Sweet Potato Casserole

I couldn't wait to try this recipe. It's so unique and different when compared to the typical overly sweet marshmallow laden dish we normally serve for Thanksgiving. My dad had bought me an organic pie pumpkin on my birthday and I thought this was the perfect dish to highlight the beauty of that squash. The small pumpkin equalled just over 3 cups when cooked so I used it all. I substituted apple juice (homemade, of course) for the orange juice concentrate and shelled pumpkin seeds for the pecans. I wish I had taken a picture. The green of the seeds against the bright orange was amazing. We had one slight problem. I assembled the dish and took it to my dad's to bake it. The topping fell into the pumpkin but the taste was divine. I can't wait to make it again. I have a few sweet potatoes sitting on my counter that may just need to casseroled.

Sweet Potato Casserole
2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (3 medium), peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup 1% milk
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
For the Topping
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans (1 3/4 ounces)
FOR THE SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE: Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain well and return to the pan. Mash with a potato masher. Measure out 3 cups. (Reserve any extra for another use). Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch-square (or similar 2-quart) baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk eggs, oil and honey in a medium bowl. Add mashed sweet potato and mix well. Stir in milk, orange zest, vanilla and salt. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish.
FOR THE TOPPING: Mix flour, brown sugar, orange juice concentrate, oil and butter in a small bowl. Blend with a fork or your fingertips until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture. Bake the casserole until heated through and the top is lightly browned, 35 to 45 minutes.

Impossible Pumpkin Pie

When I saw this recipe a week or so ago on one of the blogs I follow, I was intrigued. The author said this pie makes it's own crust. The one thing I struggle with is crust. I'm not a crust fan and making it is not on my list of favorite things to do. This pie was simple enough to slip it into my Thanksgiving cooking and was a hit with the family. What I loved about this pie is that it doesn't really have a crust but it's not so soft that it loses it's form when cut. Most of the family thought this was the perfect pie. I plan on playing with it some to make a gingerbread/apple version.

Impossible Pumpkin Pie
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup biscuit mix
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin
2 tsp. butter
2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 can (13 oz.) evaporated milk
2 tsp. vanilla
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 inch pie pan. Beat all ingredients until smooth. Pour into pan. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, 50-55 minutes.

Mashed Potatoes

Continuing with the Thanksgiving theme, I thought I'd share how to make mashed potatoes. My husband often refers to these as boiled potatoes which confuses me a little but when he was growing up mashed potatoes were pushed through a ricer so they were smooth. I don't put that much effort into them.
Not all potatoes are the same, each variety has its own characteristics when making mashed potatoes. Russets mash easily and have a more crumbly, gritty texture while red or white potatoes (like Yellow Finns) will have a creamier, pasty texture. They are both great but different and require slightly different finesse.
I use a wavy potato masher. I prefer the wavy to the grided masher because the potatoes don't get stuck in the cross-sections.
Now onto the procedure. If the potato peels are smooth and clean (and the potatoes fairly firm/fresh) I scrub them and boil them, peels and all. Russets will often lose their peels after they boil but if they are getting sprouty and wrinkly, take the time to peel them. If they are firm, you can pull off the peel after they boil or mash it into the dish.
Depending on the size of the potato and the amount of time I have to boil them, I cut them or leave them whole. Obviously, smaller potatoes take less time to cook. If I do cut up the potatoes, I quarter them. Boil the potatoes in enough water or broth to cover the potatoes. My family loves potatoes boiled in corned beef broth (I strain out the seasonings so I can mash the potatoes in the remaining brother).
Boil until the potatoes are soft. Time depends on the potato and the size.
Now if using water, drain into a colander. Return potatoes to pan and mash with masher until mostly smooth. The smoothness will depend on the potato. Slowly add milk, cream or broth to the potatoes until it reaches the texture you prefer. Add butter and seasonings to taste.
If you cook the potatoes in broth, make sure the potatoes are just covered when boiling, allowing the level to drop some as they cook. Don't drain but mash potatoes in the broth. If you are concerned that there is too much broth, drain some into a container so you can add it back. Mash until desired texture. Depending on the broth, your potatoes could have enough flavor that they don't need seasonings. If they come out too dry, add a little milk or extra broth. With the corned beef broth, we leave them as they are because they are full of flavor and just a tad salty.
This is probably not a perfect description of making mashed potatoes but should help you get started. Feel free to ask questions.

