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Thanksgiving Recipes

Appetizer Recipes Thanksgiving Recipes

Feast on This: Pear and Squash Bruschetta

©USAPears

Tired of the usual bland artichoke and spinach dip, aka mundane holiday appetizers served everywhere?  Feast on this: Chef Craig Richards from La Tovola restaurant in Atlanta shares a creative in season Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday recipe your guests will love:   A warm pear and squash bruschetta with sourdough  bread, topped with slices of savory cheese.    Enjoy!

For more information regarding pear varieties, facts, recipes, and culinary uses, visit USA Pears.

Pear and Squash Bruschetta

Chef Craig Richards

12-14 pieces, serving 6-12 people

1 butternut squash (1-1/2 pounds)
2 yellow onions (1 pound), coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 sage leaves
3 ripe pears, cored and cut into half-inch cubes (we love the Bosc variety)
1/2 pound loaf sourdough bread
1/4 pound smoked ricotta or smoked mozzarella cheese
Pumpkin seed oil or extra virgin olive oil

Peel squash. Combine squash trimmings, onion and carrots in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer 45 minutes or until liquid is flavorful, adding additional water to keep about 3 cups liquid in pan. Strain. Reserve liquid and discard solids.

Scrape seeds from squash and discard. Cut squash into 1/2-inch cubes. Heat olive oil and butter in a large shallow pan. Add sage and fry for 30 seconds or until crisp and fragrant. Remove sage with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towel and reserve for garnish. Add squash and pears to pan. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until just starting to brown. Add 1 cup of the squash stock and cook until reduced. Repeat, using about 3 cups stock. Pears and squash should be soft but still hold shape. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, slice bread into 1/2-inch slices. Toast in 350ºF oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Spoon about ¼ cup warm pear-squash mixture onto each bruschetta. Using a vegetable peeler, make ribbons of cheese and place on top of each. Drizzle with pumpkin seed or olive oil if desired. Garnish servings with fried sage.

Side Dish Recipes Thanksgiving Recipes

Caramelized Cranberry Compote with Rosemary

As we mentioned in this Wild Salmon with a Cranberry Compote post, a compote is simply fresh or dried fruit simmered with sugar to a syrupy consistency. In this simple video restaurant recipe, the chef prepares a Caramelized Cranberry Compote using only four ingredients: dried cranberries, brown sugar, rosemary, and water. It can be served as a side dish, on top of squash soup or pumpkin soup, or as a topping for a leftover turkey sandwich. The chef is the talented Paul Callahan of the The Herb Lyceum at Gilson’s in Groton MA.

Read on for the recipe: Continue Reading

Side Dish Recipes Thanksgiving Recipes

Pecan and Apricot Stuffing

Silly Foodies! Daily Blender, Average Betty, Chef John, Savory Tv, Aspen Food & Wine 2009

Our friend Tiana let us know today that we are lacking stuffing recipes on the site, a Thanksgiving staple that we have so far  sadly neglected, and even more sadly failed to notice!

A quick search of our favorite chefs led us to a video recipe of Chef John from Food Wishes,  a delicious looking Pecan and Apricot Sourdough Stuffing with Herbs, a recipe which Chef John says has a tangy sweet balance of flavor and is great not only for a holiday, but anytime of year.   View Chef John’s written recipe here.  Thank you Chef John for coming to our rescue, once again!

Side Dish Recipes Thanksgiving Recipes

Cranberry Chutney From Chef Suvir Saran

Just say no!  We speak of traditional, drab, lifeless cranberry sauce.  Try this fresh alternative, a delicious sweet and tart cranberry fruit chutney from a renowned NYC chef.

Chef Suvir Saran is the executive chef and co-owner of Dévi restaurant in NYC.   Food critic Frank Bruni called Devi “perhaps the city’s best Indian restaurant” in a New York Times Diner’s Journal review.

Chef Suvir shares a healthy fresh cranberry chutney recipe, that is meant to be made the day or evening before serving.   And today, Chef Suvir visited Savory Tv and shared a beautiful story regarding this cranberry chutney:

“I spoke about this recipe in Atlanta with kids from the public school system a few days after Thanksgiving last year, and then came home around Christmas to find wonderful drawings done by the students, many of whom promised to never eat canned cranberry relish/salad, and encourage their parents to make the recipe above instead.

The recipe is from Charlie, my partners mother in West Virginia, and we have eliminated some ingredients that were not necessary and added nothing but goop and starch to the recipe.

