Mountain Views News          Saturday, November 17, 2012

9

Happy Thanksgiving

 Mountain Views News Saturday, November 17, 2012 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Over the years, we have shared with you favorite recipes submitted by contributors, 
their families, supporters and well wishers. We hope you will try at least one recipe. They are 
are really, really good!

Good Eats Roast Turkey

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Prep Time: 15 min 

Inactive Prep Time: 7 hr 0 min 

Cook Time: 2 hr 30 min 

Level: Easy 

Serves: 10 to 12 servings 

 

INGREDIENTS

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey 

For the brine:

1 cup kosher salt 

1/2 cup light brown sugar 

1 gallon vegetable stock 

1 tablespoon black peppercorns 

1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries 

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger 

 1 gallon heavily iced water 

For the aromatics:

1 red apple, sliced 

1/2 onion, sliced 

1 cinnamon stick 

1 cup water 

4 sprigs rosemary 

6 leaves sage 

Canola oil 

DIRECTIONS

2 to 3 days before roasting:

 Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees 
F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice 
berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir 
occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from 
the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed 
turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh 
down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in 
cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse 
inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine. 

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper 
towels. 

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave 
safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the 
turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath 
the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil. 

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. 
Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the 
oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) 
to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 
hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large 
mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving. 


Mary Lee’s (Dean Lee’s Mother) 

Sausage Appetizers

Also makes great sandwiches the next day !

Ingredients

Refrigerated dinner rolls (10 in a tube)

Farmer John sausage links (cut in half or thirds)

butter on top

Directions:

Take rolls and flatten separately with hand or rolling pin

Put link in half of flat dinner roll 

(if using thirds spread sausage to cover roll)

Fold over and seal edges by pinching

Put 10 in ungreased cake pan

Bake 350 degrees/20 minutes until top is golden brown

Enjoy

Richard Garcia’s 

Cranberry-Pomegranate Sauce

1 1/2 pounds fresh or frozen cranberries (6 cups) 

2 cups sugar 

1 cup pomegranate juice 

2 cups fresh pomegranate seeds

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries with the 
sugar and pomegranate juice. Bring to a simmer and cook 
over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until most of 
the cranberries have burst, about 10 minutes. Scrape the 
cranberry sauce into a medium bowl and let stand until 
cool, about 2 hours. Fold in the pomegranate seeds and 
serve the sauce chilled or at room temperature. 

Pat Ostrye’s Non-Recipe Turkey(The Best)

 My recipe would be that my husband always fixed the 
turkey. I really don't know how it began but, even when we 
had turkey a lot through the years, he always fixed it. So 
when he died 21 years ago, the men in the family thought I 
didn't know how to do it, which was fine with me. So, for this 
Thanksgiving, the family is going to Martin's in Arcadia. He 
is the youngest who was 27 when his dad died in October of 
'88. A few days before Thanksgiving that year he called to 
say he had the turkey but where should he fix it since he had 
a small apt in Arcadia at that time. Two of his sisters helped 
him do it and they brought it all to my sister-in-law's because 
I was living in Escondido yet, moving back to the area the 
first of that year. That Christmas, the oldest son took care of 
it, buying and fixing 2 turkeys. As long as the family doesn't 
run out of men, we have it made. 

Dixie Countant’s Easy Anti-marshmallow Yams

For those of us who don't like marshmallow on our yams, here's 
the family recipe for Candied Yams.

Ingredients:

Yams or sweet potatoes Butter Light Brown Sugar

Buy as many yams as you need depending on how many 
people are coming to dinner. I plan two medallions 
per person if I'm doing a full-blown dinner with all the 
trimmings.

Wash and slice yams (or sweet potatoes) into one-inch 
medallions. Steam medallions until barely done. (Not too 
soft) Skin the medallions by gently cutting the skin and 
lifting - it will almost fall off.

Arrange medallions in baking dish. (They can touch, but 
don't stack them) Put a small pat (aprox 1/4 tsp of butter 
on top of each medallion. Sprinkle light brown sugar over 
medallions. Cover and bake in 350 oven for 1/2 to 1 hour. 

