Thanksgiving dinner
Meatless Monday – Holiday Dishes – Cruzan Potato Stuffing
This is a very delicious potato dish that is served on holidays in the Caribbean. This is a reblog of an earlier post (posted exactly one year ago, in fact), simply because I like this picture so much better. This was taken when I cooked this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. It was much sunnier than last year. I love this spicy/sweet West Indian alternative to the traditional sweet yam dishes. It takes the place of both the yams and the mashed potatoes on my usual Thanksgiving menu.
Here is a quote from the last year’s post:
One of the must-haves in my family’s Thanksgiving dinner menu (or any time we make turkey, which is several times a year – we LOVE it and look for any occasion to make it) is potato “stuffing” as made in the USVI.
In the Virgin Islands, this is a traditional side to Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey dinner. Even though it is called stuffing, it is not stuffed into anything, and definitely not the turkey. It looks like it is made from yams, but it is actually made out of white potatoes, brown sugar, and tomato paste or tomato sauce. It is a savory and spicy potato side, rather than the sweet Thanksgiving sweet potato side dishes common in the US. It can also be made as a weekday dinner side dish. I also think it tastes good reheated, but you wouldn’t want to eat this cold.
This is a good addition to any vegetarian holiday meal, as well as the traditional holiday meal, and really, is a great side dish any time of the year.
Cruzan Potato Stuffing
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 mini bell peppers (or half one regular sweet bell pepper), chopped – or spicier peppers if you prefer some heat
2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 pounds potatoes, boiled and mashed
3-4 tablespoons tomato paste
2-4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup raisins
1 egg (optional)
1/2 – 3/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat oven to 325.
Boil and mash potatoes, set aside. Do not add any milk or butter to the potatoes.
Heat oil in medium sized pot. Add onions, garlic, parsley, and peppers. Saute 3 or 4 minutes.
Add butter
Stir to melt butter, adding tomato paste, oregano, and brown sugar
Saute 2 -3 minutes more till it looks like this
Remove from heat. Add potatoes to pot, along with raisins, milk, and beaten egg, fold all ingredients to incorporate completely. You want the consistency to be slightly more liquid/thinner than mashed potatoes if you add the egg. If you do not add the egg, let it be the same consistency as mashed potatoes.
Spread in an oiled 9″ pie plate.
Bake for 45 minutes until top is golden.
Optional – You can add a couple of drops of hot sauce if you like it spicier, when you add the milk. I’ve done that before, but my kids don’t eat it like that. I don’t always add the egg, and it is perfectly good, and lower in fat without it.
Semi-homemade variation – you can use instant mashed potatoes instead of boiling and mashing regular potatoes.
Thanksgiving menu : Roasted Turkey (with a Lemon Garlic Marinade)
I love Thanksgiving. I love being with friends and family. I love the sentiment of being thankful. And, I really, really love Thanksgiving dinner.
I have heard lots of people say that they don’t really care for turkey. That it’s bland or blah, or whatever. I do really like turkey. When it is brined and then properly seasoned, it is really good. (Is that enough really’s?)
I don’t particularly like plain turkey OR plain gravy. This is anything but plain turkey. This one has a marinade that hearkens to my childhood in the Caribbean. It has lots of garlic, olive oil, spices, a lemon AND a lime (or you can use 2 of any of them, but I like to use one of each because each imparts a slightly different flavor), soy sauce, and mustard. Also, when it is nicely spiced like this, the gravy you make with the pan drippings also has a tangy, lovely flavor.
I have also heard complaints of being intimidated by trying to cook a turkey. Something about it being the size that it is seems to make it more complicated than it actually is. Take it one, easy step at a time, and it comes out perfect every time.
I always stuff my turkey, but I know that some people are squeamish, so you can also roast un-stuffed if you prefer. Just follow the roasting times according to whether or not you stuff it, for food safety reasons.
Thanksgiving menu : Roasted Turkey (Lemon Garlic Marinade)
~12 pound Turkey (fresh or thawed according to directions)
Brine
1 cup apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
3 cardamom pods
3 bay leaves
1 onion, sliced
1/2 cup coarse sea salt (or regular table salt)
Juice (and rinds) of 2 lemons
Place all ingredients in pot. Add 5 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Rinse turkey of all package juices. Gently loosen skin from breast, and as deep into the leg/thigh area as you can without ripping skin. Place in container big enough to submerge turkey completely. Add brine to container, topping off with cold water to completely cover the turkey. Allow brine to enter in between the skin and meat by raising skin a bit as it submerges.
Let brine for about 2 hours.
