Gadding About at Honey Baked Ham

This Thanksgiving I will be taking the ham for the family dinner.  Days ago I reserved a Honey Baked Ham to pick up the day before Thanksgiving.  I had heard about long lines in years past, but I thought if I got there when they opened at 7:00 am I would beat the crowd.  Not so.  When I arrived there was a line out the door and down the street. I was glad I had taken Dan's walker because that made in easier to stand in line for an hour and a half. 

Already there had been a fender bender because of the stalled traffic.

The line was out the door. 

Shadows of the line down the street. 

I was prepared with my vest and my walker. 

Actually everyone in line was in a Happy Thanksgiving Mood, and I chatted with a number of folks while waiting.  Once we were in the door, the line snaked around in front of the counters so that we were tempted with all the extra dishes they offer.  I spied the Chocolate Rum Cake in the case with their desserts, and it was mighty tempting but I did not succumb. 

Chocolate rum cake. 

Finally out the door and with my ham on the walker I headed to my car.  A nice policeman helped put the walker and the ham into my car.  Happy Thanksgiving all!

The walker was useful to carry the ham. 

A nice  police officer put my walker and ham into the van. 

p.s. Next year I will offer to roast the turkey or make the pies. 

Turkey Brown Rice Soup

The leftovers are actually what I like best about Thanksgiving dinner---especially the leftover turkey that makes a nice rich soup.  Here's my soup recipe for this year.  I always make the turkey soup a little different each year, and this year I used brown rice along with the usual veggies.

Turkey Rice Soup

Ingredients:
1 turkey carcass
8 c water
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (I used Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted with no salt added.)
turkey

Break up turkey carcass to fit into large Dutch oven.  Add water, pepper and bay leaf.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for an hour and a half.

Remove bones from broth; cool and remove turkey from bones.  Cut turkey into bite-size
pieces.  Strain broth.  Add rice, celery, onions and carrots to broth.  Bring to boil and reduce to a simmer.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes until rice and vegetables are tender.  Stir in tomatoes and turkey and heat until hot.  Remove bay leaf and serve.

This freezes well and will come in handy on a cold winter evening for a quick supper.

Serves 8

Turkey broth.

Add veggies.

Add brown rice which gives the soup a nice nutty texture and flavor.

Add no salt added tomatoes.

Add turkey, heat and serve.

The soup served with a piece of toast with cream cheese spread.

We'll have several frozen servings for this winter.  The brown rice in this soup gives it a nice nutty taste and texture. 

Low Sodium Oyster Dressing

Low sodium oyster dressing.

My biggest challenge for Thanksgiving dinner this year was making a low sodium dressing.  I usually use Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing mix which is extremely high in sodium.  I've discovered a whole wheat bread from Trader Joe's that has no salt, so I made my own bread crumbs and added my own salt-free seasonings. Penzey's has a number of salt-free seasonings including poultry seasoning, and they are located conveniently nearby in Cameron Village.  I made the bread crumbs a day in advance so they would dry out.  Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil (I used Canola)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cups dry bread crumbs
1 pint oysters, liquid reserved
2 eggs, beaten
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Penzey's salt free Poultry Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
2.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add celery and onion; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes.  Mix in the bread crumbs and remove from heat. Add the oysters and eggs, and season with pepper, poultry seasoning and thyme.  Stir in enough reserved liquid from oysters to moisten and mix everything thoroughly.  Transfer to the casserole dish.
3.  Bake in the preheated oven until the top is toasted and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

6 to 8 servings

The main ingredients.

 

Four cups of dried bread crumbs using Trader Joe's salt-free whole wheat bread.

Remove sauteed celery and onion from heat and add bread crumbs.

Add oysters and slightly beaten eggs.

Add seasonings.

Mix well and transfer to casserole dish.

Ready to eat.

This was very good and a big hit at dinner.  If you're limiting the sodium in your diet you might like to try this recipe. 

Stayman Winesap Apple Crisp

Stayman Winesap apples.

One of our favorite apples in the fall and winter is the Stayman Winesap.  It's very good for baking, and I was happy to get a bag of these at the Farmer's Market on Monday.  Instead of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, I've made an apple crisp. (Okay, I will make some pumpkin muffins and perhaps some pumpkin cookies too.)  Here's a simple recipe that can be made in about an hour--20 minutes prep time and 40 minutes cooking time. This is modified from a recipe from  Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats (not the Quick Cook ones)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 cups apples--peeled, cored and chopped
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8-inch square pan with butter.
2.  In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, flour, nutmeg, cardamom and butter.
Mix until crumbly.  Place half of the crumb mixture in pan.  Spread apples over the mixture.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and top with remaining crumb mixture.
3.  Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serves 8

Place half of crumb mixture in bottom of pan.

Spread apples over crumb mixture.

Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over apples.

Top with the remaining crumb mixture.

Yummy!

Well, I just had to try this, but there will still be plenty for Thanksgiving tomorrow.
Yes, I think this will be a nice change for Thanksgiving dessert. Now I'm off to make the pumpkin cookies.
                  

Thanksgiving Dinner at the University Club

For the last five or six years Dan and I have had Thanksgiving dinner at the NC State University Club where we are members.  It has become a tradition, and each year we invite family or friends to join us  Yesterday we invited Dan's son Malcolm.

I did my graduate work at NC State and as an alumna I and my extended family are eligible for membership in the Club, and we have been members for about fifteen years now.  The Club has just undergone a major renovation, completely redoing the lobby and the main dining room.

Logo in the lobby.

The main dining area.

Among advantages of membership is the opportunity to partake of their wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.  It is always good.

Plates ready to be filled.

Great selection on the fruit platter.

My entree.

 After a fruit salad, I chose for my entree turkey (dark meat) two kinds of dressing, cranberry sauce, collards, sweet potato casserole, and squash casserole.  All were good.
There was a vast array of desserts including pecan pie, pumpkin pie, several different cakes, and several different cheesecakes.  I chose a small spiced pumpkin cake.  I had my pumpkin pie and rum cake later in the day at home.

Small individual pumpkin spice cakes.

We enjoy our membership in the University Club all year round, but especially at Thanksgiving.