Prepper's Pantry: Thanksgiving

For our American readers, this Thursday is Thanksgiving and I hope that we all have much for which to be thankful. At our house, among the usual blessings of power, clean water, and plenty of food, the nearby wildfire has been extinguished... again. Yes, after it was put out the first time, it reignited. With that worry gone for now, we can focus on Thanksgiving Dinner Prep.

A major part of the Thanksgiving tradition is lots of food. While many families have their own favorite items, there are certain standards that are more common. The following is a by no means exhaustive list of some of the items that can be found on the Thanksgiving dinner table.

Main Dishes

Turkey is the traditional cornerstone dish for Thanksgiving. When choosing size, a good estimation is approximately half a pound per person as a minimum, depending on how much you like leftovers. Butterball has a nifty turkey and stuffing calculator on their website.

Thawing options from the USDA

Since turkey is generally sold frozen, it's recommended to start thawing the turkey a day or more ahead of time. While the USDA suggests three ways (refrigerator, cold water, and microwave), other sources only list the first two. The amount of time required for thawing will depend on the method used and the size of the turkey.

Thawing Times

When cooking a turkey, a good rule of thumb is 13 minutes per pound at 350° F for unstuffed (about 3 hours for a 12 to 14 pound turkey), or 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey. We layer bacon across the top of ours, because bacon makes everything better.

Turkey ready to go into the oven

Ham is another traditional Thanksgiving food and can be prepared many ways. Pre-cooked spiral cut hams seem to be the most common these days, and they need only to be heated before serving.

Beef Brisket is a perennial favorite at any time, and has become more popular at Thanksgiving in recent years. There are a near infinite number of ways to prepare this dish.

Sides

As regular readers know, I like to bake. For Thanksgiving, I usually make one of my favorites, potato rolls are one of my favorites. This is the recipe I use.

Potato Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 cup lukewarm potato water*
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 3 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose Flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, very soft
• 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

*Water in which you've boiled potatoes. If you don't have potato water, use a scant cup water plus 1/4 cup dried potato flakes.

Directions

1. Whisk together the yeast, egg and potato water.
2. Whisk together the remaining dry ingredients, stirring everything together as best you can. Add the soft butter.
3. Mix and knead everything together until you've made a smooth dough. If you're kneading in a stand mixer, it should take 5 to 7 minutes at second speed, and the dough should barely clean the sides of the bowl, perhaps sticking a bit at the bottom.
4. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise, at room temperature, until it's nearly doubled in bulk. This is usually about an hour, but the rise of yeast bread is always an estimation. It may take longer, so be sure to give it enough time to become quite puffy.
5. While the dough is rising, lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.
6. Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface. Divide it into 16 pieces.
7. Shape each piece into a rough ball by pulling the dough into a very small knot at the bottom, then rolling it under the palm of your hand into a smooth ball.
8. Place rolls in the 9" x 13" pan, spacing them evenly; don't worry if they touch one another.
9. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the rolls to rise till they're very puffy, and have reached out and touched one another, about 1 hour. While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
10. Bake the rolls until they're a deep golden brown on top, and lighter on the sides, 20 to 25 minutes.
11. Remove the rolls from the oven, and after 2 or 3 minutes, carefully transfer them to a rack. They'll be hot and delicate, so be careful.

Potato Rolls

Mashed Potatoes are another staple. While they can be made with potato flakes or another shelf stable option, fresh is better. My Wife makes ours with sour cream instead of milk. We also occasionally add roasted garlic.

Glazed Carrots were a holiday tradition in my family, and I still make them every year. Boil the carrots until they just start to get soft, drain the water and add butter and brown sugar to the still warm pot. Stir until the butter melts and the carrots are evenly coated.

Stuffing and Dressing can cause serious arguments. In general, stuffing is cooked inside the bird, while dressing is cooked on the stovetop or in a casserole. This is another dish with a near-infinite variety.

Dessert

Pumpkin Cheesecake

My Wife made this for the first time shortly after we started dating, and it has been mandatory ever since. This needs to chill overnight, so plan accordingly.

Ingredients

Crust

• 9 whole graham crackers (about 4 ounces), broken
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Filling

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Recipe

For crust:

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350° F.
2. Wrap a double layer of heavy-duty foil around outside of 10-inch diameter springform pan.
3. Combine graham crackers, sugar, and cinnamon in processor. Blend until graham crackers are very finely ground. Drizzle butter over. Using on/off turns, blend until crumbs begin to stick together. Press crumbs onto bottom (not sides) of springform pan.
4. Bake until crust is slightly golden, about 10 minutes.
5. Transfer to rack and cool while preparing filling. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling:

1. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth and fluffy.
2. Beat in eggs 1 at a time.
3. Add pumpkin and remaining ingredients.
4. Beat just until blended.
5. Pour filling into prepared crust.
6. Place springform pan in large roasting pan.
7. Add enough water to come halfway up sides of springform pan.
8. Bake cheesecake until slightly puffed and softly set and top is golden, about 1.5 hours. Transfer springform pan to rack and cool. Cover and refrigerate cake overnight.
9. Using knife, cut around sides of pan to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Cut cheesecake into wedges and serve.

There are many other foods that may be found on the Thanksgiving dinner table, such as cranberry sauce, either home-made or canned, creamed onions, and sweet potatoes. Feel free to comment with some of your favorites.

To all our readers, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.