Easy meal ideas: Simple food leading up to Thanksgiving

Yes, they have to eat even when you're obsessed with the holiday feast. Scavenge the fridge! Have breakfast at night! Make life easy on yourself this week.

Monday:  Morning at night
With all eyes on Thursday’s Thanksgiving feast, it’s a shame we have to worry about meals the rest of the week. But we do. Go light and simple in the days leading up to the daylong over-do. Tonight, it’s Breakfast for Dinner with cheese and veggie omelets, fruit and toast.

Tuesday: Scavenger hunt
You’ll need space in the refrigerator for the turkey, so scour the shelves for a Chef’s Choice dinner. Heat up leftovers, make a Cobb salad — or a quiche with that frozen pie shell, cheese, veggies and eggs. If you’ve got hummus and crackers, put them out. Today is the day to make way for the big stuff.

Wednesday: Rotisserie chicken
Pick up a chicken when you do your last-minute shopping for a Calm Before the Storm meal. Go easy on yourself with the side, too. Buy a prepared salad — we like pasta or three bean — and spend tonight’s cooking time getting ahead for tomorrow.

Thursday: T-day
An early feast means somebody is going to be hungry at 8 p.m. Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches are Thanksgiving dinner re-arranged. Layer warm turkey and stuffing on slices of bread and douse with gravy. (Add a dollop of cranberry sauce before the gravy.)

Friday: Leftover pie
You’ve probably got all the ingredients to make Turkey Pot Pie (recipe below) but it may be the energy you lack. Enlist some help and take a nap after Christmas shopping. The busy season has truly begun.
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Turkey Pot Pie
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
6 ounces button mushrooms, stems trimmed, caps cut in half then thickly sliced crosswise
1 cup thinly sliced, peeled carrots (about 2 carrots)
1/2 cup diced leftover cooked vegetables (optional)
1?1/2 cups diced cooked turkey (7 to 8 ounces)
1 to 1?1/4 cups gravy
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley plus additional parsley leaves for crust
1 egg white, beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)
1 (9-inch) purchased pie crust
Cranberry sauce
Melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and saute until golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until browned and tender, about 4 minutes. Add sliced carrots; cover and cook until carrots soften slightly, about 2 minutes. Add leftover vegetables, if desired. Add diced turkey, gravy and chopped fresh thyme. Bring filling mixture to boil; reduce heat to low and simmer to thicken if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in peas and chopped parsley. Pour filling into 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.

Lightly brush rim (both top and underside) of filled pie dish with egg glaze. Place crust atop filling and fold edge of dough over edge of pie dish. Pinch dough rim to seal crust all around. Press down on top edge of crust with fork tines to seal decoratively. Chill 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly brush top of pie with glaze. Make three to four 1/4-inch slits in center of pie to allow steam to escape. Press some fresh parsley leaves onto crust. Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Serve with cranberry sauce.

Serves 6.

Source: Bon Appetit magazine

Apply now to Thanksgiving cooking boot camp

Have you flubbed Thanksgiving dinner more times than you'd like to remember? If so, it’s time to apply for Wishbone U., the St. Petersburg Times' fifth annual Thanksgiving cooking boot camp for people who, well, haven’t had much luck preparing the big feast.

This year’s class is going back to basics, with a lesson on how to roast a turkey taking center stage. The instruction will include how the heck to know when the big bird is done and the final word on basting. (Yes!) In addition, students will master the art of making gravy, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.

To gain admittance, you’ll have to plead your case by sending a brief note about why you need help. We’re suckers for a sad sack story, especially when it involves disapproving mothers-in-law and dry turkey. Tell us about your holiday cooking disasters and how we can help turn you around.

The 12 most desperate students will be selected to attend an afternoon hands-on class Oct. 25 at  Apron’s Cooking School at Publix Supermarket in the Shoppes of Citrus Park in Tampa. Apron’s resident chef Rich Norris will share his expertise and recipes. (The photo above is from the 2007 class.)

