A Time To Give Thanks

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is all about a holiday which all Americans are familiar with, Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day. This is currently celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, it has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863. Thanksgiving was historically a religious observation to give thanks to God, celebrated by the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony for surviving their first brutal winter in New England. This feast lasted three days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Native Americans. It consisted of fowl, venison, fish, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin, squash, beetroot and turkey. The modern Thanksgiving holiday traces its origins from a 1621 celebration after a successful growing season. This was continued in later years, first as an impromptu religious observance, and later as a civil tradition. In the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, prompted by a series of editorials, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November 1863.
So, this week’s recipes are Sweet Potato Pie, Roast Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing and Quick Chilli Cornbread. The Herb of the week is Horseradish.

My first recipe is Sweet Potato Pie, recipe by COUGAAR, courtesy of allrecipes.co.uk.

This recipe serves 8, takes 30mins to prepare and can take approx 1hr 50mins to cook.

500g x Sweet Potato
125g x Softened Butter
200g x Caster Sugar
125ml x Milk
2 x Eggs
1/2 tsp x Ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp x Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp x Vanilla Extract
1 x Pre-made Pastry Case (23cm/9”)

Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 mins, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4. Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into prepared pastry base. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a soufflé, and then will sink down as it cools.


My next recipe is Roast Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing, recipe by Sara Buenfeld, courtesy of bbcgoodfood.com, first printed in Good Food Magazine December 2008.

This recipe serves 8, with leftovers, takes 20mins to prepare and can take 4hrs to cook.

FOR THE STUFFING
150ml x Madeira (or White Wine)
20g x Dried Porcini Mushrooms
2 x Onions – halved and sliced
25g x Butter, plus extra
15g x Thyme Leaves, reserve the stalks
2 x 454g packs Cumberland sausages , skins removed
200g x Whole Cooked Chestnuts
Zest 1 Lemon (halve and reserve the rest to use for the turkey)
15g x Flat-Leaf Parsley, chopped
85g x Fresh Breadcrumbs
10 x Rashers Streaky Bacon

FOR THE TURKEY
1 x Onion, quartered
1 x Bronze Turkey (4.5-5.6kg/10-12lb), giblets removed (to use in stock)
85g x Soft Butter
1 x Whole Nutmeg
10 x Rashers Streaky Bacon
125ml x Madeira (or White Wine)
Watercress Sprigs, to garnish

First make the stuffing. Pour the Madeira or wine into a bowl, then crumble in the mushrooms. Fry the onions in the butter for 10 mins, until golden. Cool, then mix with the thyme leaves, the mushrooms and their soaking liquid, and all remaining ingredients, apart from 8 of the chestnuts and the bacon. Season well. Set aside half of the stuffing. Line a greased 500g loaf tin with bacon. Pack the rest of the stuffing into the tin, then bring the rashers round over the top and secure in place with cocktail sticks. Use the reserved chestnuts to fill the spaces where the bacon meets. Chill until ready to cook. This will keep in the fridge uncooked for 2 days or can be frozen for up to a month.
Prepare the turkey. The night before, put the onion quarters, reserved lemon halves and thyme sprigs in the cavity between the legs. Pack the reserved stuffing into the neck end. Secure the neck skin with skewers and tie the legs together. Weigh the turkey. Calculate the cooking time at 40 mins per kilo, plus 20 mins. Put a large sheet of extra-wide foil in a large roasting tin and put the turkey on top. Smear the breast with the butter, then grate over half of the nutmeg and season well. Cover with bacon and pour over the Madeira or wine. Seal the foil well to make a parcel. Chill overnight.
On the day, take the turkey out of the fridge 1 hr before roasting. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Put the turkey in the oven; then, 90 mins before the end of cooking, remove foil and bacon, and drain off the juices from the tin to use in the gravy. To test whether the turkey is cooked, push a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh - the juices should run clear. If they are pinkish, cook for 15 mins more, then test again. Transfer the turkey to a platter, cover with foil, then a couple of tea towels, and allow to rest for at least 30 mins before carving. Meanwhile, cook the stuffing loaf for 30 mins and reheat the bacon. Garnish with watercress and serve the stuffing loaf separately.


Herb of the week - Horseradish (armoracia rusticana)
Originally the horseradish was cultivated as a medicinal herb, now it is considered a flavouring herb. The common name means a coarse or strong radish, the prefix “horse” often being used in plants to donate a large, strong or coarse plant. In the 16th century it was known in England as Redcol or Recole. In this period the plant appears to have been more popular in Scandinavia and Germany, where they developed its potential as a fish sauce. In Britain horseradish has become strongly associated as a condiment sauce served with roast beef. It is a hardy perennial plant, which grows to a height of 60-90cm but can spread wildly (similar to mint in its aggression), and its roots can grow up to 60cm in length and up to 5cm thick. It can bear white flowers in the spring, but this is very rare, with large green oblong leaves.
Horseradish is a powerful circulatory stimulant with antibiotic properties. As a diuretic, it is effective for lung and urinary infections. It can also help with coughs and sinus congestion. It can also be taken internally for gout and rheumatism, due to it containing potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Grate into a poultice and apply externally to chilblains, stiff muscles, sciatica and rheumatic joints, also to stimulate blood flow.
Other practical uses are that it can be chopped finely and put into dog food to dispel worms and improve body tone. Also an infusion of the roots made into a spray, can be used to protect apple trees against brown rot. Slice and infuse in a pan of milk to make a lotion to improve skin clarity.
The reason horseradish is used in sauces, vinegars, and as an accompaniment, rather than cooked as a vegetable is that the volatile flavouring oil which is released in grating evaporates rapidly and becomes nothing when cooked. Raw, it’s a different story. The strongest flavour is from root pulled in the autumn, the spring root is comparatively mild. It can be used raw and grated in coleslaw, dips, pickled beetroot, cream cheese, mayonnaise and avocado fillings. The youngest leaves can be added to salads for a bit of zip and, of course, horseradish sauce to accompany roast beef and smoked oily fish.


My last recipe is Quick Chilli Cornbread, recipe by Leslie Walters, Courtesy of bbcgoodfood.com, first published GoodFood Magazine January 2006.

This recipe serves 8, takes 15mins to prepare and takes 35-40mins to cook.

280g x Fine Semolina or Polenta
85g x Plain Flour
2 tsp x Bicarbonate of Soda
1 x Large Egg
150ml x Milk
425ml x Buttermilk or Natural Yoghurt
2 x Large Red Chillies – seeded and finely chopped

Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Generously butter a 25cm x 16cm baking tin or shallow roasting tray. Combine the semolina or polenta, flour and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl and season. In a jug, combine the egg, milk, buttermilk or yogurt and chillies.
Pour the contents of the jug into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir lightly to combine. Do not over stir as this will cause the bread to be tough. Pour the batter into the tin and bake in the oven for 35-40 mins until firm and golden on top. Cut the warm cornbread into pieces to serve. Serve immediately or leave to cool and re-heat, wrapped in foil. Can be frozen for up to 1 month.


If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D

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