Friendsgiving

Every year for me the first week in November really kicks off the holiday season.  We set our family times to gather and we also get together with our bests friends to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Often times in life we meet people that become just as important as family.  A few years ago when the Friendsgiving trend started to take off, I really embraced the idea of breaking bread with people I treasure just like I treasure my family.  In Partnership with Fred Meyer stores I am bringing you the best of my recipes to celebrate the holiday!  I was able to purchase everything I needed at my local Fred Meyer stores and even use Click list to grab things I forgot!  This post has been sponsored by Fred Meyer Stores.

Great Turkey Tips:

·         Smaller is always better, even if you are serving an army. Two 13 lb. birds are better than one 28 lb. bird. The meat will be more tender and flavorful.

·         Always brine your bird.

·         Roast your bird breast side down.  Always season liberally with salt and pepper, and rub your turkey in lots of butter and herbs, especially under the skin.

·         Fill the bird with herbs and sliced lemons.

Always add lots of onions, carrots, celery, and at least 2-3 cups of water to your roasting pan so you get plenty of drippings for gravy.

Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage & Sweet Potatoes

5 cups sourdough bread, cubed

1 lb. sausage, browned

½ cup butter plus 2 Tbsp.

1 onion, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

1 cup sweet potato, cubed

½ cup dried cranberries

3 cups chicken or turkey stock

2 eggs

2 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped finely

2 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped finely

1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped finely

Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, sweet potato, and celery, and cook until onion becomes translucent.  Add butter, cranberries, fresh herbs, salt, pepper, and stock, then continue cooking 3-4 minutes and remove from heat.  Add bread and mix.  Once mixture is cooled a bit, add eggs and mix until egg is completely incorporated.  Dot the top with remaining butter.  Cover with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Remove foil during the last 10 minutes to brown the top.

Green Beans with Caramelized Bacon & Chanterelles

2 lbs. trimmed fresh green beans

1 lb. fresh chanterelle mushrooms

2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil

½ lb. bacon or pancetta diced

1 medium onion, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook green beans in 2 inches of boiling water for 3-4 minutes.  Drain and set aside.   In a large skillet or sauté pan, caramelize the onion, bacon, and mushrooms in the olive oil.  This should take about 10-12 minutes.  Once mushrooms have a golden color and onions are caramelized, season with salt and pepper and add the green beans.  Sauté for 4-5 minutes, then serve!

Mascarpone and Celery Root Mashed Potatoes

4 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes

1 lb. celery root, peeled and sliced

2 sprigs fresh thyme

4 cups heavy cream

2 cups Parmesan cheese

1 cup butter

1 cup mascarpone cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes and celery root in a large pot and cover with cool water.  Place on high heat until they come to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-high and simmer with lid on for 40 minutes, or until veggies are tender.  Once cooked, drain and add cream, salt, pepper, thyme, butter, and cheeses.  Mash with a hand masher until you’ve got lumpy, creamy, delicious smashed potatoes. Note: cream cheese is an excellent substitution for mascarpone.

Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce

3 cups fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

2 small tangerines, sliced in half

½ cup apple juice

½ cup water

1 cinnamon stick

Bring all ingredients to a simmer over medium heat for 7-8 minutes.  Once the cranberries begin to pop and the mixture thickens they are done.  Discard the cinnamon and oranges.  Enjoy leftover cranberry sauce on buttered toast

Cream Gravy

3 cups turkey drippings

1 cup heavy cream

3 Tbsp. flour

Salt and pepper to taste

You must use turkey drippings for this gravy; boxed stock will not do.  If you only have 2 cups of drippings, then you may add 1 cup of boxed or canned stock or broth.  Add all the ingredients to your blender.  The drippings must be piping hot to dissolve the flour.  Blend on high for 2-3 minutes.  Be careful as hot liquid expands a great deal in the blender.  Remove the venting in the center of the blender lid, secure a kitchen towel over the top of the lid, and pulse to begin.  Pour into a gravy boat and enjoy!