"The Pumpkin Cookbook" - Pumpkin and Raisin Cheesecake for Thanksgiving

Date I made this recipe:  November 26, 2015 – Thanksgiving Day 2015

The Pumpkin Cookbook by Hamlyn (Publishing)

Published by:  Hamlyn (Publishing)

ISBN: 0-600-60383-0

Recipe:  Pumpkin and Raisin Cheesecake – p. 46

While I have never been a huge fan of pumpkin pie, my husband says he likes to have something of the pumpkin variety for dessert for Thanksgiving. Funny, I never took him for one of those "Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie" people but you learn something new every day.

Frankly, I am "over" this year's "pumpkin-goes-with-everything" craze that has been hitting grocery stores and coffee shops since – I swear – mid-August.  Starbucks led the way with promises of "pumpkin lattes, coming soon" while it was still quite warm and enjoyable outside and, it should be noted, SUMMER, and this just ticked me off.  And then one by one, other coffee shops followed suit and soon you couldn't step into a grocery store without someone wanting you to sample this simply divine pumpkin [fill in the blank) item, new for fall! 

I mean the ingredient was everywhere and in everything and given that it was, in fact, mid-August when this whole nonsense started, by the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I was practically belligerent when going into a grocery store:  "NO, I don't want your damned pumpkin 'whatchamacallit'!  Get thee gone, you pumpkin Satan!" 

I fully expected to hear warning calls over the stores' PA system:  "Attention shoppers.  There's a crazed woman in Aisle 3, muttering about pumpkin.  We repeat, there's a crazed woman in Aisle 3.  Please clear the area."

But like I said above, my hubby wanted something pumpkin for T-Day (so predictable) that I had to gird my loins and gear up to make something of the pumpkin variety.  And so I decided that this year, I was going to find a fresh baking pumpkin (at Trader Joe's) and make something that would just dazzle us and make our Thanksgiving Day complete.

That "something" was today's recipe for Pumpkin and Raisin Cheesecake, upon which we pinned our Thanksgiving Day hopes and dreams and I wish I didn't have to inform you that our dreams were dashed but they were.  Two problems:  1) the pumpkin flavor just didn't come through.  Call me spoiled, but I have never had a fresh pumpkin anything in my life and while I don't exactly love canned pumpkin, it works for me better than this.  And 2) missing from the Pumpkin and Raisin Cheesecake was anything resembling the "cheese" portion of our program.  This recipe does not use cream cheese and in my opinion, this is what killed it.  Instead, it used a pound of cottage cheese and some heavy cream and eggs and those ingredients did not produce the type of cheesecake we were used to. 

To add to our disappointment, our usual and customary turkey dinner takeouts, obtained from one of our favorite restaurants, did not come up to snuff.  And so there we were, sitting there all deflated by dinner and our pumpkin dessert and then to add to my angst, my Green Bay Packers lost their game against the Chicago Bears by four points after a valiant rally and I was all "Bah, Humbug" before we ever got to Black Friday, the unofficial start of Christmas. 

Although I would not make this particular recipe again, many in the book sounded really good like "Pumpkin and Root Vegetable Stew" and "Pumpkin Curry."   I have a feeling that pumpkin in a savory dish is better than a sweet dish but that could just be me. 

So.  Next year I think we're going to pass on doing the turkey takeout ("Let's all take a year off to course correct, shall we?") and if I simply must make something with pumpkin to satisfy my husband, I think I'll go back to using canned pumpkin.  I know, right?  I should be using fresh pumpkin like the Pilgrims (allegedly) but once bitten, twice shy.  We'll see how that goes.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, thankfully (or should that be "Thank"fully), we are now done with this pumpkin nonsense and are now fully into our "Fa La La La Latte" and our "Gingerbread Latte" and whatnot for the Christmas season.  And no doubt by January, Starbucks will start touting some awful concoction for spring and summer (Kale latte, anyone?) and I will commence grumbling once again.  It's what I do and I do it well.

