There are very few brands I love unconditionally. OXO is one of them. Their products are not only well made, but thoughtfully designed. This year, OXO is celebrating Turkey Day by sharing an array of Thanksgiving-friendly products via their Blogger Outreach Program, which I’m proud to be part of.
Tools in the #OXOTurkeyDay kit included the following:
Left to Right: The most amazing twine dispenser (twine included), a non-slip butter dish with cover, a thoughtfully designed turkey baster with an angled neck & counter rest to prevent drips (and cleaning brush), and the turkey lifter that makes transferring your bird from pan to serving platter a snap.
Left to Right: That twine dispenser I’m in love with (did I mention that?), a better look at the bird lifter’s design, and a fat separator only a gravy hoarder can truly appreciate. If only it worked on my thighs.
I started by tackling the bird. Since it’s just the two of us at home, The Complete Package picked out a lovely organic chicken that came in at around 4 pounds. Perfect! After the bird was properly cleaned & prepped, I broke out that twine dispenser and trussed her like 50 Shades of Prey. From there, I stuffed softened butter and fresh sage leaves under the skin, massaged more butter onto the outside, and gave her a generous sprinkle of kosher salt mixed with freshly ground black pepper and ground poultry seasoning.
You know what I love most about preparing a turkey at Thanksgiving? Fresh sage. If you can get your hands on some, use it. Those frosted velvet leaves are so fragrant and wonderful. It’s the stuff Turkey Day dreams are made of.
Next up was my mother-in-law’s easy cornbread dressing recipe. We make it every year without fail – come hell or high water. Some people insist on green bean casserole. Some go nuts without their beloved yams or cranberry sauce.
For us, it’s not Thanksgiving without Louise’s cornbread dressing.
The Complete Package has certain ideas about Thanksgiving dinner that are set in stone. His mother’s dressing is one. Mashed potatoes with gravy is another. I use thin-skinned white potatoes and leave the skins on. I like the rustic, vitamin-rich goodness of potatoes with the skins on. My secret is to add 2-3 tablespoons of Fage 0% fat-free Greek yogurt, real butter and a dash of milk. Perfect. Every. Time. My tool of choice is an old-fashioned hand masher. I also tried out the new OXO butter dish. It’s made with a sturdy non-slip metal base and has a clear acrylic cover that keeps funky fridge odors at bay. If you have fridge funk, that is. I’m not judging. This is a judgement-free blog. No judging here.
In our house, every drop of bird broth is reserved for the most coveted of condiments – gravy. I looked forward to testing out the OXO fat separator, and it didn’t disappoint. Once the bird was baked, we poured the drippings & broth through the removable strainer and the separator did the rest. The red silicone stopper prevents spills and pops out easily when you’re ready to pour. Like all OXO products, the measurement markings are A+ here. I love that OXO uses bold, colorful markings for aging far-sighted Nanas like me.
My last side dish was bacon-wrapped green bean bundles. These are so easy! Just blanch fresh green beans for 3-5 minutes in boiling salted water, then plunge them in ice, pat dry with paper towels, and wrap with bacon. I used a thick-sliced hickory smoked bacon. I also sprinkled half of the bundles with a coarsely ground black pepper to add so zing, because bacon & black pepper are BFFs. For real.
We also grabbed a few cornmeal rolls from the freezer (thank you Kirsten at Comfortably Domestic) and a jar of my homemade cherry, pear & apple cranberry sauce. The Complete Package needs gravy. I need my cranberries.
For me, it’s just not Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce.
Start to finish, I had dinner on the table in 3 hours. Not bad for a table for two of all our Thanksgiving favorites with leftovers. You HAVE to have leftovers for the sandwiches alone. Am I right? Yes? Don’t leave me hanging, people.
My deepest thanks to the fine folks at OXO for providing all the tools we needed for our holiday feast. Now here’s a quick rundown of the recipes shown above.
