For Pumpkin Mousse:2 cups roasted pumpkin1/2 cup maple syrup 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 teaspoon ginger1 envelope Knox gelatin1 cup whipping cream1/4 cup sour cream
Pulse pumpkin flesh in blender with maple syrup, cinnamon and ginger. Sprinkle gelatin over 1 tablespoon whipping cream and let sit 5 minutes.Beat whipping cream until peaks form. Heat up gelatin mixture in pan of water over medium heat until dissolved. Pour into blender and pulse with pumpkin. Add whipping cream to blender. Pulse until just combined.Spoon pumpkin-whipped cream mixture into reserved pumpkin shell. Refrigerate overnight. Serve in ice cream dishes alone or with crumbled gingersnap cookies on top.
For Cran-Applesauce:
1 12 oz bag cranberries
1 lb apples, cored, peeled and chopped
1 cup sugar (taste, and add more if necessary)
1 cup apple cider
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 cinnamon stick
1/3 cup (about 2 ounces) minced crystallized ginger
Combine apples, cranberries, sugar, apple cider, cinnamon stick, and lemon zest in medium sauce pot.
Cook over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until apples have softened and cranberries burst open, stirring frequently.
Discard the cinnamon stick & add more sugar to taste if too tart. Stir in chopped candied ginger.
For Mashed Sweet Potatoes:
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
1/4 cup evaporated skim milk
1/4 cup low sodium chicken stock
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Pepper to tasteCook sweet potatoes in boiling water until tender. Let cool slightly; peel. Mash to desired consistency with maple syrup, cinnamon, milk and chicken stock. Add pepper if you like.
Serve with Turkey with Cashew-Mole. Drizzle some extra mole sauce over potatoes for a sweet and spicy combination.
This mole sauce takes a bit of effort, but it can be made a few days ahead, on Monday, if you are making it for Thanksgiving. If you cannot eat nuts or prefer to leave them out, that's okay-mole sauce varies by each cook's personal preferences and by ingredients available regionally.
For Mole:
2 medium dried ancho chiles, seeded and membranes removed
3-4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 chipotles in adobo, seeded and diced
4 heads garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 large ripe (black) plantain, cooked
3/4 cup dry roasted, unsalted cashews
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon roasted peanuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon cumin
3-4 squares dark chocolate
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat and toast the dried chiles until they begin to change color, 15 seconds/side. DO NOT burn them, that will make your mole taste bitter. (If nervous about the skillet heat, my advice is to start at a lower temp and go slow, testing with 1 chile and having an extra 0n hand...chances are you would buy a bag of them anyways, and the comfort of knowing one mistake will not doom the dish is worth it, trust me!)
Tranfer toasted chiles to a large pot and add 1 cup broth and bring to a simmer. Cook about 20-25 minutes this way to rehydrate the chiles, stirring occasionally. Strain liquid and reserve. Chop chiles.
Heat up 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat in large saute pan. Add onions and garlic, stirring occasionally so that garlic does not burn (if browning, take pan off burner, turn heat to medium and return pan to burner 1 minute later). Cook 5-7 minutes, until onion is tender. Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Let cook 15 minutes.
Pour the mixture into a blender or food processor along with the cooked plantains, cashews, sesame seeds, peanuts, bread, drained chipotles and spices. Add 1 1/2 cups broth and blend until smooth. Stop blending to stir occasionally and add extra chicken broth if needed to make this smooth. Press the mixture through a sieve into a bowl.
In large sauce pot, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Add tomato-chile sauce and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes (you will probably need to turn heat to medium-low at this point). Melt chocolate squares into sauce (use 4 for a stronger chocolate flavor). Simmer for 35-45 minutes, stirring regularly. If sauce thickens too much, add extra chicken broth to thin to desired consistency.