Since I am posting this blog after the fact (what a busy couple of weeks), I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving repast and your very own pumpkin "whatchamacallit!"

(By the way, all was not a total loss as the cheesecake crust was delicious but then again, what's not to like about gingersnaps and liqueur-soaked raisins!)

Pumpkin and Raisin Cheesecake – makes one 8"/9" springform pan

1 cup raisins

3 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur (Grand Mariner)

6 ounces gingersnap cookies

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

1 pumpkin, about 14 ounces (Ann's Note:  check your grocery stories just after Halloween and make sure you buy a "sugar" pumpkin, suitable for cooking)

1 pound cottage cheese

2 eggs

½ cup heavy cream

1/3 cup superfine sugar

Finely grated zest and juice of ½ an orange

To serve:  lightly whipped and sweetened cream and caramelized orange zest slivers

Ann's Note:  If you buy the pumpkin early, peel, scoop out the seeds , cut into cubes and freeze until needed.

Put the raisins into a small bowl with the liqueur and leave to soak for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, lightly oil the sides of an 8-inch springform pan.  Put the cookies in a zip-top freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin.  Ann's Note:  or put them in a Cuisinart and pulse them until crumbled.  Transfer to a bowl and add the melted butter.  Stir until evenly mixed.  Turn the mixture into the pan and pack down onto the base and slightly up the sides.  Ann's Note:  I used a 9-inch pan in which case, I didn't have much to pack to the sides, oh well.

Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and fibers from the pumpkin, then cut it into large wedges.  Put the wedges in a steamer over a pan of gently simmering water and cook for 15-20 minutes until the flesh is tender.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Put the cottage cheese in a food processor and blend for about 1 minute until completely smooth.  Scoop the pumpkin flesh into the processor and blend until smooth.  Add the eggs, cream, sugar, and orange zest and juice and blend briefly until smooth.

Scatter the raisins over the cookie base, stirring any remaining liqueur into the cottage cheese mixture.  Ladle the mixture over the base.

Bake the cheesecake in a preheated oven at 350F for 40 minutes, until the center fees just firm to the touch.  Leave it to cool in the pan, then chill until you are ready to serve.  Serve with lightly whipped and sweetened cream topped with caramelized orange zest slivers.

"The Thanksgiving Book" - Country Corn Chowder - Christmas Day soup

Date I made this recipe:  December 26, 2014

The Thanksgiving Book – An Illustrated Treasury of Lore, Tales, Poems, Prayers and the Best in Holiday Feasting by Jerome Agel and Jason Shulman; Introduction by Willard Scott

Published by: Dell

© 1987

Recipe:  Country Corn Chowder – p. 23

Just like this year's Christmas cards (still unsent), I intended to make this dish on Christmas Day.  But we were invited to a Christmas open house and when one thing led to another, we got home way too late to assemble this soup and so you're getting the recipe the day after.  From a Thanksgiving cookbook, no less.  Well – these things happen.

This year, our Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays were very low key which is fine by us as we merely switch our meals around to fit schedules.  Actually, this year, Thanksgiving came and went without so much as an overeating moment to our name.  We normally spend the time around Thanksgiving with members of Andy's family but this year everybody was scattered and so to keep things simple, we got a turkey dinner takeout from one of our favorite restaurants.   And for the first time, it was rather underwhelming so...huh.

So then Christmas time was upon us and we were once again faced with dinner(s).  This time around, we decided that our usual and customary pasta meal on Christmas Eve would be our big meal and since we had the open house on Christmas Day, a simple soup would serve as dinner.  And since friends from Iowa came bearing gifts of sweet corn to us this summer (that we then froze), we decided on a simple but good corn chowder.  And naturally, the recipe came from a Thanksgiving book, reminding us of what we missed this time around.  And by the way, since his mom is having an open house on New Year's Day, we are going to do the same drill we did this Christmas i.e. heavy meal the night before, soup the day of.

