Sausage Apple and Cranberry Stuffing

Adapted slightly from Allrecipes

My sister and I tried this stuffing while she was out here, and it was fantastic! Lovely fall fruit flavors blended with spices and meat - it was an excellent combination. It would be interesting to use dried herbs, and different kids of breads. We tried it a second time without meat and it was still awesome, so feel free to make this one vegetarian if you so desire.

Serves 5-6

5 1/2 cups cubed bread (the recipe calls for half white half whole wheat, but whatever)
1 lb. ground turkey sausage
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 Tbsp fresh sage
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 apple, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup minced parsley
1 cup turkey stock
4 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 (176 C) and spread out the bread cubes on a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5-7 minutes until evenly toasted. Then transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.

In a large skillet, cook sausage and onions over medium heat. Then add celery, sage, rosemary and thyme. Cook and stir 2 minutes to blend flavors.

Pour sausage mixture over bread. Mix in chopped apples, cranberries and parsley. Drizzle turkey stock plus melted butter, and toss mixture lightly. Fluff with fork. 

Missy's Favorite Turkey Dressing

from Simply Recipes

I have made this recipe for every holiday party in the last three years and it is always my favorite! It's got a great blend of fall flavors and is so easy. It's a perfect side when you want to feed a lot of people.

Serves 8-12

1 loaf day old French bread, cut into 3/4 inch cubes (about 10-12 cups bread cubes)
1 cup walnuts (I have also used hazelnuts)
2 cups onion
2 cups celery
6 Tbsp butter
1 green apple, peeled, cored and chopped
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped olives (martini olives, the ones with the pimento)
1-2 cups turkey or chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp ground sage
salt and pepper to taste

Toast the nuts on medium high heat until browned, about a minute or two. Let them cool and then chop them roughly.

Heat a large saute pan on medium heat. Melt 3 Tbsp (about half) of the butter in the pan and then pour in the bread cubes, coating them with melted butter. Let them toast; only turn them when they begin to turn brown. (It's best if the bread is already a bit dried out. If it's still moist, lay the cubes in a baking pan and put them in a hot oven for 10 minutes or your stuffing will turn out mushy.)

In a large pot, saute onions and celery on medium high heat with the other half of the butter (about 3 Tablespoons) until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Add the bread, chopped nuts, apple, raisins, olives and parsley. Add one cup of stock, the rest of the seasonings and salt and pepper.

Cover. Turn the heat to low and cook for an hour or until the apples are cooked through. Check every 10 minutes or so to add water if the stuffing starts to dry out and stick to the bottom of the pan.

How to make Pumpkin Puree

Instructions from Allrecipes

I now live in a place where it is difficult to buy canned pumpkin. And with the holiday pumpkin pies coming up I thought I would try making my own this year instead of getting it shipped from America (it makes for a rather expensive pie).

As usual, making it from home is very easy to do and it tastes better and of course is much cheaper. So here is how to do it:

1. Choose a small pie pumpkin, not more than 3-4 pound (the smaller ones tend to be sweeter)
2. Rinse the pumpkin well, removing any dirt or debris
3. Cut the pumpkin in half. Then scoop out all the seeds and guts. Set aside seeds for baking later!
4. Then lay the pumpkin pieces face down in a baking dish and add about a cup of water.

5. Bake at 350 F for 45-60 minutes, or until the flesh is soft and can be punctured easily with a fork.
6. Remove from the oven, and let cool. At this point, the rind should just peel right off, though you may have to do a little scraping to get some of the flesh off.
7. Puree it in a food processor until smooth. Now the pumpkin is ready to be used in a pie, muffin or soup! Anything that requires pumpkin puree. If you don't need it right away, feel free to freeze it until you need it.

Roasted Turkey Breasts

from Betty Crocker

I love turkey, but am not always in the mood to roast a whole bird. When turkey breasts came on sale a few weeks ago, I jumped at the chance to have a nice turkey dinner without all of the fuss.

Serves 6-8

1 whole turkey breast, bone in (thawed if frozen) about 4-5 lbs or 1.75- 2 kilos

1/2 cup butter (113 grams)

1/4 cup white wine or apple juice

2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp cold water

Preheat oven to 325 F (176 C). Place turkey, skin side up on a rack in a large, shallow roasting pan. Roast uncovered 1 hour.

Mix butter, wine, thyme, salt , paprika and garlic. Brush turkey with half of the butter mixture. Roast 30 minutes; brush with remaining butter mixture. Roast about an hour longer or until your meat thermometer reads 165 F (73 C). Remove turkey from the oven and let it stand for 15 minutes. In the meantime, take the pan drippings and skim the fat off of the top. Add enough water to drippings to measure out about 2 cups. Heat water and drippings in a saucepan until boiling. In a small cup, mix in cornstarch and 2 Tbsp cold water and once they are thoroughly mixed, add to the drippings. Boil and stir for 1 minute, serve gravy with turkey.

Salmon Cream Cheese Crackers

I made these at Christmastime as an appetizer and they were great! I really came to love gravlax in Finland and I try to use it as often as I can. Be sure to use gourmet mustard, the plain old yellow kind will not suffice.

crackers

cream cheese

fresh dill (I had to use dried... boo.)

cured salmon gravlax

Mustard (must be artisan!)

