Thanksgiving Planning Steps 1 and 2

I. What Do I Want To Cook?
So, after skimming through all my cookbooks, online recipe galleries, and Thanksgiving themed issues of magazines I made a list of my Thanksgiving meal. I even drew a plate with separate sections, drawing in the foods, in order to determine if I covered all the food groups. The carbohydrate food group is definitely covered.

A. Skim through magazines and cookbooks marking the pages with potential Thanksgiving recipes.

II. How Much Effort Do I Want To Exert?
Something you might have noticed is that some recipes are really complicated. Some recipes are very strange and call for combinations of the most unrelated ingredients. When reading these kinds of recipes, I become both intrigued and frightened. I love the idea of different, strange, weird, pretentious foods but in my experience, most of the time if I try one I don’t like the taste. I may have an undeveloped palate. I may be uncultured and cannot fully understand the beauty of these foods but whatever the case may be, simple is better. I do not want to stand around all day long making something “different” and it end up tasting like a piece of cardboard with the zest of lemon and kick of garlic.

A. Make a list of dishes, narrow it down to the recipes you like best.
B. Type up your list and the individual recipes so they are all in one place and easy to find. No need to flip through multiple books the day of meal preparation.

Here are the recipes (and where they came from) that I chose to use.

Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House Cookbook

Macaroni and Cheese

• 8 cups water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups macaroni
• 2 ½ cups grated American cheese, divided
• ¼ cup butter

In a large saucepan bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the oil and macaroni, stirring occasionally. Cook until tender; drain. Add 2 cups of the grated cheese and butter. Pour the mixture into a butterd 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. 6 to 8 servings

Country Style Green Beans

• 2 pounds fresh green beans
• 5 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 ½ cups water

Trim the beans and break them into about 1 inch pieces. In a saucepan combine the beans and the remaining ingredients. Simmer covered for about 60 minutes. 8 servings

Self Magazine

Apple Spice Crumble Pie

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/3 cup olive or canola oil
• 5 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/8 inch thick
• 1/3 cup plus 6 tbsp lightly packed dark brown sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted

In a bowl, combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, whole-wheat pastry flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Make a well in flour mixture; pour oil and 4 tbsp ice water into well. Mix with a wooden spoon until crumbly pieces form and keep their shape when pinched (you may need to add another 1 tbsp ice water). Form dough into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Heat oven to 400°. For topping, in a bowl, combine apples, 1/3 cup brown sugar, cornstarch, juice and cinnamon. In a second bowl, combine remaining 6 tbsp brown sugar, oats, remaining 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, remaining 1/2 tsp salt and butter. Place dough between two sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper and roll into a 10-inch circle. Line a 9-inch pie dish with dough; crimp edges. Fill crust with apples; sprinkle with brown sugar–oat topping. Bake until apples are tender, 40 to 50 minutes.  Serves 8

To make sure your crust isn’t tough, mix the ingredients until just combined. Overworking the dough diminishes its flakiness.

Overcooked apples make for applesauce. Poke them with a toothpick: They should feel thick, like al dente pasta.

Country Living Magazine

Buttermilk Biscuits

Yields: 10 biscuits

• 2 cup(s) Self-Rising Flour, plus at least 1 cup more for dusting work surface
• 1/2 stick(s) Butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon(s) Butter, melted
• 1/4 cup(s) Cream Cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup(s) Buttermilk

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F, with a rack set in the middle. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, butter pieces, and cream cheese, using your fingers to cut in the butter and cream cheese until the mixture resembles cottage cheese. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add the buttermilk, and mix with your hands or a small rubber spatula.

Sprinkle flour over the dough. Run a rubber spatula between the bowl and the dough, then sprinkle the exposed dough with more flour.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. Generously sprinkle dough and rolling pin with flour. Roll out to a 1/2-inch-thick oval. (Do not knead.)

Pour about 1/2 cup flour into a small bowl. Dip a 2-inch square metal biscuit cutter (see Note) into the flour; then cut out biscuits, dipping the cutter back into the flour as needed (as long as the dough remains wet on the inside, you can use as much flour on the outside as needed to handle it). Gather excess dough, roll it out to a 1/2-inch-thick oval, and continue cutting biscuits as above. Place biscuits, sides touching, in a cast-iron skillet or baking pan fitted with parchment. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter.

Place pan in the oven and immediately reduce temperature to 450 degrees F. Bake biscuits until tops are golden, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating halfway through.

Citrus Cranberry Sauce

• 1 1/2 cup(s) Sugar
• Juice And Zest Of 1/2 Orange
• Juice And Zest Of 1/2 Red Grapefruit
• 1 pound(s) Cranberries (Frozen Or Fresh), rinsed

In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil. Add fruit juices and zests, and return mixture to a boil. Add cranberries; reduce heat to medium and cook until cranberries pop, 10 to 12 minutes. Chill.

Real Simple Magazine

Cheesy Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• 4 small sweet potatoes, halved lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3 ounces fontina, grated (3/4 cup)
• 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan, grated (1/3 cup)

Heat oven to 425° F. Rub the potatoes with the oil and season with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Bake, cut-side down, on a rimmed baking sheet, until golden brown and tender, 18 to 22 minutes.

Turn oven to broil. Combine the fontina and Parmesan in a small bowl. Turn the potatoes cut-side up and top with the cheese mixture, dividing evenly. Broil until the cheese is melted and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with more pepper, if desired. Serve warm. Serves 8

Turkey and Dressing
I don’t have these yet. I will be using my mom’s recipes and instructions for these dishes.