So.  Corn Chowder is one of our favorite soups and as soon as our friends gave us the corn, Andy suggested making it but of course, we didn't have the time or I, the inclination, to go searching for a chowder recipe.  And then Thanksgiving came along and the thought of finding recipes for all the components of a traditional dinner (turkey, stuffing, etc.) was so overwhelming that we opted for take-out.  Still, I flagged this recipe with the frozen corn in mind.

And so speaking of the corn, although this recipe doesn't require you to pre-cook the corn, neither does the cooking time allow for it to get good and done (if you are using frozen corn that is).  So I recommend taking the corn off the cob and then cooking it (either in a pan with water or a microwave) until it's a little tender and then adding it to the soup.  Andy though, said he preferred the texture of the corn "as is" and so he wouldn't change a thing.  But it's my blog so I win!

I also made two additions to the recipe that I hope won't get me sent to culinary hell:  a bit of leftover red pepper – diced, and then two chicken breasts that I poached and then diced.  I love chicken corn chowder but you won't go wrong if you make the recipe as is.

Country Corn Chowder – Yield 8 to 10 servings

Per our authors, this recipe was a house specialty from the Inn of the Golden Ox, in Brewster Massachusetts.  (www.goldenox.com)

½ lb bacon or fatback, diced (Ann's Note:  This is not used to complete the recipe, only to sauté the vegetables so if you don't have enough or even either on hand, don't sweat it!)

1 large Spanish onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

½ cup flour

2 qt chicken stock, chilled

2 cups raw potatoes, diced

½ tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

½ tsp marjoram

4 sprigs parsley

6 peppercorns, crushed

1 clove garlic

6 ears sweet corn

2 cups half-and-half or light cream

Salt to taste

White pepper to taste

Unsalted butter (for garnish)

In a 4-quart stockpot, sauté bacon or fatback until fat is rendered.  With a slotted spoon remove bacon or fatback and discard, leaving fat in the stockpot.  Add onion and celery, and sauté until transparent.  Do not brown.  Sprinkle vegetables with flour, stir, and continue to cook over low heat for 10 minutes.  Do not brown.  Add chilled chicken stock and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce to a simmer and add potatoes.  Tie thyme, bay leaf, marjoram, parsley, peppercorns, and garlic in a cheesecloth and add to simmering soup.  Remove corn from cob with a sharp knife; add corn to soup.  Simmer until potatoes are tender.  Add half-and-half or light cream and return to simmer.  Season with salt and white pepper to taste.  Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with a dollop of butter.

 If you want to add poached chicken, place chicken breasts in a pan of cold water, and cover with water.  You'll need about an inch of water above the breasts for proper poaching.  Bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer, cover and cook for about 8-10 minutes.   Slice and dice as needed!

"The Great Year-Round Turkey Cookbook" - Turkey Cumberland with Apple-Sweet Sausage Stuffing

Date my husband made these recipes: November 26, 2010 (the day after Thanksgiving)

The Great Year-Round Turkey Cookbook by Anita Borghese
Published by: Stein and Day
© 1979
Recipes: Turkey Cumberland – p. 99 and Apple-Sweet Sausage Stuffing – p. 136

We usually spend Thanksgiving Day with my husband’s family but this year, everyone’s schedule was such that we ended up having T-Day on Friday. And this was no big deal except I had to work and so Andy ended up doing all the cooking. He is a fine cook so no worries there. My job this year was to hand him some recipe books and magazines and let him go to it. His job: make the turkey, stuffing and dessert.

One of the books I got in my huge haul (47 books) from an estate sale this October is today’s featured book: The Great Year-Round Turkey Cookbook. Yes, I know, the point of this book is that one can cook turkey year-round but hey, Thanksgiving was upon us and so one must do what one must do.

Normally my rule is to make one recipe per book but who are we kidding here? Turkey and stuffing go together and so I’m posting two recipes for your consideration. We opted to turn the stuffing into “dressing” cooking it separately outside the bird; both recipes were good although the turkey was a little less moist that anticipated.

