Thanksgiving - BPI Style
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Three Things You Should Try This Thanksgiving
Let’s have fun this holiday season!
Looks like winter is coming
our way, Maine! I don’t know
about you but I am sitting here in my office... staring at the window... anxiously waiting
for it to snow… I love the holidays and for me, nothing says “holidays” more than a good ol’ fashioned snow
storm. But, just because we’re going to
get hit any minute now with a blanket of winter, doesn't mean that you have to
skimp out on your Thanksgiving plans this year!
Here are three things you should definitely try this Thanksgiving:
Mulled Wine
This wintery drink, easily made with red wine and various mulling spices, is a favorite of mine ever since
I a winter vacation experiencing the traditional Christmas Markets of England. This winter I’m lucky enough to be heading to
Norway and while I’m there, I’m determined to find some “Glögg," the Nordic's version of mulled wine. There’s almost nothing better than sitting by
a fire with a warm glass of mulled wine and relaxing with good company. Also, the best part about this holiday cocktail is
that it’s really easy and inexpensive to make!
Ingredients:
·
4 Cups Apple Cider
·
1 Bottle of Red Wine – The cheap stuff actually
works the best here so don’t go overboard!
I suggest going with a bolder, dryer wine such as a Zinfandel or
Cabernet Sauvignon.
·
¼ Cup Cointreau – Optional. Cointreau (or a similar orange liqueur) will
give an extra “kick” to your recipe.
·
¼ Cup Honey
·
Cinnamon Sticks
·
1 Orange – Zested and Juiced
·
¼ Cup Cranberries – The real kind! Craisins do not count.
·
Mulling Spices – Allspice, Cloves, Coriander,
Nutmeg and anything else you deem festive.
While you can cook your mulled
wine on a stovetop, I suggest using a crockpot if you have one handy. Letting your mulled wine slowly cook on low
for a long period of time allows the spices and flavors to blend and infuse
together a little bit more organically than if you were to make it quickly on
the stovetop. Either way, the prep and
execution of this cocktail are relatively the same. Take all of your ingredients (cider, red
wine, Cointreau - if you're using, honey, two cinnamon sticks, orange zest, orange juice and
mulling spices) and stir them all together in your stovetop pot or
crockpot. Heat on low and stir
occasionally. You only need to cook your
mulled wine on the stovetop for about 10-15 minutes but, if you take my
suggestion and use a crockpot, I would have this on low heat and let it slowly
cook all day.
Serve this cocktail either in
a glass or ceramic mug, whichever you have on hand (anything can go as long as it has a handle so that you don't burn your guests hands). You can garnish this drink with an orange
peel, twist or a cinnamon stick for an extra little touch.
Hint: If you are using a crockpot, start this process first thing in the
morning on Thanksgiving and your home will smell like the holidays all day!
Brined Turkey
Here’s something new for you to
try this Thanksgiving that’s sure to please.
The process of brining involves soaking meat in a heavily salted
solution of water which the meat then absorbs and holds onto during the cooking
process. So, while your traditional
Thanksgiving turkey most likely will come out on the dry side from the standard
oven-cooking process, a brined turkey will retain more water as it decreases the total
amount of moisture you would normally loose.
These days, brining has become somewhat of an art form and there are a
number of ways you can brine your turkey to help it retain its water while also
infusing some extra flavors along the way.
Ingredients:
·
1 Cup Salt
·
1 Cup Brown Sugar
·
2 Oranges – Quartered
·
2 Lemons – Quartered
·
1 Tablespoon Black Peppercorns
·
6 Sprigs Thyme
·
4 Sprigs Rosemary
·
3 Bay Leaves
First and most importantly,
remove the neck, giblets and liver from the cavity inside your turkey. My first year cooking a turkey for
Thanksgiving, I got the giblets and the liver out but completely forgot about
the neck… It wasn’t pleasant. Rinse your turkey off in cold water and then
start preparing your bring.
I would suggest getting your
hands on either a large plastic bucket or even a plastic garbage bag (this will
work but definitely put some kind of tray under it to catch any leaks and I
would definitely suggest at least double bagging!). Regardless of what you choose, make sure you to
choose a product that is “non-reactive” or that doesn’t retain heat well.
To make your brine solution,
dissolve the salt and brown sugar in about two gallons of cold water. For the brining process to completely work,
you need to ensure that your entire turkey is covered by the solution. Once the salt and sugar are dissolved in the
water, go ahead and add in the rest of the brining ingredients (orange
quarters, lemon quarters, peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves). Stir and then carefully plop your turkey
in. Keep your turkey covered and in the
brine for 24 hours, if you can. I wouldn’t
go any less than 6 hours of brining time but for optimal flavors and moisture
retention, brine for the full 24 hours. Once
your brining process is done you are free to begin cooking your turkey!
Hint: I’m not going to go into the full details on how to cook a turkey in
the oven (usually the package your turkey comes in will tell you anyways) but I
do have a few suggestions. Fully baste
your turkey with a heavy dose of butter (it’s Thanksgiving, butter is allowed)
and a turkey stock if you have it available.
Also, if you do have turkey stock prepped, leave a little on the tray
you cook your turkey on with some hearty root vegetables, such as carrots,
sweet potatoes and red bliss potatoes.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
I’m not going to lie and say
that I’m not a fan of canned, jellied cranberry sauce; it’s delicious. And who doesn’t love the authentic can design
that gets imprinted on your jelly? It’s
almost as traditional as a turkey on Thanksgiving. This year though, if you’d like to try
something new and tasty, try making your own cranberry sauce. You may just have to kick the can to the curb!
Ingredients:
· 12 ounce Bag Fresh Cranberries – Frozen will
also work just fine, as long as you defrost before you begin.
·
1 Cup Sugar
·
1 Cup Orange Juice – Splurge and get the good
stuff, it’ll make a difference.
·
1 tsp Orange Zest
·
1 tsp Lemon Zest
In a saucepan, combine half of
the bag of cranberries and orange juice, stir and cook over low heat. Once the cranberries and orange juice begin
heating up, add in the cup of sugar, orange zest and lemon zest and stir occasionally. In about 10-12 minutes, your cranberries
should soften and the sugar should be completely dissolved. At this point, you’re going to want to
increase the heat on your stove to medium-high and continue to stir until the
cranberries burst. Once this happens, go
ahead and turn the stove back down to low and add in the remaining half bag of
cranberries and stir occasionally. In
about 1-2 minutes, your cranberry should be done cooking. Let it cool to room temperature and then eat up!
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