Here are some ideas for the Thanksgiving holiday for the cocktail hour before the main event.
House Special Drink:
1 gallon Spiced Apple Cider
1 orange cut up into thin slices
1/2 cup whole allspice
1 tbsp cloves
6 sticks of cinnamon
Place gallon of apple cider and rest of ingredients in large cauldron to percolate on stove (low heat) for about an hour before guests arrive. You can then ladle out adding a bit of spiced rum, or keep it virgin for the kids. This makes your house have a delicious aroma.
These recipes will feed about a dozen people, change proportions based on whether you have more or less people. Many of them can be made the night before and simply heated up just before the event. These are all easy recipes that can be made quickly by purchasing premade dough. If you are a good pastry chef and have plenty of time you can make the dough yourself the day ahead.
APPETIZERS
Blueblood PUFFS
6 figs (dried)
2 fingers of Maytag blue cheese
1 medium onion
1 sheet puff pastry
1/4 cup beef stock
*Purchase puff pastry dough in the freezer section of your grocery store for this easy appetizer sure to please and cut preparation time.
Defrost puff pastry dough while you compose rest of ingredients.
Finely chop the entire onion. Carmelize onion by slowly sauteeing in olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar. When it starts to dry up add beef stock and cook on low. When onions turn brown and stock is reduced to form thick paste of onions remove from heat.
Cut up blue cheese into small cubes or crumbles.
Cut up each fig into about 8 small pieces.
Cut up pastry into 2-inch squares.
in the center of each place about a teaspoon of the filling: a cube of blue cheese, a piece of fig and a small amount of the carmelized onions. Pinch from both sets of corners of the squares up toward center to close.
Place puffs on cookie sheet and bake at 350 until slightly golden on top.
Mini Quiche
6 eggs
1/2 cup cream
1/4 pound bacon
1 cup grated gruyere or other swiss
2-3 green scallions
pepper to taste
2 dozen filo dough mini pastry shells
*You can find these mini pastry shells in the shape of small cups in the freezer section of your grocery.
Pull out shells and allow to defrost while you make rest of filling.
Slice green part of scallions very thin into small circles.
Crisp bacon in microwave. When it cools crumble it.
Beat eggs and add cream and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
Add cheese, scallion and bacon to egg mixture.
Pour a bit of this filling about 3/4 of way into each filo cup.
Bake on cookie sheet at 350 until egg mixture is cooked (a few minutes).
Beef Satays
Marinade: 1/4 cup sherry, 2-3tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 2 cloves garlic, 1 small onion or large shallot minced, 1/4 cup rosemary vinegar.
Use an inexpensive cut of beef such as 1 lb of skirt steak or chuck and trim off fat.
Cut meat into bite size pieces.
Marinate in plastic bag overnight in fridge with 1/4 cup of minced onion, 2 cloves of garlic smashed, soy sauce, 1/4 cup of rosemary vinegar. sherry. Note that overnight marinade makes this rather tough meat soft. If you don't marinade the beef will be too tough.
Place meat on skewers and either BBQ or place in broiler on low flame until done. ( a few minutes on each side)
Serve with a bit of chinese hot mustard dipping sauce.
Shrimp & Garlic
1lb small shrimp deveined and shelled by your fish monger.
1 head of garlic
3 scallions
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 stick of butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
Mince or smash garlic completely.
Take half stick of butter and melt in pan with small bit of olive oil.
When oil and butter are melted thoroughly add minced garlic.
Cook on medium flame for just a minute then add shrimp and rest of ingredients.
Drop heat down to low and stir until shrimp are pink and slightly firm.
Serve with french bread cut into very thin pieces and toasted in oven.
Asparagus Spears
1 can of pop-n-fresh crescent roll dough
1 head of asparagus (small size)
1 tub whipped cream cheese
Open the dough and place it on a board with a bit of flour to allow to rise slightly.
Meanwhile boil some salted water. When water is boiling add asparagus spears and cook about half the normal time to make slightly al dente.
Remove spears and plunge into cold water. Cut off bottom 1/3 of spear so that you are only left with the tender upper portion.
Slice these spears into about 3 pieces each spear.
Take crescent dough triangles and cut into half each.