But speaking of moist turkey, because the schedules were so goofy on Thanksgiving Day we decided to take a run up to Key’s Café to get take out turkey dinners as it was just the two of us. Key's is your basic comfort food restaurant and they make a damned fine turkey dinner all year round. It is not unusual for us to grab some take out turkey in the middle of summer. When you get a craving, you get a craving.

On Thanksgiving, Key's is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and I just had to hoot when they informed me by phone the day before that turkey would be served starting at 10 a.m. I’ve eaten a lot of odd things during what I consider to be the breakfast hour but never have I considered turkey and fixings. Guess I’m behind times on that one. We opted for a more civilized 1:00 p.m. pickup but then put the dinners in the refrigerator and lounged around for a couple of hours before eating. And the beauty of that was that we could get comfortable and eat our dinner at the same time – perfect.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Turkey Cumberland – makes 6 to 8 servings
6 pound turkey
Salt
¼ cup margarine or butter
½ cup red or black currant jelly
¼ cup Port wine
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 tablespoon cornstarch combined with 2 tablespoons cold water
Turkey stock or chicken broth (optional)

Wash and pat turkey half thoroughly dry with paper towels. Rub cut side of turkey half with salt. Place cut side down, in shallow roasting pan just large enough to fit comfortably. Preheat oven at 325. (Note: this chapter of the book talks about using cut-up turkey and mixed parts, thus the reference to “pat turkey half.” We used a whole turkey and nobody was the wiser.)

Melt the margarine or butter in a small saucepan with the current jelly. Heat, stirring, until the jelly has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the Port, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and a dash of cayenne, or to taste. Brush the turkey all over with the currant jelly mixture.

Roast until meat thermometer inserted in center of inside thigh muscle adjoining the body registers 180 to 185 degrees or until tender when pierced with a sharp-tined folk, brushing with the currant jelly mixture every 20 minutes. If the wing starts to brown too much, wrap it in aluminum foil. Set turkey on a wooden carving board and allow to stand 15-20 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, spoon off excess fat from the roasting pan. Add the remaining currant jelly mixture along with the cornstarch mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer a few minutes. If the sauce is too thick add a little turkey stock or chicken broth and heat thoroughly.

Apple-Sweet Sausage Stuffing (no serving size given but likely 6-8 people)
1 ½ pounds Italian sweet sausage
2 cups chopped onions
1 ½ cups diced celery
2 cups peeled, diced, tart apples
2 eggs
¼ teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon marjoram
½ teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
8 cups whole grain bread cubes, toasted in moderate oven until dry and lightly toasted
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan, Romano or Sardo cheese

Slit sausage and remove casing. Break up the sausage and sauté in a skillet, turning and continuing to break up until lightly browned. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and place it in a bowl. To the fat remaining in the skillet add the onions and celery and sauté a few minutes longer. Add the mixture to the sausage meat in the bowl.

Beat the eggs lightly and add the sage, marjoram, thyme, basil, salt, and pepper. Add to the sausage mixture. Add the toasted bread cubes and the cheese and mix well. Stuff the turkey immediately (or place in a separate pan and bake at 325 along with the turkey). You’ll have to check periodically to make sure it doesn’t dry out.

"Cooking at a Glance - Pies and Pastries" & Sunset Pies & Pastries" - Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie and Deep-dish Cherry Pie

Date my husband made these recipes: November 22, 2007 (Thanksgiving Day)

Cooking at a Glance – Pies & Pastries by the authors of the Cooking at a Glance series
Published by: Fog City Press
ISBN: 1-892374-49-8
Recipe: Apple-Butter Pumpkin Pie – p. 28

Sunset Pies & Pastries by the Editors of Sunset Books and Sunset Magazine
Published by: Lane Publishing Co.
Recipe: Deep-dish Cherry Pie – p. 23 (Note: the recipe on that page is for Deep-dish Blueberry Pie; he substituted cherry, the instructions for which are found on the same page in the lower-right corner)

Note: He used the same pie crust, Flaky Pastry (p. 7 of the Sunset Book) for both recipes

Around here, my husband is known as The Pie Guy. He has a way with crusts that I just never took the time to develop. So when we got together with his family later in the day on Thanksgiving, he provided the pies. My poor brother and sister-in-law (see earlier blog) were exhausted and so passed on coming out to his mom’s with us.

