Autumn is the time of cozy friendly meetings, evenings by the fireplace and the first snow. In North America, Thanksgiving Day falls during this period - a holiday when it is customary to thank your loved ones, family and God for all the good things that have happened in a year. In Canada, it is celebrated on the second Monday in October, and in the USA on the fourth Thursday in November. On this day, the closest people and family members gather for a festive dinner. The table is bursting with traditional treats, the recipes of which go back more than one century - why don't we try to repeat them in our kitchen? And you can easily find all the ingredients for creating mouth-watering dishes in BILLA supermarkets, which are distinguished by a wide assortment and guaranteed freshness of products.
Baked turkey with gravy
On Thanksgiving, the turkey is the real queen of the table, it is solemnly brought in by the hostess under the stormy approval of the guests. This is the main dish of the evening and should be given the most attention.
Ingredients:
For turkey:
- Bird weighing about 6-7 kg
- Sea salt for marinade - 500 g
- Granulated sugar - 230 g
- Bay leaf - 3 pcs.
- Crushed garlic cloves - 3 pcs.
- Black pepper, lightly ground in a mortar - 1 tbsp. l.
- Rosemary sprigs - 2-3 pcs.
- Thyme sprigs - 2-3 pcs.
- Sage sprigs - 2-3 pcs.
- Large onion, cut into quarters - 1 pc.
- Chopped celery - 2 stalks
- Chopped thyme - 2 tablespoons l.
- Chopped carrots - 2 pcs.
- Turkey broth - 500 ml
For the offal sauce:
- Turkey offal (excluding liver)
- Chicken or turkey broth - 120 ml
- Cooked turkey juice
- Chopped onion - 1 pc.
- Sliced carrots - 1 pc.
- Chopped celery stalk - 1 pc.
- Wheat flour - 1 tbsp. l.
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Preparation:
Remove the giblets from the turkey - you will need them to make the sauce.
Prepare the marinade by mixing salt, sugar, bay leaves, garlic, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and sage with 9.5 liters of water.
Place the bird in the brine so that it is breast-side down and refrigerate for 12 hours.
Remove the turkey, blot dry and transfer to a baking tray. The bird should lie breast-side up. Also, do not forget to put onions, celery and carrots inside the carcass. The legs should be tied with culinary twine, and the breast should be covered with foil.
Preheat oven to 220 ° C and roast the poultry for 30 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 180 ° C and cook for another 1.5 hours. Then remove the foil and let sit for another 30 minutes.
Then cook until the temperature inside the thigh of the turkey reaches 75 ° C (this will take about 20 minutes). Remove the turkey, cover with foil and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Take out the baking sheet with the remaining juice and put it on the stove over medium heat until the excess liquid evaporates. Then add the broth and stir well with a wooden spoon. Pour the mixture into a bowl and wait about 10 minutes until all the fat rises to the surface, then remove it. The resulting mixture is needed to make the gravy.
Gravy:
Add giblets to a medium saucepan, pour in the broth, juices collected from the baking sheet and vegetables.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until the liquid is halved.
Pass the liquid through a sieve - you only need the resulting broth.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour with a few tablespoons of the stock, then slowly pour the mixture into the stockpot and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the turkey with gravy and traditional side dishes such as mashed potatoes.
Cranberry Sauce
This is a small but very important addition to the roasted turkey. The traditional sauce will perfectly emphasize the taste of meat with a piquant bitterness.
Ingredients:
- Sugar - 200 g
- Water - 250 ml
- Cranberries - 350 g
- Additionally, you can add raisins, pecans, zest, cinnamon, nutmeg - choose to your taste.
Preparation:
Rinse the cranberries thoroughly and then sort the berries.
In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil and add sugar to it.
Add the cranberries to the pot and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until most of the berries burst.
Now you can add whatever spices you want.
Cool the finished sauce at room temperature and then refrigerate. Remember that the sauce gets thicker as it cools.
Pumpkin bread
Its aroma is a real soul of autumn, spices will warm cold evenings, and bright pumpkin color will add color to a rainy landscape. The bread can be eaten simply or covered with orange glaze. You can cook pumpkin puree yourself or buy ready-made.
Ingredients:
- Flour - 200 g
- Salt - 1.5 tbsp l.
- Baking soda - 1 tsp
- Ground ginger - 1 tsp
- Cinnamon - 1.5 tsp
- Allspice - 1.5 tsp.
- Pumpkin puree - 240 ml
- Sugar - 200 g
- Melted butter - 112 g
- Chicken eggs - 2 pcs.
- Water - 60 ml.
- Treacle - 2 tsp
- Orange zest (optional) - 1 tsp
- Chopped walnuts or pecans (optional) - 65 g
Orange glaze:
- Powdered sugar - 250 g
- Orange juice - 2 tbsp l.
- Orange zest - 1 tsp
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 180 ° C and brush a baking dish with butter.
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients - flour, salt, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
Combine pumpkin puree, sugar, melted butter, eggs, water, molasses, and orange peel in a separate container.
Combine dry ingredients and wet mixture and knead the dough. Add nuts.
Place the resulting dough in a mold and smooth the surface. Bake at 180 ° C for 45 to 60 minutes, depending on your oven. To check the readiness of the bread, pierce it with a toothpick in the center - if the dough does not stick to it, then the bread is ready.
Remove the dish from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. Then, using a table knife, carefully separate the edges of the bread from the baking dish. Turn the mold over and let the dish cool completely.
To make the frosting, combine the powdered sugar, orange juice and zest in a separate bowl, or add a little vanilla extract. Watch the consistency - if the icing comes out too thin, add more powdered sugar, if too thick, add juice.
Only glaze the bread when it has cooled completely.
Baked Brussels sprouts with pomegranate balsamic sauce
Another traditional and healthy dish that will definitely delight your vegetarian friends.
Ingredients:
- Brussels sprouts - 700 g
- Olive oil - 3 tbsp l.
- Pomegranate seeds - 100 g
For refueling:
- Pomegranate juice - 240 ml
- Balsamic vinegar - 160 ml
- Brown sugar - 2 tbsp l.
Preparation:
Combine the pomegranate juice, balsamic vinegar, and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat and cook mixture for another 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat oven to 190 ° C, prepare baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
For Brussels sprouts, cut off the tough legs and cut them in half. Toss the cabbage with the olive oil and season with salt.
Place the Brussels sprouts on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring several times.
Let the cabbage cool slightly and then add the sauce. Add the pomegranate seeds before serving.
Photo: Getty Images
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