Google Results

Have fun!!  And let me know if you learned any thing that made a difference :)

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Food Pantries and Soup Kitchens

This blog is usually about the recipes I have to share, and the experiences I have had.  However, with the economic climate, jobless rates, and the recession/depression we are in, I thought it necessary to provide this list.

DONATE!!!

Food Pantry links:

These are several of the food pantries and agencies that are serving Thanksgiving meals over the next week locally in Westchester County, New York, including contact information for anyone wishing to donate.

SUNDAY – November 23, 2008

New Rochelle: 1 p.m. Free. St. Catherine AME Zion Church, 19 Lincoln Ave. 914-633-5234.

MONDAY – November 24, 2008

Mount Vernon: 6 p.m. Free. First Reformed Church Food Pantry/Kitchen, 135 S. Sixth Ave. 914-664-3846.

TUESDAY – November 25, 2008

White Plains: 4 p.m. Free. YWCA of White Plains (Shelter & Food Pantry), 69 N. Broadway. 914-428-1130.
Yonkers: 3 p.m. Free. Food Pantry/Kitchen at Bethany AME Church, 21 Ludlow St. 914-562-6902.

WEDNESDAY – November 26, 2008

Mount Vernon: 5 p.m. Free. Community Service Associates Project Family Soup Kitchen, 115 Sharpe Blvd. S. 914-668-1428.
Port Chester: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Free. St. Frances AME Zion Church, 18 Smith St. 914-939-1056.

THURSDAY – November 27, 2008

Haverstraw: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Sponsor: Haverstraw Committee for Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner. Quisqueya Sports Club, 25-27 Broadway. 845-947-8532.
Mount Vernon: 1 p.m. Free. Grace Baptist Church, 52 S. Sixth Ave. 914-664-2676.
New Rochelle: Noon-3 p.m. Free. The Salvation Army, 22 Church St. 914-632-0381.
New Rochelle: 1 p.m. Free. First Assembly of God, 165 Union Ave. 914-632-0031.
Peekskill: 11:30 a.m. Free. United Methodist Church, 1040 Main St. 914-737-8544
Suffern: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Food Pantry of Christ Episcopal Church, 65 Washington Avenue. 845-357-1615.
Valhalla: 1 p.m. Free. Grasslands Homeless Shelter (Volunteers of America), 25 Operation Drive. 914-231-4201.
White Plains: Noon. Free. Grace Church Community Center, 33 Church St. 914-949-3098, Ext. 100.
White Plains: 1:30 p.m. Free. The Salvation Army, 16 Sterling Ave. 914-949-2908.
Yonkers: Noon-2 p.m. Free. Sharing Community, 1 Hudson St. 914-963-2626, Ext. 222.

FRIDAY – November 28, 2008

White Plains: 11 a.m. Free. Mount Hope AME Zion Church, 65 Lake St. 914-948-6372.

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Simply Roasted Vegetables

One simple and easy dish to make for Thanksgiving Day is just roasted vegetables.  I say this with a bit of surprise, because, when talking to people about this recipe, it took me aback at how many people don’t know how to roast vegetables.

Roasted vegetables are almost always on my Thanksgiving table.  First off, because they are so quick and simple to do.  Second, because they taste great, and third, because they make a really nice presentation.

Any vegetable can be roasted — peppers, parsnips, carrots, asparagus, tomatoes – it all depends on timing them right, and consistency of the size.

 

Simply Roasted Vegetables

Heat the oven to 400F

Choose the vegetables — Any dense vegetable can be roasted — squash, zucchini, onions, potatoes, asparagus, peppers.  I always like to have interesting colors, so for Thanksgiving, I’ll choose Yellow  and Red Peppers, Carrots, and Zucchini.

Once you’ve selected what you’d like, prep the vegetables — wash and cut them into pieces.  The best is to cut them into uniform sizes, which works best for roasting.

Use a baking sheet, or roasting pan – as long as it is shallow.  Drizzle oil over the bottom of the pan, and add in the vegetables.  Mix them around to coat the vegetables. Sprinkle with kosher salt.  Spread the vegetables out so they are in an even layer, and not too close together — they need room to roast, rather than steam.

