Thanksgiving Extravaganza!

Happy Day After!

I made it through Thanksgiving day and managed to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner, even it was for only the boyfriend and I.

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to be trying out some pumpkin pie variations in preparation for the holidays.

I managed to churn out a pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin cream cheese cupcakes in the four days I had before Thanksgiving.

The pumpkin cheesecake recipe is from the wonderful folks at Libby - classic providers of canned pumpkin puree.

I had never made a cheesecake before - it's not really the type of thing that comes to mind when I think of baking projects that I can do at home. Cheesecake seems like some sort of unattainable zenith of cooking prowess.

Yet I went along with it and even bought a spring-form pan just for the occasion.

As I am apt to often do, I got impatient after the first three hours and let the cheesecake be free.

The cheesecake itself was firmed up enough, but as you can tell the topping was not yet ready.

I was quite pleased that the baked cheesecake only had one crack. I was afraid that it would collapse and crack all over and that I would never defeat it.

Overall, it was a pretty simple process. Graham cracker crust, mixing together cream cheese, sugar, eggs, spices, and pumpkin. 

Fill spring-form pan, bake, and voila! Cheesecake.

Next up on my list of pumpkin domination was pumpkin cream cheese cupcakes.

Thank you, Martha Stewart.

I ended up sending these bad boys to the office to keep the pre-Thanksgiving calorie overload to a minimum.

This recipe is completely awesome and doesn't require the use of a mixer.

All that mixing was done by my super strong lady muscles and a whisk!

The finished cupcakes were really light and airy - not at all dense or muffin-y like I had expected.

I topped them off with some cream cheese frosting in a can (for shame!) and sent them to be eaten by my hungry coworkers.

Finally, it was time for real Thanksgiving.

This was my plan of attack.

Begin quick thawing of turkey by running it under water - 9:00 am

Make Pumpkin Pie - 9:00 am

Set Pumpkin Pie to cool on rack - 10:00 am

Make Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes - 11:00 am

Make Green Bean Casserole - 11:30 am

Put Pumpkin Pie in fridge - 12:00 pm

Begin making turkey and get in oven - 12:00 pm

Make Orange Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce - 2:00 pm

Make Apple Cranberry Stuffing - 2:30 pm

Turkey out of the oven - 3:30 pm

Reheat casseroles and make dinner rolls - 3:30 pm

EAT - 4:00 pm

It was a rather busy day.

I planned on getting started earlier, but when we unwrapped our turkey we realized that the innards were still rock solid and began PLAN B - leaving it under running water until we racked up the biggest water bill yet.

I figured that we should get started on making everything that needed to be cooled or could easily be reheated while the bird was taking a bath.

First up, the pumpkin pie, which the boyfriend actually made on his own from the recipe on the can.

Then, it was time for the Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes - recipe from my absolute favorite, Alton Brown.

I boiled some Yukon Golds and simmered minced garlic with heavy cream.

The potatoes were also mashed by hand - I consider that my workout for the day. ;)

Added in the garlic cream and parmesean, and the mashed potatoes were test-tasted and approved.

On to my holiday favorite, Green Bean Casserole.

My family uses the same recipe every year off the French's French Fried Onion can, and every year it's perfect.

Finally, it was time to tackle that bird.

The boyfriend delicately stuffed our turkey with slices of orange, lemon, and onion and sprigs of rosemary until it was literally bursting at the seams.

Then a quick rubdown with a mixture of melted butter, olive oil, Herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper, and the bird was ready for cooking.

Note the gaping hole from the boyfriend's overzealous stuffing. :)

On to the oven she went!

I then began the Orange Cinnamon Cranberry sauce, my own creation, with three very simple ingredients.

After the sauce came my next favorite cranberry thing, Apple Cranberry Stuffing.

I simply sauteed up some chopped apple with dried cranberries and mixed it in with a box of StoveTop Cranberry stuffing.

Eventually we would be allowed to eat, but first, the turkey had to finish cooking and the casseroles had to be reheated and the rolls had to be made.

Our bird turned out beautifully and I was extremely happy as this was my first Thanksgiving to actually be in charge of the turkey.

Finally, it was time for feasting!

Bon appétit,

Gabriella