E-mail your entry, including your name, age, city of residence and daytime phone number, to features@sptimes.com. Put THANKSGIVING in the subject line.

Deadline is Oct. 15 and winners will be notified by Oct. 16. Nominations of bad cooks by concerned family and friends are encouraged, but they cannot be submitted anonymously.

Participants must be willing to be photographed during the class, because it’s not just their skills we want to improve. The experience — and recipes — will be shared in Taste on Nov. 18.

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Thanksgiving recap: The leftovers

So, any disasters out there? We had about 25 people at our house, and everything came out pretty well, except for the fact that I burned the gravy. I didn't even know it was possible to burn the gravy. Of all the things that were on my list of potential paranoia, burning gravy didn't even make the list. And it's a long list. And if there is one thing you don't want to mess up, its the gravy. It goes on everything. And this tasted like an ashtray.

Everyone said the gravy was fine, which indicates one of two possibilities. A) I have really, really, really polite friends. B) The true burnedness of the gravy didn't really come through until I scraped up the bottom when I made my plate, and everyone else had already eaten by the time I got my plate. So I will forever delude myself with the possibility that maybe the gravy was fine for everyone else. Whichever, I will not assume anything when it comes to gravy in the future.

So, I have no leftover gravy, which really screws up my leftover plans. But let's talk leftover concepts.

-- My favorite thing to do with leftover turkey is to make omelets for breakfast. Granted, it might be because a post-Thanksgiving turkey omelet is the first thing I ever remember being complimented on. It was by my stepgrandfather, and he seemed legitimately impressed. And it was good. Fluffy eggs, some white meat and cheddar cheese.

-- Shepherd's pie. Seems like a no-brainer. Put some chopped turkey in the bottom of a casserole, top with whatever vegetable you have leftover -- beans, carrots, asparagus -- then slather the whole thing with mashed potatoes and bake.

-- Sandwiches. You can make the traditional turkey sandwich. Or take the opportunity of available ingredients to make a Hot Brown. Take some toast, stack on the turkey. You can make a cheese sauce and be all official, or just cover it in gravy and add a slice of tomato and put some cheese on top, then broil until the cheese melts. Cranberry sauce would work on the side.

-- Croquetas. If you've got leftover mashed potatoes and meat, you have almost everything you need for croquetas. Stir the meat -- ham is classic, but turkey would work too -- into the potatoes, coat with bread crumbs and fry. You could either deep dry or skillet fry. Either way.

-- Top some pasta. Like you haven't had enough carbs at this point. Let's make more! Tetrazzini, from the Russian word for "Good Lord, there's still more turkey?," makes sense, only because it lets you get rid of some turkey and gravy with a whole different kind of starch.

-- Come to think of it, can we do something without starch? How about a salad? Get a bowl with some greens, top with cold turkey. Cranberry sauce would make a decent dressing. Maybe thin it down with a little olive oil.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner is the stuffing, and I make a ton every year just to make sure I have plenty left to eat for days. I was watching Food Network last week and saw this recipe from Sunny Anderson for Second Day Fried Stuffing Bites with Cranberry Sauce Pesto. Stuffing. Fried. I'd try that. And it doesn't require gravy, so that works for me this year.

Second Day Fried Stuffing Bites with Cranberry Sauce Pesto

Leftover stuffing
2 eggs
2 teaspoons milk
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup cranberry sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup walnuts
Oil, for frying

Preheat oil to 350 degrees.

Cut leftover stuffing into bite-sized cubes and set aside. In a small bowl whisk eggs and milk. Coat each stuffing bite with this egg wash, then dredge in the bread crumbs until fully coated and set aside. In a food processor blend cranberry sauce, pepper and walnuts and set aside. Once oil is at temperature fry each piece of stuffing until golden brown about 4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel and serve with cranberry pesto.

