A TASTY THANKSGIVING

- 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 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.

Sweet Potato Souffle

12 servings

12 packs Tastybaby “Sweetie Pie” frozen organic baby food (12- 3.5ounce cups, 4 boxes)

or 3 lbs of baked, peeled and mashed organic sweet potatoes

 8 ounces of Organic Applesauce

¾ cup   granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

½ cup   organic butter

4   organic large eggs

3 Tbsp  self-rising flour

¾ cup   organic milk

1 tsps   organic vanilla extract

Topping

½  cup  brown sugar

½ cup   flour

1 cup    chopped pecans

½ cup   melted butter

Our Tasty Recipe:

1. In a large mixing bowl, empty all of the contents of the “Sweetie Pie” packs.  If our healthy & delicious baby food is sadly not available in your area…proceed with steps 2 & 3.

2. Bake sweet potatoes in oven until soft 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 350°F Pierce with fork to test.

3. Peel then mash with egg beater or fork. Be careful to not overbeat or they will get gluey.

4. Mix in each ingredient separately, adding one egg at a time and beat after each addition until light and fluffy.

5. Pour into 15"x 10"pyrex pan, two 9"x13" or large soufflé dish.* Do not over-fill! The mixture will puff up.  Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over sweet potato mixture.

6. Bake at 325F for 25 minutes.

Serves 12.

*For a dinner party…use individual soufflé molds instead of large baking dishes.

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.

Tasty Pumpkin Pie

3 packs(3-3.5 ounce) of  Tastybaby “Squash ‘em”* , 1 ¼  cup cooked and pureed pumpkin

or

10 ounces of canned pumpkin, drained in a fine strainer

3/4 cup organic creme fraiche

Generous 1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground organic cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground organic ginger

Pinch ground organic cloves

2 large organic eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon organic vanilla

2 tablespoons brandy or dark rum

1 (10-inch) prebaked organic pie shell

Our Tasty Recipe

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

*If using Tastybaby “Squash ‘em”: Heat contents of 3 packs in a small saucepan or in the microwave, until puree is smooth. Let puree cool to room temperature.

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the “Squash ‘em” or pureed pumpkin, creme fraiche, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves and whisk together until thoroughly blended. Stir in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla, and brandy or rum. Whisk mixture until thoroughly blended and smooth.

2. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pie shell and jiggle the pan gently to help it find its level. Bake for about 1 hour, until set in the center. Let cool to room temperature. Serve with whipped cream and voila!