A friend of mine who I really admire is an avid cook — and a great one at that. She’s an awesome mom and wife, works full time and makes it all look effortless (a rare feat for most women). One way she likes to spend time with her kids is by getting them into the kitchen, where they make everything under the sun together. We had dinner at her house a while back and she put out a spread for us that would have made the most talented restaurant chef envious. Right in the center of the table was a loaf of fresh, homemade bread. It was warm, soft, made the whole house smell like a bakery and was nothing like the variety you would buy at the grocery in a plastic bag.

I don’t know many kids who don’t like to play with dough, so I decided to make some Honey Wheat Bread and get Kenya involved in the fun. Breads that contain yeast can be intimidating to bake at first, but this recipe couldn’t be easier. Kenya has a blast dumping all of the ingredients in a bowl, mixing it up, watching the dough rise (a magical site for a little kid) and finally kneading and pulling apart the dough to make rolls for us to eat at dinner and use for sandwiches the next day.

Is it possible to be the perfect mom? Probably not, but at least we can have some fun with our kids and give it a try!

Honey Wheat Bread (Makes 2 Loaves or 24 Rolls)

2 1/2 Cups Warm Water
1/3 Cup Honey
1 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Package Dry Instant Yeast (you can find it at any grocery)
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
4 Cups Bread Flour (plus 1/2 cup extra to dust your work surface for kneading)

1. Whisk the warm water, honey, butter, salt and instant yeast until the ingredients dissolve.
2. Gradually add the flours into the bowl, stirring with a whisk to combine.
3. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth (it’s done when you poke your finger in it and it bounces back).
4. Place in a large greased or oiled bowl, cover with plastic and place in a warm area (I like to set it on top of my oven) for 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. After the dough has risen, place it on a floured work surface. Cut into 2 equal pieces if making loaves or into 24 equal pieces if making rolls.
6. Shape the dough into 2 even loaf shapes and place into two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans (or shape the 24 pieces into rolls and place on parchment lined sheet trays).
7. Cover the loaves with greased plastic wrap (so the dough doesn’t stick to it) and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour for loaves, 30 minutes for rolls or until the dough or rolls have doubled in size.
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
9. Bake 50 minutes for loaves or 30 minutes for rolls.
10. Serve.

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and I’ve got a fridge full of leftover turkey, potatoes and gravy! What can you do to use everything so there’s no waste, but change it up a bit at the same time? Make Potato Turkey Balls!

Potato Turkey Balls (Makes 18 Balls)

2 1/2 Cups Mashed Potatoes
2 Large Eggs, whisked in seperate bowls
1 Cup Roast Turkey Meat, chopped
1 Cup Cheese (Monterrey Jack, Mozzarella, or Cheddar), grated
1 Cup Breadcrumbs (white or wholewheat)
Gravy for dipping

1. Stir the mashed potatoes and 1 whisked egg in a bowl until combined and set aside.
2. In a seperate bowl, combine the chopped turkey meat and grated cheese stirring to combine.
3. Take 2 tsps of the turkey cheese mixture and form into 1 inch balls (you want to roll them tight so the turkey and cheese bind together).
4. Take 2 tbsp of the potato egg mixture and form a patty in the palm of your hand, place a turkey cheese ball in the center and fold the potato mixture around the turkey cheese ball to make a larger ball.
5. Place the second whisked egg in a bowl and the breadcrumbs in a seperate bowl.
6. Roll each potato ball gently into the egg and then into the breadcrumbs covering the balls completely.
7. Fry the potato balls for 60 seconds until the outside is crispy or bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
8. Serve with gravy.

Personally, I’m not a big gravy person (I’m more about Orange Cranberry Sauce), but I do know its importance on the Thanksgiving plate. Still, in my opinion, it’s the hardest thing to make and the easiest thing to screw up. But after years of hosting Thanksgiving dinners and shamefully offering the gelatinous, pre-made stuff from the grocery, I got brave a few years ago and started making what my Mother-in-Law considers to be the most important thing on the Thanksgiving plate: the gravy.