Photo: Istockphoto.com

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Thanksgiving countdown: Stuffing stuff

No recipe today. You don't have time for it. I don't have time for it. Too much to do! So instead of coming up with something new today, we'll jazz up something you are probably making anyway. Stuffing.

First off, don't stuff it in anything. It makes the bird take longer to cook, and you are introducing unnecessary risk by taking something that soaks stuff up, then putting it into a carcass that is a bacteriological breeding ground until properly cooked.

Technically, if you don't "stuff" it in the bird, I guess it's dressing. But I like to think that the purpose of "stuffing" isn't to "stuff" the bird, but to stuff me. So I cook it separately and serve it on the side. But I still call it stuffing.

So, the recipe you've been making since you left home, the one your grandma gave you, is great. But here are some things you can add to change gears just a little.

-- Start with the standards. Most recipes will call for some combination of aromatics. Onions, garlic, celery, carrots. Mushrooms are always a good add.

-- The first time i made stuffing, I took the recipe my family had made forever, and added wild rice to it. I have never made it without wild rice since. Adds great texture. (Cook the rice first.) There are stuffings that are rice-based, too. Usually with sausage. Maybe try that next week. Stick to the basics tonight.

-- Add meat. A lot of people but sausage in their stuffing. Try any kind you like (again, cook it first). My mom used to make a separate, smaller pan with oysters in it. Only she, my uncle and I would eat it.

-- Add dried fruit. Depending on what else you have in your stuffing, any number of fruits could go well in there. Apples. Cranberries. Cherries. Apricots.

-- Or fresh. Apples. Pears.

-- Canned vegetables. Artichokes. Water chestnuts.

-- Nuts could work well.

-- Got vegetarians coming over? Use vegetable stock. It's hard to even discern the difference in a dish like this.

Love your stuffing and don't want to commit to something else? Make a big batch of yours, then separate some off into a smaller dish and mix in something different. It's still yours. It's just a little bit different now. And it might be good, too.

If you have other ideas, I'm listening.

No post tomorrow. We'll talk leftovers on Friday.

Photo: Associated Press

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Thanksgiving countdown: Butternut bisque

This dish started out as butternut gnocchi.

My wife is a fan of butternut squash, and I was trying to figure out a way to get butternut on the Thanksgiving menu, and I thought butternut gnocchi sounded like a GREAT idea. So I planned all year to make butternut gnocchi at Thanksgiving that year. I envisioned wonderfully autumnal orange dumplings, and I planned a brown butter sauce with sage and, frankly, as I write this, it sounds good to me again.

But about a month before Thanksgiving, I went to a tasting party at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, and a chef from Cedar Key was there, and he was serving sauteed scallops with butternut gnocchi. At first I was a little deflated to learn that my idea wasn't original. But then I looked at them. They were hardly orange at all. And there was no butternut flavor. Boy, was I glad that that happened to him and not me. Of course, if I had done it, there would've been about 10 witnesses. This guy was serving 600. He seemed content with it. But I wanted orange.

Anyway, now I only had a couple of weeks to come up with something that had butternut in it. Soup seemed trite, but bisque sounded kind of classy. so here it is:

Butternut Bisque

1 large or 2 small/medium butternut squash (about 4 to 5 pounds total before they're cleaned), peeled, seeded and cut roughly in 1-inch dice
Olive oil
Salt
1 onion, chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 box (32 ounces) of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup heavy cream  (or whole milk, or half and half)
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (optional)

Put diced butternut squash on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt on it. In a 350-degree oven, roast the butternut for about 30 minutes, or until the edges start to brown a little.

While that's roasting, in a large pot saute the onion and carrot about 5 minutes, until the onion is a little soft and translucent. Add the garlic and saute another minute or two. When the butternut comes out of the oven, add to the pot along with the vegetable stock and the ginger and cinnamon. (Feel free to make it your own with the spices; omit ones you don't like, or add others. Some other spices that might work: nutmeg, allspice, clove, cardamom, curry.) Simmer for about an hour. More time won't hurt it, though.

