Mahogany Turkey Breast with Vegetable Gravy

I know it's too late for your Thanksgiving meals for this year, but I heartily recommend this recipe - it's what we'll be having tomorrow. (So, you know, posting this is a good way to review the recipe & see how long I'm going to need to make it.) I made it a few weeks ago with a smaller turkey breast (and a few substitutions when I thought I had stuff I didn't) and the gravy was AMAZING. It's from the Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2002 cookbook.

2 c. thinly sliced onion [2 medium]
1 cup sliced carrot
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
Cooking spray
2 Tbl. low-sodium soy sauce, divided [or regular]
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided [I use "Better than Bouillon" and make about that much.]
1 (5- to 6- lb.) bone-in turkey breast
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbl. dry sherry or Madeira [subbed in white wine]
2 Tbl. molasses [which I didn't have but I thought I did, so I subbed 1 Tbl. real maple syrup & 1 Tbl. honey]
1 Tbl. all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Combine onion, carrot, and celery in a roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Add 1 Tbl. soy sauce and 2/3 c. broth; stir to coat. Place turkey breast, skin side up, on vegetables. Sprinkle with pepper and salt. Insert meat thermometer into turkey breast, making sure it does not touch bone. [I didn't do the thermometer in the whole time - just checked it when I thought it would be done.] Bake at 350F for 1 hour; baste turkey with 2 Tbl. broth every 30 minutes. [Who would actually measure this? Not me!]
   
3. Combine 2 Tbl. soy sauce, sherry, and molasses. Bake turkey an additional 45 minutes or until thermometer registers 180F, brushing with sherry mixture every 15 minutes. Place turkey on a platter. Cover turkey loosely with foil; let stand 15 minutes. Do not discard drippings.
4. Combine remaining chicken broth and flour, stirring with a whisk until well-blended to form a slurry. Drain onion mixture and drippings into a colander over a bowl, reserving both. Place a zip-loc bag inside a 2-cup glass measuring cup or bowl. Pour drippings into bag; let stand 10 minutes (fat will rise to top). Seal bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner of bag. Drain drippings into a medium saucepan, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat*.
5. Add reserved onion mixture to pan [I did this the first time I made it but didn't like the chunky veg in the gravy, so now I don't put do that anymore. So I just put the with-fat drippings and slurry in the pan together, without the onion mixture.]; stir in slurry. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
   
6. Serve turkey with gravy. Yum!!!
   

*I didn't do this fat reduction step, but you could if you wanted to.

Wednesday Fun #60 - Happy Thanksgiving!

If you are cooking, or still looking for holiday recipes, I have some links for you.
I have found these to be very helpful:
Pioneer Woman Cooks - the 2nd post down is a great one about finding wine for Thanksgiving
Food Network - lots of great side dish & dessert ideas
Butterball - of course (they have more than Turkey tips though too)
Very Best Baking (nestle)- Lots of pie, cake & cookie recipes of course, but also some sides, some food gift ideas, etc.
If you have other links that you like, please share them in the comments!
I hope you all have a fun, relaxing and TASTY Thanksgiving!

P.S. Thanks to Ms. H for letting me do the Wednesday Fun for October and November! It's been fun :)

Cakes, good and bad... or awful and AWESOME

You might already know about Cake Wrecks, which are good for a laugh or wince of disgust.

But here, HERE is a cake that is way awesome - the Indiana Jones Temple of Doom Idol cake by Clever Cake Studio.

(via Accidental Hedonist)

Turkey Cookies

Turkey Cookies -

I made these 3 years ago and thought you all might like to try. They are made with striped cookies (bought). The round chocolate ball is a peanut butter ball but you can use chocolate covered cherries (store bought). I made the peanut butter balls as I do not like chocolate covered cherries. Candy corn head. Use melted chocolate to get everything to stick together. Enjoy!!

Have also made Marshmallo Pilgrim Hats but could not find a picture.

We have also had something like Sugar-Cone Cornucopia.

Wednesday Fun #59 - Seating arrangements

I know, Thanksgiving isn't until next week (it is so LATE this year!) but it feels like everyone is thinking about it now anyway, so let's discuss.

