Indulge Decor Blog

TURKEY DAY FEAST RECIPES

C:

   

'I Just Quit Stirrin' When The Tastin's Good' - quote by Helen Dickerson, chief chef Chalfonte Hotel

As promised, I would like to share some of my favorite tried-and-true Turkey Day recipes with you. Word of warning, these recipes are not for the weak of stomach. You will be asked, upon occasion, to use the entire stick of butter and add another cup of sugar. You need to mentally prepare yourself that Turkey Day is once a year and you can resume your rigid, lifeless way of dieting the other 364 days a year. These recipes call for strength, denial and a lot of butter and sugar!

Every year, I pull several of my Turkey Day recipes from my all time favorite cookbook -

'I Just Quit Stirrin' When The Tastin's Good' - second edition 

Chief Chef at the Chalfonte Hotel - and my personal foodie guru.

Helen Dickerson - Miss Helen

1909 - 1990

Chalfonte Candied Sweet Potatoes

6 medium cooked sweet potatoes

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup pineapple juice

2 tbs. brown sugar

1 tbs. Karo syrup

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbs. butter

Place potatoes in 2 quart casserole. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over potatoes. Dot with butter. Bake in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly. (Serves 6 to 8) 

A.H. (chef/guest) Tip - Sprinkle chopped pecans on the bottom of casserole dish for crunchy surprise.

Suggested Serving Pieces - oven to table

Charme rattan / pyrex dishes- 2 qt. and 4 qt.

 

Martha's Mashed Potatoes

2 1/2 lbs. of yellow potatoes. Washed, peeled, and cut into quarters.

8 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese - cut into pieces (You will be tempted to buy the reduced fat, but try not to.)

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Boil potatoes until soft (approximately 30 minutes). Drain and mash. While hot, add - butter, cream cheese, and heavy cream. Whip until smooth.

(Martha says - serves 16. But, at my table - serves 7 guests and my Father)

Now we understand a little bit better about Martha and her hips. Who invents recipes like that, and how many rigorous tastings did she have to endure before she perfected her mashed potatoes recipe?

  

Fresh Cranberries Sauce

1 c. water

1 c. sugar

12 oz. fresh cranberries

juice from 1 orange

Bring water, juice, and sugar to a boil. Sprinkle in cranberries. Boil rapidly until berries pop. (about 5 minutes) Turn off heat and let stand. Cool for an hour, or so. Refrigerate for several hours.

(Serves 4)

C. (chef) Tip - I double this recipe. (4 servings for my Dad, 4 servings split between everyone else. Tee hee.  My Father considers Cranberry Sauce the ketchup of Thanksgiving.) 

Chalfonte Buttermilk Biscuits

Mix: 2 cups all purpose flour, 2 tsp. of baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a pinch of sugar.

Blend: 4 tbs. Crisco into dry mixture until well mixed.

Add: Gradually, 3/4 cup buttermilk until dough is manageable. Do not make too sticky.

Roll: On floured board until dough is 1/4" thick. Cut out biscuits about the size of a silver dollar.

Bake: In greased pan (Pam) at 400 degrees until brown on top - approximately 20 minutes.

(Makes 20 biscuits - serves 7 guests 2 each, and my father eats the remaining 6.)

   

Angeline's Grammie's Farm Gravy

A.D.  - This is my Grandmother Angeline's  gravy recipe.  It looks easy, but since Grammie never measured, I'm never quite sure on the quantities.  It works because Issac always cooks a richly flavorful turkey (usually with rosemary) and the gravy utilizes the turkey drippings.

3 - 4 Tbsp Flour

Cold Water

Mashed Potato Water

Turkey Drippings

Salt/Pepper

Mix:  Flour and cold water into a roux.

Stir:  Roux into Turkey drippings

Add:  Mashed Potato Water

Finish:  Salt & Pepper to taste

"This is a courageous recipe. No quantities defined, no limit on how much or how little to add or to stir. I recommend a glass of wine while preparing. Wine can also be added to gravy," Angeline cautions.

  

One gravy boat for A. D.'s Grammie's Farm Gravy, one gravy boat for secret backup gravy hidden away in fridge.
   