Spread the crackers with a layer of cream cheese, add a dollop of mustard and put a slice of gravlax on top. Garnish with dill (fresh if you have it) and refrigerate until serving.

Orange Dream Jello Salad

From Grandma Ilez

This is from Ben's Grandma Ilez, and where I am from having at least a couple of jello recipes handy is basically mandatory. The orange and whipped cream blends flawlessly and provides a light, sweet side to any casual dinner.

2 cups whipped cream

2 boxes orange jello

2 cans mandarin oranges

The day before (or at least several hours before) prepare the two boxes of jello according to the directions on the box. Just before serving, mix together the prepared jello, whipped cream and gently fold in the mandarin oranges. Keep cold until serving.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

from Allrecipes

This is one of my all time favorite pies. It is sweet and nutty with just a hint of chocolate. My only complaint is that there are never any leftovers.

makes one shallow 9" pie

1 pie crust

1/3 cup butter

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3 eggs

2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 375 (190 C). Heat butter and chocolate over low heat, stiffing constantly, until chocolate is melted; cool slightly. Beat eggs, sugar, salt, chocolate mixture and corn syrup. Stir in pecans and pour mixture into pie shell.

Bake until set, 40-50 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve warm or refrigerate and serve with whipped topping.

All Butter Pie Crust

adapted from Simply Recipes

This creates one pie crust. If you need a top and a bottom, double the recipe. This crust is great and flaky, so much better than store bought.

1 1/4 cup Flour

1/2 cup butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Sugar (increase to 1 1/2 tsp for a sweet recipe)

2-4 Tbsp Ice Water

1. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes, and place into the freezer for about 15 minutes, or until thoroughly chilled

2. Combine flour, salt and sugar until mixed. Then add butter, and mix roughly, until just combined and clumpy. Then add the ice water one Tbsp at a time until the dough begins to stick together. Take care not to over mix. You want to have small irregular chunks of butter scattered about the crust because that is what makes it flaky. Then gently form it into a ball (or multiple balls if you have doubled the recipe) sprinkle it with flour, wrap it with plastic, and put it in the fridge for at least one hour.

3. Pull it out and roll it to on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 of an inch thick. Carefully place it into a 9-inch pie plate, pressing it down so that it lines the bottom and sides, and trim around the edges.

**If you want to prebake your crust (a good idea for fruit or juicy pies), put pie weights on the bottom of the crust and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 (176 C)

4. Add pie filling, add the other crust on top (if needed) and pinch the two together around the edges using your fingers or a fork. Pierce the top pie crust several times so the steam can escape.

How to cook a Turkey

from pioneer woman cooks

1.  First of all, you have to thaw out your turkey.  It needs to sit in the fridge for about five hours per pound.  This means you have to buy your bird several days in advance, so plan ahead!

2.  Once the bird has thawed completely, you can start the brining process.  This is where you soak the meat in a salty liquid beforehand and makes it moist and flavorful.  

Basic Brine ingredients:

1 cup Salt

1 cup Sugar

1 gallon Water

Seasoning    

You can choose any seasoning combination you like.  There are some with apples and cinnamon, lemons, brown sugar, it was hard to decide on just one.  

This is the one I used last time:

4 cloves Garlic (minced)

1 Tbsp Rosemary

1 Tbsp Sage

1 Tbsp Thyme

1 Tbsp Parsley

10 Peppercorns     

Put the water in a pot with the spices and let boil for about 10 minutes.  Then remove and let it cool down, once it is at room temperature get it into the fridge until cold.  Next, open up the turkey and remove the bags of giblets and neck.  If the legs are tucked into the skin, let them loose and carefully rinse the entire bird.  Put the entire bird into a large plastic bag (something thick so it wont leak) or bucket (if you can find one that will fit in your fridge) and pour the spicy water into the bag.  Close it tightly, trying to get as much air as possible out of the bag.  Then put it back in the fridge for another 16-24 hours.  Rotate it every once in a while to make sure all sides of the turkey are getting a proper brining.  

3.  Cooking the turkey takes several hours (about 15-20 minutes per pound), so be sure to start your bird early so it is finished in time for the meal.  Preheat the oven to 275 F.  Take the bird out of the brining bag, dump out the contents and rinse the bird off really well inside and out.  Tuck the legs together and tie them up with kitchen string.  (This is only for aesthetic reasons)  Wrap the turkey entirely in tin foil and place on the oven rack with a deep pan underneath to catch all of the juices (also drop in a 1/2 cup of water to prevent burning).  For right now you will bake this turkey at this temperature for about 10 minutes per pound.  (so a 20 lb turkey would go for 3 1/2 hours, while a 15 lb turkey would go for about 2 1/2 hours)  There is more cooking time after this first segment, but you will up the temperature.  Leave the turkey in the oven and start getting other things done.  

