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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Holiday, Main, Quick Bites, Recipes
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Turkey Breast Stuffed with Mushrooms, Bacon and Cranberries

Let’s start this by saying, this isn’t the prettiest thing I’ve made. You’re seeing the second go of this recipe – the first time it was perfect. And it was pretty. I almost wasn’t going to share this because this turkey breast wasn’t as pretty as the first one – but hey. Let’s learn from my mistakes!

So, because of #quarantine, this Thanksgiving is looking a little different. There is basically no reason to make a whole turkey, so a turkey breast is a great alternative! You could even roast some turkey legs, too, if you want the dark meat.

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Holiday, Quick Bites, Recipes
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Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce & Goat Cheese Crostini Appetizer Recipe

Can I even just tell you guys how much I love appetizers? It’s just my favorite. A cocktail party is my dream. Tapas is so much fun. I just love having lots of little dishes, especially for entertaining. My favorite gatherings I’ve hosted have been ones where we just serve picky food.

So, here’s a new idea for your Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving table – goat cheese crostini topped with apple cider cranberry sauce!

These crostini are toasted in a pan with butter, giving them a gentle crunch with a soft middle. The creaminess of the goat cheese balances the tang in the cranberry sauce. And then, there’s the cranberry sauce. Sweet. Tangy. A little warm, with a hint of cinnamon.

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Holiday, Quick Bites, Recipes
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Baked Camembert with Balsamic Vinegar Caramelized Figs

We’re continuing Friendsgiving week with the PERFECT and EASY fall appetizer you have to make this year, holiday or not. This appetizer is warm, and creamy, and a little sweet – but a lot good. I mean. Really good.

I love an easy appetizer that feels special but doesn’t require a crazy amount of effort (honestly, there’s only a few recipes I’m willing to make that do). But the flavors in this are perfectly balanced, with that tangy, creamy, sweetness. And literally you can put this together in 30 minutes with barely any hands on effort.

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Dessert, Holiday, Quick Bites, Recipes
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Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream with Candied Pecans Recipe

There are two things that are totally essential – and worth it – about this recipe: making the custard base and purchasing the KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment. Because if you like pumpkin spice, and you like ice cream, this recipe is a must. have.

So, I’m sure you’ve seen those no churn recipes that you don’t need an ice cream maker for – the ones that just use condensed milk and heavy cream. I’ve made them before, too, and they’re great. But this ice cream maker is a game changer. And my favorite thing? It has to store in the freezer, so it’s not even in the kitchen taking up space.

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Holiday, Quick Bites, Recipes, Side Dish
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Sausage and Roasted Grape Stuffing with Rosemary and Thyme

Can you imagine a Thanksgiving table without stuffing? It’s 100% my favorite part of the meal! Savory, satisfying, crunchy, soft, salty. It’s so much all in one bite. This year, I’m dishing out this sausage and roasted grape stuffing with rosemary and thyme.

Using breakfast sausage, rosemary and thyme brings those traditional flavors of the holidays I’m sure we are all gravitating towards, especially this year. But the roasted grapes – they bring something a little more unique to the table. They’re soft but still firm enough that they give you a burst of sweet juice when you take a bite.

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Holiday, Quick Bites, Recipes, Side Dish
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Butter, Garlic and Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash

Welcome to Friendsgiving week! I love using Friendsgiving as an excuse to create some fun, non traditional dishes. I hope you love the recipes this week and it inspires you to try something new, whether a small Thanksgiving gathering or a socially-distanced-outdoor-mask-wearing-be-smart-Friendsgiving.

If you haven’t made acorn squash yet, this recipe is your reason to try it! I always see stuffed acorn quash for a Thanksgiving side, but I cut these into slices and roasted them up in butter, garlic and parmesan. Can I even tell you how amazing the house smelled?!

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Holiday, Recipes
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Bourbon Glazed Turkey Thighs for Thanksgiving

This one is for all my pals that like to do things with an unconventional flare. Might I propose turkey thighs for Thanksgiving dinner instead of a full roasted turkey? They cook faster, and let’s be honest, everyone loves the dark, moist meat anyway!

Okay, if not for Thanksgiving, for Friendsgiving Dinner. But make these. They’re incredible.

Bourbon Glazed Turkey Thighs

Yield: 6 servings | Time: 1.5 hrs

Ingredients

6 bone-in turkey thighs

Salt & pepper

For the glaze:

1 c bourbon

1 c ketchup

1 1/2 c brown sugar

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

For garnish:

Roasted garlic heads, pomegranate seeds, parsley

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a roasting pan (very, very well) with foil. Might I suggest spraying the roasting pan with cooking spray BEFORE lining it and after? You’re welcome.

Dry the turkey thighs with a paper towel, season with salt and pepper.

While the oven is preheating, over medium heat, combine all glaze ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer, whisking until all the ingredients are well combined. Taste, carefully, for salt and pepper. Reserve some glaze for the serving.

Rub half the glaze over the turkey thighs. Cover the thighs with foil, piercing the foil with a fork to allow for venting holes. Roast for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove foil, basting the thighs with the glaze again. Roast for another 30-40 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Allow the thighs to cool for 10 minutes, drizzle with reserved glaze and serve. Garnish, if you like, with parsley, pomegranates and roasted garlic.

 

Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Holiday, Recipes
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Spicy Sausage Stuffing for Thanksgiving

I know I said it about mashed potatoes, but really, is it Thanksgiving Dinner (or Friendsgiving Dinner) without a stuffing on the table?