    Turkey Day Hostess Tip: Mini bar set up in kitchen for hostess (me) and chefs/guests. Spirits can provide great liquid courage while cooking and fun verbal folly when things start to heat up, or burn. (Every year, and I mean, every - I burn the first round of biscuits. So now, every year, the guest chefs tease - "What time do we start burning the biscuits?"  Still not funny.

My mini bar.

Turkey Day Hostess Tip: If your guest's mouths are continuously full of food, they have less opportunities to say something inappropriate or insulting at the dinner table.

Turkey Day Hostess Tip: I know you've been to the grocery store at least three times already, but don't forget to buy yourself something to eat for dinner Wednesday night and breakfast Thursday morning. Every year, my husband and I forget to buy regular food to eat during the Turkey Day Feast preparation. And, if you are going to over indulge like my family and friends due at Turkey Day, it's best to have a solid base in your stomach first - say eggs, bacon, those delicious buttermilk biscuits, and some fresh orange juice.

Gobble, Gobble.

P.S. I'm thinking maroon for one of my Turkey Day centerpieces.

 

Pretty Pansies: Cost - $10, which makes them even more charme!

I'm No Martha Stewart

C:

I feel like this is a good place to stop and explain myself a little. I feel as though many of you either have or are creating a false impression of me. The other day a lovely customer (and, one of my favorites) commented in frustration to me, "I just don't have it together this year - something is just off. I read your blog and I shop at your store - How do you do it? How do you do everything so perfectly, and, the worst part is - You make it look so easy?" So, let's just nip that kind of silly projection in the bud (or is it butt?) The definition of projection is attributing your own repressed thoughts to someone else. For those of you who don't understand 80's psychobabble that means basically you think that everybody else's life is a bowl of cherries.

Yes, I do have a lot going on. The two stores are very busy this time of year but as we like to say down here in Texas - 'It's not my first rodeo.' This year will be my eleventh Christmas at Indulge. How do I do it? How do I keep it all together? How do I make it all look so easy? Well, you know at the end of the kid's books when the wise old guy tells the likable main character "You always held the answer within." (Or, some baloney like that.) Well, you do hold the answer within, and it's actually something you can do yourself. The answer is make a list.

MAKE A LIST.

Every single morning when I wake up, I sit down with my coffee, a pen and paper, and I make a list for that day. And by list, I mean my Top 10. What are the ten most important things I must do that day? I make the list by priority and then again by what could be easily accomplished in groupings together - Don't be a starfish running all over town, spinning your wheels. Group your errands together. For example, if we are low on wrapping supplies for the store, then we will plan on going to the bank, post office, and pick up wrapping supplies all at the same time, and hopefully grab lunch. Five errands, one excursion - thirty minutes.

You have all heard the expression 'Live by the sword, Die by the sword.' Well, that is how seriously I take my list. 'Live by the list, Die by the list.' My list is portable. I make my list at home and then I immediately put it in my purse. It goes with me to the store and sits next to my keyboard in plain view for the duration of the day. The reason I like to write my list on paper is the sheer satisfaction of crossing items off the list as they are completed. I love the look of a crossed out list.

DELEGATE.

When the girls walk in, I read off the list and we see which items can be divvy-ed up. The girls love to be asked to help and they like to stay busy - it helps the day go faster.

ASK FOR HELP.

Now, all that sounds great, right? Really helpful tips - Make the List, Delegate, and Ask for Help. 3 simple things. But, perspective is important too. Focus on the big important stuff, don't sweat the small stuff. Focus on what you did accomplish that day not what you didn't.  At the end of the day be pleased with your effort and start the next day's list. Anything that wasn't accomplished moves to the top of the next day's list.

What about the small stuff? Well, that's where my cracks start to show. I can get all the big stuff right, but I just lose it on the small stuff. For instance - one thing out of the ordinary occurs in the morning and I forget to put on deodorant. I don't know why it's the deodorant but it's always the deodorant. So, I keep an extra mini travel size in my purse and another at the store. There's an 'ole saying - 'Horses sweat, men perspire, and ladies glow.' Well, I've got to tell you, down here in Texas during the summer when the heat index is around 100, I fall more under the barnyard animal classification. That's a small thing that can turn into a big embarrassing thing by the end of the day.