This step is a pain and is optional, but will result in the best texture for the soup: Puree in a blender. You may have to do this in batches, and you need to vent the blender, either by leaving it partially uncovered or popping the middle part of the cap off, if yours does that. When you've pureed the soup, put it through a strainer. (I told you this step was a pain.)

if you don't want to blend and strain, you can just put an immersion (stick) blender in the pot and run it until it's fairly smooth. Or a food processor. Or electric mixer. Or a potato masher. Or skip this step and eat it chunky.

After you puree in whatever manner you choose, and strain it (or not), put it back in the pot on the stove and let it simmer for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Then add the cream and sherry vinegar and stir it in. (If you don't have sherry vinegar, you could use another light-color vinegar, like apple cider, or rice wine. Or just skip it. But I wouldn't use balsamic. It would mess up the color.)

I made this recipe with the intent on keeping it vegetarian, but you could use chicken stock if you prefer. And on Friday, you could chop up some leftover turkey and drop it in the soup to make a meal of it.

Photo: iStockphoto.com

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Thanksgiving countdown: Cranberries

I thought we could count down the last days before Thanksgiving with some side dishes for the big day. Today, I'm starting with one of the first things I ever made from the Times Taste section, cranberry sauce.

This is Janet's recipe, and it ran in 2003. I change it a little depending on what I have on hand, but here is the recipe.

Grand Marnier Double Cranberry Sauce

1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

In medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until cranberries pop. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, about 4 hours.

Note: The sauce can be prepared 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Makes 2 cups.


I made mine last night, and I didn't have any Grand Marnier -- gee, wonder where that went -- but I did have some port, and that worked fine. You could also leave out the booze altogether . . . I guess. Also, I had no OJ concentrate, but I had a bag of oranges, so I zested one and juiced it, and added it all. Also, I splashed about a 1/2-cup of ginger ale in there. Makes the whole thing a little more saucy, so to speak.

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Gimme five nights of dinners

Here's your week's dinner plan. Nothing too hard, nothing too expensive.

Monday: Taco night
Make tacos with ground beef and a packet of taco seasonings. Offer toppers like ripe tomatoes, ice-cold lettuce, Vidalia onions, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro leaves and lime wedges for punch. Rice and beans on the side. Sliced melon, too.

Tuesday: Stuff 'em
During the low-fat diet craze, I often ate a baked potato loaded with black beans and salsa for dinner. High fiber, low fat and, of course, lots of carbs. Current diet trends are all over the place, and Stuffed Baked Potatoes can be too. Serve them for dinner to suit your own tastes: chili, onions and Jack cheese; steamed broccoli florets and cheddar; low-fat cottage cheese and chopped green onion; chopped, cooked ham and Swiss.

Wednesday: Rotisserie chicken
How about a big, messy bowl of chicken Alfredo tonight? Heat store-bought Alfredo sauce and add shredded chicken from the rotisserie bird. Throw in a handful of frozen peas. Serve over fettuccine and garnish with big curls of Parmesan and fresh parsley.

Thursday: We’re broke stew
Rice and Bean Soup is easy on the wallet. Saute onion and garlic in oil, add 1 cup of rice and brown slightly. Pour in 2 cups water and 4 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, add 2 teaspoons of dried herbs (basil, oregano, thyme or a mixture), diced carrots, a can each of diced tomatoes and Great Northern beans and cook 20 minutes. Serve with bread and butter.

Friday: Eat your veggies
Grill a mess of marinated vegetables such as eggplant, peppers of all colors (if the red and yellows are on sale), onions, tomatoes on the indoor or outdoor grill. Season liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and serve over brown rice. For carnivores, grill shrimp or chicken to go with.

Photos from iStock and National Harvest

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Thanksgiving cooking boot camp

It’s time to apply for Wishbone U., the St. Petersburg Times' annual holiday cooking class for people who haven’t had much luck preparing the big feast. We always have lots of fun . . . look at these two guys from last year! Bring your own apron!

