Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast with Butternut Squash Chutney from Cinco de Mayo Salsas

I roasted my first turkey a couple months ago!  And no, it wasn't even for Thanksgiving!  But, I had gotten hold of some phenomenal Butternut Squash Chutney from our "Salsa Man" - a fall special - and he had recommended serving it with turkey.

And so I roasted a turkey.  (OK, technically just the breast, but still.)

After some research, I decided to use this Ina Garten recipe, which turned out to be absolutely amazing.  The herbs added so much flavor to the turkey, and the butternut squash chutney was perfect with it.  The only problem was that this was far too much turkey for two people!  A good problem to have, though, I suppose. :)

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast with Butternut Squash Chutney from Cinco de Mayo Salsas

The butternut squash chutney was so good we brought a couple tubs to our family Thanksgiving dinner.  I have a feeling it will become part of our Thanksgiving tradition in the coming years. :)

Recipe courtesy of:
Ina Garten on the Food Network (get the recipe here)

Click here for more recipes using Cinco de Mayo Salsas, available at the Pittsburgh Public Market during the winter and all around town during the farmers market season.

Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie

I love all things pumpkin in the fall!  Pumpkin pie is one of my favorite desserts.  I discovered this twist on a traditional pumpkin pie a few years ago and had hoped to make it for Thanksgiving at some point, but the fact that I always have to travel for the holiday makes it a practical challenge to prepare and bring a frozen dessert.  So finally, this year, I gave up on the idea of saving this pie for Thanksgiving.  Instead, I made it and shared it with a few friends at home.  I should note that the among these friends were three other food bloggers, so it was pretty risky to serve them a dessert I had never made before!  Luckily, they seemed to like it a lot.  The gingersnap crust, in particular, got high praise, and I'd have to agree it was a pretty brilliant crust.  I bet it'd be a great crust for a pumpkin cheesecake.  Also, the use of low-fat ice cream makes this pie a low-calorie treat.

Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie 

A couple of notes:  I had to double the amount of oil that was called for for the crust as the crumb was not sticking together.  However, I realize later that I was probably just working with too much crumb to begin with, so I need to watch for that next time.  Also, while the low-fat ice cream made this dessert less fattening, I personally wish the filling were creamier.  But that's probably just the ice cream snob in me talking!  It is a darn good dessert as it is and I'm generally happy with it, as evidenced by the fact that R. and I gobbled up the rest of the pie in a matter of days. :)

Recipe courtesy of:
Eating Well (get the recipe here)

Red Wine Cranberry Sauce

I love cranberry sauce with my Thanksgiving turkey.  Late last night (Thanksgiving eve), as my Sweet Potato with Toasted Pecans was baking in the oven, I asked R. if there was going to be cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving dinner.  He wasn't sure, so I volunteered to make some using another recipe I saw in China Millman's article in the Post-Gazette.  After all, the recipe only required three ingredients (fresh cranberries, sugar, dry red wine) and between R.'s mom and I, we had all three readily on hand.

Red Wine Cranberry Sauce

I thought the sauce turned out well, especially with the turkey.  The cranberries themselves remained quite tart, and I wonder if I could have used more sugar (I used 1-1/4 cups of raw sugar) and let the cranberries cook a little longer.  I might play around with this one again and see if I can get the right amount of sweetness going, but for today, I was happy with it.

Also check out the Sweet Potato with Toasted Pecans I made and photos of other dishes at our Thanksgiving dinner.

Recipe courtesy of:
China Millman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (article and recipe here)

Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Pecans

I was asked over the weekend, just as I was getting ready to do my grocery shopping for the week, to bring a vegetarian dish to Thanksgiving dinner.  Due to some family health issues, I was anticipating an extremely hectic and unpredictable few days leading up to Thanksgiving, so I had to scramble quickly to find an easy recipe that I felt I could tackle with the limited time I had.  Luckily, I recalled seeing a China Millman article in the Post-Gazette a few weeks ago that featured Thanksgiving recipes by several local chefs.  I skimmed through the dozen or so recipes and decided on the Sweet Potatoes with Black Pepper Fluff and Toasted Pecans, adapted from Chef Chris Bonfil of Avenue B in Shadyside, only without the marshmallow fluff at R.'s mom's request.  The list of ingredients is simple yet interesting: yams, olive oil, onion, bourbon (!), heavy cream, and toasted pecans.  I have never cooked anything with bourbon before, and I was very curious as to how this would turn out.

Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Pecans

I am happy to report that this was a hit at the Thanksgiving table!  I might use a little less heavy cream in the future, as I ended up with more sauce than I needed.  Otherwise, the recipe was great, even without the marshmallow fluff.  Thanks, Chef Bonfili!

Check out the Red Wine Cranberry Sauce I made and photos of other dishes at our Thanksgiving dinner.

Recipe courtesy of:
Avenue B Chef Chris Bonfili, via China Millman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (article and recipe here)