with Cranberry Syrup,
Potato Carrot Hash
and a reason to celebrate
Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!
As you all know, this is the time of year when we gather the fruits of our labor and celebrate our harvests. It's a very special time indeed, one in which we recognize and honor all we are thankful for...friends, family. We honor our ancestors who have passed and look back at our origins.
I have to say, one of the things I am so thankful for is the Puritan religion kind of died out. Far be it for me to criticize religions but it's not exactly a lifestyle most of us would have been comfortable with. Before 1536, in England there were a total of 95 Catholic Church holidays and 52 Sundays where people were required to forgo work and also celebrate. It got a bit pricey.
Not being ones to overdo it, during the reign of Henry VIII, it was decided there was too much celebrating going on and the number of church holidays fell to a measly 27. Bah!
Our more radical Puritan friends decided to take it a step further. The wanted to do away with every holiday, including Christmas and Easter and replace them with special days called "Days of Fasting".
Believe me, I have nothing against fasting (especially before a vacation and for more serious reasons such as observances and medical and health reasons.). It definitely has a time and a place. I just think fasting on holidays instead of maybe even a meager feast is, well, the wrong time to do it.
Thank God the voice of reason won out and we can celebrate anything we wish now...
(Any type of celebration was banned in the town of Boston from 1659-1681)
What?
It's not Thanksgiving?
It's April Fools?!?!
What am I going to do with all of this food?!?!
Well, ironically, with all of those days of fasting and no celebrations, as centuries passed somehow our historys' colored lenses faded, became a bit blurry, and a sandwich was named after our friends. It's called a Puritan. It's also called a Pilgrim. It takes all the flavors of Thanksgiving and puts them into a handy sandwich. It usually uses up the leftovers from a previous day's celebration. Amazing, the irony of it all...
If the Puritans were only here, we could hand them a sandwich named in their honor and wish them
"Happy April Fool's Day!"
Just in case you are lacking leftovers, here's a few recipes for a relatively quick meal with all the flavors of Thanksgiving and then some.
Let the feasting begin...
Cranberry Syrup
1 Cup of Cranberries (I used frozen ones that I thawed since they're out of season)
1/2 Cup Orange Juice
1/2 Cup Raw Sugar
Place ingredients in a pot and boil.
Strain into a jar through a mesh sieve and funnel.
Refrigerate...
Potato Carrot Hash
1 onion, chopped
2 or 3 red potatoes, washed and chopped
4 or 5 small carrots, washed, peeled and chopped
1/2 granny smith apple, chopped
Handful of cooked bacon, chopped
Handful of parsley, chopped
Olive Oil and Butter
Heat a large frying pan and melt butter and olive oil over medium to medium high heat.
Add all of the other ingredients.
Sprinkle with paprika, salt and freshly ground pepper.
Cover for the first 5 minutes.
Remove cover and let cook for another 5 to 10 minutes and flip so a crispy crust develops on the veggies, just as you would making regular hash browns.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Taste and adjust seasoning and serve.
Stuffing Patties
A loaf of Italian bread, torn into pieces, left out all day so it's stale
Chopped Celery
Chopped onion
Chopped Parsley
2 eggs
Water
Salt and Pepper
Butter
Season celery and onion with salt and pepper and saute in butter until soft and starting to brown.
Mix veggies, parsley and eggs into stale bread.
Melt butter in a pan over medium heat until the foaming subsides. Form stuffing into patties and fry until each side is browned and carmelized.
Serve with gravy and cranberry sauce.
This is the stripped down, bare-boned version.
Feel free to add whatever herbs or stock you would like. Experiment and have fun with your own creations.
Turkey in Less Than an Hour
3 to 4 lb Turkey Breast
Seasonings...salt, freshly ground pepper
paprika, sage, thyme and a little rosemary
(about a teaspoon of each sprinkled over your turkey breast)
Chicken broth
Place turkey breast in pressure cooker.
Add about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup chicken (or turkey) broth.
On an electric pressure cooker, program for 40 minutes.
A regular stovetop pressure cooker takes about the same time but may use more liquid so I would use 3/4 to 1 cup chicken broth.
Five minutes before time is up, turn your oven broiler on and preheat it.
When the timer on your pressure cooker beeps (or 40 minutes have passed), use the quick release on your pressure cooker and carefully move your turkey breast to a broiler pan or a baking sheet with a rack inserted in it.
Broil so skin gets crispy.
Let cool a few minutes before slicing.
While cooling, make a quick roux with 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp flour. Add a little white wine, the remaining liquid from the pressure cooker and a little chicken broth if it needs to be thinned out. Let come to a boil, cool a bit, add a little salt and pepper to taste and now you have your gravy.
Serve for dinner...
Eat leftovers for lunch.
However you eat it, eat it well, my friends.
Until next time....
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