Thanksgiving pie

I must be feeling the need to return to comfort food and family. I don't know why I have Thanksgiving on the brain but I do prefer finding holiday recipes well in advance of the holiday so I can stock up on ingredients.
I believe I got this recipe from Paula Deen. It's a fun mix of pecan and pumpkin pies. It sounds a little complicated but it's really so easy. You can buy a store-bought crust or try to make your own.
Be sure most of the jiggle has gone out of the pie before removing it from the oven and let cool so that it's good and set before cutting.

Thanksgiving Pie
3 eggs
1 cup dark corn syrup
½ cup sugar
4 tb butter, melted
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teas vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
9 inch unbaked pie shell
whipped cream
oven to 350. Beat eggs well. Beat in next 5 ingredients. Arrange pecans on bottom of pie shell. Pour filling over pecans. Bake 1 hour. Serve with whipped cream.

Turkey

This might seem a little early and I feel a little like I'm copping out of a really good blog post but it amazes me how hard cooking a bird can be. Because of their size, cooking a turkey can be rather difficult. There's the balance of keeping the meat from drying out and getting the deep parts of the meat thoroughly cooked.
So while I am still under the turkey influence, I thought I would share how to properly cook a turkey.
A turkey takes a long time to cook - about 1 hour for every 3 pounds at 350 degrees. Keep this in mind when planning your cooking and even when purchasing the turkey. My almost 12 pound turkey took over 3 1/2 hours.
One thing that influences cooking time is what you stuff the turkey with. Dense bread stuffings add to the cooking time. I stuffed my turkey with apples and onions which allow air circulation through the cavities and help the turkey cook faster. I didn't use a bread stuffing, simply because we didn't have any.
If you are not using a bread stuffing, fill the cavity with moist flavor ingredients. Onions, apples, oranges, and celery are all great - they keep the cavities moist and add flavor to the turkey. Adding seasonings like - bay leaves, garlic, fresh herbs also help season a turkey.
Quite often I don't add anything to my turkey aside from what I stuff in it but there are a number of things you can do to give the turkey some extra flavor. One Christmas I marinated the turkey overnight in seasoned champagne. The recipe is here. It was a really good turkey but not enough to keep me doing it year after year. Some people brine their turkey - which means soaking the turkey in a heavy salt water solution, at least overnight. Soaking the turkey in a marinade or solution increases the moisture content in the bird.
Before cooking, you can rub the skin with butter and herbs or pull back the skin carefully and butter/season the meat underneath. Seasoning the skin only guarantees the skin with have flavor but adding the seasonings under the skin gives the meat a chance to absorb the flavor.
To cook the turkey, make sure it's a thawed as you can get. Sometimes we find the center is still a little frozen, this will add to the cooking time but not a big deal (unless you are deep frying and then you may have a problem but I don't deep fry turkeys). Place in a deep roasting pan so that it will catch all the drippings. If the turkey is quite large, lay it breast side down (can for any turkey but I usually save it for the big ones). Cook in a 350 degree oven. About half way through cooking, flip the bird over so that the breasts can brown. Be careful - you may lose the skin during this if you are not careful. You can also start breasts up and rotate more than once. It's best to finish breasts up because it's easier for carving and checking the meat for doneness.
Hope this helps and makes your next turkey cooking experience an easy one.

Turkey Gravy

My mom found a turkey in her freezer and gave it to us. We decided that it should probably be cooked so we can make room for future turkeys. For Sunday dinner we opted to have all the trimmings - turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams and green beans (okay most of the trimmings).
I made the best turkey gravy and wanted to share it. Turkey gravy is one of those things that depends on all the drippings from your turkey so there's no real exact measurings but I will do my best for you.
I do not seperate the fat out of my gravy because I always use a fat anyway.

Turkey Gravy
Drippings from 1 turkey and scrappings (all the little bits of cooked blood, skin, fat and meat from the bottom of the pan) should equal about 1 1/2 cups
1 cup flour
3 cans evaporated milk

Let drippings cool for a really smooth gravy. Pour drippings into saucepan and use a spatula to get all the stuff. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time and whisk. You should have a really thick milky concoction. Set on medium heat and stir with whisk until lumps are all gone (as much as possible). Stir in cans of milk, one at a time until thick and smooth. Cook until a good gravy consistency - will thicken more when cooling. Season with salt and pepper or other seasonings as desired.
Enjoy