Louise’s Easy Cornbread Dressing:
1 envelope (6 ozs.) Pioneer yellow cornbread mix
1 envelope (6 ozs.) Pioneer buttermilk biscuit mix
milk, eggs & oil – as directed on the above packages
Pam cooking spray to coat the baking pan
1 cup minced celery
1/2 cup minced white or yellow onion
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 can (10 ozs.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 box (32 ozs.) low-sodium chicken broth (see below)
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon fresh sage, minced
salt & pepper to taste
Dump the cornbread and biscuit mixes into a large mixing bowl and add the eggs, milk & oil listed on the package instructions for both mixes. Whisk until smooth and pour into a lightly sprayed 8″ x 8″ baking pan. Bake at 375F until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is lightly browned. Remove from the oven & allow to cool to room temperature. Using a knife, score the cornbread into 1″ pieces and dump them into a large mixing bowl.
In a small skillet or pan, saute the celery and onion in 2 tablespoons of butter until lightly browned and translucent. Pour over the cornbread cubes and add the undiluted chicken soup and seasonings. Add enough chicken broth to create a moist but not soggy cornbread mixture (approx. 1 to 1 1/2 cups, then save the rest for gravy). Spoon into a lightly sprayed baking pan and bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes, or until the top starts to brown lightly. Serve hot.
NanaBread’s Simple Mashed Potatoes:
6-8 small white potatoes, scrubbed
2-3 tablespoons Fage 0% fat-free Greek yogurt
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter
a splash of milk, if needed
salt & pepper to taste
Place washed whole potatoes into a saucepan and cover with water. Cook over medium heat until you can pierce the potatoes with a paring knife, and the knife goes easily through the cooked potatoes. Drain & return to the pan. Add the yogurt, butter and salt & pepper and mash with a potato masher or heavy fork until mostly smooth. If they are a little dry, add a splash of milk. Keep warm until everything else is ready.
Easy Poultry Gravy:
3 tablespoons butter or canola oil
3-4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2-3 cups broth from your baked bird, or boxed broth from above
salt & pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning
In a saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and flour, whisking until smooth and slightly browned (3-5 minutes). Slowly whisk in the chicken/turkey broth and whisk until smooth. Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking often to prevent lumps. Season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning and keep warm until all else is ready.
Bacon-Wrapped Green Bean Bundles:
1 pound of fresh green beans
12 slices of hickory smoked thick-cut bacon
1 teaspoon salt
coarsely ground black pepper, optional
In a saucepan, add enough water to fill the pan half-full. Add one teaspoon of salt and bring the water to a boil. Snap the stem ends off the green beans, then blanch them for 3-5 minutes in the boiling salt water. Remove from the boiling water and plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain and pat dry on paper towels, then divide them into four piles. Gather each pile into a bundle and wrap with 3 slices of bacon. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil, and arrange your bundles in the pan. Sprinkle with black pepper, if desired. Bake at 425F on the middle rack until the bacon is throughly cooked and starts to brown. If needed, fold the foil over the exposed green beans to keep them from overcooking. Once the bacon is done, remove from the oven and keep warm.
NanaBread’s Sage & Butter-Basted Bird:
1 whole chicken (mine was 4 pounds)
1/2 stick of butter, softened to room temperature
8-10 fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon McCormick poultry seasoning
1 to 2 cups chicken broth, for the roasting pan
string to truss the bird
Begin by removing the chicken from the package and rinsing it thoroughly under lukewarm water. Pat dry with paper towels and place on a cutting board. Using cotton twine, tie the wingtips under the bird and tie the drumsticks together at the ankles. Run your fingers under the skin of the bird to loosen it, then rub at least half the softened butter under the skin, covering as much ground as you can. Gently place the whole sage leaves under the skin, then massage the bird with the remaining butter. Mix the salt, pepper & poultry seasoning and sprinkle it all over the bird. Place in a roasting pan and add the chicken broth. Cover and bake at 375F for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 20-30 minutes until nicely brown and the bird reaches 165F with an instant read meat thermometer. Baste once or twice when the bird is uncovered, and she’ll come out gorgeous.
For Kirsten’s Cornmeal Buns, click here. She made them as burger buns, but they are also fabulous as knotted dinner rolls. They’re my favorite.
So now you know our Thanksgiving favorites. What are yours? Do you have traditional dishes you prepare each year, or do you like to wing it (turkey pun) and try new things? Share here! You never know when your old family favorite might become someone else’s new family favorite. If you’ve posted them on your own blog, be sure to leave a link in your comment so we can all click over.
Happy #OXOTurkeyDay to one and all,
Jeanne
Inside NanaBread's Head 