What was marvelous to us was reading the Seattle Times a couple of years ago, soon after the publishing of the book, and reading how the writer who had prepared this recipe, decided to make it their families new cranberry relish recipe.

It made me proud of Charlies mother, her recipe and an age old favorite recipe.

Our farm, my second book and the restaurant in Jersey City as also the kiosks at UC Berkeley and Cornell University are all called American Masala.  They are all about celebrating the magical tastes of foods from around India, the US and other countries that add magic at our home table, and recipes that find their way into my books and thereby into these restaurant concepts.”

Thank you Chef Suvir, you are truly an inspiration.

Read on for the recipe: Continue Reading

Pasta Recipes Side Dish Recipes Thanksgiving Recipes

Roasted Pumpkin Risotto with Cranberry Brown Butter Sauce

It’s time to celebrate the cranberry!   Not only for Thanksgiving, fresh cranberries are typically available now, from September through December.

This restaurant recipe is from Executive Chef Tom Berry of Nantucket’s Great Harbor Yacht Club, and is a roasted pumpkin risotto with Parmesan and a cranberry brown butter sauce,  a dish that can be served for the holiday or used with leftovers.

Read on for the recipe Continue Reading

Salad Recipes Side Dish Recipes Thanksgiving Recipes

Shaved Brussels Sprout and Prosciutto Salad with Top Chef Stephanie Izard

Raw brussels sprouts are amazing in salads when thinly sliced. They offer an entirely different flavor experience to the palate as opposed to the frequently hated cooked version.  Mild, crunchy, and nutrient packed, Top Chef Stephanie Izard shows us how to prepare a beautiful brussel sprout salad with a light vinaigrette, in this video from Whole Foods Market.  She recommends this salad for a Thanksgiving side dish, but this is an excellent choice any time of year when nice looking sprouts are to be found.

Recipe as adapted from the video:
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Prosciutto
Chef Stephanie Izard

For the salad:
1/4 lb of prosciutto (simply omit this for a vegetarian option)
1 lb of brussels sprouts, sliced
2 cups of corn
8 ounces of manchego (or alternatively Parmesan) cheese, shaved
1/4 cup of chopped toasted pecans

For the vinaigrette:
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 Tbsp of maple syrup
2 Tbsp of minced shallot
4 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch of salt and pepper

For more from Stephanie check out her blog here, which has delicious videos and recipes, and also follow her updates on Twitter.

Culinary Tips Thanksgiving Recipes

How to Carve a Turkey With Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg

Score:  Just what the Thanksgiving doctor ordered.  Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg shows us how to carve a turkey with ease and confidence, in this featured video from Whole Foods Market.

Instructions via the video:

  • After letting your turkey rest for 20 minutes, place on the cutting board and pull out the aromatics.
  • Find the loose skin between the breast and the leg, carve downward to pull the leg away.  You can use a fork to help pry the leg off, and you may need to twist the leg to assist.
  • Next remove the drumstick from the thigh, taking your knife down the middle between the two.  Serve the leg whole or slice it if desired.  Slice the thigh diagonally, keeping the skin intact.
  • Next, take off the wings, you can either twist them by hand or use a knife.
  • Next, the breast meat.  Find the breastbone in the top center, and cut on both the right and left sides of the bone, letting the bone be your guide.  Slowly and carefully cut down across the ribcage.
  • Slice the breast meat into slices, and make a gorgeous display by fanning the slices on the platter.
  • Garnish your finished platter with fresh herbs.  You’re done, prepare for praise!

Culinary Tips Thanksgiving Recipes Turkey Recipes

How to Brine a Turkey

Considering brining your Thanksgiving turkey this year?   If so you must watch this video brought to us from Chow.com.  The delicious Top Chef Master Michael Chiarello explains in simple terms how to do it correctly and common mistakes to avoid.

Why brine?  It allows flavor and seasoning to penetrate the inside of the turkey as well as the outside, and will produce a very juicy and evenly cooked bird.

Key tips from the video:

  • Avoid over salting, it will lead to a stringy and dry bird.
  • Be sure your container is large enough for the entire turkey.
  • Do not over brine the turkey.
  • Start with fresh water.
  • Use pure Kosher salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, bay leaf, and any other desired flavorings or spices.  Bring these items to a boil the day before, let cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
  • Use two smaller turkeys rather than one large one, to yield twice as many parts and be more tender.
  • Before brining the turkey, remove from plastic, rinse it in water, and remove the bag of giblets.
  • The perfect brining container?  An ice chest or cooler.  Put the turkey in, add ice on top, pour the brine in.  Michael suggests putting the cooler in the garage, and brining for 12 hours overnight.
  • In the morning, remove from the brine, pat dry, and let the turkey get to room temperature for about an hour.
  • No roasting rack?  No problem.  Simply put the turkey on top of whole vegetables such as celery and carrots.

