Thanksgiving Aftermath

It's 9:28 am and I am eating Thanksgiving leftovers.

One of the things I bemoan the night of a Thanksgiving feast is that I cannot fit more into my stomach. I spend most of the night keeping my fullness at maximum capacity, heading to the kitchen for a bite of turkey or a spoonful of mashed potatoes or ambrosia salad every time there is a centimeter of space in me.

Unlike most of the country, we celebrated Thanksgiving last night instead of Thursday. As most of our friends have family elsewhere we all joined culinary forces to create a Friday Feast.

There was turkey, and I'm sorry to say, its the best turkey I've ever had. I'm sorry to say this because it means that I've told my mother her turkey has been dethroned as best turkey. I highly recommend brining your turkey, and I would follow Alton Brown's recipe if you attempt it. The recipe even has a link for the Good Eats episode that shows you how its done and why it works so well. Alton Brown is a culinary icon in my mind.

Mashed potatoes, stuffing (both gluten free and otherwise), and a collection of various vegetable dishes were also a part of dinner. Ambrosia salad, pumpkin whoopie pies, peanut butter ice cream pie, pumpkin pie, and custard tarts were for dessert. While the tarts and pumpkin pie were not gluten free, we had contributed the whoopie pies and peanut butter ice cream pie, so those most definitely were. You can find the pumpkin whoopie pie recipe here. They were delicious! I do however, recommend using a single recipe of filling for two batches of cookies, but that's just me.

The peanut butter ice cream pie recipe comes from a small book my grandmother got for me while I was in Lake Tahoe visiting her last summer. We had ventured to Virginia City, as we typically do, and gone to their old fashioned ice cream parlor to watch them make sweets and treats in their window. A conversation had begun about making ice cream, as my friend that had joined us had brought the ice cream maker attachment for her Kitchen Aid Mixer. My grandmother responded by buying the book for us. Its brilliant!

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Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie (care of Old Fashioned Ice cream Recipes by Bear Wallow Books, page 23)

Ingredients:

• 1 9-inch graham cracker pie crust (make with gluten free graham crackers if desired)
• 1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup chopped peanuts

"Prepare graham cracker crust. In a mixing bowl blend the quart of softened ice cream, the cream whipped to soft peak stage, the peanut butter and half of the chopped peanuts. Pour into pie crust and top with remaining chopped nuts. Freeze pie till firm."

Note: I do not like chunky peanut butter and therefore left out the peanuts. I made up for the volume by putting in a cup of peanut butter instead of a half cup.

Note unrelated to cooking: Also, I put the directions in quotations because of the use of the word "till". Its until, not till, people. Till is not a preposition, it is a noun or a verb: a cash register, a type of sediment, or the act of cultivating land. I distinctly remember editing a professional research paper for engineers that had that word in it. This is why I now own a soap box specifically used for the misuse of the word till.
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Here are some pictures of the pie making process. 

Despite how wonderful the pie was, I think I am most excited for my stuffing recipe. It is a work in progress, but its coming along pretty well.

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Gluten Free Stuffing (adapted from several recipes to the point that I think its officially my own now)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 loaf Pamela's Gluten Free Bread (mix info here) cut into slices or cubes and set out to dry for at least 48 hours
• 1 tablespoon sage
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 large onion chopped in 1/4 inch dice
• 3 celery stalks chopped (halve lengthwise and then slice in 1/4 inch pieces)
• 1 14.5 oz can chicken stock
• 2/3 cup golden raisins
• 2 to 3 small apples chopped
• olive oil (I never measure this, but I would guess it was about a tablespoon overall)

If bread is already cubed, simply toss with sage, thyme, and garlic powder. If it is in slices, break slices into food processor and add spices. pulse until there are both bread crumbs and some larger chunks (about 1in x1in at most). Transfer bread mix to large mixing bowl (I use my giant stainless steel bowl for this to help me avoid making a giant mess)

Heat oil over medium high heat until hot. Add onion and cook until softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with bread, there should be some oil left in the pan.

Preheat over to 325.

Add celery to pan and 1/4 cup chicken stock. While celery is softening, put golden raisins in bowl with the rest of the chicken broth and microwave on high for 1 minute. Allow celery to continue to soften for about 10 minutes in pan, stirring frequently.
Add the broth and raisins and bring to simmer in pan. Simmer for a few minutes to allow raisins to begin to plump up (may not noticeably do so at this time).
Add apple and simmer for another minute or too to soften apple slightly. Pour celery mix over bread and onion and toss everything together. Transfer mix to 9x13 pan.

Bake at 325 for 20minutes uncovered, then cover pan and bake for another 10 minutes.

Note: To be honest, I haven't tried the cubed bread method, and I don't think that half a loaf is enough for a 9x13 pan. Feel free to adjust ingredients as you see fit. I am young and the number of holiday meals that I have contributed to are few. It was still quite delicious.
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This year, I guess I am thankful for a gluten free partner that stands ready at the sink to wash all the dishes I use while baking our contribution to a Thanksgiving feast.

Enjoy your own holiday aftermath!!