Does anyone still make the whole Thanksgiving spread from scratch? With so many shortcuts out there, we doubt it. But that’s what makes the ’90s great: You can pick and choose.
Order those pies (buy it). Open cans for cranberry sauce (fake it). Whatever works. This plan gives you “make it/fake it” options for most every dish on the basic Thanksgiving menu except the turkey (though there are plenty of takeout options for the bird too).
You can mix and match to your hearth’s content. Customize the Thanksgiving feast based on your own time, finances and cooking ability. Here are some options to get you started.
Mashed potatoes
Make it: Cream cheese makes mashed potatoes rich and improves their keeping power too.
Fake it: Simply Mashed Potatoes are the real thing, already whipped and ready to pop in the oven or microwave for a last-minute reheat. It’s sold at some grocery stores (in the Chicago area, we found it at Jewel) in the refrigerator case.
Sweet potatoes
Make it: Give the marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole a creamy texture by pureeing the spuds. Make it unforgettable with a touch of butter, rum and cinnamon plus that secret Southern ingredient, evaporated milk.
Fake it: Try the pureed routine on canned sweet potatoes–but omit the sugar so guests don’t mistake it for dessert. Or be really daring: Substitute canned pumpkin puree.
Gravy
Make it: An all-out, full nine-yards chef-style gravy starts with roasting the giblets and several vegetables with the turkey. In roasted garlic pan gravy, the garlic adds subtle flavor because it, too, is roasted.
Fake it: Mixes such as Knorr are the secret weapon of many a great cook, and Thanksgiving time is no exception. Using a recipe that combines the turkey gravy mix and the oxtail soup mix, you’ve got a respectable gravy in 10 minutes.
Dressing
Make it: If you can pry your family loose from the traditional recipe, try an elegant corn bread, sausage and green onion dressing with added pecans to bring out its Southern personality.
Fake it: For the almost-real thing, prepare an 8-ounce canister of Stovetop Corn Bread Dressing according to package directions. Just before serving, add 8 ounces cooked, crumbled Italian sausage and 1 cup chopped pecans.
Cranberry sauce
Make it: The basic recipe–sugar, water, fresh cranberries–is as easy as making hot chocolate. Customize with grated orange peel, ground ginger, chopped jalapeno –even chopped mint or cilantro.
Fake it: Grab a can and you can still swirl in any of the extras. Or, stir half a 5-ounce jar of jalapeno jelly into a 12-ounce tub of crushed cranberry fruit for chicken (cranberry-orange).
Bread
Make it: Give tender biscuits a Tex-Mex bite with chopped fresh jalapenos.
Fake it: Jiffy Corn Bread mix: You can’t beat it for price or convenience. Go with the recipe on the cover, or make up your own additions.
Pumpkin desserts
Make it: The show-stopper miniature pumpkin creme brulee is from the Culinary Institute of America.
Fake it: Buy seasoned pumpkin pie mix in the can, then jazz things up with a crust made of 2 cups crushed gingersnaps, 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Or use a store-bought pie crust but sprinkle 1/4 cup crushed gingersnaps over the top of the pie before baking. For an even spicier edge, stir 2 tablespoons minced candied (crystallized) ginger into the pumpkin puree.
CORN BREAD, SAUSAGE AND GREEN ONION DRESSING
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Adapted from Gourmet magazine.
1 pan (8-inch square) prepared corn bread, homemade or from 7-ounce box mix
1/2 pound bulk sausage
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 teaspoons crumbled dried sage
1 teaspoon each, dried, crumbled: marjoram, rosemary
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped pecans
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Crumble corn bread into 15- by 10-inch jellyroll pan. Bake, stirring occasionally, until dry and golden, 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool. Leave oven on.
2. Cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink. Transfer to large bowl with slotted spoon.
3. Add 6 tablespoons of the butter to fat in skillet. Stir in onions and celery; cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add sage, marjoram, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste; cook, stirring often, 3 minutes.
4. Transfer mixture to bowl with sausage. Add corn bread, green onions and pecans. Spoon into buttered 3- to 4-quart casserole. Drizzle with chicken broth. Dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces. Cover; bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 30 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 360 Fat ……….. 30 g Saturated fat .. 10 g
% calories from fat .. 71 Cholesterol .. 60 mg Sodium ……. 560 mg
Carbohydrates …… 19 g Protein …… 7.7 g Fiber ……….. 3 g
ROASTED GARLIC PAN GRAVY
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: Makes 1 quart or 8 (1/2-cup) servings
Neck and giblets, except liver, well rinsed
3 carrots, cut in 2-inch lengths
1 medium onion, peeled, quartered
1 head garlic, paper skin removed, top cut off
4 leafy celery tops
3 to 4 sprigs thyme, optional
2 quarts (8 cups) plus about 1 cup chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine, optional
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons cream
1. Add neck, giblets, carrots, onions, garlic, celery tops and thyme, if using, to the pan after turkey has begun to brown. Roast until vegetables and giblets are brown, 45 to 60 minutes. Add additional chicken broth if pan becomes dry.
