In the spirit of the holiday season, how about posting your favorite recipes and cooking tips pertaining to fall and Thanksgiving? For this thread, please post your best recommendations. With the help of our Mod friends, maybe we can make this a sticky for reference as the Thanksgiving holiday is approaching for Orgers in the U.S. Thanks very much!

STUFFED MEATLOAF PINWHEELS

Makes 12 slices; serves 6

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 egg

3/4 c. dried bread crumbs

1/2 onion, chopped fine

1 6-oz. box stuffing (any flavor)

1 10 3/4-oz. can condensed Cream of Mushroom soup

3 T. Worcestershire sauce

2 T. catsup

2 T. prepared yellow mustard

Begin by making your favorite meatloaf recipe using the 1-pound of ground beef. The suggestion here is to include the egg and bread crumbs as a binder and the onion for flavor. You can really use any meatloaf recipe you like, as long as the result is a pound. Take the raw meatloaf and spread it onto a sheet of waxed paper into a rectangle shape that is no thinner than 1/2 inch. Use your hands to really shape it into an even-edged rectangle.

You can use already prepared stuffing from your Thanksgiving leftovers, or prepare a box on the stove according to the package directions. Let it cool once it is made. Then, carefully spread the stuffing onto the raw meatloaf rectangle. Again, use your hands to shape and pat-down the stuffing onto the meatloaf.

Use the waxed paper to help you tightly roll the meat/stuffing rectangle from the shortest end. This will give you more rotations in your pinwheels when sliced. Use the waxed paper "ends" to also compact the ends of the meatloaf/stuffing log. If your meatloaf/stuffing mixture is too loose, you can freeze it for up to an hour in the wax paper to make it more firm once it is rolled-up before slicing.

Lightly spray a 13" x 9" baking pan (like one you'd make brownies in, not cookies on) with cooking spray and preheat your oven to 350-degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of mushroom soup (not diluted with water or milk), Worcestershire sauce, catsup, and mustard. This will create a tangy gravy.

Slice your meatloaf/stuffing log into 12 even slices. It works great if you cut it while having the seam-side "up." To get 12 even slices, cut the log in half first, then cut the remaining two sections each into halves - now you have 4 sections. Cut each of these 4 sections into 3 slices - leaving you with 12 even slices. Place the slices in the prepared baking pan. Top each slice with a tablespoon of the tangy gravy mixture and spread with a spoon. Bake the pinwheels in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes or so before removing from the pan and serve.

I have an easy one for any of you unfamiliar with Plantains.

As a side dish; fried sweet plaintain cannot be beat!

They're super-easy to make, and go well with Thanksgiving dinner.


You buy some ripe plantains at your nearest market or produce shop that sells "ethnic" foods.

Make sure that they are nice an yellow with black spots. That's a sure sign that they are nice and ripe.


Then you peel them (need to score the skin with a knife first, it's much tougher than a banana), and then slice them up. You can do either thick or thin slices.
For Thanksgiving, I would go with long, thick slices.



Then heat up some oil in a frying pan, nice and hot, and fry - making sure that they don't overlap or they will stick to each other.




and fry them until golden and the edges begin to blacken. Some people baste them with honey or sprinkle them with sugar. I like them just the way they are myself.





ENJOY!!!!

Smoking Turkey on the Grill

You can create a delicious smoked turkey right on your grill, without the steps of brining. I did this yesterday on a propane gas grill and it was an easy process. The end result was a tasty turkey that was amazingly moist and juicy, and had a delicious wood-smoke flavor. (You can omit the wood smoking and still have a delicious grilled turkey.)

I used a thawed 13-lb. turkey. You will need a smoker box - with wood chips. I used apple tree chips. Begin by putting a baking sheet (like one you use for cookies) under the grate in the center of your grill. Preheat the grill by turning on all the burners to "high." When your grill reaches 300-325 degrees, turn the center burner to "off" and turn-down the side burners to keep the grill in the 300-325 degree range.

