Thanksgiving dinner, 2016

Just finished Thanksgiving dinner and wanted to share the recipes for today's meal--delicious!

Brined turkey breast (from Betty Crocker)

9 c water
3/4 c salt
1/2 c honey (original recipe was sugar)
4-6 pound bone-in turkey breast
1 onion, cut in eighths
2 sprigs rosemary
4 sprigs thyme
3 bay leaves
6 T butter, melted
1/4 c chicken broth

Mix water, salt and honey, stirring until dissolved.  Add turkey.  Cover and refrigerate 12-24 hours.

Heat the oven to 325.  Remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry.

Place onion on the rack of a large roasting pan; top with rosemary, thyme and bay leaves.  Place turkey, skin side up, over the onion and herbs.

Mix butter and broth; soak a piece of cheesecloth in the mixture.  Cover the turkey completely.  Roast 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Remove the cheesecloth.  Turn turkey skin side down.  Roast 30-60 minutes longer, until thermometer reads 165.

*****

Make-ahead turkey gravy (from Woman's Day, November 2001)

4 turkey wings
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
1 c water
8 c chicken broth
2 medium carrots, cut in chunks
2 medium celery stalks, cut in chunks
1 t thyme
3/4 c flour
2 T butter
1 t pepper

Roast wings and onions at 400 for 1 1/4 hours or until browned.  Put wings and onions in a 5-6 qt pot.  Add water to roasting pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits on bottom.  Add to pot.  Add 6 c broth, carrots, celery and thyme.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours.  Remove wings (save meat for another use, if desired). Strain broth into a 3 qt saucepan.  Discard vegetables; skim off fat.  Whisk flour into remaining 2 c broth until blended and smooth.  Bring broth in saucepan to a gentle boil.  Whisk in flour mixture and boil 4-5 minutes to thicken.  Stir in butter and pepper.  Refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.

*****

Smothered green beans (from www.plainchicken.com)

5 cans of green beans, drained
1 pound bacon
2/3 c honey (brown sugar in original recipe)
1/4 c butter, melted
1/4 c low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 t garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350.

Pour green beans into an ungreased 9 x 13 pan.

Cook bacon until crispy; drain and chop.  Sprinkle on top of beans.

Whisk together honey, butter, soy sauce and garlic powder.  Pour over beans.  Bake for 40 minutes.

*****

Hasselback maple pecan sweet potatoes

2 medium sweet potatoes
1 T vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 T butter, melted
1 t cinnamon
1/4 c chopped pecans
1/4 c maple syrup
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 t kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425.

Slice 7/8 way through the potatoes, at 1/4" intervals.  Brush the potatoes with oil.  Place in a baking dish and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until soft, and remove from the oven.

Increase temp to 450.

Combine melted butter, cinnamon, pecans, maple syrup, vanilla and salt.  Stir to mix.  Spoon over the potatoes and between slices.  Return the potatoes to the oven and bake and additional 8-10 minutes.  When done, spoon and cooking liquid over the potatoes.

*****

Cranberry pudding (from www.allrecipes.com)

2 c cranberries, cut in half
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1/3 c boiling water
1/2 c molasses
1 c honey (sugar in original recipe)
1/2 c butter
1/2 c heavy cream
1 t vanilla

Lightly grease a 2 qt baking dish.

Sift together flour and salt; dredge cranberries in mixture.

Dissolve baking soda in water and add molasses.  Stir and allow to foam up.

Add to flour/cranberry mixture.  Mix together until well blended.  Spoon into prepared dish.  Cover with a double layer of foil and tie with string.

Place bowl in a large saucepan and fill with water to half the height of the bowl. Cover saucepan and bring water to a boil over high heat.  Reduce to a simmer for 1 hour.  Remove from water and allow to cool.

Cook honey, cream and butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Serve slices of pudding with sauce.