How formal is your Thanksgiving dinner?

Do you all sit down at a huge table and pass plates family-style? Is there a buffet and everyone sits (or stands!) anywhere there is room? Is it very formal with the linens and the silver and the good china? Is it very laid back with paper plates/cups and you eat off your lap? Does the football stay on while you eat? Do you like things the way they are, or do you wish it was done differently?



Bonus discussion: Leftovers. If you host, do you horde the leftovers or do you try to get rid of them so you don't have quite so much? If you don't host, do you get leftovers? Should you?

Wednesday Fun #58 - I have never

I tried a new recipe last night (it was just for a homemade mac and cheese) and sadly it was not very good at all. But that experience and the Ratatouille recipe got me thinking about things I have never made before- and there are a lot of them!

So quick, Can you name 3 things you have never made??? (I'll put mine in comments) Bonus points if it's something common, like a chocolate cake or a lasagna or something like that. (Not that it's a bonus that you haven't made it before, just that it would be extra odd that you haven't)

Ratatouille

This is between a soup and a stew. It will cook down. We usually serve it in a bowl. It makes a HUGE batch and lasts along time.

Ratatouille
1 Eggplant
4 Zucchini
1-2 onions
3-4 Green Peppers
1 Jalapeno
3 cans Diced Tomatoes (Italian Style - Basil, Oregano, Garlic)
1 can small Black Olives
3-4 cloves Garlic Minced
2 T. Chicken base
Saute garlic in Olive Oil. Add rest of ingredients and simmer for 1-1.5 hours until tender.
Top with Parmesan Cheese

Winter Salad

This was not the salad I was looking for and I have to admit I have not made this one. My mother had it at a potluck and said it was wonderful so it was on my computer. It looks good and something different. I might try making it for my cooking club next Thursday as we are doing Thanksgiving Sides. I will post all the good things people bring for all of you next weekend.

Winter Salad
1 1/2 head romaine lettuce
1 C. shredded swiss cheese
1/2 cup craisins
1 cup cashews
1 apple cubed
1 pear cubed
grapes to taste
Dressing: 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t. dijon mustard
1 T poppy seed
1 T grated onion
1/3 c lemon juice
2/3 c oil

Cider-Glazed Carrots

Another Cooking Light recipe, this one from November 2002. They suggest boiling the carrots a day ahead, refrigerating them in a zip-top plastic bag, then sauteing just before serving.

9 cups (3-inch) julienne-cut carrots (about 2 1/2 lbs.)
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 Tbl. butter
2 Tbl. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. celery seeds
1 Tbl. chopped fresh parsley

1. Place carrots in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 1 minute or until tender. Drain.
2. Combine brown sugar and remaining ingredients except parsley in a large nonstick skillet over low heat; cook until butter melts, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium; add carrots. Cook 3 minutes or until carrots are glazed and thoroughly headed; stirring constantly. Sprinkle with chopped parsley; toss to combine.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: about 2/3 c.)

Bruleed Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I know this doesn't help AKJ with her Thanksgiving side dish problem, but it's a yummy non-marshmallow-but-still-sweet way to do sweet potatoes. From Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2002.

6 c. hot mashed sweet potatoes (about 4 lbs.)
[I peel 'em, cut 'em up small, and roast 'em in a lidded casserole with maybe a Tbl or two of water added. After, um, 45 min? they are soft enough to mash in the casserole with a potato masher.]

3/4 c. whole milk
3 Tbl. butter, softened
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
Cooking spray
1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Spoon potato mixture into a 11x7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/2 c. brown sugar evenly over top. Broil 2 minutes or until sugar melts. Let stand until melted sugar hardens (about 5 minutes.)
   

Yield: 14 servings (serving size: about 1/2 c.)

Notes: I don't think the size of the baking dish matters that much other than as it affects the ratio of sweet potato to sweet, crunchy topping. So, like brulee? Put it in a larger pan and spread on more sugar! Also, I bet if you wanted to, you could make and mash the sweet potatoes ahead of time, then reheat them in the microwave and continue with the recipe as written, but I've not tried it that way yet.