For Turkey:
1 12 lb turkey (defrost in refrigerator 2-3 of days in advance
1 cup mole
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 cups chicken stock
Remove neck/any gizzards or random parts that come with turkey. Rinse turkey and pat dry. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper and transfer to roasting pan. Spread 3/4 cup mole sauce over skin and 1/2 inside turkey cavity. Cover turkey with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (you can do this a few hours before cooking, but who wants to get up that early?).
Arrange oven rack in lowest position and preheat oven to 450°F. Add stuffing to turkey cavity, if using. Baste turkey with a little butter and tuck wings under breasts and tie together legs if using twine. Place in large baking dish.
Roast turkey 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F, cover turkey loosely with foil, and continue roasting 45 minutes more. Remove foil, add 1/4 cup stock to pan, and continue to roast, basting with pan juices every 30 minutes, 1 1/2 hours more.
Increase oven temperature to 450°F, rotate turkey pan 180° in oven to ensure even cooking, and add 1/4 cup stock to pan.
Roast turkey, basting occasionally until a instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh (do not touch the bone!) registers 170°F, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Remove turkey from oven and insert instant-read thermometer into middle of stuffing. If temperature does not register 170, remove stuffing from bird, place turkey back in backing dish and put stuffing in cooking dish and continue roasting until both are at the required temperature.
Let turkey rest 20-30 minutes before carving. Heat remaining mole sauce and put in a gravy dish.
Serve slices of turkey alongside mashed sweet potatoes and stuffing. Drizzle plate with mole.
Happy Eating!
Note: a stuffed 12 lb turkey will probably take 3 1/2-4 hours to cook, if not using stuffing, expect a total cooking time closer to 3 hours.
Ingredients:
A medium sized pumpkin...a 2 pound pumpkin should make about 2 cups of roasted pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar (I like to use brown sugar for a richer flavor)
Cinnamon
Ginger
Molasses
Dash Salt
1 1/3 cups whole milk or evaporated skim milk
3 eggs
A pie shell (you can buy one or use a recipe on my site)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice pumpkin in half vertically (microwaving for a few minutes will make cutting easier...just make sure you stab it once or twice to avoid a pumpkin microwave bomb). Scoop out seeds and pulpy stuff, scraping with a spoon until you see solid pumpkin flesh. Lay pumpkin halves skin-side down on roasting pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and ginger. Sprinkle some water on top of pumpkin and in pan. Roast for about an hour to 1 1/2 hours, test with knife to see if done. If knife slides in easily, it can be taken out of the oven.
Turn oven down to 350 degrees.
After letting pumpkin cool, peel skin from pumpkin and cut pumpkin into chunks. Blend the pumpkin chunks, adding a little milk if necessary. Add 2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger. Add milk, 2 teaspoons molasses and eggs and beat lightly until ingredients are incorporated. Pour mixture into prepared pie crust. Cook for about an hour or until knife comes out clean. Let cool on cookie rack, then cover and refrigerate until serving
1 turkey
3 tablespoons of fresh minced rosemary
8 cloves chopped garlic (depending on size of bird)
8 ounces thinly sliced, chopped prosciutto
Olive oil
3 whole heads garlic, each cut in half horizontally
Canned chicken broth
Rinse turkey with cool water. Pat bird dry. Run hands under skin, separating skin from breast and thighs. (This is where you might want to buy the bird a drink first...)
Carefully arrange half of prosciutto, rosemary and all of minced garlic under skin over breast and thighs. Rub remaining rosemary and prosciutto inside cavity of bird and leave inside for roasting.
Place bird in roasting pan. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Rub outside of bird with oil. Season with pepper. Place 1 head garlic in cavity of bird. Place 2 heads of garlic in roasting pan. Tie bird legs together.
Roast 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Continue roasting bird until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 175°F, basting occasionally with chicken broth, about 3 hours. The white meat in the breast should be 160°F to 165°F. If you don't have a meat thermometer, spear the breast with a knife. The turkey juices should be clear, not pink.
Transfer to platter. Surround with roasted garlic from cavity. Tent bird with foil until serving.
