The Main Event: Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving is something that I look forward to every year. It has become one of my favorite holidays because it is so simple. All you have to do is prepare a delicious meal for your friends and family and enjoy it! You don't have to find a costume or the perfect gift. Just cook, eat and enjoy the company of loved ones.

Yes it is easier said then done, but with a little prep the day before and the instructions that someone else bring dessert it can achieved fairly easily. This year I made as much ahead of time as possible. I spent the whole Saturday making stuffing, brining turkey, making cranberry sauce, chopping Brussels sprouts, chopping veggies and prepping appies. Lets start with my favourite thanksgiving side.

Cheesy Brussel Sprouts

The real secret to making these Brussels sprouts delicious and what has made my friend Jamie say 'I don't even like Brussels Sprouts, but I went back for seconds!' One of my best compliments. is simple onions, caramelized before roasting. For six cups of trimmed and halved Brussels sprouts I used one and 1/2 large soft ball sized yellow onion. I caramelized it in a pan with a little butter and then tossed with the Brussels spouts in a casserole dish. Top off with a few handfuls of shredded aged cheddar cheese and bake until the sprouts are golden brown. In a 350 degree oven this will take about 45 minutes. I like to make sure to give them plenty of time, even if I have to wrap them in foil and let them sit because I put them in early. If you do a bigger batch they can take up to an hour and a half and it is critical that they get to that golden brown stage or they will be bitter not melt in your mouth delicious!

I also prep the stuffing the day before, then when it comes to getting the turkey in the oven I can just stuff it and get it in!

My stuffing is basic and goes as follows:

8 cups of toasted bread chunks
8 links of maple breakfast sausages
3 heads of roasted garlic
2 stalks of celery
1 large onion
2 tbsp each parsley & sage
1 tbsp each rosemary & thyme
1 tsp salt & pepper
1 - 2 cups chicken stock

Normally I would used just a basic sausage but this year I brined my Turkey with an apple cider brine so I decided to go with the maple breakfast sausage, just to create some interest and to really showcase some autumn flavors. I begin by toasting bread. I used a basic whole wheat, mostly because I don't really eat white bread and I didn't want to complicate it with grains or seeds. This is stuffing for us humans, not chipmunks! I chop the celery and onion in a small dice, chop the herbs and add the seasonings and then add a splash of stock. I work the stuffing with my hands until the sausage is evenly distributed and add stock as is necessary until it all combines into one big for lack of a better word glop. I always make enough so that I can stuff the turkey and bake some in an extra dish for a friend of mine who doesn't like it in the bird. Also lets be honest: There just isn't enough room in the bird for as much stuffing as you need to feed hungry stuffing lovers.

This is how it looks before it is cooked aka glop stage:

Of course you must have mashed potatoes on any decent thanksgiving table and since I love garlic I always add roasted garlic. Lots of it. I like to add 1 head of garlic per 2 large potatoes. Feel free to use this ratio for making your current favourite mashed potato recipe. Its always hard to know how much butter and cream you will need to add to get the right consistency but the garlic will make them even dreamier - it will blow the regular garlic mashed potatoes that most people make right out of the water. I don't know how someone could add garlic powder to potatoes and still sleep at night!


And of course the turkey. I used a brine this year and it was amazing!! Since I haven't used one before I used a recipe for Apple Cider Brine that I found on Tasty Kitchen. It made the meat so juicy that it blew me away. The breast meat was by far the most flavorful, tender and succulent that I have ever tasted. And let me tell you when all 30 people had walked away there wasn't even enough turkey left to make soup! I seasoned the turkey inside and out with salt and pepper, stuffed it with the recipe above, rubbed it with butter above and underneath the skin, wrapped it in thick cut double smoked bacon and rested in on top of a 'rack' that I made with some carrots, celery, onions garlic, added a little chicken stock for moisture and then let them all get acquainted in a 350 degree oven until the skin is crispy and brown and the juices run clear. Oh yeah, put a lid on all of that! Since I was so busy enjoying the meal I didn't take a picture of it but I did make a smaller breast for blogging purposes and here it is:


Other recipes that I served were:

Honey and Lime Glazed Yams and Beets
Brussels Slaw
Orange Glazed Carrots
(Steam with some orange juice, then thicken like gravy with four, add salt, pepper and fresh thyme)
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
(I'll have to share another time)
Gravy - thicken the pan juices with flour and season as necessary.
And Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos as an appy.

Happy Cooking!!

Roasted Beet and Green Bean with Creamy Roasted Garlic Dressing

What to do with so much roasted garlic? Put it in a creamy, dreamy dressing and drizzle it over carmalized veggies ofcourse! You need to have balance right, healthy beets that can do funny things to the color of your pee and green beans make it feel alright to smoother creamy, garlicy goodness all over it, and it couldn't be any easier to make. *Bonus if you make extra, you can use it for any other salad later in the week.

Would you call this a salad? I'm not sure, when I was growing up I got alot of comments from my little friends about how my Mom didn't put lettuce in her salad, she thought it was just a filler, so our dinner salad resembled a greek salad with out the olives, and feta aka mostly chopped veggies so I suppose my view of salad may be different but it was delicious! Also I think out here in the culinary world lettuce doesn't mean salad, - You want to know a huge pet peeve of mine; people who call lettuce salad! Its not salad! Its lettuce!
Wow I didn't realize that I had all of this salad baggage... but it sure feels good to let it out!