2. Transfer giblets, neck and vegetables to large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add 2 quarts of the broth; heat to boil. Reduce to simmer; cook until reduced by half. Remove and discard vegetables, giblets and neck; squeeze garlic into small dish and mash with fork. Whisk garlic back into broth.
3. Remove turkey to platter when finished cooking and keep warm. Pour drippings into fat separator; discard fat. Add drippings and wine to broth.
4. Stir flour into roasting pan, scraping browned bits from bottom. Whisk 1 cup of the broth into roasting pan or enough to cover bottom. Place pan over 2 burners; heat to simmer. Simmer until thickened.
5. Whisk remaining broth into roasting pan. Heat to boil, reduce heat to simmer; cook until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Strain, if desired. Stir in cream. Adjust seasonings.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 120 Fat ………. 7.8 g Saturated fat .. 2.7 g
% calories from fat .. 60 Cholesterol .. 10 mg Sodium …….. 870 mg
Carbohydrates ….. 5.4 g Protein …….. 6 g Fiber ………… 0 g
MASHED POTATOES
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: 10 servings
From the Junior League of Kansas City, Mo.
5 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled, quartered
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon each: freshly ground pepper, onion salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
Paprika
1. Boil potatoes in salted water in large saucepan until potatoes are tender when pierced with fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mash potatoes with potato masher until smooth. Add cream cheese, sour cream, butter, salt, pepper, onion salt and garlic salt; beat until light and fluffy. Place potato mixture in greased 2-quart casserole; bake 30 minutes.
3. Dust with paprika; place briefly under broiler to brown top.
Note: This dish may be refrigerated for two weeks or frozen.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 315 Fat ……….. 15 g Saturated fat .. 9.5 g
% calories from fat .. 42 Cholesterol .. 40 mg Sodium …….. 410 mg
Carbohydrates …… 41 g Protein …….. 6 g Fiber ………. 3.5 g
SWEET POTATO PUREE WITH MARSHMALLOWS
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes plus 30 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
From “Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine,” by Norma Jean Darden and Carole Darden.
2 pounds sweet potatoes
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
3/4 to 1 1/4 cups sugar, depending on sweetness of potatoes
3 large eggs
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons dark rum, optional
1 pound marshmallows
1. Bake or boil sweet potatoes in jackets until tender, about 45 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Scoop pulp from skins into large bowl. Add butter; mash with potato masher until smooth. Add sugar; mix well. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Stir in evaporated milk, vanilla, cinnamon and rum, if using.
2. Pour into buttered 2-quart casserole; bake 30 minutes. Top with whole marshmallows. Bake until browned. Serve hot.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 425 Fat ………… 8 g Saturated fat .. 4.3 g
% calories from fat .. 16 Cholesterol .. 95 mg Sodium …….. 145 mg
Carbohydrates …… 85 g Protein …….. 6 g Fiber ………… 2 g
JALAPENO AND CHEESE BISCUITS
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: 16 biscuits
From “Emeril’s Creole Christmas,” by Emeril Lagasse.
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup grated white Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon plus
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 jalapenos, minced,
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine 4 cups of the flour, cheese, baking powder, salt, pepper and jalapenos in large bowl. Mix well. Add shortening; work into dry ingredients, using hands, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gently stir in half-and-half. Dough will be sticky.
2. Dust work surface with 1 tablespoon flour. Turn dough onto floured surface. Gently fold each side toward center. Pick up dough and dust work surface with remaining tablespoon flour. Return dough to floured surface and fold each side toward center again. Turn dough over and lightly press out to 1-inch thickness. Cut biscuits using 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter. Place on greased baking sheet; bake until golden, 30 minutes.
Nutrition information per biscuit:
Calories ………… 290 Fat ……….. 18 g Saturated fat .. 6.5 g
% calories from fat .. 56 Cholesterol .. 16 mg Sodium …….. 335 mg
Carbohydrates …… 26 g Protein …… 5.8 g Fiber ………. 0.9 g
MINIATURE PUMPKIN CREME BRULEE
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Yield: 12 servings
If you like, bake this custard in small pumpkin shells. (You may have to increase the baking time to 1 1/2 hours.) Adapted from a recipe from the Culinary Institute of America.
2 cups each: milk, whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon each, ground: cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves
4 cups solid-pack pumpkin
18 large egg yolks
Light brown sugar
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Combine milk, cream, sugar and spices in medium saucepan; heat over low heat just warm, stirring often, to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. Pour into large bowl. Add pumpkin to milk mixture; whisk until smooth. Add egg yolks; whisk until well combined.
2. Pour custard into 12 ramekins. Place in roasting pan(s) and pour hot water to halfway up the sides of ramekins. Bake until custard is just set, 45 minutes to 1 hour. (It will still wiggle.)
3. Remove ramekins from water bath; cool. Refrigerate until completely cold. Sprinkle custard with brown sugar. Place under hot broiler until sugar caramelizes. Serve hot.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 365 Fat ………… 23 g Saturated fat .. 12 g
% calories from fat .. 57 Cholesterol .. 375 mg Sodium ……. 135 mg
Carbohydrates …… 28 g Protein …….. 12 g Fiber ……… 2.6 g