Place about a teaspoon of cream cheese and two spears in each and then fold so that a bit of the spear and cheese is still displayed.
Cook in oven on cookie sheet for about 10 minutes at 350, or until pastry is golden brown.
Roasted Garlic Crustinis
1 head of garlic
1/2 cup of olive oil
4 tbsp good balsamic vinegar
Using a small oven proof dish place garlic head in to 1/2 cup of oil and cook in oven along with turkey. After about an hour the garlic will be roasted and pull from oven.
Allow garlic to cool, then remove from oil and take off all skin. Reserve oil. The easiest way to do this is to cut the entire bottom of the garlic head off and then squeeze out individual garlic cloves. The garlic should have a brown, but not black color. Black garlic is burned and should be discarded.
In dipping bowl smash garlic fine, add oil and vinegar and mix together well.
Serve with french bread cut on bias and toasted in oven slightly.
Ingredients
1/3 cup 100% sour cream
1/2 tsp dried dill
6 large yellow/yukon golden potatoes
1/2 cup of diced parsnip
1 tsp garlic (or 3 fresh garlic cloves mashed and cooked in butter until soft)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup light cream
1 tsp pepper
1) boil the potatoes and parsnips without the skin
2) When the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, remove from water and place in mixing bowl.
3) Melt butter & garlic, then add the dill. Let the dill stand in the butter mixture for about 15 minutes
4) Meanwhile mash the potatoes and parsnips together with a ricer.
5) Add the chicken stock, then the cream and the sourcream, mix thoroughly to an even consistency with a fork.
5) add the butter and dill mixture and mix in
6) Add the pepper and salt to taste
Very thick potatoes with a hint of parsnip and garlic give them a great appeal.
This dish is great because it is very easy to make and children love it! Again the proportion I provide serve approximately 4-6 people.
Ingredients
2 cups of baby carrots
1.5 cup of chicken stock
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 tsp of cloves
Place all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. You should allow this to cook for at least an hour to make the carrots very soft, and time it so you can roast in the oven for the last 15 minutes of the roasting meat.
While the roasting meat is broiling in the oven allow the carrots and other ingredients to cook over a low flame. If the liquid evaporates add more chicken stock.
When the meat is almost ready, remove the carrots carefully from the saucepan and place around the roasting meat to carmelize for that last 15 minutes of cooking. Reserve and strain the liquid. You can also place on a separate roasting tray and broil on low for about 5 minutes just until the carrots are tinged brown on tips.
Remove from the roasting tray and serve in a bowl with a little of the reserved liquid.
6 large sweet potatoes/yams
2-4 cups of chicken stock
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp thyme
Remove skin from potatoes and cut into similar sized pieces.
Chop fine the onion and the garlic.
Coat the bottom of the pot with oil and add onion and garlic.
Sautee for a minute or two.
Add potatoes and rest of ingredients.
Put on low heat for approximately an hour or until sweet potato chunks are soft and liquid is reduced to thick syrup. Do not burn, keep heat low and add more chicken stock as necessary.
1 lb long green beans
2 large parsnips
2 large carrots
1 large shallot
1/2 cup of chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 stick butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp tarragon
Top and tail green beans and wash thoroughly. Peel carrots and parsnips and cut into long thin matchsticks lengthwise along the axis. The parsnips and carrots should be a little thinner than the green beans. Wash all veges thoroughly.
Add oil and shallots to pan and when shallots just begin to get brown add all veges. Stir fry for a minute to coat each with shallot mixture.
Add chicken stock and cook on low until beans are bright green and al dente.
Add butter and herbs and toss veges in melted butter until coated evenly.
1/2 package of Crimini mushrooms
1 medium shallot
4 strips of bacon or 1/4 cup of pancetta
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon of dried coriander
1/4 cup beef stock
2 tbsp butter
olive oil for sauteeing
Clean mushrooms and trim or remove stems.
Coat pan with oil and sautee minced shallot for about 2 minutes on medium heat or until golden.
Add pancetta or bacon and cook for another few minutes.
Add stock and mushrooms and cook on low until mushrooms become soft. Add more stock if you need to to get the mushrooms to the correct consistency.
After stock is almost dried up add butter and herbs and toss thoroughly to coat all mushrooms.
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Thanksgiving Kitchen Witch Recipes
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