Anyways... heres the recipe:

Roasted Garlic Salad Dressing

1/2 C Mayo
1/2 C Sour Cream
1 Head Roasted Garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
S&P

I just whizzed all of this up with a hand blender to emulsify the garlic, you can play with the amount of lemon juice until it gets to a drizzley consistancy but it should be 1 good lemon, maybe more if yours aren't so juicy!

For the veggies I chopped the Beet in half and then sliced into 1/2 moons about 1/4 inch thick, snipped both ends off the green beans (I think they look prettier this way, feel free to be lazy and only chop one end if you want) drizzle with Extra Virgin, sprinkle with S&P and roast in a 400 degree oven, it took my oven about 1/2 hr, just take them out when they are tender and carmalized, put them on a pretty plate, My Aunt made the one in the picture above, and drizzle with the dressing. Mmmm... here's another though sliced almonds roasted with the veggies, I'll give that a try next time!
Ta for now!

A Burgasm... yup I said it!

Purists look away!

My idea of an amazing burger has toppings. I do not come from the school of purists when it comes to meat and bun goodness, I always overdo it with the toppings and this was no exception.
A whole wheat kaiser bun toasted and topped with a roasted portobello mushroom, topped with a juicy roasted garlic burger, topped with Swiss cheese, topped with vine ripened tomatoes, topped with creamy avocado, topped with my version of a special sauce. This sucker is not for the faint hearted - Rachael Ray move over! This beef burger is sheer burgasmic!


The toppings were easy, slice the tomatoes, avocado, pop some portobello mushroom caps in the oven that have been drizzled in Extra Virgin and sprinkled with Salt and Pepper until roasted to golden delicious. The secret sauce is as follows:

1/4 c mayo
1/8 c Dijon mustard
2 tbsp ketchup
1/8 c diced onion
s&p

Once again I will tell you that I am not very precise on the measurements, I often mix it up, taste it and add what I want, and honestly for a burger sauce that's what you need to do, I think that for this burger though the Dijon is important because it cuts through all of the richness of the avocado, the mushroom well the whole damn thing is rich!

The Burger:

1 lb of ground beef
1 egg
1 clove of roasted garlic
2 tbsp minced red pepper
1/4 cup minced onion
salt and pepper
Swiss Cheese

Go on get your hands messy and mix all of that up, divy it up into 4 equal sections and cook as you like, on the BBQ or in a pan, melt some Swiss on top and assemble as follows:

Bun

Sauce
Avocado
Tomato
Burger topped with cheese
Mushroom
Sauce
Bun

Burger making tip: Seasoning you burger can be tricky, I don't like to advise on an exact amount because everyone likes it differently, a good way to test is to make a tiny little burger, a little taste tester, fry it up and give it a taste to see if you need more.

Serve with just a couple oven fries, trust me you won't have very much room left after you eat this sucker!

Roasted Garlic Hummus

Tasty hummus so savory and delicious. What else would I do first with a whole kilo of roasted garlic? Such a power food, chickpeas are loaded with fibre which has been known to fight heart disease and to keep us full longer, it is also leaded in protein, and protein from any plant source is good in my books. I also read that these little suckers help to lower cholesterol and are full of folate to help keep our brains sharp and our skin beautiful. I read all of this from various sources and won't claim any of them are fact but if you do want some info you can check out WHFoods. Anyways hummus is still delicious and a great clean snack.
Here's the recipe:

1 can (about 3 cups) of chick peas
2 heads of roasted garlic
1 lemon (zest and juice)
about 1/4 water
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
s&p

I keep it simple with hummus. Just put the chickpeas, garlic, and lemon zest in a food processor, and buzz it, basically until it stops, when this happens add the olive oil and add water until it gets to the consistency you like, at this time squeeze in the lemon juice and add the salt and pepper. I always just add a little, whiz it up and give it a taste, adding more if I want to.

Serve with pitas, veggies, crackers whatever floats your boat.

*Have I gone too far?

Recently I went into a big shopping centre, usually I only shop in the farmers market for produce and at my local grocery store for the other stuff but I wanted to but Carpet Cleaning solution so I decided to make one stop. I did not find carpet cleaning solution; however I did purchase a kilo of garlic. And it was a beautiful kilo of garlic. Wouldn't you agree?

What to do with an entire kilogram of garlic? I know.. I know.. Its going to take a while for this stuff to go bad, and yet I was inspired to roast the whole damn thing. What is more beautiful then garlic? Roasted Garlic! Here is the sexy before and after:
So simple. Just cut off the tops and line on a baking sheet, drizzle with some Extra Virgin and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pop into a 350 degree oven until tender, I think about half an hour, it can take longer if your doing a whole kilo, it was just over an hour. Take it out when it is golden brown and mushy... don't let it get all dry and bitter - I'll send the garlic police after you... seriously... I will, and it won't be pretty.

Maybe I love this garlic a little too much.