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Planning Ahead for Thanksgiving

When we asked area chefs and cooks for Thanksgiving tips, the one thing they all said is that the key to a happy Thanksgiving is planning ahead and timing.

Here are some specific suggestions from area chefs and cooks about how they manage to plan ahead for Thanksgiving, along with some of their favorite recipes.

Buy It!

David Ferguson, a cook from Guilford, says that, while it can be worthwhile to sometimes make your favorite dishes from scratch, at Thanksgiving it can make sense to buy them.

“Don’t be afraid to take shortcuts where possible. The lure is to make everything by hand the hard way, but if it’s a quality product you won’t sacrifice anything by buying something from the store...think cranberry sauce, apple sauce, a pie from a high end bakery. If you start your planning and prep a week out, and do a little every day, you can set yourself up so the day-of runs on automatic and all you need to really do is heat and serve and cut the turkey,” he says.

He says his favorite side dish is twice baked potatoes.

“I don’t have a recipe, but I can give some tips. Rub the potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper and bake until fork tender. Scoop out the cavity, and mix the excess with warm milk and butter to make rich creamy mashed potatoes. Season the mashed potatoes with salt and pepper at this point, this will make the seasoning even throughout. Refill the cavity, topping each potato off with panko bread crumbs and shredded cheddar and then bake until golden brown on the top. Garnish with green onions or chives.”

Stuff It!

Jocelyn Ruggiero, a Madison-based food and culture writer, says her family, like many Italian American families, starts its Thanksgiving with macaroni.

“In this case, manicotti,” she says. “And, once we bring out the turkey, along with the traditional American sides like sweet potatoes with apples and marshmallows, and mashed potatoes, it wouldn’t feel like a holiday without artichokes stuffed with garlic, breadcrumbs, olive oil, and Parmesan.”

Stephanie Yu Lim, a Guilford food writer who blogs on helloshorelineblog.com, says she loves dessert and she makes her pumpkin pie with a spiced graham cracker crust. The recipe can be found on her blog at helloshorelineblog.com, go to “recipes,” and scroll down to Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Graham Cracker Crust.

Roll It!

Michel Vejar of Madison has two recipes, a side dish, and an appetizer, that are easy to make and plan ahead for.

She roasts her Brussels sprouts on a cookie tray with chopped garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. She says you can set it aside after roasting in a heat proof serving dish and warm it back up, right before sitting down.

“This is also the most delicious way I have ever had Brussels sprouts. Once you try this way you’ll be hooked,” she says. The full recipe, along with a video, can be found on her website http://thetravelingepicurean.com.

An easy appetizer is bacon wrapped water chestnuts, she says.

“You can get the prep done the day before. Right before you bake them the next day, the chestnuts rolled in the bacon get dredged in a brown sugar and Coleman’s mustard mixture, then set on a cookie tray and bake for 13 minutes,” she says. “Have your niece or nephew get this one done for you. The bacon turns candy-like from the brown sugar, the Coleman’s gives it some tooth and then there’s the crunch of the whole water chestnut. Wow. And let them cool a bit after coming out of the oven so people don’t burn their lips. And you better grab one before putting them out, because that tray is coming back empty!”

Here are the recipes for stuffed artichokes, the best Brussels sprouts, bacon wrapped water chestnuts, and for pepperoni stuffing, mentioned in our article last week on Thanksgiving dinner.

Best Brussels Sprouts Ever

Michel Vejar

Serves six to eight people

Ingredients

2 lbs. fresh Brussels sprouts

4 large garlic cloves coarsely chopped

¼ cup olive oil, plus extra drizzle of olive oil after they

are roasted

¼ teaspoon of salt, plus extra sprinkle of salt to taste after

they are roasted

Sprinkle of black pepper

¼ cup Reggiano Parmesan to serve on the side (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375º

Cut 1/2” off the ends of the Brussels sprouts

Cut the Brussels sprouts in half vertically

Add the chopped garlic, and Brussels sprout to a cookie tray

Drizzle olive oil over sprouts and garlic and sprinkle with salt

Arrange the Brussels sprouts so that the cut halves are all face down on the cookie tray – this inner side will be the caramelized side of the sprout

Put into pre-heated oven for 25 – 35 minutes—no need to turn or toss them while cooking

Put on a serving dish along with grated cheese on the side

To read this on Michel’s blog, visit thetravelingepicurean.com.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Michel Vejar

Ingredients:

2 cans whole water chestnuts (Geisha, approx 18 per can)

1 lb. Boar’s Head bacon (sliced into 3″ strips)

1 cup light brown sugar

2 tbsp Coleman’s dry mustard (if you like it less spicy only

use 1 tbsp)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375º.

Whisk brown sugar and dry mustard together in a medium size bowl.

Wrap each water chestnut in a 3” piece of bacon, roll in the brown sugar mixture and place them seem side down on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes.

You don’t need to flip.

The bottoms will be more caramelized then the tops so flip them over when you plate them to see the carmelization.

Be sure to let them cool a pinch before eating because the chestnuts get pretty hot along with the sugar.

These are a great party item because you can prep a day ahead BUT do not dip them into the brown sugar mixture until right before you put them into the oven or they will get watery.

Just wrap chestnuts in bacon and place onto a cookie tray and pop them into the fridge.

On Michel’s blog: thetravelingepicurean.com.

Pepperoni Stuffing

Taylor Grant Greenberg

The Little Chef That Could

http://thelittlechefthatcould.com

This is a recipe that is a family favorite with Taylor’s family. She says the measurements are approximate, since her grandfather tends to just toss the ingredients in.

2 sticks of pepperoni, sliced into small pieces

4 loaves of Italian bread, broken into pieces

2 eggs

¾ cup of Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp garlic powder

4 tbsp parsley

Soak the bread in water. Squeeze out excess water of bread and place in a large mixing bowl with remaining ingredients. Form into little patties and place in heated olive oil, once golden flip to other side. Continue doing this, adding oil if necessary with remaining stuffing mix, being sure not to overcrowd pan. Place stuffing patty on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Once all the stuffing has been cooked, place in a large bowl breaking apart into little pieces. Warm up when ready to serve for dinner (if it isn’t eaten before then).

Stuffed Artichokes

Adapted from a recipe on www.food.com.

To trim and clean the artichokes, Google “The Test Kitchen: How to Trim Artichokes — Gourmet Magazine” to see a video on how to do it.

Serves four

Ingredients:

4 medium fresh artichokes, trimmed and cleaned

2 to 3 cups Italian style breadcrumbs

2 to 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese or

Romano cheese

1 tablespoon dried parsley, or 3 tablespoons fresh

1 teaspoon garlic salt, or 3 cloves, finely minced

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 to 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (for drizzling)

Directions:

In a large bowl combine bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, garlic salt, and pepper, mix well. Slowly add the oil until the crumb mixture is moistened enough to stick together. Adjust the amount of oil as needed. Stuff each leaf of the artichoke, starting from the bottom and working your way around, with crumb mixture. Shake off excess mixture. Continue this step with remaining artichokes. Place artichokes in a large baking pan and fill bottom of pan with ½ to 1 inch of water. Drizzle olive oil over top of stuffed artichokes and cover tightly with heavy duty foil, and set aside until ready to cook. Cook on 375 degrees for approximately 60 to 80 minutes (depending on size of artichoke) or until leave comes out easily. Cool for 10 minutes.