Drain brine and rinse turkey completely. Place on a large tray.
Marinade
1 ½ stick butter, softened
1-2 teaspoon mustard
1 ½ teaspoon oregano
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 lemon, juiced (reserving rind)
1 lime, juiced (reserving rind)
8-10 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
In a food processor, place all marinade ingredients, except butter. Process till smooth. Add butter and process a second time to combine. It gets nice and thickly emulsified, so it stays in place on the bird, and doesn’t drip off during the marinating process overnight.
Using the lemon and lime rinds you just juiced for the marinade, rub all over the turkey.
Rub marinade all over turkey, including under skin to get it onto the turkey breast as well. Also rub a bit into cavity (and on the neck).
Place in fridge overnight.
When ready to cook, remove from fridge. Let stand to get to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 325 F. Place turkey (including neck) in roasting pan.
Roast till internal temperature reaches 165 F on meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the leg. Baste liberally and often throughout the roasting process.
You will want to let rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it, so that all the turkey juices reincorporate into the meat, and not run out when you carve it.
Meanwhile, pour out all the lovely pan juices, and use to make gravy.
If you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can follow the guides below from the USDA website . Mine was perfectly done at right around 3½ hours for my just-under-12 pound bird.
| Unstuffed | |
|---|---|
| 4 to 8 pounds (breast) | 1½ to 3¼ hours |
| 8 to 12 pounds | 2¾ to 3 hours |
| 12 to 14 pounds | 3 to 3¾ hours |
| 14 to 18 pounds | 3¾ to 4¼ hours |
| 18 to 20 pounds | 4¼ to 4½ hours |
| 20 to 24 pounds | 4½ to 5 hours |
| Stuffed | |
|---|---|
| 4 to 6 pounds (breast) | Not usually applicable |
| 6 to 8 pounds (breast) | 2½ to 3½ hours |
| 8 to 12 pounds | 3 to 3½ hours |
| 12 to 14 pounds | 3½ to 4 hours |
| 14 to 18 pounds | 4 to 4¼ hours |
| 18 to 20 pounds | 4¼ to 4¾ hours |
| 20 to 24 pounds | 4¾ to 5¼ hours |
Brine note – you can use regular vinegar/lemon and water without adding anything else (such as the coriander or onion), as in this post, doubling the vinegar/lemon.
Added to Tasty Tuesdays linky roundup. Go on over and check it out!
Thanksgiving and Holiday Season : Macaroni Pie /Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Thanksgiving season is upon us. We have just about 3 weeks to plan and shop. What constitutes the perfect Thanksgiving dinner varies according to region and each particular family. To me, my childhood Thanksgiving dinner is the epitome of comfort food, so I may add to it, but there are certain items that must be on my table or it is not Thanksgiving dinner. These include a properly brined and well-seasoned turkey, bread stuffing, West Indian style potato stuffing, and baked macaroni and cheese.
This is not diet food. But instead of trying to make it low-fat, I say make it as decadent as you like, and then take a small portion of wonderfully, gloriously cheesy baked macaroni. What was that Shelby (Julia Roberts) said in Steel Magnolias? Something about a little bit of something wonderful being worth a whole lot of nothing special? Or something like that.
Bread crumb note – I used Panko bread crumbs for this post, but you could use regular bread crumbs instead, either seasoned or plain. You could also omit bread crumbs entirely.
Cheese note – You can mix any cheeses you like, as long as at least some is cheddar, and you have some nice melty cheese. I used half mozzarella and half cheddar for this post.
Macaroni Pie
1 lb dry elbow macaroni
4 Tablespoons butter
2 cups shredded cheese (for richer version, add 1 additional cup of cheese)
3/4 cup milk, half and half, or cream
1 small onion, grated
2 eggs, beaten (for richer version, add 1 additional egg)
1 teaspoon Penzey’s Sunny Paris blend (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
¼-½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
Topping
1 cup cheese (for richer version, add 1 additional cup of cheese)
½ cup Panko bread crumbs (optional )
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Preheat oven to 325 F
Cook macaroni according to package directions, drain. Add butter. Stir until cheese and butter is completely melted. Let cool 10 minutes. Add milk, cheeses, onion, 2 beaten eggs, Sunny Paris seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.
Pour out into baking tray that has been coated with cooking oil or nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle cheeses on top.
If using bread crumbs, mix them with the melted butter, then sprinkle on top of the cheese.
Cover the tray with aluminum foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake a further 15-25 minutes, until macaroni is set and cheese is melted on top. You can broil for a minute or two to give the breadcrumbs some color, if desired.
