I enjoy celebrating the food traditions of the holidays and for my family, the menu included dad's smoked turkey, grandma's dressing, mashed potatoes with gravy, mom's copper carrots, peas, cranberry sauce, rolls and pumpkin pie. There were additions and variations from year to year, but these were always the core staples that could be counted on. My grandma's dressing was one of the highlights. I have tried to replicate her recipe many times, but somehow it just never turns out as good as hers was. I learned just recently from my cousin, Paula and my aunt, Kathy that the secret is in the cornmeal. It must be one of two kinds that can only be purchased in Alabama- Pollards or Alabama King. This cornmeal is white, not yellow, and is ground very fine like flour. Short of having my brother overnight a package of cornmeal to me, there is no hope of being able to make my grandma's dressing this year, so we will settle for stuffing, instead. I also ordered a small turkey from Stonewood Farm in Orwell, VT. My dad's smoked turkey is tough to beat, but since I don't have a smoker I opt to brine it overnight in a 5 gallon bucket and oven roast it. Here is my brine recipe:
Turkey Brine
2 Gallons cold water
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
6 sprigs fresh thyme
4 springs fresh rosemary
If you put your turkey in the bucket and it isn't completely covered with brine, add a little more water. We store the bucket covered on our front porch since it will stay plenty cold out there. In warmer climes, you can use a big bag to brine your turkey and keep it in the fridge. After the turkey has been in the brine overnight, remove it from the bucket, pat it dry, and use a slotted spoon to remove the fruit and herb sprigs from the bucket. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Stuff the turkey with the citrus and herbs plus one quartered onion, and 2 or 3 cloves of crushed garlic. Rub the turkey all over with butter. For the first 30 minutes, cook the turkey breast side down and uncovered in your roasting pan. After 30 minutes, flip the turkey over and continue to cook breast side up, uncovered, until the skin begins to turn light gold. At this point, tent the turkey with foil and continue to cook until the temperature in the breast reads between 160-170 degrees Fahrenheit. For a small turkey, the total time will be somewhere around 3 1/2 hours. A final crucial step to maintaining juiciness is to allow the turkey to rest 20-30 minutes before carving.
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| our turkey last Thanksgiving |
In the spirit of celebrating the harvest we will also include as many things from the garden as possible. Brad will make his famous mashed potatoes with stored potatoes from our garden and I will pull a bag of our garden green beans and our pumpkin puree from the freezer. I like to keep the green beans simple with just a little butter, salt, and pepper in a pan. With the pumpkin puree, I will whip up a fresh pumpkin pie.
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| Rattlesnake Pole Bean Blossom |
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| Rattlesnake Pole Beans |
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| Blanched Rattlesnake Pole Beans ready for the freezer |
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| Potatoes ready for mashing |
Pie Crust
1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chilled butter
1/4 cup ice water
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the chilled butter and work it with your hands until it resembles course sand. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until you can form the dough into a ball. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight. Roll out the dough and lay it into a 9 inch pie plate being sure to press it into the bottom and corners of the pan. Use a fork to make a decorative edge. You can also make this a few days before Thanksgiving, put it into your pie plate, and freeze it until Thanksgiving morning.
Fresh Pumpkin Pie15 ounces of fresh pumpkin puree
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In one bowl, combine the sugar and the spices. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mix well then add the eggs, then the spice mixture, and then the cream. Pour into your pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and continue baking until the center is set. About 40-50 minutes. I like to place aluminum foil under my pie while it is baking so that if the crust begins to get too brown, I can curl up the edges of the foil to cover just the crust. That way the pie can continue baking, but your crust won't get too dark. I like to serve the pie with some fresh whipped, lightly sweetened heavy cream. My mouth is watering just thinking about this pie!
There is one more exciting part of our harvest this season that we are very thankful for. On the 18th of November, we finally got our first Araucana egg! I have been raising these hens since the early spring and, if you read my "Chicken Saga" in an earlier post, you are aware of the many challenges we have had with our hens. The Araucana hens were supposed to begin laying in October, but never did. I suspect the delayed laying was a result of the stress and trauma of the predation that was going on, but I don't know that for sure. They may simply be late bloomers. Buff, who is older than the Araucanas and who has been laying for more than two years has also been on an egg laying hiatus. She began laying her beautiful brown eggs again about 2 weeks ago. I have been checking the nests daily and hoping each time to find my first blue egg (a fun feature of the Araucana breed). Finally, on November 18th, I found Ginger on a nest and noticed that she didn't go running out into her yard as soon as I opened the door the way she usually does. I left her alone so as not to disturb her and went out again a few hours later. I opened the lid to the nesting boxes and there it was. A beautiful, perfect blue egg! I will use this egg and the others laid since then to make my pumpkin pie and to brush the tops of my biscuits.
I wish everyone a great day on Thursday! May we all eat, drink, and be thankful!
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