Although I have over 800 cookbooks, only two reside full-time in my kitchen. This book is one of them. My husband has made so many pies for this book that we should be running a test kitchen operation for their next pie cookbook update!

Flaky Pastry (yields one 9” single crust)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening or lard –or- ¼ cup solid vegetable shortening plus 2 tablespoons butter
3-4 tablespoons cold water

Flaky Pastry (yields a 9” double crust or 10” single crust—the cherry pie used a 9” double crust)
2 ¼ cups flour
½ teaspoons salt
¾ cup solid vegetable shortening or lard – or – ½ cup solid vegetable shortening plus ¼ cup butter
6-8 tablespoons

Apple Butter-Pumpkin Pie – serves 8
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup apple butter (note: my husband substituted 1 cup of pear-amaretto jelly that we had in the cupboard and it was very tasty!)
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
3 eggs
1 5-ounce can evaporated milk (2/3 cup)
½ cup milk
Pasty for a single-crust or double-crust pie

In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin, apple butter, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add eggs; beat lightly with a rotary beater or wire whisk until combined. Gradually stir in evaporated milk and milk; mix well.

Prepare and roll out pastry as directed. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry. Trim and crimp a high pastry edge or attach leaf-shaped cutouts. Pour pumpkin mixture into pastry shell. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake about 25 minutes more, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 1 hour. Chill 3 to 6 hours before serving. Store in the refrigerator. If desired, serve with whipped cream (“If desired?” Come on people, it was Thanksgiving. Of course we served it with whipped cream!)

Deep-dish Cherry Pie (serves 4 to 6)
4 cups cherries (do not use cherries in heavy syrup)
¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Flaky Pastry for a single 9” pie)
1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1 to 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Preheat over to 450. Rinse and drain cherries and place in a large bowl. Add sugar, cornstarch, lemon peel, almond extract, salt, and lemon juice; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Cover mixture and set aside.

On a lightly floured board, roll out pastry to about 2 inches wider and longer than a 1-quarter rimmed baking dish. Measure width of dish rim; then gently invert dish onto dough. Rest blade of a sharp knife against the dish then cut around the edge of the dish. Measuring out from the outline just made, cut a ring of dough the width of the dish rim. Remove excess dough and lift off dish.

Spoon cherry mixture into the dish. Cut vents in top crust; cut through outer ring of dough at both ends. Carefully fit each half of dough ring onto rim, overlapping ends slightly; cut off excess. Brush egg mixture over dough ring.

Dot filling with butter. Lift top crust onto dish, lining up edges of crust and dough rim; press gently together.

Dip a 4-tined fork into egg mixture then firmly press dough rim and top crust together with fork tines, positioning fork so each new set of lines partially overlaps the preceding set. Brush top with egg mixture. If you use a cookie cutter to make vents, brush backs of pastry cutouts with egg mixture; place cutouts on crust and brush again with egg mixture.

Place a baking sheet on the lowest oven rack to catch drips. Bake pie for 10 minutes then reduce oven heat to 350 and bake until pastry is browned (about 30 more minutes). Place pie on a rack and let cool fo4 15 minutes; spoon into individual bowls.

"Giada's Family Dinners" by Giada De Laurentiis - Turkey with herbes de Provence and citrus plus Ciabatta stuffing

Dear reader, you can probably tell that I'm just now loading all my previously-made recipes into this blog, but the fact that I'm up to Thanksgiving and it's only December 6 is a good thing! You know what they say about the road to hell....

