Things that are awesome: getting a brand new stove
(Does anyone else read the 1,000 Awesome Things blog? It’s pretty awesome.)
Things that are less awesome: getting a brand new stove because your stove died the night before you’re supposed to cook and host your very first Thanksgiving for your parents and your boyfriend’s parents.
My kitchen has undergone some major upgrades in the last week. It started with a plan to refinish my countertops using Rustoleum’s countertop coating product. We had to pull out the stove to do the counter tops (which look pretty great, by the way), and when we put it back in place and powered it back up Friday afternoon, the oven door locked. The stove top still worked, but I was completely locked out of the oven! This was not good the day before I was supposed to be cooking Thanksgiving dinner part II. The boyfriend tried to fix it, but didn’t get very far since I own about two tools. My dad came over, and the two of them worked out what was wrong. It could have been fixed, but since the stove was probably older than I am and this is the second time it’s broken in less than a year, we decided stove shopping was the best bet.
I actually ended up getting a pretty good deal at Lowe’s (after all, it was still Black Friday.) Thanks to their free delivery, haul away, and installation and some hard work by the dad and boyfriend in modifying the counter and black splash*, I had my brand-spankin new stove by Sunday afternoon. In the meantime, I hosted Thanksgiving at my parent’s house.
And I’m happy to report that despite the stove debacle, my first Thanksgiving was a huge success! The boyfriend and I executed a delicious meal and everyone enjoyed the food and conversation. While this wasn’t the first time my parents and the boyfriend’s parents had met, it was the first time they were meeting in a place that would allow for conversation. (Their first official meeting was at a very large, very loud benefit at a bar.) Every one of the recipes I made has been added to my recipe files to make again. And since there are plenty of holidays left, here’s the awesome menu rundown for you.
Smoke Roasted Turkey with Pomegranate Thyme Glaze from the November issue of Cooking Light. I promise you this was the best turkey I’ve ever had. We used cherry woodchips, and the flavor was absolutely phenominal.
Old-Fashioned Cranberry Sauce also from the November Cooking Light. I made their Cran-Apple variation by chopping up a pink lady apple. Everyone thought it was a bit tart, but I loved it. If you’re not a fan of tart, I would suggest more sugar or possibly skipping the wine.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts from Cassie at Back to Her Roots. Even my mom, who hates Brussels sprouts, managed to stomach some of these. Let’s face it, bacon makes everything better.
Whole Wheat Garlic Knots also from Cassie. I used my mom’s bread machine to make the dough for these.
Pumpkin Pie from the Brown-Eyed Baker. I used her pie crust recipe for my pumpkin pie last year and it was great. This year I went the canned pumpkin route so I followed her pie recipe as well. Just be warned, I ended up with enough filling for two pies.
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes: There’s no real recipe here: roast two heads of garlic, boil some baby red potatoes, toss the cooked potatoes and garlic into a bowl with some milk and mash with a potato masher, hand mixer, or stand mixer. The garlic gave them so much flavor butter and gravy were total unnecessary.
Dad’s Stuffing
This is the go-to stuffing mix in my family. The type of stuffing mix is up to you. I went with the Trader Joe’s mix. Personally, I think it’s really the sausage that gives it that little sumthin’-sumthin’.
Serving Size: ½ cup | Yields: 8 servings
View and Print on Recipage
Ingredients
1 lb pork sausage
1 – 12oz package stuffing mix
1 large onion, diced
4 – 5 celery stalks, chopped
2 – 3 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon dried, ground sage
1 tablespoon butter, divided into 4 pats
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375
- Cook sausage in a large skillet with onions, celery, and sage. Break up and brown the sausage as you would with ground beef. Drain grease and pat with paper towels to remove excess grease.
- In a large bowl, combine sausage mixture and stuffing mix. Add chicken broth a half cup at a time and mix until the stuffing mix reaches a slightly mushy consistency.
Note: You want the stuffing mix to be thoroughly soaked without totally disintegrating - Pour into casserole dish, top with butter and bake for approximately 45 minutes until the top begins to brown.
I suggest making any or all of these things for Christmas or New Years or Hannakuh or because you’ve got a new stove or just because it’s the holiday season and all these foods are awesome.
*my previous stove was a drop-in which seemed to average a minimum of $500 more than a freestanding range. I wasn’t looking to spend over a grand on a new stove so we modified accordingly.
Girl Can 