My sis's thanksgiving recipes

I'd like to share with you some of my sister and family's (with her kind permission, of course) favourite thanksgiving recipes. My sis and family live in Virginia, USA and she tells me that this is the first year she tried brining the turkey before roasting; and the end result was just super. The roasted bird had skin that was nice and crisp(which my niece Sarah really, really enjoyed! :) ) and moist, tender meat. Here are the recipes and pics courtesy of my sister... Thanks sis. (I might even do the brining bit with chicken before roasting.) Hmm.

Maple Ginger Glazed Turkey

5 - 6 lb turkey breast, completely thawed.

Brine

1/2 gallon water

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons honey

1. Brine your turkey 12 - 24 hours before cooking it.

2. Into a large container pour the water, mix in the salt, sugar, honey and stir until everything is dissolved.

3. Place turkey breast in brine, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.

* You can double and triple the brine depending on how large your turkey is.

Preparation for Turkey

1/2 onion, cut into wedges

1 celery stalk, cut into half inch pieces

Salt

Pepper

1/4 cup melted butter

1. Remove turkey breast from brine. Pat dry with paper towels.

2. Salt and pepper outside and inside of turkey.

3. Place onion and celery pieces in cavity of turkey. Put turkey breast in a baking pan. Pour a cup of water around the turkey.

4. Brush the turkey with the melted butter. Roast in a 325 degree oven for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Brush with remaining butter throughout the cooking process.

5. An hour before the turkey is done, start brushing it with the Maple Ginger glaze.

6. When turkey is done, remove from oven and let sit for 10 - 15 minutes before carving.

Maple Ginger Glaze

1/2 cup of butter

1/4 cup of real maple syrup (I use Vermont maple)

1 teaspoon ginger powder

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add maple syrup and ginger and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes.

3. Start glazing the turkey an hour before it is done roasting.

Below is the stuffing recipe that my sis used,(another first too, she says) with some minor alterations. She grated the apples instead of chopping them and the result was a more moist stuffing.


Apple and Onion Stuffin' Muffins
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 stick butter, softened
1 fresh bay leaf, available in produce department
4 ribs celery and greens, from the heart, chopped (save time and purchase celery already washed, trimmed and cut into sticks, this makes chopping fast work)
1 medium to large yellow skinned onion, chopped
3 McIntosh apples, quartered and chopped
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
8 cups cubed stuffing mix (recommended: Pepperidge Farm)
2 to 3 cups chicken stock, available in paper containers on the soup aisle

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil to skillet and 4 tablespoons butter. When butter melts, add bay leaf and add the vegetables as you chop them, celery, onions then apples. Sprinkle the vegetables and apples with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Cook 5 to 6 minutes to begin to soften vegetables and apples then add parsley and stuffing cubes to the pan and combine. Moisten the stuffing with chicken broth until all of the bread is soft but not wet.

Butter 12 muffin cups, 2 tins, liberally with remaining butter. Use an ice cream scoop to fill and mound up the stuffing in muffin tins. Remove the bay leaf as you scoop the stuffing when you come upon it. Bake until set and crisp on top, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove stuffin' muffins to a platter and serve hot or room temperature.

Green Bean Casserole



1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can of milk
2 cans (14 oz each) cut green beans, drained
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups French fried onions

1. Empty mushroom soup into a mixing bowl. Use can and measure out 1/2 a can of milk and mix in with soup. Add soy sauce and pepper and mix well.

2. Add beans and 3/4 cup of French fried onions to mixture and mix well.

3. Pour into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and add the remaining onions around rim of casserole. Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes until onions are golden brown.


Sweet Potato Casserole ( another favourite side-dish)



1 1/2 lb sweet potato, cut into even cubes
4 Tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon Allspice
Large marshmallows

1. Steam the cubed sweet potatoes until soft. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. Mash the sweet potatoes with a hand masher until fairly smooth (lumps are allowed!). Add butter, sugar and spice and mix well.

3. Beat egg and add to sweet potato mixture, stirring well.

4. Pour in buttered casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

5. Remove from oven, top with marshmallows, leaving a small edge around sweet potato mixture uncovered because the marshmallows will puff up.

6. Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 - 10 minutes depending on how brown you want your marshmallows to be.

*I do hope my friend Sophia gets to check these recipes out. I know shed like to try the turkey recipe for Xmas. So Soph, this is for you.