Zombee Mama: Thanksgiving

Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts

Saturday, November 27, 2010

The Sweets

mini cheesecakes with berries!

pumpkin spice cheesecake cups

"puppy chow"

Here is all the other stuff I cooked. I had a blast and I think everyone liked everything. Mostly, the cheese soup! Sorry the pictures are so dark. I'm living in a world of darkness. Seriously, our house is like a cave. An awesome, great smelling cave full of books, shoes and video games.

Pasta salad with alligator sausage! Made my own dressing. Yum.

Cheddar Ale soup dressed with peppered bacon, sour cream and home made croutons. I tried Williams-Sonoma's recipe for this about a year ago ... no good. So, I just kind of winged it this ear and ended up high-fiving myself all night. I'll post the recipe later, but just know that it involves 2 lbs of cheddar, a cup of pale ale and heavy whipping cream. Dear God.

Sausage balls!

Piggies.

My mashed potatoes are made with red potatoes, a 1/2 block of cream cheese and heavy whipping cream ... not healthy. at. all.

The Bird

I decided not to use other people's recipes this year, but I'll do my best to tell you how I cooked this ...

Stuffing : 2 loaves of French bread [about 4oz each], cut into cubes, 1lb alligator sausage, 1/2 large white onion, garlic [I usually use 2 or 3 cloves], 3 celery stalks [chopped], 1 shallot [chopped] 2 carrots [chopped], a handful or so of parsley, rosemary, salt, pepper, Tony's to taste. 2 beaten eggs, 1/2 cup white wine, 2 cups chicken broth. : Sautee the veggies and sausage in olive oil for about 7-10 mintues, ... I don't like soggy veggies, but if you do, make sure you sautee them for longer. Add the mixture to the bread, add the beaten eggs and white wine mixture as well. Add chicken broth to desired sogginess! I usually only use a cup, just enough to moisten the mixture.

I am not a clean cook.

Take the stuffing you don't ... stuff, and bake it at 375 until golden.

Gorgeous and delicious!

And now, the bird ... 12lbs of deliciousness! I always start by thawing it correctly ... and by always, I mean almost never. Seriously, last year we had to run luke warm water through its but for 3 hours because we forgot to thaw correctly. Anyway, this year our turkey, Turkey Michelle Gellar-Prinze thawed out perfectly.

Take some cheesecloth and soak it in a mixture of white wine, minced garlic and melted [real] butter. I can't remember how much of each. I'd guess a 1/2 cup of wine and a stick of butter.

Next step, butter + salt + pepper + fresh rosemary + lemon ... proceed to rub it down! Brandon grows rosemary for me, but dried rosemary will do just fine.

Cover turkey with the soaked cheese cloth, stuff with stuffing and tie up the legs ... bake for 30 minutes at 400 and then for about 3 hours at a reduced heat of 350.