This year’s class will take on desserts. Anybody can buy a pumpkin pie, but the oohs and aahs will really come your way when you prepare something the Pilgrims never dreamed of. The class will tackle five desserts, some traditional, some completely new.

To gain admittance, you’ll have to plead your case by sending a brief note about why you need help. We’re suckers for a sob story, especially when it involves disapproving mothers-in-law and dry turkey.

The 12 most desperate students will be selected to attend a hands-on class Oct. 19 at Apron’s Cooking School at Publix supermarket at Shoppes of Citrus Park in Tampa. Apron’s resident chef Bil Mitchell will share his expertise and recipes.

E-mail your entry to features@sptimes.com. Put THANKSGIVING in the subject line.
Deadline is Oct. 8. Nominations of bad cooks by good cooks will be accepted, but they cannot be submitted anonymously. Participants must be willing to be photographed during the class, because it’s not just their skills we want to improve. The experience — and recipes — will be shared on Tampabay.com (and in the Times' food section) in mid November. That's plenty of time to practice!

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One last recipe

If you're still casting about for a delicious pie recipe, consider this one. There's time to run to the store today. Go on your lunch break! Make it tonight and refrigerate after it cools. Let it sit for 30 minutes at room temp before serving.

While you're at the store, get some nice rolls for leftover turkey sandwiches. Also, look in the refrigerated case where the cold pickles are for cranberrry-horseradish. Delish on sandwiches.

That's what Stir Crazy will be eating on Friday. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving. I'll see you back on Monday for dinner ideas that'll sustain a long month of shopping.

Sour Cream Orange Pumpkin Pie
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell (4-cup volume)
Filling:
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups (15-ounce can) solid-pack pumpkin
1 1/4 cups (14-ounce can) sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
Sour-Cream Topping:
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons thawed frozen orange-juice concentrate (or orange-flavored liqueur)
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine eggs, pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin-pie spice, orange peel and salt in a medium bowl; mix well. Pour into prepared pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes more or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack, leaving the oven on.

Meanwhile, combine ingredients for sour-cream topping. Spread topping over partially cooled pie. Return to the 350-degree oven and bake for another 8 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Serves 8.

Source: Baltimore Sun.

T-Day, minus 2

The year's biggest family dinner is just two days away. Like many people, you may be buying the entire dinner, save for a few things, from a grocery store, deli or other source. This is a great alternative to making the entire meal yourself.

If you are buying dinner fully cooked, consider using fresh herbs or toased nuts to liven up the offerings. Here are some suggestions gleaned from various Internet sources:

Mashed Potatoes
* Heat on the stove and add lower-fat sour cream and freshly chopped chives or
* Stir in roasted garlic cloves and fresh, finely chopped parsley.

Cranberry Sauce
Warm up a can (or two) of whole cranberry sauce and add:
* Some orange zest and 1 to 2 tablespoons of Grand Marnier or
* A few tablespoons of less-sugar raspberry preserves and 1/3 cup of dried cherries or craisins.
Let chill after you make your additions.

Stuffing
* If it's dry, add a little warmed chicken broth.
* Browned crumbled sausage and fold in or
* Add chopped fresh herbs, especially flat-leaf parsley, sage and thyme.

Gravy
Jazz up prepared gravy by sauteing garlic, onion and finely diced mushrooms then adding it in.

Rolls
Make an herbed compound butter to serve with rolls by blending softened butter or margarine with finely choppped herbs (flat leaf-parsley and sage would be a great combo. Stay away from woody rosemary for this.)

Vegetables
Almost all vegetables, especially green beans and brussels sprouts, benefit from fresh chopped herbs and toased pecans.

Pumpkin pie
Place toasted pecans around the edge and add a dollop of cinnamon whipped cream to each slice. If you're using prepared whipped cream from tub or can, sprinkle cinnamon over the cream.