So, the holiday season is upon us. You are starting to feel overwhelmed.  Why? What is it that has you so overwhelmed? Write it down. Start your list. Maybe break the lists down by categories. Let's start with Thanksgiving. That's at the top of my personal list right now.

  

THANKSGIVING HOSTESS LIST:

 To Do List - House Chores:

Go through each room and check to see if you need to replace light bulbs. Then, do the same outside. Husbands are very good at this type of chore. Thank him when he has finished and be sure to tell him what a big help he was, wink wink. You couldn't have done it without him sort of thing.

Does anything embarrass you? For instance, your guests will be sitting on the same couch your teenage son and husband lie on every Sunday to watch endless hours of sports. This would be a good time to notice if you smell feet. Walk into the room and breathe deep. Chances are either your couch and/or throws smell like feet. This would be a good opportunity to wash the throws. 

Stinky Feet!
 

For me, it's not so much the feet as it's my dog Ricochet likes to treat my slipcovers as her own personal napkin and wipe her mouth/doggy beard down the sides of my couch after every meal. Each one of my sofas seem to have a doggy wainscoting down the back. When I ordered my couches from Quatrine, I ordered two sets of slipcovers - a spring/summer ecru cotton and a fall/winter flax linen. This would be a good time to change/wash those slipcovers or at least check your cushion covers for stains.

Ecru Cotton Slipcovers.

Flax Linen Slipcovers.

To Do List - Guest List:

I have what I call an 'Orphan Thanksgiving.' Many of my friends have moved here from out-of-state and it's too much to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. So I make sure that I ask my girlfriends who are not from around here if they have plans for the Thanksgiving Holiday. This simple act of kindness has turned into The Greatest Holiday Advice That I Could Possibly Give a Thanksgiving Hostess -  Invite a Friend. Whatever family dynamics you fear around the holiday will certainly be minimized by friends on hand. My Father who is very comfortable talking about the health of his prostate within family gatherings restrains from this topic in front of my girlfriends and sticks more to the weather and current events.

 To Do List - Menu:

I have served basically the same Thanksgiving Dinner Menu for the past twenty years. This topic is not open for discussion. There will not be any deviation from 'said' tried-and-true menu. Unlike Martha Stewart, who makes it all look so easy with a staff of lord knows how many, I actually have to do all this myself with only the help of my husband and my sweet girlfriends who are eager to roll their sleeves up, add a little extra deodorant, and stand over a hot stove and sweat a bit. Ask for Help - My husband is a great help with the grocery shopping and the Spec's Liquor Store run.

After 20 years of cooking Thanksgiving Dinner together, everyone knows their responsibilities. We are like some kind of cooking-poetry-in-motion phenomenon. The chief-chef participants are: I., A.D., A.H., and C. - we are Team Thanksgiving. (Delegate.) Each of the guests who are chefs or is it chefs who are guests are responsible for certain dishes. I love the idea of too many cooks in the kitchen, that's what makes it fun to me.

Herb Roasted Turkey - I. - Hen ordered from Whole Foods the week before. 

Fresh Cranberry Sauce - C. By special request from my Father.- always fresh, never out of a can.

Stuffing - C. One batch prepared to stuff turkey with and another batch prepared and cooked separately in the oven for my mother who overly fears poultry bacteria.

 Chalfonte Sweet Potatoes- A.H. I drop off my charme rattan/pyrex casserole dish and she prepares these off site in the comfort of her own home while watching some trashy T.V. show like N.J. Housewives.

Oval Rattan/Pyrex Casserole Dish, in 2qt and 4qt.

Martha's Mashed Potatoes - A.D., A.H. & C. It's not like any of us needs the others' permission to use the whole stick of butter.

Green Beans - C .Nobody really eats these but I feel better if there is one thing that is green and not a starch.

Buttermilk Biscuits - C.

Farm Gravy - A.D. Prepared as the turkey is being carved with the drippings from the turkey. It's the piece de resistance of the Turkey dinner because it is heavily poured onto every item on your plate. We don't tell A.D. but we always have a backup in the fridge - something store bought from whole Foods, you know, just in case.

