Thanksgiving pt 3

Whoa, thanksgiving was awhile ago... I was too devastated by how much I ate, that I just couldn't bear to get this posted. But after a week in NYC/DC, here it is. The sweet potato biscuits should certainly be made even if its not thanksgiving. Very good.


This was everything. As you can see, we also had gravy, succotash, sweet potatoes, rice, and mashed potatoes, thanks to Michael and Jimmy. Not that those aren't worth putting up, but it was just too much.


This was everyone.

I heard some people had issues with the turkey making, and so did we. It ended up cooking fairly unevenly, and took much longer. We did however have an 18 pounder. So, if you are going to flatten it out, use smaller turkeys.

Here is how Turkey ended up:

Pre-op.


Post-op.


Smoosh

Seasoned


Partly cooked?

Sweet potato biscuits

makes 24

5 cups flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp baking powder

1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1 cup shortening (or margarine)

2 cups cooked and cooled mashed sweet potatoes*

1 cup whipping cream

Preheat to 350°.

Stir together the 5 cups flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and allspice in a large mixing bowl.

Cut in the shortening or margarine with two knives or a dough cutter until crumbly. Add the sweet potatoes and mix well with a spoon. Add the cream and stir just until moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to a thickness of 1.5 inches. Cut out biscuits a wine glass rim. Place biscuits 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes.

* to cook the sweet potatoes, bake them while in a 400° oven on a sheet of aluminum foil to catch the drips. They should be done in about 1 hour, depending on their size. They are ready when they are very tender. To get 2 cups, you'll need to bake 1.5 lbs of sweet potatoes.

Creamed Leeks

4 large leeks (about 2 pounds total; white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise and chopped

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium broth

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Salt

Pinch of white pepper

Wash leeks in a large bowl of cold water, then lift out and drain well. Heat butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Add leeks and stir to coat with butter. Add cream and stock and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring, then reduce heat to moderate and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until leeks are tender and sauce is thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in nutmeg, salt to taste, and white pepper.

Stuffing

a loaf and a half of french bread (about 2 lbs), cubed

2 sticks butter

2 medium onions, chopped

1.5 cups celery, chopped

2 tsp dried thyme

2+ cups broth

2 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions and celery with a stick of butter until translucent or browned. Add thyme and salt and pepper for a minute or so. Transfer to a large bowl and mix with the cubed bread. Melt the other stick of butter and mix it into the bowl of bread. Put into buttered baking dishes (whatever size, probably makes enough for two 9x13 inch ceramic dishes).

In another bowl beat two eggs into two cups of broth (turkey, chicken, vegetable, whatever). Pour over bread mixture in baking dishes. You do not want it to be soaked, but you want everything to be moist, so add more broth if needed.

Bake at 350° until it looks done, brown on top, maybe 30 minutes.

This recipe is pretty much done with guess work by my mom while doing it, so the exactness of the amounts is unclear and unnecessary.

Apple Pie