Five-course Thanksgiving dinner made easy, affordable

To ye of little faith, who think a five-dish Thanksgiving meal cannot be prepared in 90 minutes for $25, this week is for you. Because this is the last issue of our humble paper before Thanksgiving, I thought I'd try to give you all some great recipes to try—either to cook with friends or to bring home to your families. As you may have guessed, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year, as it has become a day that symbolizes the ways food can bring people together. The menu I choose is ambitious, so do not feel compelled to make it all in one session, but instead take the dishes that appeal to you most and give them a try.

Cooking parts of a turkey—in this case the breast, but also wings and legs—is a great time saver when you don't have five hours to spare to cook a 20-pound bird. I'm a big fan of mixing savory with sweet, and I love the brown crust that honey and balsamic vinegar give to the turkey.
 

The recipe I provide for the mashed potatoes would not be found in a low-calorie or Weight Watchers cookbook, but you should feel free to substitute healthier ingredients in the same proportions. If you want to take issue with the calorie count of this meal, be my guest, but I promise, it could be worse (Paula Deen recently did an entire show on how to prepare a "deep-fried Thanksgiving.") In recent weeks, I've tried to match the tasty with the wholesome, but that's simply not the way I like to enjoy this special Thursday in November.

The stuffing I made is a relatively bare-bones version; had I more dollars in the budget, I may have incorporated cornbread, sausage, pomegranate, sweet potatoes or other root vegetables. As is the case with every recipe—but especially this stuffing—treat it as a skeleton, a minor scale with which to improvise. And, of course, if you are cooking a full bird, be sure to give the stuffing its full due and stuff it inside the turkey, making sure to first cook any meat or other raw components.

But I turn now to the Brussels sprouts and cranberry sauce, which I consider (surprisingly) to be the most interesting components of this meal, or at least the ones you should pay special attention to. I cannot tell you how many people I've had the following conversation with:

Unbeliever: I hate Brussels sprouts.

Me: Oh? Try these.

(Un)believer: Oh, wow. I like these Brussels sprouts.

Forget what you remember from your childhood. Brussels sprouts—when roasted, not steamed—are absolutely delicious (and super good for you), and this recipe will make a believer out of anyone. As for the cranberry sauce, you should make it because when you do, you'll laugh at how simple it was, at how much better it tastes than the canned stuff, and you might even fall asleep ashamed by how long you've resisted making your own.

As you may have noticed, I did stretch the budget to $25 this week, and I hope you'll excuse me. Five dollars per person, for five dishes, for my favorite eating day of the year still seems like a pretty good deal. You'll also notice that I relied a bit more heavily on my pantry this week (balsamic vinegar, honey, an orange, some leftover cheese), so I thought I'd at least give full disclosure, lest you compare my recipes to my shopping list and call me a cheat. And with that, happy turkey (or tofurkey).

Grocery List

Celery $1.69
Cranberries $2.49
Potatoes $2.25
Scallions $0.69
Onions $0.42
Parsnip $0.60
1/2 and 1/2 $0.99
Carrots $1.29
Brussels Sprouts $1.97
Granny Smith Apple $0.50
Yesterday's Bread $1.99
Vegetable Stock $2.99
Turkey Breast $7.07

Total $24.94

Spice-Rubbed Turkey with Balsamic Honey Glaze and Pan Gravy

1 boneless, skin-on turkey breast (approximately 2 lbs).

1 t. chili powder
1 t. garlic power
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. black pepper
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. honey
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
2 T flour
3 c. vegetable, chicken, or turkey stock

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

2. In a small bowl, mix together the chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cinnamon (you can add any of your other favorites – cumin, nutmeg, curry – to the mix if you like).

3. On a clean surface, rub the spice mixture onto all sides of the turkey breast, trying to work it deep into the flesh.

4. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook the turkey, skin-side-down for 4-5 minutes, until it is golden brown. Turn over and cook for another 3 minutes.