[pro-player width=’550′ height=’353′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaXaLiHzlaE[/pro-player]
Craving more from Michael? Follow him on Facebook and Twitter, and visit our other posts:

Thank you Chef!

Side Dish Recipes Thanksgiving Recipes Vegetarian Recipes

Mashed Sweet Potatoes Three Ways

Billy Strynkowski is the executive chef,  recipe developer, and writer for Cooking Light Magazine.  In this video, he shows us 3 amazingly simple ways to prepare mashed sweet potatoes, a perfect Thanksgiving side dish recipe time saver.

Starting with the mashed sweet potatoes mixed with butter, salt, and pepper, his first method blends in mashed bananas for a Caribbean flavor.  The second method blends in light coconut milk.  In his third method he simply folds in orange juice concentrate.

We tried the mashed bananas version last night.  We steamed 2 cut and peeled sweet potatoes for 20 minutes, added 1 tbsp of butter, salt and pepper to taste, and added one mashed banana.  We  garnished it with a few dried cranberries, and it was delicious.

[pro-player width=’550′ height=’353′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhj68LC8RHU[/pro-player]

Care to step it up a notch? Try one of the above techniques using homemade butter instead of store bought. Read this post to learn how simple it is to make in less than 15 minutes –> How to make butter.

Thanksgiving Recipes Turkey Recipes

Thanksgiving recipe roundup!

Here is Savory Tv’s plethora of Thanksgiving recipe ideas, neatly bundled into one post!

First off we approach the turkey. Our favorite this year is the roasted turkey recipe posted here from our friends at Ifoods Tv. Second runner up in our book is a tie! Chef Scott with his special brining and roasting techniques here are a great option for 4 or more guests, or a couple who love leftovers! For an intimate Thanksgiving dinner for two we love this recipe and video by Chef Keith Snow, which roasts a turkey breast instead of an entire turkey.

For side dishes, in addition to green vegetables, warm bread, cranberry chutney and the garlic mashed potatoes video found here, we recommend another favorite from Chef Keith Snow, an easy but delicious sweet potato recipe. His technique involves dressing the sweet potatoes with a herb infused butter, maple syrup, and peanuts.

If you prefer to mull over several other tasty options, this post from Clay and Zach of The Bitten Word is so fun to browse, and it discusses the recommendations and recipes posted in the top food magazines this year.

Have you made a huge mistake on the big day? Having gravy or stuffing dilemmas? Have no fear as chef Rocco DiSpirito comes to your rescue with Turkey 911, his guide to fixing common Thanksgiving day cooking mishaps.

So, whether you are lucky enough to be with friends and family, or home alone and unable to travel on Thanksgiving, please take a deep breath, relax, give thanks, enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday.

Thanksgiving Recipes Turkey Recipes

We can’t wait! A very special turkey recipe from Chef Niall Harbison

Our friend Chef Niall Harbison from Ifoods Tv has a perfect moist roasted turkey recipe, just in time for the holidays! Niall’s recipe includes a delicious stuffing, made with cognac, port, chestnuts, and apples, and he shows us his technique for roasting a 6 lb turkey with vegetables. He finishes the turkey with a savory dressing made from homemade stock. We have been lusting for it just from viewing the video, and with Niall’s culinary expertise this recipe is guaranteed to be a winner! The recipe can be viewed here, and the stock recipe for the gravy is here.


Watch Roast Turkey in Educational & How-To | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Thanksgiving Recipes Turkey Recipes

How to roast a turkey with Chef Scott Cutaneo

You can do it, really you can, and it’s not that difficult. If you never cooked a turkey in the past, or perhaps had a subpar turkey experience, this year is different. Chef Scott from Le Petit Chateau guides you through the basics in this easy to follow video recipe for roasting the perfect Thanksgiving turkey.

