It’s almost turkey time and his means that a lot of newbies will attempt to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. I, myself, will be cooking a pumpkin cheesecake, the cake that I have never attempted to approach before. SO when cooking a Thanksgiving dinner, especially when cooking it for the first time, PLAN EVERYTHING AHEAD!

Tip #1. Write down all the necessary ingredients and plan where you will buy everything.

TURKEY:

Tip #2. When buying a turkey keep in mind “how long will it take to thaw it?” Remember, that normally, you won’t be able to thaw a turkey in 24h. You need at least 24h per 5lb. of turkey. So if you have a 12 lb turkey it may take up to 48h to thaw it in a refrigerator. It’s not recommended to thaw a turekey ourside of the fridge.

Tip #3. If you plant to marinade the turkey, give it up to 24 h for marinating! Don’t forget to turn your bird , so that it would be marinated from both sides!

Tip #4. NEVER! Stuff the turkey a night before cooking, this may cause food poisoning!

Tip #5. Cook your turkey at 350F, calculate the time according to the chart given below:

Tip #6. It is suggested to roast the turkey for the first hour on its breast. This will ensure the even distribution of color of roast.

Tip #7. Check the temperature of the turkey in thickest part of the leg and breast. Use a meat thermometer for best results. When done, all parts of the turkey should be 165°F. (It is sold at Wal-mart , Target and doesn’t cost a lot of money)

Tip #8. Let your turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving, thus the juices will be evenly distributed in your bird and the carving will be easier.

Side dishes:

Tip #9.Prepare the inexpensive food for the side dishes: like corn on the cob, green beans, carrots and bean,devilled eggs, sauteed vegetables, stuffed mushrooms

Tip #10. Remember corn on the cob is in season now, but it tastes really delicious with mashed potatoes and other veggies, as well as with turkey. And mainly it doesn’t require a lot of efforts to cook, Just what you need!

Tip #11. Keep in mind that if you cook deviled eggs, they should be refrigerated at least 2-3 hours before serving. Find the simplest recipe here.

Tip #12 If you have a vegetarians in your family don’t forget to braise cabbage or  vegetable variety for them. It takes 5 minutes to wash and chop the veggies.

Pies:

Tip # . Prepare the dough in advance. You can store it in the refrigerator overnight. It is safe and saves you tons of time.

Tip #10. Use fresh stuffing of pumpkin and apples this will make your pie unforgettable.

Tip #11. If you have only 15 minutes for the pie preparation use this apple pie recipe and it will always be perfect.

Tip #12. When the pie is almost baked, Turn the heat off and let it sit in the oven fr additional 15 minutes. This the dough and the stuffing in your pie that rose will not fall.

Tip #13. To serve the pie warm put in in the oven 15-20 minutes before serving. (if it’s still warm after your turkey and pie adventures!)

Tip #14. If you wish to avoid dough this holiday, try and bake healthy apples with walnuts and honey recipe. You just need to core the apples and stuff them with walnuts mixed with nuts. The recipe is here.

Finally, cooking a Thanksgiving dinner for the whole family is challenging, but if you will plan everything in advance and split the responsibilities you will be done in no time and enjoy a great time with family!

HAVE A BLESSED HOLIDAY!

Helen

This recipe is really amazing and fast to cook, considering the fact that button mushrooms contain 17 different vitamins, the benefits from this dish increase dramatically.

This dish has a long history in my house, it was cooked without cheese and grapes, but I decided to add the sweet twist to it. THe bitterness of cheese and buttin mushrooms combined with sweetness ofgrapes and lemon basil make the combination very rich and the taste pallette wider.

Recipe serves: 2  

Cooking time:20 minutes

Preparation time :10 minutes

For the recipe you will need:

8 big button mushrooms

1/2 lbs of minced pork meat

1/4 of white onion peeled and finely chopped

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of black pepper

8 leaves of lemon basil

grapes

2 pieces of provolone sliced cheese.

Step 1: Take the button mushrooms stalks away. Clean the mushroom from the inside peel the skin (optional), wash carefully.

Step 2: Chop the onion, mix with minced pork and seson very well.

Step 3: Take the washedbutton mushroom caps, put them near you, form the meatball out of the meat, put the meatball inside the button mushtoom cap.

Step4: Repeat with all 8 mushroom caps, set on a baking dish and set to bake at 350F for 17 minutes.