5. In another small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar and the honey.

6. Transfer the turkey breast to an oven safe dish, brush 1/4 of the glaze onto it, and finish cooking it in the oven. Depending on the thickness, it may take anywhere from 15-25 minutes to fully cook through. Because you will end up slicing the turkey breast, you needn't worry about cutting into it to make sure its done.

7. Periodically – every five minutes or so – brush more of the glaze onto the turkey, being sure to use it all.

8. Once the turkey is in the oven, pour 1/2 c. of the stock into the hot pan you cooked it in to deglaze it (un-stick all the tasty brown bits). Remove this liquid and set aside.

9. Melt the butter over low heat in the same pan and add the flour. When they are well combined and it becomes a light brown color (known as a roux), pour in the remaining stock and the reserved juices.

10. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and turn then turn the heat to low. Taste and add salt, if necessary. Congratulations – you've just made gravy.

11. When the turkey is fully cooked, remove it from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing it into thin pieces and serving.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

3 lbs. Yukon Gold (yellow) Potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 head garlic
1 T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 T butter
1 c. 1/2 and 1/2
3 T sour cream
2 T thinly sliced green onions

1. Cut the top off the head of garlic, exposing all of the individual cloves, but leaving the bottom in tact

2. Place the garlic on a small piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and bundle the foil around it.

3. Roast the garlic for about 40 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Remove it and let cool.

4. While the garlic is roasting, boil the potatoes until they are fork tender (about 15-20 minutes). Drain well and return to their pot.

5. When the garlic has cooled, you can easily remove out the roasted garlic from its skin by holding the base of the head and squeezing. Add all of the roasted garlic to the potatoes.

6. Pour in the butter, 1/2 and 1/2 and sour cream. With a potato masher or heavy spatula, mix the potatoes until they've reached the desire consistency (adjusting by adding more liquid if necessary). Add salt and taste. These potatoes may require more salt than you initially think.

7. Add the green onions and stir. Serve with the pan gravy from the turkey.

Sourdough Apple Stuffing

1 loaf stale sourdough bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (5-6 cups of cut bread)
2 T olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 parsnip, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 granny smith apple, chopped
2 T Italian Seasoning
1 c. vegetable stock
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
3 T parmesan cheese (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the bread cubes onto a sheet tray and toast for 5-7 minutes in a 350 degree oven, until they just begin to crisp.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and sauté 5-7 minutes, until they just begin to soften.

3. Add the carrots, parsnip and celery and sauté 5 minutes more.

4. Add the apple and sauté another minute.

5. Salt this mixture well, add the Italian seasoning and stir to combine.

6. Add the bread, stir well, and cook for another two minutes.

7. Add the stock and cook for another few minutes, until all the liquid has been soaked up by the bread.

8. Transfer the stuffing into a baking dish – roughly a 9x13 pan.

9. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Pour this over the stuffing in the pan and mix well. Top with the parmesan cheese, if you'd like.

10. Cook the stuffing, covered with foil, for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the foil, turn the heat to 375 degrees and cook for 10 minutes more. You can also broil the top at the very end if you prefer a crispier stuffing.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

2 lbs. brussel sprouts, halved lengthwise
1/4 c. olive oil
1 T garlic power
2 T salt
2 t. pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the halved Brussels sprouts with the olive oil, garlic powder, pepper and salt, being sure that it is all well-distributed.

3. Arrange the Brussels sprouts, cut side up, on a sheet tray.

4. Roast until they are golden brown and tender, about 20 minutes. If, for some reason, they do not brown but are cooked through, you can put the broiler on for about 30 seconds at the end of cooking. Note: These are also delicious with 2 T of balsamic vinegar mixed in.

Cranberry Sauce

1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. water
1 orange (optional—if you don't use, change it to 1 c. water)

1. Zest (or grate on the smallest side of a grater) the skin of the orange into a bowl, being careful not to include the bitter, pithy white part. Squeeze the juice of the orange into the same bowl.

2. In a small saucepan, bring the cranberries, sugar, water, and orange zest and juice to a boil.

3. Cook, stirring frequently until all of the berries burst (7-10 minutes).

Remove from heat and cool. The mixture will thicken significantly, once it cools.