With all the work you’re likely doing already to prepare the perfect meal, I came up with a Turkey Gravy that’s simple to make, but packs an intense turkey flavor that will wow your guests, your family and, most of all, you!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Turkey Gravy (Makes about 2 1/2 Cups)
3 Tbsp Butter
3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
Giblet Broth, recipe follows (in a pinch you could use pre-made turkey or chicken stock)
Pan Drippings from Maple Roast Turkey

1. Remove turkey from the roasting pan and set aside.
2. Place the roasting pan over 2 burners on medium heat and sprinkle flour and butter into the pan juices and whisk for 1-2 minutes until combined.
3. Add one cup of stock and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon for another minute to incorporate all the bits that are stuck to the bottom.
4. Add the rest of the stock (about 4 cups total) and bring to a simmer. Stir until thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Pour gravy through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl to make sure gravy is smooth.
6. Serve.

Giblet Broth
1 Tbsp Oil
Giblets (turkey neck and liver)
1 Small Onion
4 Celery Stalks
2 Bay Leaves
3 Fresh Thyme Sprigs
5 Cups Water, Chicken and/or Turkey Stock (you can mix if you want or depending on what you’ve got on hand)

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a medium size pot over high heat.
2. Sear giblets on each side till nice and brown (there will be some browning on the bottom of the pot but this is ok).
3. Remove giblets and add onions and celery and sauté for another 4-5 minutes until softened and starting to brown.
4. Add giblets back into the pot along with bay leaves and thyme sprigs and the 5 cups of water or stock (use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom and get the flavors incorporated).
5. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, skimming the froth that develops, as necessary on the surface.
6. Pour though a fine mesh strainer and cool.

Who doesn’t love pumpkin pie? It’s a shame that Thanksgiving is the one time of year that it gets any loving, because pumpkin pie is about as perfect as pie gets and is definitely one dessert that the kids and adults I know love equally.

I tested this recipe repeatedly over the course of a few days, trying each time to make the filling a bit lighter and less sugary than many of the other pumpkin pie recipes I’ve baked in the past. Finally, I got it just right. The last pie I made was airy and creamy and had a rich maple flavor that reminded me of all things fall. Just because Thanksgiving only happens once a year doesn’t mean you can’t keep the great taste of the holiday going the other 364 days of the year. You can make this sweet treat all year long. Now that’s something to be thankful for!

Maple Pumpkin Pie (Serves 8-10)

2 Eggs, whisked
1 15 Oz Can Pumpkin Puree
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 12 Oz Can Evaporated Milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to thoroughly combine.
3. Place the pie crust dough (recipe below) between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out to a 1/4 inch thickness. The diameter should be 2 inches wider than your pie dish.
4. Place the dough into a deep dish pie pan (dish) and mold into the shape of the dish (I like to fold the outer crust under itself to make a lip and then take a fork, gently pressing down around the pie crust, to make a pattern around the outer edge of the crust).
5. Take the tines of a fork and poke a few holes in the bottom of the pie crust several times, making sure not to go all the way through (this will keep bubbles from forming in the pie crust when you bake it).
6. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the pie crust and fill it with dried beans or pie weights (you can reuse the dried beans afterwards).
7. Bake the dough for 15 minutes, remove the parchment paper and beans or weights.
8. Pour the pumpkin filling mixture into the par-baked deep dish pie crust.
9. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the center of the pie is set.
10. Cool and refrigerate until cold.
11. Serve.

Pie Crust (Makes 1 Deep Dish Pie Crust)

1 1/3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Sugar
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, cubed & cold
2-3 Tbsp Water

1. Place the first 3 ingredients in a food processor and pulse.
2. Add cold butter and using on/off turns, process until coarse meals forms.
3. Add the water 1 tbsp at a time and process until moist clumps form, adding more water 1 tsp at a time if mixture is dry.
4. Form dough into a disk, wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until cold.