Meanwhile, prepare your turkey by removing the tress holding the legs together and removing the giblets and neck from inside the cavity. Wash and dry the bird inside and out. Make a butter rub by combining 1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick) with 2 teaspoons fresh minced sage, 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of fresh black pepper, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, 3 teaspoons of dried chopped parsley, and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Rub this butter mixture throughout the inside cavity of the turkey; then, as you rub the outside, carefully lift the skin from the flesh around the neck and rear areas. Rub the butter mixture between the skin and breast areas and through the legs. Your turkey should be well-covered with the butter mixture, so don't forget the crevices around the wings and legs. (From my picture, you can see the rub where it clumped together - like pesto on the turkey.)

Soak the wood chips you will be using for at least 20-minutes. You can make "extra" smoking packets using foil pockets, if desired. Put the smoking box and optional packets on the sides of the grill - not the center, where you will place the turkey. (In my picture, I have a foil packet on the left and the smoker box on the right of the bird.)

Put the turkey breast-side "up" on a sturdy wire baking rack, sprayed well with non-stick cooking spray. Ones for roast are great to use! This will keep your turkey off the grates of the grill yet still expose it to the heat and allow for the juices to drip off and be collected on the baking sheet you put under the grates of your grill. Put the turkey that is set on your wire baking rack on the center of your grill. I put foil pieces over the ends of the legs and wing pieces to prevent them from browning too quickly. You can also put foil over the top of the breast if you should notice the turkey browing too quickly.

Monitor the grill to be sure the temperature never goes over 350-degrees. After two hours, you can open the grill and see how the bird is doing. Use a good meat thermometer to check the temperature of the turkey as an indicator of when it is ready. You want your white meat (like the breast) to be at least 165-degrees. Dark meat, like the thigh/legs to be 170-degrees. You will need to check all "4-corners" of the bird - both left and right sides and the front and back to make sure you get consistent readings. When all 4 zones are at least 165-degrees, your turkey is done and ready!

With towels you don't mind getting soiled, or layers of paper towels, use both hands to grasp the hot turkey and move it to a plate/platter/pan to bring into the house. Cover it with foil and let it "rest" for 30 minutes before carving. This will also allow it to maintain its moisture. Remember that a good rule of thumb is that juices should run clear too. Notice there was no "stuffing" the turkey with stuffing - as you really want air to circulate in and out of the bird while it's cooking. There is also no basting - as the butter rub takes care of the need to apply juices. In fact, it's the baking powder in the rub that helps brown the turkey! This method of grilling the turkey allows you to free-up your oven for all the other things you might be making: stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, pies, etc. I put the turkey on the grill at 12:30 and by 4:00, it was ready to carve and serve. Enjoy!

[Edited 11/23/14 16:20pm]

Thanks to what I remember from my Ex, the internet, and lots of advice from Paintedlady...I cooked my first turkey this Thanksgiving, and it was a hit! Everyone said it tasted great.



The top looks weird because shortly before taking this pic, we ripped off the bacon that had cooked on top to provide additional goodness.


This morning, for "Leftovers Brunch" I took the leftover mashed potatoes and made "pancakes" out of it...

Looks Great PJ...

My mashed potatoes are a big hit every year.

10 lbs of russet potatoes, cut and boiled...place in a turkey disposable pan.

1 1/2 lbs of chopped fried up bacon.

4 cans of Campbells Cream of Mushroom soup.

2 sticks of butter

1 lbs of Sour Cream

1/4 - 1/2 cup of milk, depending on thickness of potatoes

1 finely chopped green onion.

Salt n pepper to taste.

MASH, MASH, MASH

I went so simple this year, I should be ashamed, but I'm not. I just took a nice long piece of salmon fillet, marinated it in brown sugar, lemon zest and kosher salt for a bit, put it under the oven broil for a few, wah lah, central course done. No turkey this year at all. I did make cranberry sauce, so that was a hint of tradition.