New Favorites for Thanksgiving
November 23, 2007 by Andrea
Filed under Holidays, Poultry, Vegetables
My plan to blog yesterday fell by the wayside as this Thanksgiving was as busy as ever. Though we stayed at home and had a small celebration with our little family, it seems that we’re still stuck in the mode of struggling to get meals on the table while trying to manage the three-ring circus, aka our three little boys. I did manage to continue my tradition of forgetting to serve the cranberry chutney. Last year was the first time in three years that I actually remembered to serve it, and I promised myself that I would remember this year, but once again it sat in the refrigerator forlornly while we enjoyed the turkey and the rest of the trimmings. Oh well, it will taste good with turkey sandwiches for the next few days!
In a departure from our tradition, we roasted a whole turkey this year rather than just a turkey breast using Elise’s method for roasting the bird breast-side down and Food & Wine’s recipe for shallot butter with Madeira thyme gravy. The breast meat was so tender and juicy it was falling apart as we cut it, and the flavor of the gravy was a real winner. I will never roast a bird breast-side up again because it was *that* good. After picking off all the meat for a turkey pot pie, the carcass went into a stockpot to make some good, rich stock for turkey noodle soup. Read more
Turkey Noodle Soup
November 29, 2006 by Andrea
Filed under Holidays, Poultry, Soups & Stews
Leftovers are as much a part of Thanksgiving day and weekend as the Macy’s parade, football games, and Christmas shopping. The turkey sandwiches taste delicious the first day or two after Thanksgiving, but we start getting tired of them by Sunday. After that, we make soup and pot pie. Read more
Sage-Roasted Turkey Breast
We had a small Thanksgiving celebration this year with just the five of us. This wasn’t a good year for us to travel for big family gatherings, what with the new baby and all, so we stayed at home and had a quiet, simple celebration. I roasted a turkey breast since we didn’t need a whole turkey, and it’s something I really should do more often throughout the year. I tried a new method, and it was fast and easy.
Most turkey roasting recipes have you cook for a long time at a slow temperature, but this one recommends a high temperature—450° F—and the bird is done in just 60 to 90 minutes, depending on weight. It worked great! The skin was crispy and flavorful, and the meat was moist and tender. The recipe calls for a 5 pound breast, but we used an 8 pounder which cooked in just over 90 minutes.
[Updated November 23, 2009] Read more
