My apologies for being a neglectful food blogger. My husband and I took a long weekend last weekend to visit my undergraduate alma mater and attend a football game. There was no cooking to be done. And since our return, I seem to have picked up a head cold, so the only cooking going on in our house has been microwaved soup. I hope to pick things up again after Thanksgiving--so many Christmas recipes to dream about!
Nevertheless, Thanksgiving is next week. My husband and I will be visiting his parents in New Jersey for the holiday, so I won't be cooking. Part of me is relieved, but a bigger part is actually sad not to be hosting. I've made Thanksgiving dinner a couple of times in years past, and with careful planning, it's actually been pretty fun! And being the control freak that I am, I LOVE planning menus. But such is life!
For those of you who have not yet planned out your Thanksgiving menu in full, I thought I'd share a couple of recipes I've really enjoyed--high on flavor, low on effort. I can't share my favorite recipe (mashed potatoes), because it's a family secret. Well, not really--mostly I don't follow a recipe. I cook potatoes and mash them up with butter, milk, and sour cream. And voila, mashed potatoes. Anticlimactic, isn't it?
Fresh Herb Stuffing from Real Simple magazine: I also sauteed some sliced mushrooms and added those to the mix when I made this. I like this recipe because you can completely control how moist your stuffing is. I prefer mine to be soft but not soggy (all the better to cover in gravy), but I know my husband likes his much drier. (I give him the crustier edges.) I like this recipe because it's easy, has a traditional flavor, and it shares many of the same ingredients as other dishes, so it's low stress. I enjoy a fancy sausage stuffing as much as the next girl, but really, if you're making dinner by yourself, why make it more complicated than it needs to be?
Cranberry and Dried Cherry Relish from Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine: Could this be any easier??? No! And that's why it's perfect. You can spice it up with some cinnamon and/or ginger if you'd like, but this is also good as is. And the fact that you could make it in your sleep doesn't hurt!
Please promise me that you'll make your own gravy. Promise? It's really quite easy, and it seems a shame to waste the juices from the gorgeous turkey you roasted. If you've been to scared to try it in the past, just follow these steps. Classic Gravy from Real Simple. If you don't have wine on hand, you can just use more broth.
Also note that if you've got a smaller group to cook for, go ahead and roast a turkey breast rather than a whole turkey. Because you're only cooking the breast meat, it will cook faster and more evenly, and it will be the juiciest turkey you've ever had. Trust me! Because the breast is leaner, you'll have fewer juices in the pan for gravy, FYI.
Best of luck, everyone! Happy Thanksgiving!
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