Place the vegetables in the oven. Stir every 10 minutes.  These should take about 30 minutes.  However, the size matters here — if the pieces are small, the roasting time will be less, if the pieces are larger, the roasting time will be more.  Just keep your eye on them once the time has reached 25 minutes, checking for doneness.

Serve immediately.  Roasted vegetables look great on the table, especially when they are mixed colors, and always taste yummy. 

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Simple Baked Cream Corn

I have always liked cream corn — from a can, or from scratch.  This recipe is a mix of both.  It uses canned cream corn, but makes nice addition to it.

I’ve made this the day before Thanksgiving, and kept it refrigerated, until about 1 hour before I want to put it into the oven.  Allow it to come to room temp before you bake it.

Simple Baked Cream Corn

2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 cans of creamed corn (14.75 ounce cans)
2 tablespoons butter, chopped in pieces
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2  teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs with the milk.  Mix in corn and butter.  Blend in remaining ingredients.

Lightly spray a baking dish — I use an 8×8 dish, or a pie pan.  Transfer the corn mixture to the baking dish, and bake in a 350F preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until it is bubbly and golden brown.

Let this sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

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Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes with Onion, Peppers and Bacon

This recipe is a good one to use for the holidays — it can be made a day or two in advance.

A strange, but interesting variation, is to use shredded potatoes, instead of mashed, either homemade or the type you can get at your local market.

Enjoy :)

Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes with Onion, Green Peppers and Bacon

5-6 pieces of bacon to equal about 1/2 cup when cooked, and crumbled.
1 tablespoon of leftover bacon fat/grease
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
5-6 cups of mashed potatoes (prepared with butter & milk)(leftover or made previous day is fine)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (divided)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Cook the bacon — about 5-6 pieces, depending on the size, until nicely crispy. Set aside to drain, and then crumble.

Take about 1 tablespoon of the leftover bacon fat and saute scallions and green pepper until peppers are tender.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the scallion/green pepper mixture, mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup of the cheese, 1/4 cup of the bacon, salt and pepper.  Pour into a lightly greased baking dish – about 2 quart size.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese and the bacon over top.

Bake uncovered at 350F for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and golden.

Notes:

  • I’ve mixed this up totally the day before, put it in the refrigerator and, the next day, about 1 hour before I want to put it in the oven, I take it out, and let it come to room temp.  Bake then as usual.
  • If you don’t want to cook the onion and pepper in the bacon fat, just use vegetable oil
  • Don’t have mashed potatoes?? Just bake 7-8 red potatoes in your oven for about 50 minutes at 400F.  Once done, allow to cool a bit, and then mash the potatoes (leave the skins on if you like, or remove them)(I like them left on — looks good and tastes great), mash with butter, and milk.  Continue the recipe as above.  The baking time may need to be adjusted as the potatoes will still be hot from baking.
  • Add things you like:
  • Sour cream — add 1/2 cup sour cream
  • a clove of garlic added when you saute the scallions and green peppers
  • instead of cheddar, use a mix of feta and Parmesan or Romano — yummy when combined with the addition of garlic, as above.  Use 1/2 cup feta, and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
  • mix the peppers up — use yellow, red and orange bell peppers
  • use a medium yellow or white onion, instead of scallions
  • use chives, instead of scallions
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Grandma's Pumpkin Juice

This drink is just a nice one to have for the kids – it always makes Thanksgiving Day more festive and fun.

What my Gram used to do was something similar — she would take what was left after making the mix for pumpkin pie, and mix it with cold milk.  But because that has eggs, I just do as follows:

Grams Pumpkin Juice

3 cups milk
1 cup half and half or cream
1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or more/less to taste)
cinnamon
Whipped Cream
Add the milk and pumpkin to a blender and blend well.  Add all remaining ingredients.

Garnish with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

This can me made a day or two ahead of time – Just keep refrigerated.

Serves 4

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