Friday Recipes

Since next Thursday is Thanksgiving, here are six recipes that can be used for the holiday meal - or anytime, for that matter. Enjoy!

Note: I will be taking Thanksgiving off, so I'll attempt to post a double-batch of recipes on Wednesday. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

SIMPLE ROAST TURKEY

This comes from Melissa Clark of the New York Times' cooking newsletter. Melissa writes, “For all the attention we lavish on Thanksgiving turkeys, the truth is more work does not necessarily yield a better bird. That's right: You can skip brining, stuffing, trussing and basting. Instead of a messy wet brine, use a dry rub (well, technically a dry brine) — a salt and pepper massage that locks in moisture and seasons the flesh. No stuffing or trussing allows the bird to cook more quickly, with the white and dark meat finishing closer to the same time. And if you oil but don’t baste your turkey, you’ll get crisp skin without constantly opening the oven.” Makes 10 to 12 servings.

To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015474-simple-roast-turkey.

Ingredients

1 turkey (10 to 12 pounds)

Coarse kosher salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 lemon, zested and quartered

1 bunch fresh thyme or rosemary

1 bunch fresh sage

12 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1 bottle hard apple cider (12 ounces)

Dry white wine, as needed

2 onions, peeled and quartered

3 bay leaves

Olive oil or melted butter, as needed

Preparation

Remove any giblets from the cavity and reserve for stock or gravy. Pat turkey and turkey neck dry with paper towel; rub turkey all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt per pound of turkey, the pepper and the lemon zest, including the neck. Transfer to a 2-gallon (or larger) resealable plastic bag. Tuck herbs and 6 garlic cloves inside bag. Seal and refrigerate on a small rimmed baking sheet (or wrapped in another bag) for at least 1 day and up to 3 days, turning the bird over every day (or after 12 hours if brining for only 1 day).

Remove turkey from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, uncovered, back on the baking sheet. Return to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours to dry out the skin (this helps crisp it).

When you are ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for one hour.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. In the bottom of a large roasting pan, add the cider and enough wine to fill the pan to a 1/4-inch depth. Add half the onions, the remaining 6 garlic cloves and the bay leaves. Stuff the remaining onion quarters and the lemon quarters into the turkey cavity. Brush the turkey skin generously with oil or melted butter.

Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set inside the roasting pan. Transfer pan to the oven and roast 30 minutes. Cover breast with aluminum foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh reaches a temperature of 165 degrees, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Transfer turkey to a cutting board to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

BREAD STUFFING

This comes from Mark Bittman of the New York Times' cooking newsletter, and goes well with the Simple Roast Turkey. According to the newsletter, “Mark Bittman writes that this bread stuffing, based on a James Beard recipe, has been a staple on his Thanksgiving table for decades. First you make fresh bread crumbs: just whiz a few cups of slightly stale cubes of decent bread (crust and all, unless it’s super-hard) in a food processor. Keep the crumbs very, very coarse. Cook them with plenty of butter (yes, you can use olive oil) and good seasonings. Baked in a pan, this is delicious, with or without gravy. You could use it to stuff the turkey if you’d like — but once you've tried it cooked on its own, you won't look back.” Time: 1 hour; makes 6 to 8 cups, enough for a 12-pound bird.

To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/147-bread-stuffing.

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup pine nuts or chopped walnuts

6 to 8 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs (see tip)

1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon or sage leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon or sage, crumbled

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Preparation

Melt butter over medium heat in a large, deep skillet, Dutch oven or casserole. Add onion and cook, stirring, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add nuts and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes.

Add bread crumbs and tarragon or sage and toss to mix. Turn heat to low. Add salt, pepper and scallions. Toss again; taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add parsley and stir. Turn off heat. (You may prepare recipe in advance up to this point; refrigerate, well wrapped or in a covered container, for up to a day before proceeding.)

Pack into chicken or turkey if you like before roasting, or roast in an ovenproof glass or enameled casserole for about 45 minutes, at 350 to 400 degrees; you can bake this dish next to the bird, if you like. (Or you can cook it up to 3 days in advance and warm it up right before dinner.)

Tip: To make the bread crumbs, tear bread into chunks and put them in the container of a food processor; you may need to do this in batches. Pulse until you have coarse, irregular crumbs, no smaller than a pea and preferably larger.

MAKE-AHEAD GRAVY

This also comes from Mark Bittman of the New York Times' cooking newsletter. Mark writes, “You need gravy on Thanksgiving to lubricate the turkey, moisten the potatoes, douse the stuffing. But traditionally it's made at the last minute, after the turkey has been removed from the roasting pan. Here’s a secret: There's no need to make gravy right before serving. You can make it up to five days ahead. Then, as you reheat it, whisk in the turkey pan drippings for extra flavor. The result is every bit as good as last-minute gravy — and far less crazy-making.” Time: 30 minutes; makes 5 to 6 cups.

To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015197-make-ahead-gravy.