From the Pen & Kitchen of 
Deanne Davis:

Thanksgiving Day Breakfast 

 The festive bird is stuffed and in the 
stove, the potatoes are boiling for 
mashed potatoes, you’ve said the gravy 
prayer (please, Gravy Deity, let it be 
smooth this year). And people are 
saying, “we’re hungry!” 

 This is not a problem, put down that 
ladle and in just minutes, you can hand 
everybody an Eggnog-Brandy Muffin! 

 If you’re truly feeling like Wonder 
Woman, whack up some bacon and an 
onion into small chunks, sauté them 
together, throw in some eggs, scramble 
it altogether, and serve the Thanksgiving 
breakfast they’ll remember with delight 
all year long. 

 

Eggnog-Brandy Muffins

2 cups flour

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 TB. Baking powder

½ tsp. Salt

3/4 cup prepared eggnog

½ cup brandy

5 TB butter, (unsalted if you’ve got 
it...use a little less salt if you don’t) 
melted

1 egg, beaten

½ tsp. Grated nutmeg plus a little 
more for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 
12 muffin pan.

In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, 
baking powder and salt. Add eggnog, 
brandy, butter, beaten egg and ½ 
tsp nutmeg. Stir only till mixed. 
DO NOT OVERBEAT or muffins 
will be rubbery and tough. 


Spoon batter into greased muffin 
cups and sprinkle tops of muffins 
with nutmeg. Bake about 20 minutes 
or until tester inserted into center of 
muffin comes out clean. Remove 
from tin, butter and enjoy.

They freeze nicely and are probably 
about 200 calories per muffin.

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your turkey be tender, succulent 
and juicy, and may somebody who 
really knows how..

 offer to carve it.

Tips For 

Preparing a 
Thanksgiving 
Turkey

For home cooks, preparing a Thanksgiving 
turkey is a rite of passage. Not only do snafu 
opportunities abound, but there is added 
pressure on the holiday to prepare and 
serve a perfect meal for family and guests.

Whether you’re a seasoned Thanksgiving 
chef, or a newbie in the kitchen, these tips 
can help eliminate the stress associated 
with prepping your meal’s centerpiece:

Prepare Ahead

It’s hard to perfect a turkey when you’ve got 
endless side dishes to worry over simultaneously, 
so accept guests’ offers to bring 
some favorites. Assemble accompaniments 
to your meal in advance, especially sauces 
and dips, which actually improve in flavor 
over time.

Remember, you only have so much space in 
an oven, so schedule cooking accordingly 
to ensure everything is ready at mealtime.

Talk Turkey

You may not have aced home economics 
when you were in school, but the folks at 
the Turkey Talk hotline are experts in the 
field. You can get most turkey conundrums 
solved by giving them a call at 1-800-BUTTERBALL, 
or by emailing them at 
talkline@butterball.com.

Work Smart

Maintaining your knives streamlines kitchen 
operations, especially the formidable 
task of carving your Thanksgiving turkey. 
But knife sharpening doesn’t need to be 
daunting. In fact, every home cook should 
get comfortable doing this regularly. With 
the right tools, your knives will last longer, 
and be safer and more efficient.

Generally, you should hone or polish knife 
edges after each use and sharpen knives 
regularly with a high-quality sharpener. 
Look for a sharpener that offers diversity. 
For example, Edgeware’s adjustable knife 
sharpeners include coarse and fine sharpening 
slots for dull and damaged knives 
and regular maintenance respectively, and 
are ideal for sharpening a variety of knives 
from straight edge blades to serrated. For 
how-to videos and other tips on restoring 
your knives to their original factory angle, 
visit www.edgewareproducts.com.

When preparing the Thanksgiving meal, 
make sure your knives are sharp in the 
kitchen and to sharpen any knives that will 
be used to carve your bird at the table. Do 
this before setting the table so you won’t 
forget.

Getting it Right

The general wisdom is to allot 1 to 1 1/2 
pounds of turkey per person. Just be sure 
your turkey is big enough to provide you 
with leftovers! There’s nothing more satisfying 
than a turkey sandwich for lunch the 
day after Thanksgiving.

Ready your bird for the oven by following 
the National Turkey Federation guideline 
on thawing: for every 4 1/2 pounds 
of frozen turkey, thaw for 24-hours in the 
refrigerator.

