And now, the turkey...

..of course cause there is no Thanksgiving with no turkey. I am kidding, that recipe is simple with a good organisation, no problem. I know that for this year it's to late but you will be on time for next year or for christmas.

For 6-8 people

The turkey recipe :

2 turkey thighs

6-8 sweet potatoes

30 brussels sprouts

FM salt, pepper, olive oil

1/2 qt chicken stock

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes (1/2in side)

Clean the Brussels sprouts. Cut them in half.

In a bowl, mix the vegetables together, add the seasoning and some olive oil. Mix it and pour in a roast pan.

Now take off the bones from the turkey thighs and butterfly them. Add some seasoning and stuff them with the stuffing you prepare the day before. Roll them and place them on the vegetables, drizzle some olive oil. Add half of the chicken stock and place in the oven that you preheat at 400oF for 30 minutes.

After that you have to check the point of cook of the vegetables with a paring knife. Mix them and if the meat has a pretty good coloration, use some foil to cover it. If the meat is lighty colored, keep cooking uncovered. At that point you may need to add some chicken stock.

from now on, check every 15 minutes.

When it is ready to your taste...a table!

Advices :

- You can use a string to rool up the turkey but if you roll it up well, it will be easiest without it. Trust me.

- you could warm up your stock, thus, you will not take the risk to brake your pan with the difference of the temperature and it will cook faster.

- The turkey should not be dry cause the flavor will be gone. So touch the meat with a finger and as a chicken when the meat is hard, it should be good.

If you are looking at the picture, you will tell me "where are the meat rolls?". I know, I know, but for the picture I wanted to do it pretty to make you hungry. Usually you bring the roasted pan in the middle of the table and you serve like that. Please enjoy and have a good time!!

The cornbread recipe

For 6-8 people

The cornbread recipe :
5 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 425oF. Butter and flour your baking pan.
Melt the butter in the microwave.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk the buttermilk and the eggs. Add the melted butter. Add the dried mixture. Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake for 20' until the cornbread just begins to brown.

The stuffing

Today there is no picture!
But here is the stuffing recipe I made for my turkey.

On D-1 day

For 6-8 people

The stuffing recipe :
1 cup onions thinly diced
1 cup celery thinly diced
1 cup white mushrooms diced
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 stick butter
FM breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, sage, rosemary, thym
2 cups chicken stock

In a saute pan, pour diced onions-celery-mushrooms into melted butter, cook lightly.
Add raisins, salt, pepper and herbs.
Add chicken stock and toss the breadcrumbs into stuffing until the mixture is nicely moistened.
Set aside and let it cool.

Advices :
- I used some white mushrooms but oysters or black trumpet mushrooms could be really good too, more expensive though
- You could prep.are your own chicken stock but there is some good one in your grocery store.
- If you have some bacon, add it at the beginning with the butter to bring some more flavors to your stuffing.

as I promised

I am going to divide the prep time  in 2 days: what you can do on D-1 day  and what you can do on D day. Of course you can do everything on D day but do not forget that on that day you have to finish to cook, dress yourself and be with your family/friends. So organize yourself to get some free time and you have to start cooking pn D-1 day.

What you can cook on D-1 day :

For 8 peoples

The cranberries relish :
12oz cranberries
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1-2 cloves
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup eau
1/2 tsp chinese spices
1 small star anise
1 apple

Pour all the ingredients in a sauce pan, except the apple, and boil under medium heat uncover during 6'.
During that time, peel and dice the apple. Add it to the cranberries relish and cook for 4' more.

Advices :
- The relish is really acid and bitter. So feel free to add more sugar as desire but let me tell you "the sauce works very well like that when eaten with the all meal".
- For the spices, you can change the spices as you like .

Happy Thanksgiving

Today, I am going to cook for Thanksgiving. Tradition, tradition!
So we will get a Turkey breast (we are just two at home so a whole turkey would be too much), a cranberries relish, some stuffing and some sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.
Let me go cook, take some pictures and I am coming back to you as soon as possible.