It’s so hard to pick a favorite Thanksgiving side dish, so I definitely love a mashed potato, and I’d just like to call the stuffing the main dish. K? I wanted to do something a little different with this stuffing recipe, so I used spicy sausage instead of sweet sausage, and it definitely shook it up a little!

I love to take a dish that you expect to taste a certain way and just ever so slightly change it up for a more surprising experience.

This stuffing is a little savory, a little sweet, and has a little bit of heat! It’s so simple, comes together so quickly, and can totally be made ahead and just reheated.

Also, I mean, the leftovers are pretty amazing.

 

Spicy Sausage Stuffing

Yield: 12 servings | Time: 1.5 hrs

Ingredients

One loaf of bread, cubed into desired size

1.5 c sweet onion, chopped

1 c carrots, chopped

1 c celery, chopped

1 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp rosemary

2 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

1 lb spicy sausage (either a pack of ground sausage, or a pound of sausage links with casing removed)

1/2 to 1 stick of butter

1/2 c dried cranberries

2 3/4 c chicken broth

parsley, for garnish

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray or lightly with butter. (I vote butter, friends!)

Line a baking sheet with foil, spray lightly with cooking spray. Bake the cubed bread, if fresh, for about 7 minutes, just to take the moisture out of the bread. Set aside in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, heat up 3 tbsp butter in sautee pan. Once melted, add onions, carrots and celery. Sautee until soft and onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add butter if the pan gets dry.

Add herbs and salt, pepper to your mirepoix mixture. Add 1 tbsp butter and the sausage. Brown the sausage, about 8 minutes. Add butter as needed to keep the pan from drying out.

Remove from heat and add the sausage and vegetable mixture to the bread along with the broth and cranberries. Mix well and place in prepared baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes.

Remove foil and continue to bake until bread is golden.

To serve right away, just add chopped parsley to garnish.

To make ahead, allow the stuffing to cool completely, cover with foil and place in the refrigerator. Take out of the fridge for at least 25 minutes before reheating at 350°, for about 10 minutes.

 

 

 

Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Holiday, Recipes
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Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

What would the point of Thanksgiving be without mashed potatoes?

YASSS, as they say. These goat cheese mashed potatoes are my all time favorite. If you’re not the biggest fan of goat cheese, just stay with me here. I promise you don’t really taste it – the goat cheese adds a little tang and a lot of creaminess to the potatoes.

It’s also important to toss two little pats of butter on the top, ya know, to get all that melty goodness in there for a finishing touch. Also, chives, which I apparently forgot, look lovely on top of the mashed potatoes!

So just how many potatoes do you need? This recipe accounts for 8 people, but you can increase the proportions easily! It’s 1 medium potato per guest and 1 oz of goat cheese per guest. Easy!

 

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Yield: 8 servings | Time: ~60 minutes

Ingredients

8 medium yukon gold potatoes, of similar size

8 quarts of water, or enough water to cover the potatoes by at least 1 inch

8 ounces of goat cheese

1/2 cup of whole milk or cream

4 tablespoons of butter

Salt & pepper to taste

Garnish: chives or parsley; pat of butter

 

Directions

Bring pot of water to a boil.

Add salt, like you would salt a pot of pasta, and whole potatoes.

Boil for about 35 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.

When the potatoes are ready, dump into a collander and allow to drain. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, gently peel the potatoes. I like to leave some skin on!

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in the same pot, turn the heat off and add the potatoes. Pour milk or cream over the potatoes and start to mash until it’s just about the consistency you prefer. I like some chunks in my potatoes!

Add in the goat cheese and stir until just combined. Don’t over stir or you’ll basically end up with really delicious cement. Salt & pepper to taste.

Tip 1: You can make this ahead! Just reheat with a little milk/cream and taste as you reheat. It may need more butter, goat cheese, salt & pepper.

Tip 2: Boil your potatoes in chicken broth! I add some bullion to the boiling water, I’m convinced it makes these goat cheese mashed potatoes even better.

Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Holiday, Recipes
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4 Ingredient Cranberry Sauce Recipe

When it comes to Thanksgiving, there are few things better than: 1. a recipe you can make ahead of time and 2. a recipe that comes together in 15 minutes.

Enter: cranberry sauce. Though I hate to admit it, I was most definitely a canned cranberry sauce kind of gal – you know, the one that still maintains the shape of the can when you dump it on a plate. But a few years ago, I finally made my own cranberry sauce after learning just how easy it is. It’s actually one of the few recipes I can just hold in my head and repeat year after year.

Perks of fresh cranberry sauce: it just tastes SO fresh. You don’t really need anything special for this recipe, though a citrus zester is handy for the orange peel garnish. It’s a $10 tool and certainly one I reach for at least once a month.

You’ll also want a pot with pretty high sides – I use my stock pot to make this cranberry sauce – because it WILL foam up. And if you’re pot is too small…well…you know.

Also. Even if you don’t love cranberry sauce, it still looks festive on your table! Breaks up all the brown, ya know?

 

 

4 Ingredient Cranberry Sauce

Yield: 2 cups | Prep Time: 2 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes + cooling time

 

Ingredients

1 lb bag cranberries

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

Juice of 1 orange

Orange zest, for garnish

 

Directions

Combine all ingredients except orange zest in a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Watch the pot the whole time and continuously stir to help break up the cranberries. When the cranberries start to foam, lower the heat very slightly and watch that your pot does not overflow. Once the foam subsides and cranberries are a mix of jelly-like liquid and crushed cranberries, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with orange zest!