10.16.2013

A THANKSGIVING FEAST


I spent Thanksgiving this year with my family in the Eastern Townships. Typically, all Thanksgiving is to us, is an excuse to come together in the country, go hiking, ignore the leaves that need raking, relax and drink good wine on the dock. This year, because we all hadn't been together in so long, we decided to take the holiday one step further and cook up a traditional feast!

My dad was on turkey duty, so I took it upon myself to plan the sides. The country kitchen is as basic as they come, so the recipes had to be simple. I turned to Martha's "Everything Thanksgiving" for guidance and I couldn't be happier with how the meal turned out. I've described the turkey and stuffing below, while the lemony brussels sprouts, roasted carrots and potatoes with dill, and butternut squash with sage, can all be found online.


TURKEY

Though my dad was in charge of the turkey, I kept a close eye so I could learn the way of the bird.

Preheat oven to 500.
Stuff your turkey with stuffing of your choice, and place in a large baking pan.
Pour apple or orange juice over the turkey, and bake, covered, for 20 minutes.
Lower the temperature to 375 - continue cooking, with the lid on - basting a few more times with juice.
Rough rule of thumb: 20mins/lb.
When the turkey is almost cooked, remove the lid to crisp up the skin.


WILD RICE STUFFING // makes enough to stuff the turkey and then some.

My sister is celiac, so our stuffing had to be wheat free.

Ingredients:

2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced
2 apples, chopped
olive oil

4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups brown + wild rice blend (any rice will do)
3 tsp fresh sage, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

What to do:

Bring the vegetable broth, one cup of water, and half the chopped sage, to boil.
Add the rice and lower temperature, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, saute the onions in olive oil, about 10 minutes; transfer to a large bowl.
Saute the mushrooms in the same pan, tossing in the apple just before the mushrooms are ready; transfer into the onion mixture.

At 30 minutes, check the rice. If there is still too much liquid, remove the lid and cook for an additional 10 minutes. When ready, transfer to the bowl, adding in the remaining sage and parsley.

Eat as is, or stuff into turkey.