Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner Menu
This Thanksgiving meal will stun your guests when they gather around the table. Here's how to make a wow-worthy traditional Thanksgiving menu with all of the classics: turkey, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and more
Classic Roast Turkey
directions
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Rinse turkey neck and body cavities; pat dry with paper towels. If desired, sprinkle body cavity with salt and pepper. If desired, spoon stuffing loosely into neck and body cavities. Skewer turkey neck skin to back of turkey.
2.Tuck ends of drumsticks under band of skin across the tail or into wire or nylon leg clamp. If there is no skin or clamp, tie drumsticks to the tail with clean 100-percent-cotton kitchen string. Twist wing tips under the back of turkey.
3.Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Brush with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. If desired, insert an ovenproof meat thermometer into the center of an inside thigh muscle. Thermometer should not touch bone. Cover turkey loosely with foil.
4.Roast turkey for 2-1/4 hours. Remove foil; cut band of skin or kitchen string between drumsticks so thighs cook evenly. Continue roasting for 30 to 45 minutes more (60 to 75 minutes, if turkey is stuffed) or until the meat thermometer registers 180 degrees F and the center of the stuffing (if using) is 165 degrees F. (The juices should run clear and drumsticks should move easily in their sockets.)
5.Remove turkey from oven. Cover loosely with foil; let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving. Transfer turkey to a cutting board. Carve turkey. Serve with Turkey Pan Gravy.
Double Cranberry Sauce
ingredients
1 .12 ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1 .cup dried cranberries
1 .cup pomegranate juice
1/3
.cup mild flavored molasses
1 .tablespoon finely shredded orange peel
¼ .teaspoon ground cinnamon
.watercress (optional)
directions
Combine
all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook until
cranberry skins begin to burst. Taste and add more molasses, if
necessary. Top with watercress, if desired. Serve warm or at room
temperature. Cover and chill any leftover sauce up to 2 days.
Classic Dinner Rolls
ingredients
1 .cup whole milk
6 .tablespoons butter (room temperature)
1 .package active dry yeast
¼ .cup warm water (105 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
2 .eggs, lightly beaten
3 .tablespoons sugar
4-41/4 .cups all-purpose flour (not unbleached)
1 .tablespoon kosher salt
.Melted butter
.Softened butter
directions
1.Heat
the milk to 120 degrees F to 130 degrees F; add the butter and set
aside to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, in a large bowl
dissolve yeast in warm water. Add cooled milk, eggs, and sugar to
dissolved yeast and stir to blend. With a wooden spoon stir in 2
cups of the flour and the salt; stir until smooth. Add 2 cups of
remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring vigorously for 3 to 5
minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic and only slightly
sticky. (Only if needed, after 3 minutes of stirring and dough is
overly wet, stir in 1 tablespoon flour at a time.
2.Cover
the surface of the dough with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Cover the
top of the bowl with a second piece of plastic wrap. Let rise until
doubled (1 to 2 hours).
3.Lightly
butter 24 muffin cups. Gently press the dough to deflate. With
lightly buttered hands pinch off generous 1-inch pieces of dough.
Fold the dough over, turning and tucking the edges to form a ball.
Pinch the seam together to seal. Dip in melted butter and arrange
three dough balls in each muffin cup. Let rise until fully doubled
(about 1 hour).
4.Heat
oven to 400 degrees F. Bake rolls for 20 to 25 minutes or until
well-browned. If needed, to prevent over browning, cover rolls with
foil during last few minutes of baking. Remove from oven. Brush with
softened butter. Return to oven for 1 to 2 minutes.
5.Remove
rolls immediately from cups to a wire cooling rack.
Let
cool about 5 minutes before serving.
Makes
24 dinner rolls.
For
extra-light rolls, let the dough rise a second time (1 to 2 hours)
before shaping.
Chardonnay Glazed Carrots
ingredients
2 .pounds assorted carrots
1 .cup Chardonnay verjus or 3/4 cup white grape juice plus 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
½ .cup honey
2 .tablespoons unsalted butter
1 .teaspoon kosher salt
2 .cinnamon stick
2 .bay leaves
2 .tablespoons sliced chives
directions
1.Peel
large carrots. Slice carrots lengthwise and/or crosswise. Heat a
large skillet over medium-high heat. Add verjus, honey, butter,
salt, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Bring to boiling, stirring to
combine. Add carrots; return to boiling. Reduce heat to medium.
Cook, uncovered, 25 minutes, stirring often, until carrots are
tender and glaze thickens.
2.Remove
from heat. Remove and discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
Sprinkle with chives.
Makes
8 servings
Porcini-Chestnut Stuffing
ingredients
1 .pound fresh chestnuts (3 cups)
1 .cup dried porcini mushrooms (1 ounce)
1 .cup boiling water
½ .cup butter
1 .cup finely chopped fennel or celery
½ .cup chopped onion (1 medium)
2 .cloves garlic, minced
3 .ounces Genoa salami, sliced and chopped or cubed, or thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into strips
¾ .cup finely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (3 ounces)
1 .tablespoon snipped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
¼ .cup snipped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
¼ .teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 .teaspoon salt
12 . cups 3/4-inch cubes dry Italian bread
1-1
½ .cups chicken broth
directions
1.Preheat
oven to 400 degrees F. With a knife, cut an X in the shells of
chestnuts. Spread chestnuts on a large baking sheet. Roast for 15
minutes; cool. Peel and coarsely chop chestnuts; set aside. Reduce
oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
2.Meanwhile,
place mushrooms in a medium bowl; cover with the boiling water. Let
stand for 15 minutes; drain. If necessary, snip any large pieces of
mushroom. Pat dry with paper towels.
3.In
a large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms, fennel,
onion, and garlic; cook and stir until onion is tender. Remove from
heat. Stir in chestnuts, salami, 1/4 cup of the cheese, the thyme,
parsley, pepper, and salt. Place the bread cubes in an extra-large
bowl; add onion mixture. Drizzle with enough broth to moisten,
tossing lightly to combine.
4.Transfer bread mixture to a 3-quart casserole.*** Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake, covered, for 40 to 45 minutes or until heated through.
To
make dry bread cubes, preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spread cubes
in a 15x10x1-inch baking
pan.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until cubes are dry, stirring twice;
cool. (Cubes will continue to dry and crisp as they cool.) Or let
bread cubes stand, loosely covered, at room temperature for 8 to 12
hours.
If
you like, use one 8-ounce jar or one 10-ounce can whole peeled
chestnuts, drained and chopped, in place of the fresh chestnuts.
Prepare
as directed, except do not bake. Cool stuffing. Cover with plastic
wrap; chill for up to 24 hours. To serve, preheat oven to 400
degrees F. Remove plastic wrap; bake as directed.
If
you like, use bread mixture to stuff an 8- to 10-pound turkey.
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