I hate to admit it, but considering the amount of things I normally have to do and dishes I need to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner, buying a bag of pre-made rolls from the grocery is usually how bread makes its way to our table come the last Thursday in November. As much as I love the smell of fresh baked bread, actually making it can be a real time suck on what is a busy day in the kitchen already .

When I’m planning Thanksgiving dinner for our family, I attempt to make everyone’s favorite dish for them. For me, that’s Brussel Sprouts with Lemon and Poppy Seeds, for my father-in-law, it’s Maple Roast Veggies, for Kenya it’s Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups and for my husband, it’s stuffing. But my brother’s favorite (seriously) is bread. Since he was a kid, a roll, a slice of bread or anything resembling a baked good was his craving. He’s really that easy-going an eater. To this day he would rather down a basket of warm buns over a plate of turkey if given the choice. It’s why I feel so much guilt every year making everyone’s favorite thing from scratch while unwrapping my only sibling’s best-loved dish from a plastic bag.

So for my brother this year, I’m making these Sweet Potato Biscuits. They’re light, fluffy and, as far as biscuits go, have some added nutrition from the sweet potato puree, which gives them a slightly sweet taste and beautiful auburn color. The best part about these biscuits is that they seem to be a winner with anyone I make them for. Trying to make everyone happy on Thanksgiving isn’t always easy (to say the least), but when you have at least one recipe you know everyone will love, it makes life a lot easier!

Sweet Potato Biscuits (Makes about 20 Biscuits)

2 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Butter, chilled and cubed
1 Cup Sweet Potatoes, cooked & mashed
1/3 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp Honey

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Place the first 4 ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine.
3. Add butter and pulse until it resembles coarse meal.
4. Add the sweet potatoes, milk and honey and pulse until the dough comes together.
5. Place dough onto parchment paper and knead 5 times to combine the ingredients and then shape into a flat disk (you don’t want to over knead the dough).
6. Place another piece of parchment paper on top and roll out with a rolling pin until 3/4-1/2 inch thick.
7. Cut into circles or other shapes using cookie cutter.
8. Place the biscuits on a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray.
9. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.
10. Cool and serve.

What would Thanksgiving be without the stuffing? Thankgving is the one time of year that you can indulge in a carb-apalooza with no guilt the next day, and stuffing is the carbohydrate gold standard. For most kids (mine included) who would subsist on bread if given the choice, holiday stuffing is probably their favorite dish of the day! At least that’s how I felt when I was little.

My Grandmother always made cornbread stuffing and oyster dressing for our family’s holiday celebration. I vividly remember how we kids would all line up in the kitchen, placing heaps of the stuffing on our plates while the adults dug into my Grandfather’s favorite, the oyster dressing (another name for stuffing). To this day, the thought of oyster dressing makes me want to gag, which is why in comparison I’m sure I put the cornbread stuffing of my youth on such a culinary pedestal.

I’ve updated my Grandmother’s basic recipe here by tossing in some cranberries for added color, taste and texture — and also because my kids just plain love ‘em. Don’t drive yourself crazy if you don’t have time to make homemade cornbread, any decent boxed variety or store-bought kind will do. For this recipe, it’s all about the stuffing!

Cornbread Cranberry Stuffing (Serves 10-12)

Cornbread (recipe below)
4 Tbsp Butter
1 Small Onion, diced (about 1 cup)
4 Celery Stalks, diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Fresh Thyme
1 Cup Chicken Broth
2 Eggs, whisked
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Break apart cornbread into chunks and place onto a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes until dried out.
3. In a sauté pan heat the butter and then sauté the onions, celery, salt and thyme for 8 minutes until tender.
4. Whisk the chicken broth and egg in a bowl until combined.
5. Place the toasted cornbread pieces, the onion celery mixture and egg mixture in a large bowl with the cranberries and toss to combine.
6. Place stuffing in a buttered 7 x 11 baking dish and bake for 45 minutes.
7. Cool & serve.