First, brine the turkey. Why brine? Because it adds moisture and flavor to your turkey. Wikipedia has a great explanation of the chemistry here. Mix 2 cups of salt mixed with 2 gallons of hot or boiling water (or an appropriate ratio, 1 cup of salt per gallon of water), making sure the salt is completely dissolved. Let the salt water mixture cool and soak your turkey in the mixture using a large soup stock pot or a large roasting pan, making sure the entire bird is covered. Let the turkey soak for 1 hour per pound of turkey, in the refrigerator. You will to do this the night before Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving day: Before you are ready to roast, discard the salt water, rinse and dry the turkey. If you wish to try a fancier version of brining, chef Scott has a special version using sugar and bourbon found in this video.

The rest is easy.

You will need, in addition to the brined turkey: onions, carrots, thyme, oil, butter, salt, pepper, and trussing string.

Into your roasting pan, add onions, and carrots, celery, and tyme, place the turkey on top of the veggies and herbs, twine the turkey per chef Scott’s instructions, brush it with an oil and butter mixture, add salt, pepper, and 2 inches of water to the bottom of the pan. Cook as directed for the weight of your bird, basting every hour or so. Check the temperature on the back of the breast with a simple meat thermometer, Scott chooses 155 as the perfect temperature before pulling it out of the oven, as the meat will continue to cook even after it is out of the oven. If you are a directions follower, simply follow the directions per pound for your bird. Dinner is served, take a bow, and relax!

Culinary Tips Thanksgiving Recipes Wines and Champagne

Holiday food and wine pairing, mystery solved!

Hosting a party or event during this busy holiday season? Seasoned chefs and sommeliers have no difficulty with food and wine pairing, but for many of us, the issue can be a perplexing challenge. We have discovered this sinfully easy cheat sheet to assist you, a simple interactive wine pairing wheel. Simply click the image, choose a wine, and receive suggestions for the appropriate meat or poultry, fish, sauces, and desserts. Thanksgiving party planners take note: this guide recommends Sauvignon Blanc as a suitable white wine for turkey, and Pinot Noir as a complimentary red wine. For smoked turkey, the guide suggests a white Riesling.

We brought up the subject of turkey to our friend Joe from Another Wine Blog, and he recommended a 2007 Cono Sur Pinot Noir, with an attractive price point of under $10. Wine.com provides a list of suggested wines for thanksgiving here, and you may also find helpful this Thanksgiving wine pairing article written by Joanie from Lafond Vineyards in Santa Barbara.

wine_guide

Indian Recipes Side Dish Recipes Thanksgiving Recipes

Spice up your Thanksgiving holiday with these cranberry chutney recipes!

Cranberries really are given a bad rap. Memories of the canned version at Thanksgiving, reminiscent of jello are partially to blame, and sadly, this side dish has been discarded from many a modern Thanksgiving holiday.

We say give chutney a chance! What is chutney, exactly? Originating in India, chutney is typically defined as a sweet and spicy condiment made of fruits or vegetables, vinegar, sugar and spices. Chutney can be made with mango, apricots, tomatoes or coconut, and spiced with spices such as nutmeg, coriander, or mint, just to name a few of the thousands of ingredient variations. Typically made fresh in India, the type of chutney that is made depends on the ingredients in the local harvest, and they were often not cooked, but infused in the hot Indian sun for several days until the desired flavor and texture were reached. This method is known to still prevail in today’s Indian kitchens that do not have stoves.

Recently we’ve discovered a delightful Indian Chef by the name of Sanjay Thumma, who is quite the celebrity in India. Thousands of his recipes and videos can be found on his site here, and we especially love his version of cranberry chutney in this video. 

Cranberry Chutney

INGREDIENTS:
1 pint of fresh cranberries
3 to 4 chopped green chillies
2″ piece of ginger sliced
2 cloves of garlic chopped (optional)
3 to 4 sprigs of green coriander finely chopped
1-2 tbsp of jaggery or sugar (this is an unrefined cane sugar common in India, you may substitute with brown sugar.)
1 tsp of cumin seeds
Salt to taste
1 tbsp of oil

DIRECTIONS:- Heat some oil in the pan and add cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the sliced ginger
and chopped garlic. Then add the cranberries and green chillies.
Let it cook on medium heat until they are completely cooked and cranberries are softer. Now add the chopped coriander.
Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook. Add some water in between as needed.
Add the salt to taste and the jaggery (or brown sugar) to taste.
When completely cooked put the mixture in the blender and blend it to fine paste.

Also be sure to see our other posted cranberry chutney recipe from Chef Chef Suvir Saran of Dévi restaurant in NYC.

