A TASTY THANKSGIVING PLUS RECIPES!

- Shannan Swanson, Tastybaby Co-Founder.

I love Thanksgiving!  I love everything about it. No presents to stress out about.  The holiday decorations are simple, if any.  The best part about it is the time you share with your family and friends around the dinner table.  Good food is a must! And now that I have a family with small children, it gives me a reason to break our fancy wedding china and crystal that has been gathering dust.  I am putting the sippy cups away and sitting down to a proper meal…with manners!

In this issue, we have focused on “giving thanks”. Now more than ever I am thankful the chance I have to create traditions for my family. This year Liane and I are going to continue our tradition of spending Thanksgiving together.  We both love to cook, so it makes sense.  We get to spend time together outside of work and focus on what really matters most…our family and of course food!

Please use the recipes that I provided as a guide for your Thanksgiving Feast.  Don’t get too caught up in the how to…enjoy yourself.  If you don’t have time to make the entire meal, ask for help. The best helper you can find are your kids…they are cheap and eager! Most importantly remember to be thankful that we live in a world where we have the opportunity to sit down and enjoy what life has to offer.

Chestnut & Apple Stuffing

16 cups 1-inch bread cubes, Sourdough or French baguette
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 large)
2 cups medium-diced celery (3 large stalks)
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored and large diced
1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage, meat removed from casing (optional)
8 ounce jar steamed whole chestnuts, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken stock
¼ cup of dry white wine

Our Tasty Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1.Put the bread cubes on a 13 by 18 by 1-inch baking sheet and bake them in the oven for 7 minutes.

2. In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and turkey sausage meat and break up with a wooden spoon and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the browned turkey sausage from pan, set aside. If the bottom of the pan has not burned during the cooking process, use the pan for the next step (for a vegetarian dish, leave out the sausage and proceed with step 3).

3.Melt the butter and add the onion, celery, apples, parsley, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Saute for 10 minutes, until the mixture is soft.

4. Combine the bread cubes, browned turkey sausage, cooked vegetables and the chestnuts in a large bowl and add the chicken stock and white wine.

Place the stuffing into a shallow casserole dish. At this point, you may set aside and bake in the oven at a later time, or place stuffing in a 350 degree oven and cook for about 1 hour. The stuffing should be browned on top and moist on the inside.

Sweetie Pie™ Souffle

Ingredients:

3 boxes (9 containers) Tastybaby® Sweetie Pie™, defrosted
1 whole organic egg
2 organic egg whites
¼ cup organic milk
Organic Marshmallows
pinch of salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375?.  Place defrosted Sweetie Pie in large bowl and whisk in egg and milk.  In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.  Take a large spoonful of Sweetie Pie mixture and incorporate into egg whites.  Add egg white and Sweetie Pie mixture to remaining Sweetie Pie and combine gently.  Season with salt to taste.  Put mixture in to 8” soufflé dish or individual soufflé molds.  Lay marshmallows on top in an even layer.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serves 6

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

These Brussels sprouts are my 4 year old daughter Louisa’s favorite vegetable!

Serves 6

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
juice of ½ a lemon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Our Tasty Recipe:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Slice the cleaned Brussels sprouts in half. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

2. Saute the Brussels sprouts in a stainless steel sauté pan over med-high heat. When Brussels sprouts begin to brown slightly, remove the pan from heat and place them in the pre-heated oven. 3. Roast the Brussels sprouts in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Remove from oven,  sprinkle with more kosher salt and serve immediately.

Oven-Roasted Turkey with Garlic and Herbs

10 heads of roasted organic garlic
6 Tbsp chopped organic rosemary
3 Tbsp chopped organic thyme
10-15 organic sage leaves
1 cup unsalted organic butter, softened
Kosher Salt and fresh ground pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 whole organic free-range turkey, 8-10 pounds*
4 organic carrots, peeled and cut on the bias
2 organic onions, quartered
1 bunch of organic rosemary, organic thyme and organic sage tied together with twine
2 cups organic low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup of vermouth or dry white wine

For the roux:
4 Tbsp of organic unsalted butter
6 Tbsp of all-purpose flour

Our Tasty Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

1. Adjust a rack to lowest position and remove other racks. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove turkey parts from neck and breast cavities and reserve for other uses, if desired. Dry bird well with paper towels, inside and out.

2. Place the roasted garlic and rosemary and thyme in a food processor with a metal blade. Puree until smooth. Add 4 tablespoons olive and puree into a paste. In a small bowl, fold in the softened butter with the garlic/herb paste. Season the turkey with salt and pepper.   Spoon the mixture into a Ziploc bag(pastry bag) and set aside.

3. Season the entire turkey, carrots, and onions with salt and pepper. Stuff the carrots and  onions in the cavity of the turkey with the tied herbs. Tie the turkey with butcher’s twine, for overall cooking and closing the cavity. Using your fingers, carefully separate the skin of the chicken from the breast and leg meat.  Cut the tip off the Ziploc bag and insert small portions of the mixture under the skin.  Use your fingers the move the mixture evenly under the skin.   Place sage leaves under skin. Reserve 1-2 tablespoons of mixture for the pan sauce.  Rub the entire turkey with salt and pepper and a little olive oil, and place in a shallow roasting pan. Tent the bird with foil.

4. Roast the turkey for 2 hours. Remove the foil and baste with the juices from the bottom of the pan. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue to roast until an instant read thermometer registers 165 degrees F in the thigh of the bird, about 45 minutes more.

5. Remove the turkey from the pan and set aside to rest for 15 minutes on a platter or cutting board, and place the roasting pan on the stove. Skim off any burnt drippings or excess fat.       Deglaze the pan with the wine and chicken stock. scraping any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula. Once these solids are dissolved, reduce for 5 minutes over high heat or until reduced by 1/3. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in ¾ of the contents of the roasting pan, whisking vigorously until the gravy is fully incorporated.

In a medium size sauce pan, melt the butter until it begins to bubble. Slowly sprinkle the flour, whisking the mixture until it is smooth. Cook the roux for about 2 minutes, or until the roux begins to brown slightly.

6. Remove the butcher’s twine from the turkey. Place the turkey in the center of the platter and lay the carrots and onions around the turkey. Spoon the reserved jus and drippings over the turkey and carrots. Garnish with fresh herbs and voila!

*For larger turkeys, adjust the cooking time and ingredients. Typically, poultry cooks at 20 minutes per pound.

Cranberry Sauce

2 cups fresh organic cranberries
Juice and chopped zest of 1 organic orange
½ teaspoon of grated organic ginger
1/4 cup Port (optional) or Orange Juice
3/4 cup sugar, or more if needed
1/2 teaspoon organic cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Our Tasty Recipe:

In a saucepan combine cranberries, orange juice, zest, ginger, port, sugar and cinnamon. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer and cook until cranberries are tender, stirring occasionally. In a small measuring cup make a slurry with the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Whisk cornstarch mixture into cranberry sauce and cook, whisking, until sauce thickens. Taste and add more sugar, if necessary.

Squash 'Em® Pumpkin Pie

5 Squash ‘Em® containers, defrosted & set to room temperature
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
2 eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

Our Tasty Recipe: Heat Squash 'Em slightly, stir thoroughly and drain in a cheese cloth to remove excess water. In a large bowl, slightly beat eggs. Add brown sugar, flour, salt, add squash 'em puree, pumpkin pie spice, and evaporated milk. Stir well after each addition. Pour mixture into the unbaked pastry shell. Place a strip of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust to prevent over browning. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C), then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove the strip of foil about 20 minutes before the pie is done so that the edge of the crust will be a light golden brown. Cool pie, and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.