Leroy’s Thanksgiving Plan-A Single Guy's Approach to Making a Feast

The most critical element of preparing a Thanksgiving feast is timing. If you don't have a good sense of timing, then most grocery stores will offer prepared Thanksgiving meals. If you want to press on with actually making the meal, I have a few hints. The most important is anything that can be prepared ahead of time, should be prepared ahead of time.

This should be made the night before Thanksgiving. Pumpkin Pie is best served chilled.The recipe I like to use is from a cook book by Annemarie Colbin.It is titled The Natural Gourmet:Delicious Recipes for healthy, balanced eating.The author is writing from a what I think is a new age point of view.The cookbook would be a good reference for vegetarians.I am not sure if it is still in print.

Note that the recipe uses butternut squash instead of pumpkin.The end result is looks and tastes the same.Butternut squash is easier to deal with than pumpkin.

Ingredients

3 pounds butternut squash ( 1 large or 2 small squashes)

3 eggs, preferably organic or free-range

½ cup maple syrup

pinch sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.Cut squash in half.Place cut side down on a cookie sheet with seeds intact.Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until soft.Set aside to cool.When it has cooled enough to not burn your hands scoop out the seeds and throw them away.Scoop out the pulp and place into a food processor.(Before I owned a food processor, I used a blender successfully for this step. So if the food processor is busted, use the blender.)Add the eggs, maple syrup, salt and spices and process until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a prebaked pie crust; and, bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until set, usually about 30 minutes. Let cool and chill in refrigerator.

I don't like to stuff Turkey's when I cook a whole turkey. Obviously, I use dressing. My secret for this is to have my sister bring it over. Anything you can get your relatives to make cuts down on your work and complaints. That is an avenue to keep in mind.

On Thanksgiving Day, Turkey is the first thing to go into the oven early in the morning. The mainstay of a Thanksgiving feast is turkey; and, what to do with leftover Turkey is a the big challenge. Since I have a small family, sister and dad, even a small turkey creates leftovers for weeks. You can’t give leftover Turkey away after Thanksgiving. I have tried freezing the leftovers, eating turkey sandwiches for a week, baking versions of Shepherd’s pie, and casseroles. None of these techniques address the problem of too much turkey. About three years ago I hit on a solution that works very well. I simply buy a turkey breast, not a whole turkey. If you have someone that insists on turkey legs, they are available separately. The solution to too much turkey is simple, just do not buy so much turkey.

You roast a Turkey breast the same way you roast a whole Turkey, unless you buy the precooked turkey breast. There is nothing wrong with going that way, and it saves hours on the cooking time. If your turkey is raw, there should be some roasting directions printed on the packaging, or you can ask your butcher for directions. When you are planning the kitchen activities, keep in mind turkey can take hours to cook properly.

In preparing the turkey I rub olive oil over the surface and cavity along with salt, pepper and dried sage.I have used margarine, but olive oil is better tasting.(I do this with all types of poultry

The key roasting trick I use is during the first fifteen minutes, I cook the turkey at 450 degree and then lower the temperature to the recommended level, usually around 350 degrees.That does something to the turkey to keep the interior moist.I do that along with basting.

So while the turkey is roasting away, I clean the kitchen and start on the rest of the menu. Cleaning the kitchen is very important. Get a relative to help.

This recipe is made on the stove top and should be made as close to meal time as possible. Go to your pantry and put the marshmallows away. Save them for hot chocolate. Yams and sweet potatoes do not need any additional sugar. I actually got this recipe off of the Food Network. I think Alton Brown rocks on Good Eats. It is his recipe.

Ingredients

Two large yams, or sweet potatoes.(There is a difference to rabid foodies, but honestly they taste the same to me.)

Chipolte pepper in adobo sauce

one or two table spoons of butter

Directions

Peal the sweet potatoes and cut up into one inch cubes.Keep the cubes as even as possible.

Steam the cubes for twenty five minutes.The cubes should be soft. You can buy one of those folding steamer things for any grocery store. I use a wire strainer that happens to fit my cook ware. I place the strainer on pot of boiling water and I keep a lid on the strainerto keep the steam in.

Chop up one pepper very fine and reserve two tablespoons of the adobo sauce.

Combine everything into a mixing bowl and mash the sweet potatoes thoroughly mixing the butter, peppers and sauce. This needs to be served warm, so prepare it last.

Macaroni and Cheese is a staple at my family gatherings. I wrote a hub about this recipe.[See link below.] This can be cooked in the oven alongside of the turkey. It takes about 30 minutes plus five minutes to cool before serving

Brussel Sprouts - Steam these, do not boil.They taste better steamed. I buy the frozen petite sprouts, because the fresh ones are hard to find in my town.If you have a rice cooker, and a steamer basket, use it. The stove top is crowded at this point.

Misc. Items

My family usually serves rolls, olives, and sliced onions along with the main dishes.

REFERENCES

Spicy Sweet Potato recipe – ‘Food Network Good Eats by Alton Brown

Pumpkin Pie Recipe - The Natural Gourmet by Annemarie Colbin

The direction on the side of a Turkey for cooking times and safety.

One year my sister was in charge of the pies and she made pumpkin pie. She likes to use the frozen crusts you get in the grocery store. Anyway we were enjoying dessert when my mom started laugh hysterically; but, she wouldn't explain why she was laughing. It turns out my sister had failed to remove the wax paper separating the crusts. She is going to kill me for telling this. .

One time I was in charge of the pumpkin pie and of course I removed the wax paper. What I did was assume the canned pumpkin was ready for pie filling. Let's just say that plain pumpkin puree does not taste that good. I also once forgot to take the giblets out of the turkey.

The moral of this story? Don't trust your big brother to remain quite about stuff like this.