Pies- One Pumpkin Pie for my Father and one Pecan Pie from Goode Co. BBQ for everyone else. Like I said, I'm no Martha Stewart. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I serve store bought desserts. I don't have time to bake two pies, besides Goode Co.'s Pecan Pie is the best I've ever had. (Would make a great hostess gift if you are invited to my, I mean someone's, house for T. Day.)

Team Thanksgiving Tip: Keep your recipes as simple as possible.

(I'll share all these recipes next week on a separate posting because they are kind of long once you put them all together.)

Like I've said, I've spoken to all my chef/guests, and family/guests and we are all so excited about Thanksgiving. I'm getting my house kind of pulled together, and I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving. If you're not there yet, and you are starting to stress out about your family coming and the meal. Don't forget to try my Thanksgiving Hostess Tip - Invite Some Friends Over.Trust me, there are a lot of things your family won't bring up when a non family guest is sitting at the table. Wouldn't you look forward to a meal that your entire family might be on their best guest behavior. Perhaps, you might sweat a little less yourself. Maybe at the end of the evening, you might even feel that My-Dinner-Party-Was-A-Complete-Success-Glow. (Glow meaning shine, not female sweat, tee, hee.)

Good luck, and why don't you think about replacing some of those tired old cherries that might be lingering in your head with some fresh cranberry thoughts for the Holiday Season? (That was a metaphor if you didn't catch the Holiday humor.)

Gobble, Gobble.

P.S.- You might start thinking about starting your Christmas list right about now. Don't you know the most famous list maker of all has already started his - The Big Guy Himself, Santa.

Your Mother-In-Law Called. . .

C:

Your Mother-in-Law called and she's planning a visit, an extended visit - she wants to spend time with her grandchildren over the holiday season.

Now is not the time to live in denial. If you have not spoken to your Mother-in-Law, or parents, or crazy siblings, or whoever it is that makes your palms start to sweat just thinking about them, now is the time to call. It is far better to know the reality of your impending 'situation' than to live in denial only to knock yourself out in the end, again.

So, if you haven't heard from her yet, go ahead, make the call, "Hi, I'm just calling to check in and find out what your plans for the holidays are?" It's as simple as that, kind of.

Every year, year-after-year, the biggest sale we have in the store during the holidays is not to an adoring husband shopping for gifts for his beloved, not to a corporate head honcho looking for 75 of the same expensive, but not too showy business gifts, but to the procrastinator. And, by procrastinator - I mean most of us. That is exactly why I'm writing this blog this week so you can think about it for the next several weeks, laugh at yourself, and then in a few weeks when your back is up against the wall come running into the store frantically screaming, "I need help! I need help! Could someone please help me!" Now, J. and I are very familiar with this ritualistic seasonal holiday behavior, but I've got to tell you - it scares the new girls. It actually freaks them out a little to see our sweet, lovely customers get so completely unglued. And, if you think it doesn't show, or that no one notices, quit fooling yourself - we are no amateurs. The mother-in-law called and apparently she's planning to stay awhile mania has been a phenomenon in our store for years. The holiday anxiety syndrome blows into town every year right around the time the shopping centers start to blast that endless drone of holiday cheer that they think their customers want to hear 6 weeks before Christmas.

The reality is - she, or he, or they, and possibly their children and pets are about to descend on you and your nice, quiet home.

So, lets get started. Let's focus on the Mother-in-Law. They tend to have the strongest voice and the longest memories. Let's make it super special for her so when she goes back home she can confess to her friends, "Although, in the past, it hasn't always been ideal, this year everything was perfect - my daughter-in-law just thought of everything, sigh."

Practice Makes Perfect: Start eating together, as a family, at the dinner table again. Mother-in-Laws do not understand that today's children are too busy to eat dinner at the dinner table. Have your children practice their manners and see if they are capable of these three things: Having a conversation without arguing. Not sitting on their feet. And, not playing a video game under the table. All three things - simultaneously, for at least thirty minutes. This exercise will probably take several attempts and produce tears, plenty of tears.