1 stick butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup flour

Salt and pepper

4 to 5 cups rich stock, warmed

Turkey drippings and giblets (optional)

Preparation

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on the onions, stirring constantly, and cook until flour is golden to brown. Adjust heat so mixture does not burn.

Gradually whisk in 4 cups stock until mixture thickens and is smooth. If it is too thick, add liquid. Cool, cover and chill.

When ready to serve, reheat mixture over low heat, stirring. Scrape bottom of turkey pan and add drippings or giblets to gravy. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve.

GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

Is there anything more comforting than mashed potatoes? This comes from Florence Fabricant, also from the New York Times' cooking newsletter. Florence writes, “These are classic mashed potatoes, brightened up with a substantial amount of garlic. Feel free to adjust the garlic to taste, and to deepen the flavor, try roasting the cloves before mixing them in with the potatoes. (For everything you need to know to make perfect potatoes, visit our potato guide.)” Time: 40 minutes; makes 6 servings.

To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/4288-garlic-mashed-potatoes.

Ingredients

3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled

6 cloves garlic, peeled

3/4 cup hot milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, or 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

Cut the potatoes into uniform two-inch chunks and place in a heavy saucepan along with the garlic. Cover with water, bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and garlic and mash the potatoes and garlic together. Stir in the hot milk, season to taste with salt and pepper and add the butter (less if desired) or oil. Serve at once.

PERFECT PARKER HOUSE ROLLS

Guess which emailed newsletter this is from? Okay, that's a trick question! I know, I know...after several recipes from the same newsletter, you're expecting today's whole blog to be from there. However, this recipe comes from another favorite newsletter that I subscribe to: The Baker Chick. If you haven't signed up for Audra's newsletter (Audra is The Baker Chick), please do so. You'll find some yummy recipes there – as well as in the New York Times' cooking newsletter.

Anyway, Audra writes, “Are you dinner roll with your Thanksgiving meal people? My family always had a bread basket on the table with rolls and a full stick of butter on the side. I always loved sopping up the gravy and sauces and making mini turkey sandwiches later in the night when I realized I was hungry again. Our rolls were normally store-bought, nothing special but they served their carby purpose and everyone was happy.

“Well…I have now tasted what were the most fabulous, soft, pillowy, buttery rolls that I am ruined for life. Never again could I even consider a store-bought dinner roll as these were both easy and fantastic. The texture was out of this world- they almost had a croissant-like taste, so buttery and rich. Dipped in a bowl of pea soup we enjoyed these immensely over the weekend, (Hugo had 3!) but I know they will be a huge hit with my family for Thanksgiving as well. If your Thanksgiving spread needs a bread basket I highly recommend these gorgeous rolls make it to your table.” Makes 24 – 30 rolls.

To view this yumminess online, go to http://www.thebakerchick.com/2015/11/perfect-parker-house-rolls/. Also, to learn more about Hugo (as in Hugo had 3!), well...you'll just have to sign up for her newsletter!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups milk

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for brushing

1/4 – 1/2 cup sugar*

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

6 – 8 cups all-purpose flour

Sea Salt for sprinkling

Instructions

Place milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and sugar stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool to luke warm.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the yeast, warm water, milk mixture, eggs, salt and half the flour.

Mix for a few minutes until combined, scraping the bowl down with your spatula if needed. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time until dough comes together and forms a soft, loose ball. (The dough will be very soft but shouldn't be too sticky. I used 7 cups total flour.)

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand for about 5 minutes, adding a bit more flour if the dough is still very sticky, until smooth.

Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a clean towel, and proof in a warm place for 60-70 minutes, or until doubled.

Turn proofed dough onto your floured surface, punch it down a bit, and roll or spread the dough into a rectangle. Shape into rolls and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. **

Cover again and let rise for another 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt.

Notes:

The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar, which definitely gives the rolls a little bit of a sweet taste. I didn't mind it, but will cut it down to 1/4 cup next time just to make it a bit more subtle.

* If I had wanted these to be perfectly the same size, I would have measured each one to weigh 1.5 oz on my kitchen scale. I eyeballed it though and was fine with them being a bit more rustic. To shape them into round rolls, I cut off the portion of dough, turned all the edges under and pinched them together to form a ball.

CRANBERRY PIE

This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking, which is for sale on Amazon.com. (To buy a copy of it for your Kindle or tablet, click here.) My dad sent this recipe in a letter dated “18 No 79”. He wrote, “Here is a recipe for a pie. 1st the way it was in the paper and the way I made it.”

2 T cornstarch

1 C sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 C hot water

1 C raisins

1 T butter

2 C cranberries

Pie crust

Blend 1st four ingredients & cook in double boiler until thick. Add next 3 ingredients & cook 10 minutes. Put in pie shell & bake at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes, covering pie with foil for the first 10-15 minutes. (Crust can be any kind you want, whether double crust or simply a bottom crust.)

VARIATION

2 Tbls cornstarch

3/4 C honey + 1/4 C molasses

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 C hot water

1 C raisins

1 T margarine

1 1/2 C cranberries + 1 C canned cranberries (kind with berries in sauce)

Pie crust

Make as above.