Thanksgiving | Adventures in Thyme

Thanksgiving Dinner for Two

Holiday dinners don’t always have to be made for large crowds of extended family. Tonight’s elegant looking meal is actually very easy to create – which gives you more time to spend with your special someone. Let’s get cookin’!

2 Game Hens
1 large sweet Apple
2 or 3 slices of rustic white Bread
4 oz. goat Feta
1/4 cup dried Cranberries
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1/2 teaspoon crushed Rosemary
1/2 teaspoon crushed Thyme
dash ground Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly toast your bread (or use slightly stale bread). Cut into small cubes. Coarsely chop your apple and add to the bread. Coarsely chop the dried cranberries and add to the stuffing. Add the feta, 1/2 teaspoon each crushed rosemary and crushed thyme. Add 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock and gently stir to combine the ingredients. The bread will absorb the chicken stock.

Wash the game hens and be sure the body cavity is clean. Stuff with the stuffing mixture. Tie the legs to hold the body cavity closed. Brush with Olive Oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a baking pan on a baking rack.

Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional hour or until the internal temperature of the stuffing and the thickest part of the game hen is 165 degrees.

Bake any remaining stuffing mixture in a baking dish until it reaches a temperature of 165 degrees.

Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables and pumpkin pie.

Although this is the season of “thanks”, we hope you find something each day of the year to strengthen your attitude of gratitude. We are very thankful for all of you that have continued to check in our adventures in cooking. Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Pie

Tonight’s recipe is all about getting the kids to eat their vegetables. You shouldn’t have much trouble – pumpkin pie is so deliciously silky and spiced with the flavors of Fall – cinnamon and nutmeg. Okay, so we’re kidding ourselves if we think it’s “healthy” but it IS a vegetable. Let’s make some pie!

This recipe makes two deep 9 inch pies or three shallow 9 inch pies or three deep 8 inch pies.

2 cups Sugar
1 tablespoon Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon ground Ginger
1 tablespoon ground Cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground Nutmeg
1 quart Milk (or substitute – almond milk, soy creamer, etc.)
1 large can Pumpkin (about 3 cups)
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 tablespoons melted Butter
4 eggs

Pie crust for two 9 inch pies (three for shallow 9 inch or deep 8 inch pans)

Preheat your oven to 350 to 400 degrees F. (For my oven it needs to be 400.)

Mix together the dry ingredients; sugar, flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In a large mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs. Combine the dry ingredients, pumpkin and wet ingredients by alternating their addition into a mixing bowl. Specifically by starting and ending with dry ingredients, about a quarter of each ingredient with each addition. Stir together well as you add each part. Once the ingredients are well mixed, add the vanilla and butter.

Place your crust in the pie pans. Fill each pie with the filling, keep the filling about equal so they will cook evenly.

Cook on the middle rack of your oven until the custard is set in the middle. Start checking at about 60 minutes. On my oven it takes about 80 minutes for the deep 9 inch pies to cook.

Serve with whipped cream.