You don’t need to be Julia Child to master 
the art of turkeys. By maintaining your 
kitchen 

Mary’s Confetti Stuffed Mushrooms

Thanksgiving Potluck Vegan-style Mushrooms

1-1/2 # Mushrooms, Brown or Cremini: Separate into caps & stems.

1/3 cup Celery, 1/8” dice

1/3 cup Carrots, 1/8” dice

1/3 cup Baby Bell Peppers - Yellow, Orange, Red - 1/8”

1-1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3/4 cup Vegetable Broth, divided

1/4 cup Apricot, Peach, Orange or Blackberry Brandy

3/4 tsp Lindberg Porterhouse & Roast Seasoning (from Taylor’s)

1 cup Parsley, Finely Chopped 

2 Tbsp Lemon juice (fresh) 

1 cup Bread Crumbs - slightly dry

1/4 cup Pecorino-Romano Crumbled Cheese

Clean Mushrooms. Remove Stems, set caps in lightly greased baking pan with holes up.

Dice mushroom stems into 1/8” bits.. You should have 2 cups diced mushroom stems. If not enough, add more 
mushrooms (if you have them) to make 2 cups.

Put olive oil & ½ cup broth in sauté pan, turn heat to medium. Add Seasoning. Add celery and carrots. Layer 
with diced mushrooms, then diced peppers. Cover and cook slowly about 5 minutes, stirring once to ensure 
mushrooms and peppers get mixed with broth. 

Add Parsley. Simmer another 5 minutes. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Remember - adding 
breadcrumbs will soften flavor intensity.

Drain broth from sauté pan into cup. 

Add remaining broth with brandy and lemon juice to mushrooms, and return to heat until broth boils. Drain 
this liquid also into the cup. Reserve. 

Add breadcrumbs and grated cheese to drained mushrooms. Mix well. If very dry, add 1 - 2 tablespoons of 
reserved broth.

Stuff mushroom caps. Place neatly in greased table-ready stove top / baking dish. Carefully spoon some of the 
reserved broth into the dish;

Simmer gently for 5 minutes ... Add more mushrooms as the others shrink. Simmer another 5 minutes & repeat. 
When adding the last mushrooms, drizzle any remaining broth lightly over all the mushrooms’ stuffing for the 
final cooking.

Remove from heat and let cool. Serve room temperature. Or chill, and reheat just before serving. More fun 
to stuff the mushrooms with someone else - for sociability - after all, thanksgiving and social are what it’s all 
about.

Paul Nieby’s CORN BREAD DRESSING

 Ingredients:

 2 - 6 oz. bags Mrs. Cubbison’s Seasoned Cornbread Stuffing Mix

 1 cup chopped, raw white onions

 1 cup chopped raw celery

 10 dried apricots cut into pieces

 4 oz. Walnuts (they can be bought in a bag of about that size

 6-8 oz. Sausage, sauteed brown, defatted & crumbled. (Jimmy 

 Dean brand sage flavored is good

 2 cups heated Chicken Broth

 4 tbsp. butter melted in with 1 cup of the chicken broth

 Directions:

 Toss the vegetables and stuffing mix in a bowl. Add 1 cup of the 
heated broth with the melted butter and toss again. Load lightly in a greased 
covered casserole and bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Half way 
through, pour the additional cup of chicken broth over the dressing.

This recipe is modified from the one that appears on the Cubbison pack by 
the addition of the sausage, apricot, and walnuts. The additional broth added 
half-way through the baking, makes the dressing moist enough but still light 
and discreet.

Also from Paul Nieby: CREAMED PEARL ONIONS 

 Ingredients:

 Onions, small pearl as needed

 Milk, butter,flour, Worchestshire Sauce, Cayenne , Salt & Pepper

 Directions:

 Trim the bottoms of the onions but otherwise leave them unpeeled. Drop into 
boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Drain and peel when cool. Reserve the onion 
water.

Make a medium white sauce (2/2/1) using half milkd and half onion water. You 
may make a Mornay Sauce by adding shredded cheddar if desired. Flavor 
with Worchestshire, Cayenne and salt and pepper. The sauce should be fairly 
thick as the cooking onions will add liquor.

Pour the sauce over the onions in a casserole and bake covered in a medium 
oven for 30-40 minutes.