Date I made the recipes: November 23, 2006 – Thanksgiving Day

Giada’s Family Dinners by Giada De Laurentiis
Published by: Clarkson Potter Publishers
ISBN: 030723827X

Recipes: Turkey with herbes de Provence and Citrus – p. 190-92 and Ciabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts and Pancetta p. 193

Okay, first the confessions. My husband saw Giada making this on her show, Everyday Italian, on the Food Network (I ask you, is there a better channel on the planet?) and had to have these recipes for his family Thanksgiving. Since his mom was doing the shopping (we did the cooking), he emailed his mom a link to the website (http://www.foodnetwork.com/) so she could pull the recipes straight from the website rather than have us provider her with photocopies from the book. It’s much easier to splash stuff on a photocopy than the actual book, trust me.

And then there’s the matter of the ingredients. My sister-in-law actually got the turkey started since we arrived later in the day, but didn’t use the herbes de Provence since the local grocery story didn’t carry them. Giada, we apologize, but the recipe actually was fantastic either way. (Note: if you can’t find herbes de Provence, you can always, if you are ambitious – which I am not – make up your own mix. Just Google “herbes de Provence” to find out more).

And then there was the little matter of the chestnuts for the stuffing. I honestly think that my sister-in-law had a senior moment at the grocery store because she’s actually a good cook yet left the store without chestnuts (she couldn’t find them) and instead bought two cans of water chestnuts. Giada, I know what you’re thinking but they actually worked out okay. (And to the rest of you, water chestnuts are NOT “chestnut” chestnuts. They are tuber vegetables that resemble regular chestnuts in shape and coloring. Let me just say how much I LOVE Google!)

And yet another confession: my mother-in-law bought a turkey with one of those pop up timers which are usually useless, as was proven in this case, because the thing never popped. We left our meat thermometer at home so had to resort to the old “put a knife in the thigh and if the juices run clear, it’s done” test and the meat was just fine. But seriously folks, those pop ups usually tell you when the meat is overdone rather than “nice and juicy” done. If you have to go with it, then fine, but I’d invest in a meat thermometer if I were you.

And finally, as happens every year, somebody uses up an ingredient/forgets to buy an ingredient for one of the dishes. This year, all the rosemary went into the turkey leaving not a crumb for the stuffing or for a roast pork recipe that we made from Cook’s Country newsletter. No matter. Everything came out okay.

But if I might share one little story: My mother-in-law doesn’t really like to cook much but one year, got on the detail of making the turkey and stuffing (with recipes we provided) and used up all the broth rather than leaving a good portion of it behind for my carrot dill soup. When the time came to make the soup, she innocently asked if she could just drain a can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup and use that for the broth. Uh no. She also had 40 year old bouillon cubes and those got a “no” as well. Finally, my husband and brother-in-law got in the car, went to a Tom Thumb market, got the broth and saved the day. I still laugh about that story every year.

Turkey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus (8-10 servings)
1 14 to 15 pound turkey, neck and giblets reserved
1 orange, cut into wedges
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 onion, cut into wedges
6 fresh rosemary sprigs
6 fresh oregano sprigs
7 T unsalted butter
2 T herbes De Provence (or not!)
1 T olive oil
1 ½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
1 ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
6 c. canned reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/3 c. all-purpose flour

To make the turkey: position the rack in the lowest third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F. Rinse the turkey and pat it dry with paper towels.

Note: One year, some friends and I spent the holiday at my friend’s family cabin in Wisconsin. Most of the group got up early to make the bird, something they had never cooked before, and so I was quite pleased to awaken to the smell of a browning turkey in the oven. But when I asked them if they had any trouble taking out the giblets and neck and/or rinsing the bird, they looked at my like I was psycho. It seems they did not know that you need to take that packet out of the bird before cooking and the rinse cycle was totally lost on them. So, approximately one hour into the cooking cycle, I took the bird out of the oven, took the packet out, rinsed it most thoroughly and put it in to finish. Of course the bird was fine but I have to admit to eating very little of it as the whole thought of not removing the packet (nor rinsing) just had “salmonella” written all over it. I am so my mother’s daughter.