Cornbread (Serves

1 Cup Corn Meal
1 Cup Flour
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1 Cup Milk
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Large Egg, whisked

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl.
3. Whisk the milk, oil, and egg in another bowl.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until blended.
5. Pour batter into a greased 8 x 8 baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.
6. Cool.

Even for the best of cooks, roasting a turkey can be a huge stress! I’ve cooked more than my share of turkeys over the years and the one thing that I’ve come to realize is: less is more. In my opinion, the key to a perfect turkey is brining. I like to prepare a simple brine for my turkey to sit in for a day or two before cooking (this is one of Kenya’s favorite jobs because he loves playing with all the spices involved) and then into the oven it goes.

Remember, when you make a good turkey, people will remember and complimemt you forever. But when you mess up a turkey, no one will let you forget it. So, don’t mess up the turkey! With brining you won’t. No stuffing, no flipping it halfway through, just a few easy steps that make this Maple Brined Turkey the most juicy, succulent turkey you and your family will ever eat!

Maple Brined Turkey (Makes 10-12 Servings)

Water
1 Cup Maple Syrup
1 Cup Salt (preferably kosher)
1 12-14 Pound Turkey (defrosted if frozen)
1 Orange
1 Onion, quartered
10 Cloves
20 Peppercorns
3 Star Anise
1-2 Tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil

1. Place the maple syrup and salt in 4 cups of hot water. Stir until the salt dissolves.
2. Place the maple syrup mixture in a large stock pot with a gallon of cold water, the juice of the orange, the orange halves (once juiced, of course), the onion, cloves, peppercorns, and star anise and stir to combine.
3. Wash the turkey inside and out (putting aside the neck and liver to make gravy) and place breast side down in the stockpot with the brine (you want the brine to just cover the turkey).
4. Refrigerate 18 hours to 2 days. (Or, you can set it in a cool safe place outdoors as long as it’s below 55 degrees outside).
5. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
6. Take the turkey out of the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water, discarding brine.
7. Place the turkey on a roasting rack inside a wide low pan and blot the turkey with a paper towel.
8. Tuck back the wings (or cover with small pieces of foil) and rub the skin of the turkey with the oil.
9. Roast on the lowest rack of the oven for 30 minutes and then place a piece of foil just over the breast of the turkey to cover (the breast cooks faster then the legs and wings so this process helps it to cook more evenly).
10. Pour 1 cup of water in the pan, reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue to roast 1 hour.
11. Remove the foil from the breast, turn the pan so the other side of the breast is towards the back of the oven (most oven’s heat comes from the back, so turning it prevents overcooking) and cook for another hour to 90 minutes. Insert a meat thermometer into the deepest part of the thigh (avoiding the bone) until you reach a temperature of 160-165 degrees. The turkey will actually continue to cook a bit more even after you take it out of the oven (the total cooking time in the oven will be 2 1/2-3 hours total).
12. Let the turkey rest for 20-30 minutes (this is an essential step to allow the juices to redistribute and settle).
13. Slice and serve with gravy or Cranberr-Wee-Sauce.

I’ve already been getting plenty of panicked emails from moms saying they’re dreading Thanksgiving because of their picky eaters. “My kids aren’t going to eat anything at my mother’s this year!” “What can I make this holiday that will be a guaranteed success with my kids?” While there aren’t any guarantees when it comes to kids and food, there are certain recipes that seem to be more popular than others with little ones (and the rest of the family too!).

Mashed potatoes are usually a safe bet and these Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes are unbelievably fluffy and creamy. They’re also the perfect recipe to make with your kids. I find that one of the easiest ways to get kids to love certain foods is by inviting them to help you make them in the kitchen. If you haven’t tried cooking with your kids, Thanksgiving is the perfect time to put aside the daily stress of rushing around and just enjoy the day cooking as a family. Even if you make only one thing together, it’s a great way to get everyone involved and get your kids excited about the holiday.