4.  When it's time to remove your turkey, melt a stick of butter in a small bowl (you can add spices if you wish).  Remove the turkey from the oven and take off the foil (save it for later!).  Increase oven temperature to 375 F.  Using a basting brush, cover the bird with butter.  This will give it a golden color, so be generous!  Next, insert your meat thermometer into the thigh area, near the hip joint.  You will take out the bird about every 30 minutes or so to baste it again with butter.  The skin will slowly begin to turn a lovely golden brown, but it is not finished until the internal temperature is somewhere between 165-170 F.  It is important to get it up to this temperature to make sure it is cooked all of the way through.  Once it is up to that temperature, pull the turkey out and peer inside.  If the juices are pinkish, put it back in for a few more minutes.  If not, the turkey is done.  Congratulations!  Wrap it in foil to keep it warm until time to eat.  

5.  Next it is time to make the gravy.  

Ingredients:

Turkey drippings

5-6 Tbsp Flour

1 cup Chicken or Turkey stock

Take the deep pan that has been collecting juices while the bird was baking.  Pour the liquid into a bowl and set aside.  The pan should be flecked with little flavorful bits.  Stick the entire pan on the stove (it may cover two burners) and turn them on to low heat.  

Once the fat has separated from the liquid drippings, drop 3-4 Tbsp into the pan and skim off the rest of the fat to put in a separate bowl.  Next add 5-6 Tbsp of flour into the pan and with a whisk, stir the flour up with the fat, being sure to scrape up the bottom and get all of the flavor loose.  It will turn into a paste (If it looks to oily, add flour.  Too dry?  Add more fat)  Cook on this low heat, stirring constantly, until flour begins to brown.  Then add the stock (low sodium is best) stirring to mix all of the lovely flavors together.  Lastly, you will add the drippings (with the fat skimmed off) and pour them into the mixture.  Now you will cook the gravy for several minutes in order for the gravy to thicken.  If it is too thick, slowly add more stock or water.  If it is too thin, mix a couple of tablespoons with flour until smooth and pour it into the gravy.  Sprinkle with pepper and enjoy -- you are ready to eat!         

Blueberry Pie

adapted from Simply Recipes

1 double Pie Crust

6 cups Blueberries, fresh or frozen

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1/4 cup Flour

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

2 Tbsp Butter

Egg Wash:

1 Egg

1 Tbsp Milk

Prepare crust, roll it out to two 1/8 inch thick circles and drape dough over a 9" pie pan.  Put in the fridge to chill while you prepare the blueberries.  Preheat oven to 425 F.  

Combine berries, flour, cinnamon, lemon juice, sugar in a bowl.  Take the pie crusts out and press one into place at the bottom of the tin.  Then place the berries in the pie crust and dot the top with butter chunks.  Then cover the pie with the second dough circle and trim around the edges. Crimp the ends with a fork or your finger to seal shut.  Place in the fridge to chill.

Create the egg wash by whisking egg and milk together.  Take the pie and brush the top with the egg wash to give it a glossy finish.  Then make small cuts in the crust to release steam while cooking.  Bake with tin foil on the edges for 30 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 F, remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes.  

Apple Pie

from Dee Smith

This is such an easy recipe and so delicious.  It never lasts long at our house, so I usually make two and freeze one for later.  

One 9" double Pie Crust 

8 Apples (Granny Smith or other tart apples are best)

2/3 cup Sugar

1/3 cup Flour

1 Tbsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Cloves

1/4 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Peel and core the apples and cut them into little chunks.  In a small bowl, stir together sugar, flour, and spices.  Mix the apples and dry mixture together and place into a prepared pie crust.  Cover apples with the tip curst, press edges with your fingers or fork tines to seal, and then pierce holes in the top crust to allow the steam to escape.  

Paint the top of the crust with an egg wash and place foil around the edges of the pie.  Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.    

Sweet Potato Pie

from the Perfect Pantry

Finland does not sell pumpkin puree (or pumpkins for that matter...) and at first I was really disappointed that we wouldn't have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.  Then I did some investigating and learned that sweet potato pie is very similar in taste and texture, so I gave it a whirl.  

The only thing I would do differently is cover the crust edge with foil for the first 30 minutes of baking.  As you can see, my crust got a little burnt...  

One 9-inch Pie Crust

3 large Sweet Potatoes

3 Eggs

11 Tbsp Butter (about 1/3 lb)

2 Tbsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Ginger

2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Honey

1/2 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1.  Preheat oven to 425 F.  Press the prepared pie crust into a pie tin and crimp the edges.  Next you will "blind bake" the crust, which means to pre-bake it for a short time so it will be semi firm before putting the filling in.  To do so, cover it with tin foil and pour rice or beans inside so the crust won't bubble up.  Bake for about 10 minutes, and remove.

2.  Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into large chunks.  Place them in a pot filled water until they are totally submerged.  Boil until potatoes are soft, then drain the water and mash them.  Add baking powder, spices, brown sugar, honey and condensed milk and whip together until smooth.    

3.  Then raise the heat to 405 F, and pour the sweet potato mixture into the pie shells.  Cover just the edges with foil and bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil to bake the final 15 minutes.  Before removing, check to make sure the pies are firm and not soupy, if they need a little more time, just keep it in until firm.  Serve with whipped cream.