Thanksgiving (lots about food, nothing about quilting)

What a difference a year makes. Last year I celebrated Thanksgiving with my brother's host family in France - we celebrated on a Friday night (his birthday), so I was home alone when the turkey arrived complete with a head and some feathers!! This year I had an adventure with two friends driving out into the Finnish countryside to collect our turkey - decidedly headless and featherless - much more in my culinary comfort zone. Here's last year's pre-roasting photo and this year's post-roasting photo.

Judy posted her menu, so I thought I'd post mine here.

garlic mashed potatoes (made with sour cream)
sweet potatoes with orange slices
brussel sprouts glazed with balsamic vinegar
wheat bread and mushroom stuffing
cranberry sauce
cranberry bread
squash rolls
turkey (sans tête et plumage)
gravy (thanks to Gisela!)
white wine (also thanks to Gisela!)
cranberry juice
pecan pie (à la mode)
pumpkin pie (à la mode)
chocolate banana cake (thanks to Thomas!)

A few recipes for my guests who asked and for anyone else who might be interested:

Grandma Gen's Cranberry Bread
2 cups flour (just under 470ml)
1 cup sugar (just under 235ml)
1 egg (well-beaten)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (7.5ml)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (2.5ml)
1 teaspoon salt (5ml)
juice and grated rind of orange + 2 Tablespoons margarine or butter + boiling water to make total 3/4 cup (180ml)
Sift dry ingredients together. Add liquid, then egg. Mix until well dampened.
Add 1 cup chopped nuts (optional) and 1 cup raw cranberries (halved) or lingonberries (whole). Bake at 177C (350F) for 60 minutes.

Susan's Squash Rolls
1 Tablespoon yeast (15ml - maybe a tad more)
1/4 cup warm water (60ml)
2/3 cup milk (160ml)
1 cup cooked squash (butternut is best, pumpkin, acorn, something orange and fairly wet when cooked - frozen puree works well, too)
1/3 cup brown sugar (80ml)
1/2 teaspoon salt (2.5ml)
1/3 cup melted butter (80ml)
2 cup whole wheat flour (470ml)
2-3 cups unbleached white flour (470-700ml)
Proof yeast in warm water. Combine the milk, squash, sugar, salt, and melted butter. When this has cooled to lukewarm, add yeast and whole wheat flour. Beat well. Stir in unbleached white flour until dough is stiff enough to knead. Turn onto floured surface and knead well, adding flour as necessary to prevent sticking. This is a soft elastic dough and very nice to work with.
Place dough in a large buttered bowl, turn the dough to coat it with the butter. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour, punch down. Shape into tangerine sized balls and place on buttered baking sheet. Cover with a towel and let rise for about 30-45 minutes.
Bake at 205C/400F (190C/375F in an especially hot oven) for 20 minutes.
Brush tops with melted butter after removing from oven.

Cranberry Sauce

3 parts cranberries (whole)

1 part sugar

1 part orange juice (or water)

Combine over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, cranberries will burst. Reduce heat, cook for 10 minutes. Cool completely before serving. If you're using juicy cranberries (not the firm Ocean Spray variety), you might need to halve the liquid.

I make a basic butter pie crust kind of like this.

Pumpkin Pie
3 eggs
2 cups (470-500ml) fresh, canned, or thawed frozen pumpkin puree
1.5 cups light cream (350ml) (or 3/4 cup heavy cream + 3/4 cup milk)
1/2 cup white sugar (120ml)
1/3 cup brown sugar (80ml)
1 tsp cinnamon (5ml)
1 tsp nutmeg (5ml)
1/2 tsp ginger (2.5ml)
1/4 tsp cloves (1ml)
1/2 tsp salt (2.5ml)
Whisk thoroughly. Pour into preheated (but not completely baked) pie crust. Bake for 30-45 minutes at 375F/190C - until the center is set, but still quivery, like jello. Cool completely before serving - cold, room temperature, or slightly warmed.

Pecan Pie
toast 1.5-2 cups (350-470ml) pecans (whole, chopped, or a mixture)
Whisk together:
3 eggs
1 cup (235ml) sugar - white or brown
1 cup (235ml) syrup - light or dark Karo syrup or light/golden syrup or treacle syrup (can you tell I've made this in several different countries?!)
5 Tbsp (75g) melted butter
1 tsp (5ml) of vanilla extract OR 1 Tbsp (15ml) Vana Tallinn OR 1 Tbsp (15ml) Kalhua
Add the nuts to the mixture, pour into a preheated pie crust. Bake until the edges are firm and the center is set, but still quivery (again, like jello). Recipe says 30-45 minutes, but it always takes longer - closer to 60 minutes, at 375F/190C. Cool completely before serving (again, serve cold, room temperature, or slightly warmed).

I don't really use recipes for the other dishes, but can give more details if anyone is interested! Happy Thanksgiving!