This year's Thanksgiving was not much different from last year's, but I made two new things, so I'll share. First up: cranberry sauce. You don't really need a recipe for this; if you buy a bag of cranberries, there will be a recipe on the bag and you can't exactly screw it up. But, for good measure:
Cranberry Sauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup water*
1 bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 tsp grated orange zest
fresh squeezed orange juice, optional*
*If using orange juice, squeeze into a measuring cup, then top with water to reach 1 cup.
Combine sugar and water and/or orange juice in saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes, stirring to dissolve sugar entirely. Add cranberries and simmer until cranberries start to burst, about 5 minutes. Stir in orange zest.
Can be served immediately (a bit runny) or cooled and refrigerated overnight, after which time, it will be much thicker.
Serves 10.
We had leftover turkey and gravy on artisan bread, and the same sides as last year: brussels sprouts and sweet potato, as well as the cranberry sauce.
For dessert, Olivia and I made chocolate marshmallow squares. Last year for Christmas I received Company's Coming 150 Delicious Squares cookbook, and this recipe comes from it, though I reduce the marshmallow amount just slightly, for better consistency.
Chocolate Marshmallow Squares ("Chocolate Confetti")
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter
200 g mini marshmallows
Melt first three ingredients together in a large pot over medium heat, stirring until melted and well combined. Remove from heat and let cool about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once cooled, add marshmallows and stir to coat them thoroughly. Press into a 9 x 9" pan, lined with foil if desired. Refrigerate until firm enough to cut.
Makes 36 squares.
Verdict:
Keepers: sweet potato mash and Brussels sprouts in cream sauce
Thanksgiving weekend calls for rich, homey comfort foods. The challenge: how to cook such a meal without including meat. Why, you ask? Why not! I've been looking forward since last year to re-trying two recipes from October 2009's Chatelaine: Sweet potato mash with crunchy pecan topping and Brussels sprouts in Parmesan cream. These two recipes combined are rich enough, and work enough, that no fancy meat is required for this meal. Accompanied by roasted beets, fried zucchini and boiled yellow beans, we had a fall harvest meal in the making!
We spent our Saturday of the Thanksgiving weekend in the usual way: hike in Gatineau Park, ice cream at La Cigale and a rich feast to finish the day!
The Brussels sprouts recipe is not actually vegetarian, but could be altered to be so easily. The sweet potatoes taste like sweet potato pie minus the crust. The whole ensemble was so delicous I ate till I thought I would burst; I just could not stop! My only mistake was with the beans: I cooked them to a perfect tender-crisp state, drained them and set them back on the hot burner, which I forgot to turn off. By the time I realized my error, they were burnt and stuck to the bottom of the pot. We ate a few off the top and tossed the remainder. But really, what would Thanksgiving be without a mistake or two?