Place the (thoroughly rinsed and de-packeted) turkey on a rack set inside a large roasting pan. Stuff the orange and lemon wedges, onion and 2 springs each of the fresh herbs into the main turkey cavity. Using kitchen twine (or, in our case, the metal drumstick holder that came with the bird), tie the legs together to hold the shape of the turkey.

In a small saucepan, stir 2 T of the butter, the herbes de Provence (or not!), oil and 1 ½ teaspoons each of the salt and pepper over medium heat just until the butter melts. Rub the butter mixture all over the turkey and between the turkey breast and the skin. Place the turkey neck and giblets in the roasting pan. (The turkey can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting).

Cover the turkey breast with foil and roast for 20 minutes. Pour 3 cups of the broth into the pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan around the turkey. Add the remaining sprigs of fresh herbs to the pan juices. Return the pan to the oven and roast the turkey for 40 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F and discard the foil. Pour 1 cup of broth into the pan. Continue roasting the turkey, basting occasionally with pan juices, until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 160F (not the method we used) or (the method we did use) until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer, about 1 hour 30 minutes longer.

Transfer the turkey to a platter and tent with foil. Let stand for 30 minutes while you prepare the gravy. (Note, we didn’t bring the gravy recipe but my brother-in-law is our resident gravy expert and he made one that worked just fine).

Despite the missing ingredients, this recipe was delicious and we probably would have made a soup out of the carcass had not my sister-in-law’s overly-helpful guest thrown the carcass in the garbage before I could stop him. I mean, who does that??!! That’s practically criminal behavior on a day such as this. Next year, I’m staying close to the stove during the cleanup portion of our program.

Ciabatta stuffing with chestnuts and pancetta
Notes: Ciabatta is an Italian bread that is increasingly found in more and more grocery stores but if you can’t find it, use country-style white bread. Pancetta is basically a thicker version of our American bacon only it’s not cured, smoked, honeyed or otherwise altered. Giada says you can use regular bacon if you’d like but we used Pancetta.

6 T (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
8 oz. thinly sliced pancetta or bacon, cut into ¼-inch dice
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 T chopped fresh rosemary
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (7.4 oz) jars roasted peeled whole chestnuts, coarsely broken
1 pound day-old Ciabatta or other country-style white bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 12 cups)
2/3 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
¼ c. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 c. canned reduced-sodium chicken broth, or more as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, beaten to blend (Note: do not do as I did when I read this instruction and interpret it as “beaten to death.” I must have had criminal law on the brain that day…)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 15 x 10 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Melt 2 T of the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and sauté until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a large bowl. Melt the remaining 4 T of butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, rosemary and garlic. Sauté until the onions are very tender, about 12 minutes. Gently stir in the chestnuts. Transfer the onion mixture to the large bowl with the pancetta. Add the bread, Parmesan cheese and parsley and toss to coat. Add enough broth to the stuffing mixture to moisten. Season the stuffing to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in the eggs.

Transfer the stuffing to the prepared dish. Covered with buttered foil, buttered side down, and bake until the stuffing is heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the top is crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer.

And now, a word about the size of bread cubes. When I was growing up, we didn’t have any of the artisan breads that are out there today so when we cubed the bread, the cubes were always rather small because the loves were small…and white. You had white bread or you didn’t have bread, it was that easy. (I actually begged my mother to buy Wonder Bread, because it was so fun to squish, but she wasn’t having any of that, at all).

But artisan breads are fun to rip and so the bread chunks tend to be rather large. I am not a fan of large,“chunky” dressing/stuffing cubes. I’m just saying. I want a nice, mushy ball of stuffing when the day is through but it’s your call. My husband, who was in charge of “cubing” the bread, ignored the instruction to cut it into cubes and ripped the heck out of the loaf. Naturally, the cubes were gigantic. (Think ice cube proportions). We had a discussion afterwards and I’m pretty comfortable that he will not make the same “error” again.