New ways to serve old favorites
HERE’S A PLAYBOOK FOR FEEDING HUNGRY CROWDS THIS THURSDAY
In a few days Americans will be obsessing over turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie.
But did you know?
The first Macy’s Thanksgiving parade was in 1924.
Minnesota raises the most turkeys, followed by North Carolina and Arkansas.
Seafood was present at the first Thanksgiving, in Plymouth. Mass., a food we rarely see today at the Thanksgiving table.
Green Bean Casserole was created by the Campbell Soup Co. in 1955.
An estimated 20 percent of cranberries are eaten on Thanksgiving.
The average Thanksgiving dinner contains 4,575 calories.
Are you hungry now or are you getting stressed thinking about the crowd you will be hosting at your home?
Have no fear with these two resources, “Cook’s Illustrated AllTime Best Thanksgiving Recipes” ($12.95), available in the magazine section of your supermarket and magazine stands, includes 140plus recipes that will help you prepare for the biggest cooking day of the year. You’ll find several recipes for cooking the star of the table: LowStress Turkey for a Crowd, Classic Roast Turkey on the Grill (just think, cooking your bird on the grill frees up the oven for cooking all of the sides and don’t forget those sumptuous desserts); Julia Child’s Turkey, Updated; Easier Roast Turkey and Gravy; OvenBraised Turkey; Roast Turkey Breast with Gravy (this one works for most of my family, except my dad who prefers the dark meat); Boneless Turkey Breast with Gravy; and those who prefer a smaller bird that cooks much faster try the Roasted Cornish Game Hens.
You’ll find variations of a favorite, mashed potatoes, and learn how steaming and rinsing potatoes prevent them from becoming gluey. You’re covered with twists on stuffing, sweet potatoes and the recipe below for a real homemade version of the quintessential Green Bean Casserole. A Thanksgiving table isn’t complete without one! It will be tough to decide which desserts to make. Will it be one of several apple pie recipes, pear crisp, Pumpkin Cheesecake Perfected, or something a bit more basic such as CranberrySour Cream Pound Cake. Check out the recipe for Cranberry UpsideDown Cake at bit.ly/32qbeSz.
“Thanksgiving Playbook,” by America’s Test Kitchen ($7.95) focuses on the classic recipes that home cooks say are their “goto” favorites — the recipes that their families and friends look forward to seeing on the holiday table year after year. There five turkey recipes included OldFashioned Stuffed Turkey and Easy Roast Turkey Breast with Lemon and Thyme. Butter Fan Rolls and Savory Corn Muffins have the bread basket covered. The standards, stuffing (recipe below), mashed potatoes sweet potato casserole, pumpkin and apple pies are included. Check out the butternut squash gratin recipe at bit.ly/32uc6FH.
ExtraCrunchy Green Bean Casserole
Topping:
1⁄2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted 2 1⁄2 cups fried onions Casserole:
2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into 1inch pieces
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin (white mushrooms can be substituted)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper 1⁄4 cup allpurpose flour
1 1⁄2 cups chicken broth
1 1⁄2 cups heavy cream
1 cup dry white wine
1. Topping: combine panko and melted butter in a bowl. Microwave, stirring occasionally, until panko is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Let cool completely, then stir in fried onions; set aside.
2. Casserole: adjust oven rack to middle position, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine green beans and 1⁄2 cup water in a large bowl. Cover and microwave until beans are just tender, about 8 minutes, stirring halfway through microwaving. Drain beans in a colander; set aside.
3. Melt butter in a 12inch nonstick skillet over mediumhigh heat. Add mushrooms, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook until liquid is nearly evaporated, 68 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth, cream, and wine and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, 46 minutes. Transfer green beans to a 13by9inch baking dish. Pour sauce over green beans and toss to combine.
4. Bake until bubbling and green beans are completely tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven, top with fried onion mixture, and let cool for 10 minutes. Serve. Serves 68.
To make ahead: At the end of step 3, let casserole cool completely.
Cover dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
To serve, bake casserole, covered, until green beans are heated through and completely tender, about 40 minutes.
Uncover and continue to bake until edges begin to brown, about 10 minutes longer.
ExtraCrispy Skillet Stuffing
To maximize the crunchy, buttery portion of our holiday stuffing, start by toasting bread cubes (we used a baguette for its high crusttobread ratio) in a hot oven, instead of simply drying them out.
We then moistened the bread cubes in a mixture of chicken broth and eggs. We melted butter in a skillet, packed in the stuffing, and let it fry for a goldenbrown bottom crust. Finally, we brushed the stuffing with melted butter and transferred the skillet to the oven to crisp up the top,.
If your nonstick skillet doesn’t have a metal handle, wrap the handle in a double layer of foil before placing it in the oven.
1 1⁄2 pounds baguette, cut into 1⁄2inch cubes (18 cups)
3 3⁄4 cups chicken broth
4 large eggs, lightly beaten 8 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 onions, chopped fine
3 celery ribs, minced
1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
1 1⁄2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme 1 1⁄2 tablespoons minced fresh sage 3 garlic cloves, minced
3⁄4 teaspoon pepper
Adjust oven rack to uppermiddle position and heat to 450 degrees. Arrange bread evenly on baking sheet and bake until light golden brown, 12 to15 minutes, stirring halfway through baking. Let bread cool. Do not turn off oven. Whisk broth and eggs together in large bowl. Stir bread into broth mixture until evenly coated. Set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 12inch, ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions, celery and salt and cook until browned. Stir in thyme, sage, garlic, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir onion mixture into bread mixture.
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in nowempty skillet over low heat. Add stuffing to skillet, pressing firmly into even layer with spatula (skillet will be very full). Cook until bottom of stuffing is browned around edges when lifted with spatula, 7 to 10 minutes. Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in microwave and brush evenly over top of stuffing.
Transfer skillet to oven and bake until center of stuffing is hot and top is golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through baking.
Let cool for 10 minutes. Serves 8.