When I made these potatoes with Kenya last week during our holiday recipe testing, his favorite job was sampling the mascarpone and deciding whether it tasted more like cream cheese or super thick sour cream. He even helped me decide on how much should go into the recipe, tasting bite after bite until he deemed them “just right”. What better tradition to begin during the holidays than one you can do as a family!

Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes (Serves 6-8)

4 Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 Cup Mascarpone Cheese
2/3 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp Butter
2 1/2 Tsp Salt

1. Place potatoes, 2 tsp of salt in a large pot and cover with cold water.
2. Bring the water and potatoes to a boil.
3. Reduce to medium heat and continue to boil for approximately 15-17 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
4. Heat the milk and butter in a saucepan or in a glass bowl in the microwave until warm and butter is melted.
5. Mash the potatoes using a ricer, food mill or potato masher in a bowl until smooth.
6. Add the warm butter/milk mixture, mascarpone and 1/2 tsp salt and stir to combine.
7. Serve.

I can’t seem to get enough roast turkey this time of year, but some nights — even for me — it can become monotonous. When I really want to serve something different and unique, I try to spice things up….literally. Between all my experimenting adding extra flavor to Chloe’s baby food as well as whipping up dish after dish for Thanksgiving, I’ve been in my spice drawer non-stop lately. And that’s where I got the inspiration for this dish.

There are so many ways to change up regular roast turkey. You can go for barbecue, make sandwiches, maybe even make a turkey salad. But why not try an Indian spin? It sounds exotic, but it’s really easy to do and the flavor is amazing! I love using garam masala and since it contains cinnamon, it has a real kid-friendly flavor. Instead of the traditional Cranber-Wee Sauce I usually serve with my turkey, I quickly cooked up this Apricot Apple Puree, the perfect sweet accompaniment with this juicy turkey breast.

I promise this is a taste no one will get tired of in your house.

Indian Turkey Breast (Serves 6)

1 3-4 Lb Turkey Breast, boneless, skin on and tied
1 Tsp Garam Masala
1 Tsp Salt, divided
1 Tsp Oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Rub the turkey breast with oil and sprinkle with garam masala and salt all over.
3. Place the turkey on a sheet pan covered with foil.
4. Bake for 30 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
5. Bake for an additional 50 or until an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees.
6. Remove turkey breast from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
7. Slice and serve.

Apricot Apple Chutney (Makes 1 1/2 Cups)

1 Apple, cored, peeled and cubed
1/2 Cup Dried Apricots (preferably unsulphered)
1/2 Cup Raisins
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Tsp Curry Powder

1. Place all the ingredients in a small pot and cook over low to medium heat for 10 minutes.
2. Puree in a food processor.
3. Serve.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a lot of turkey is roasted and eaten in our house. If that sounds familiar to what happens at your house, or even if you just have a bunch of leftovers on hand from the holidays, this sandwich is the perfect way to change things up a little and still use most of the ingredients you likely already have in your refrigerator. Even though it’s the end of November we surprisingly still have lettuce in our garden, so I like to pick a few leaves whenever I want to make these yummy bites.

I adore the mini whole wheat bagels from Trader Joe’s because they’re inexpensive, healthy and Kenya craves them, but you can use any kind of mini bagel you find and love. These mini turkey sandwiches are the perfect way to make sure your leftovers are not left over for long!

Turkey Cranber-Wee Bagel Sandwich (1 Sandwich)

1 Whole Wheat Bagel (or mini bagel)
1-2 Pieces Roast Turkey Breast
2 Tbsp Cranberr-wee Sauce
1 Tbsp Sprouts, Micro Greens or Lettuce
1 Tsp Vegannaise or Mayonnaise

1. Spread a teaspoon of mayonnaise on each cut side of the bagel.
2. Top with turkey, cranber-wee sauce and greens.
3. Top with other slice of bagel.
4. Serve