Poor poor turkey. Thank you for your nourishment.

We got a jump on the Thanksgiving cooking tonight. Made for a late night, but hopefully we won't be as tied to the kitchen tomorrow. We made some new dishes this year...most found on Pinterest. I can't wait to try them out!

I found a cool rec for Cinnamon and Star Anise Infused Cranberry-Awesome Sauce from a link to this site.
Ready to boil! Gorgeous!

All done...and smelled so yummy!

Make your own...

Ingredients:

1 (12 ounce) bag cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 orange zested and juiced
3 whole star anise (I found this at an Asian market)
2 cinnamon sticks
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir.
2. Once mixture has come to a boil, turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cranberries have cooked down and the sauce has thickened. Stir frequently.
2. Remove from heat and allow the cranberry sauce to cool. The sauce will thicken more as it cools. Serve as a condiment with your favorite thanksgiving dish.

 

The next new dish we made this year is an Apple-sausage stuffing. I have never been a big fan of stuffing, this dish may change my mind.

  Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 4 medium-size tart red apples (such as Rome or Empire), unpeeled, cored, and diced
• 1 7-ounce bag diced mixed dried fruit
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage or 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 10-ounce packages frozen Parmesan garlic bread (such as Pepperidge Farm), thawed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks. When it's brown, add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the dried fruit, sage, and nutmeg. Fold in the bread and add the broth.
2. Lightly butter a 3-quart baking dish or casserole. Spoon in the stuffing. (The stuffing can be made to this point up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
3. Place the stuffing in the oven while the turkey is cooking (or in a preheated 350º F oven) and bake 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden and toasted.

Real simple

We...OK so all the "we's" in this post are not entirely true, most of the cooking was done by my hubby extraordinaire, with a little help from his wife :)
So, We didn't brine the turkey this year, instead we tried the injection method.
The goods simmering!

Jason was excited to inject the turkey. Poor abused bird :(

Turkey Injection Sauce With Honey, Herbs and Spice.

You will need:

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup garlic oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon hot sauce

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 fresh sage leaf

1 bay leaf

1 sprig fresh thyme

Directions:

1 Mix all ingredients in a pot and simmer for five minutes.

2 Cool.

3 Strain cooled sauce.

4 Using an injecttion needle inject liquid into the turkey throughout all the breast and thighs.

5 Making one hole inject 1/3 of the liquid and move needle 1/3 of a turn to inject a 1/3 turn again and inject remaining.

6 (This is so you are not putting holes all over the turkey).

7 2 injections per thigh and 3 per breast should be good.

8 This can be marinaded 1-24 hours before you cook the turkey. Any that oozes out rub gentle over the turkey.

9 Proceed to grill, fry or roast your turkey

Now the desserts!

 

 Vanilla Pecan Pie! Pecan pie meets cheesecake...WHAT?!

Ready to bake!

Looking good...hopefully it tastes good.

You need:

1 refrigerated pie crust (from 15-ounce package)

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

3 eggs, divided

3/4 cup sugar, divided

4 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract, divided

1/2 cup light corn syrup

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups pecan pieces, toasted

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare crust as directed on package for one-crust pie using 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Beat cream cheese, 1 of the eggs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and 2 teaspoons of the vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended and smooth. Spread evenly on bottom of crust. Bake 15 minutes.

2. Beat remaining 2 eggs and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl with wire whisk until smooth. Add corn syrup, butter, remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla and salt; stir until well blended. Sprinkle pecans evenly over baked cream cheese layer. Slowly pour corn syrup mixture over nuts.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until just set in center. Cool completely on wire rack.

 

Pumpkin of course. We just did these from the can...next year we will get a bit more fancy.

 

We are making one more but that will get done tomorrow...stay tuned :)