Car Service: First impressions can be everything. Wash your car. For some reason, she will assume that if your car is clean and organized, than your home will be clean and organized, and just to compound this theory - than your life will be organized. And, not to make it too much about her, but her stay will be organized.

The Bar: In case your Mother-in-Law has a crooked elbow, or she's just stressed out from her day of traveling, make sure you have plenty of whatever it is that calms her nerves - because her nerves are precious to you and you are anxious to make sure that they are calmed at all times - white wine, red wine, vodka, scotch, bourbon. . . .  And, think to leave her fancy out where she can pour herself another without having to disturb you because, after all, she's on holiday and who's counting?

 My Stocked Bar in Squeaky Cabinet:

The Guest Room:  Make sure the bed is comfortable and presentable. We've all the heard the expression, 'Woke up on the wrong side of the bed, grumpy.' Nice sheets, comfortable pillows, warm blanket - simple as that. Do you ever wake up in a hotel grumpy, no? That formula works! A cozy throw for nap time. Plenty of hangers. Clear out your junk in the drawers and closets - she surely doesn't need to know how much you spend on clothes you will never wear again because you forgot that you were storing them in the guest room. Perhaps, a good book and a carafe of water set on a bedside table for the middle of the night awakenings. Bonus Points Awarded: Charme picture of her and her grandchildren prominently on display, front and center in a pretty frame - something that might even go with the decor in her house when you tell her to keep it at the end of the visit if it goes well - Double Bonus Points Awarded!!

Pretty Lilac Sferra Throw and Sferra Hand Embroidered Francesca Sheets:

Be prepared - after a good night's sleep on these sheets, she'll be kissing you good morning.

Juliska Bedside Carafe and Not-Exactly-Real Violet:

The Guest Bath: A stack of fresh towels (not the ones you dry the dog with!) in varying sizes. A new bar of soap at the sink and in the shower! Do not leave the used ones in there from your last guest, uchck. Maybe a fragranced candle. Perhaps a pretty vase with some flowers. And, of course, a room fragrance near the throne for embarrassing issues we just don't talk about. Some supplies - Q-tips, cotton balls, an extra roll of toilet paper, shampoo, body lotion, a nail file. Bonus Points Awarded: Simply ask her if she prefers floral or non-florals scents for her bath products. It doesn't hurt anyone to have her think before she steps foot on the plane that someone cares. Try to keep bath products, candle and roomspray consistent within one fragrance, we don't want to upset her delicate sensibilities with too many scents - after all, we're not picking out car freshener.

Charming Cote Bastide Bathroom Accessories, Not-Exactly-Real Paperwhite and Elizabeth W. Lavender Bath Products:

 

  Note: Lavender is also soothing and relaxing, perhaps you should buy some for your bathroom also - your Mother-In-Law has not cornered the market on nerves.

  

Fridge: My sister-in-law always stocks her fridge with whatever my parents eat for breakfast and mid-day snacks. Several days before the visit, she double checks with them that those items are still their favorites and if there is anything else they would like to nibble on during their stay. Bonus Points Awarded: Keep your guests full. A full stomach is a happy stomach (My sister-in-law happens to know that my mother has enjoyed a bowl of Quaker oatmeal every morning of her precious life for the last ?? years so she makes sure that she has plenty on hand.) Plus, don't make your guests go to the grocery store with you, nobody actually wants to go to the grocery store.

Something to Do: Plan out your meals ahead of time - which ones you'll eat at home and which restaurants you would like to dine out at. Have your reservations all made in advance and be sure to request a quiet table. Try a museum, or a fun family movie, shopping (But not for you, for her. Mother-in-Laws typically do not like to see their daughter-in-law's extravagances. You can call the store from your cell phone and put the item on hold later.)

Well, that's enough for now.  Mull it over for a few weeks and we'll see you at the store a few days before she arrives!

Insider Tip From an Actual Honest to Goodness Feared Mother-in-Law: Like any true journalist, I am not a liberty to reveal my sources, but I went over my list of suggestions with a known M-I-L and she just smiled and nodded in approval. She even went as far as to say that it sounds like it would be a lovely time, but she had not heard from her daughter-in-law yet!  See, make the call!!!