Picks for Thanksgiving

These are in case you need a last minute recipe to make before the big feast.

Appetizers/Side dishes:

My favorite Thanksgiving dish:

Wild Rice
Buy a box of wild rice mix with spiced, have about 3 cups of rice extra of parboiled rice, 1 large can of mushrooms, 2 tsp cooking oil, 1/2 stick of butter and salt to taste. Measure out how much rice is in the packet by cup in a measuring cup in order to find out how many cups of water you need.  Each cup of rice needs about 1 1/2-2 cups of water but for parboiled go with 1 1/2 cups of water for each cup of rice. Add the rice, spices, water, mushrooms, cooking oil and salt to a large sauce pan. Cook in high heat so the water starts boiling and when the water has boiled down so there's like pockets in the rice, or what I call "eyes," add about 1/2 stick of butter in slices on top, cover with a paper towel and the lid, and bring the temperature down to low-medium say #4. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, but keep checking the rice for when it is cooked through. Serve and enjoy :).

Recipes to check out online:
Check out my cornbread recipe blog post
Hot Artichoke-Spinach Dip
Goat Cheese Spread
Spinach and Gruyère Gratin
Grill some plums with shallots and ginger!
Easy Asparagus
Quick and Simple Broccoli and Cheese
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnut Brown Butter
Pesto-Topped Grilled Summer Squash
Sautéed Mushrooms with Caramelized Shallots
Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing
Bacon Mashed Potatoes
Spiced Carrot Fries
Spicy Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Bacon
Pumpkin and Pecorino Gratin
Maple-Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Redacciones:
- Extra fast: instead of cooking in the oven, wrap each of the sweet potatoes in cling wrap (very sealed) and pierce the plastic with 3 small wholes (a knife or a couple of pokes with a fork or use microwave steaming bags for vegetables. With the cling wrap, place in the microwave and cook the potatoes for about 5 minutes, and check them until they are soft. Then scoop out the insides and discard the skin. Follow the rest of the recipe :).
Polenta
Redacciones:
- Add extra cheese and freshly sautées chanterelles, oyster, or even portabella mushrooms.
- Instead of regular salt, use it with truffle salt!
- Add chopped bell peppers, onions, shallots, carrots.
- Place it in a loaf pan, let it cool, then slice it and pan fry it! You can make all the shapes you want.


Main dish
Turkey
So, if you need something last minute for the turkey, this is what I used to do! Buy a turkey breast (like butterball), defrost it, early the morning, poke it with a knife and leave it marinating for about 1-2 hours.  Cook it in the microwave I believe each side (4) for about  35 minutes on low - the instructions are on the tag, and yes, it will come out with a nice golden crust. I've done this at least 3 times for Thanksgiving already and the turkey breast came out super juicy and flavorful. Add white wine, mustard, honey, thym, salt, pepper, paprika, ground ginger. curcuma as suggestions for spices. You can even make small slits with a knife and push in vegetables like carrots, green beans, olives, capers, even chipotle!

Pork loin
This was one of my favorite main dishes to make while I was in New Orleans. Along with the turkey breast, I would pick up a pre-marinated pork loin in the grocery store and a nice amount of fresh (REAL) crab meat. Follow the cooking instructions on the pork loin packet and when it's almost done, saute the crab meat with shallows, white wine, butter, and salt. Serve the pork loin sliced with the crab drizzled on top. The beauty of this combination is that the pork loin pieces then absorb the juices of the crab. The both times I've made it, not one complained.

For the vegetarians:
Wild Rice-Stuffed Squash
Redacciones:
- Try it with Pattypan squash!

Dessert:
Pecan Cheesecake Pie
The twist on pecan pie! One of my favorite Nola treats from Tee Eva's (5201 Magazine St. NoLa  70115) is amazing for Thanksgiving. This recipe is based on the Pecan Cheesecake Pie by Bake or Break. The recipe is in the link, so I will add my redacciones.

Redacciones:
- Switch the topping to a crumble with pecans and caramel/balsamic creme/dulce de leche/creme de marrons/peanut butter.
- Add an extra yolk for extra creamy cheesecake filling.
- Make the crust from scratch with cinnamon cookies and pecans.
- I'm going to go with is on a whim but add some caramelized bacon. Yes, I said it, BACON. Perhaps lardons..
- Instead of cheesecake filling, make it a custardy fresh pumpkin pie filling.

Pecan Pie
Pumpkin creme brulée
Salted Caramel Bread Pudding with Caramelized Apples

For those who absolutely need chocolate in their Thanksgiving:
Gooey Milk Chocolate, Coffee and Toffee Butter Cake
Check out my nutella cake recipe
Chocolate Bourbon Pie
Croissant and Chocolate Bread Pudding


Want to know how to make some Thanksgiving things? Here you go!
How to make pumpkin purée
Pie Crust by Bake or Break