Also spotted in the blogosphere: a delicious cranberry apple chutney recipe here, from Think Inside The Icebox. The famous food blogger Orangette has a cranberry, ginger, and dried cherries version found here, which received rave comment reviews. Whichever recipe you choose, cranberry chutney will be a shining star on your table served as a side dish, over turkey slices, or over warm bread.

Culinary Tips Thanksgiving Recipes

The Art of Carving a Turkey

The Art of Carving was a book written in 1791 by Reverend John Trusler, taking us back to an era where manners and etiquette rated highly in society, even while slicing a Thanksgiving turkey! A few amusing excerpts from this historic book are here:

“…manners and etiquette are vital, and the ability to carve with “ease and grace” gains great respect among fellow diners”

“On no account must the carver stand up while doing the deed, but must always have a chair high enough to do the job commandingly.”

“Any attempt to hack at the turkey will end in guests being “bespattered” and so should be avoided.”

“Choice cuts should always be handed out evenly around the table, unless people of a “superior rank” are present. ”

Many times going back to basics is best! Houstonian chef Jeffrey Everts shows us just how quick and easy it can be, in this video demonstration of how to carve a holiday turkey with a carving knife.

[kaltura-widget wid=”utf0pbnl4g” width=”410″ height=”364″ type=”dark” addPermission=”3″ editPermission=”3″ /]

Another “How to carve a turkey” video may be found here, and we found a helpful printable guide at the Eating Well site here.

Side Dish Recipes Thanksgiving Recipes Vegetarian Recipes

Acorn squash with a nutmeg and ginger orange glaze with Chef Jeff Nathan

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Jeff Nathan is chef and host of the gourmet kosher public television show “New Jewish Cuisine”. He is featured frequently in publications such as Saveur and Food Arts, and has authored two cookbooks, “Adventures in Jewish Cooking” and “Jeff Nathan’s Family Suppers”.

As director of culinary development for the Hain-Celestial Group, he is responsible for the creation of many products commonly seen in markets.

Jeff is the executive chef of Abigael’s on Broadway in NYC (at 39th), which offers eclectic modern kosher fare, as well as an upstairs tea lounge. Find out more about Jeff and Abigael’s on Broadway here.

In this video from the Jewish Televison Network, Chef Jeff prepares a spicy and sweet acorn squash side dish, perfect for Rosh Hashanah or any fall meal.

Soup Recipes Thanksgiving Recipes

Butternut squash and apple soup with Chef Keith Snow

Although winter squash can be purchased year round in markets, now is the peak squash season for most of us with gardens. When harvesting winter squash, look for heavy squash with a skin that is glossy and free from cuts or soft spots. Most winter squash (with the exceptions being acorn, dumpling, and delicata) will benefit from a curing stage, which is simply a room temperature storage for ten to twenty days.

Winter squash is high in vitamins A, C, potassium and fiber, as well as the antioxidant lutein.

(As with pumpkin, the seeds of most winter squash can be roasted for an excellent snack! Known as Pepitas in Mexico, you can make these by rinsing the pulp from the squash or pumpkin seeds and allowing them to dry. Add butter or oil to a skillet on medium low heat, add the seeds, chopped chipotles or chipotle powder, and a dash of brown sugar, and stir frequently for about 5 minutes until the seeds puff. Serve with salt and a squeeze of fresh lime. )

Now onto the recipe! Chef Keith Snow from Harvest Eating shows you how to make a hearty butternut squash soup using apples, chicken stock, fresh nutmeg, celery, and onions, garnished with chopped chives.

[pro-player width=’550′ height=’353′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkVzExp8428[/pro-player]

Chef Snow does have a full written recipe for butternut squash soup on his site which you can view here, which is slightly different from the video recipe.

We’ve transcribed the video recipe instructions as follows:

Butternut Squash Soup

1/2 diced onion
1 small diced apple
1 stalk of celery chopped
2 cups of water
fresh nutmeg, one pinch
raw butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 garlic clove chopped
(optional: 1 tbs fresh ginger grated)
organic heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup
2 cups of organic chicken broth
3 tbsp of organic butter
chopped chives for garnish
salt
pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan, add the chopped celery, onion, garlic, ginger if desired (optional), salt, and pepper. Sweat this mixture over medium low heat while stirring for approximately 5 minutes. Add the diced apple and squash, water, and chicken stock. Simmer the mixture for 20 minutes until the squash is softened. Add the cream and a pinch of nutmeg, taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Use a stick blender, and blend until smooth. Ladle into bowls, and add a dollop of chopped chives for garnish.