****Helen’s cooking tip*** Don’t forget to add water into the baking dish (1/2 cup)***

Step 5: While the mushrooms are baking take the cheese slices cut them in quarters and set aside. Take the seedless grapes,  cut it in slices and set aside. Wash the lemon basil leaves.

Step 6: In 17 minutes take your button mushrooms out of the oven, sover with cheese and set to bake for 3 more minutes.

Step 7: In 3 minutes, take the mushrooms out and decorate with sliced grapes and lemon basil.

Serve warm.

Enjoy!

This is a traditional recipe for the parties and holidays in Slavic countries. No one knows where it came to former Soviet countries from,(we were a huge country with closed borders for decades), but this was the main salad of every celebration in almost every family for decades.

I cook this salad very rarely and mainly in autumn and winter, as I consider this salad too conservative and even boring to cook it very often. I always experiment with the ingredients as it’s always good to have a different  taste of the same well known dish.

Serves 4.

Cooking time 35 minutes.

Preparation time 15 minutes.

For the salad you will need:

2-3 medium potatoes boiled

1-2 eggs hard boiled

1 medium carrot boiled

7-8 cornichons

2-3 tablespoons of pickled peppers (optional)

3-4 sausages or a cup of chopped ham or chicken breast

1/4 white onion

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of black pepper

2-3 tablespoons of canned peas

3 tablespoons of mayo (light)

Step 1: wash and boil the potato and carrot. Boil for 20 minutes of until cooked i.e. soft. Boil an egg until cooked.

Step 2: Peel a potato and a  carrot. Shell an egg(s)

Step 3 : Chop in small chunks potato, carrot, sausage (or any meat you plan to incorporate in a dish), egg. Finely chop the onion (1/4 of it)

Chop cornichons and pickled pepper, mix everything.

Step 4: Add salt,pepper and canned peas. Dress with mayo , you can add some dill you you like.

Serve cold.

***Tip from Helen*** The meat may also be substituted with mushrooms. canned in water or fried mushrooms, the taste will be different. Pickled peppers aren’t a must.For dressing you may combine mayo and sour cream or mayo and  ranch dressing. Don’t make the dressing too sour though.***

Tortilla is a unique ingredient: every dish you incorporate it in is simple, easy to cook , yet very delicious.

These 3 recipes are my favorites when I am on the run and the family needs to have a snack.

Fried tortillas with beef

It’s good to take with you if you decide to go camping or travel by car at the long distances.

You can also cook this dish with fruit, berries, I sometimes use bacon and cheese, whatever you want.

For this dish you will need

Meat ( in my case beef) for 4 tortillas I used ½ pound

1 small onion

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper Read full recipe 

Apple hot pockets:

Apple hot pockets are a great fall breakfast for a weekday. with Tortillas you can cook them in minutes in the evening and reheat in the morning.

For the recipe you will need:

4 medium apples;

4 tortillas;

2 tablespoons of sugar;

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil Read more 

 Burrito with sausage, cheese, tomato and basil.

Burritos should be spicy and meaty, but as my family loves burritos and doesn’t loce them too spicy I decided to invent mine.

(Honetly there’s nothing to invent) Just throw in together the delicious vinnagraitte of saucage, tomato, cheese and onion with herbs. Read more

I love puff pastry, do you? You can create literally hundreds of recipes with it and it’s ready in 15 minutes: Apple strudel, croissants, puff pastry baskets and puff pastry fish pie and much more. The recipe of this dough will help you create a lot of awesomely delicious dishes in minutes.

For the dough you’ll need:

2 sticks of frozen butter (unsalted), no margarine.

 1 cup of water

3 cups of flour

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

For the filling:

2-3 apples

½ cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)

½ cup of finely chopped walnuts (optional)

The batter prep takes some time and effort, but then you’ll be able to freeze it and use for 2-3 weeks easy.

So, Take your butter, cut the sticks in halves and put in the freezer for 15 min.

Mix: water, flour and vanilla sugar.

Put the batter in a freezer for 10 min.

Take out of the freezer ½ stick of butter and the batter.

Put the clear wrap on the surface you are gonna work on, using the dough roller roll the dough out until 1 inch thick. Shred the butter on the rolled out dough and fold in triangle. Put in a freezer for 10-15 minutes (cover it with clear wrap when putting in the freezer). In 15 minutes take another ½ stick of butter, take out the dough, and put the clear wrap on the working surface (the same you used before or new one). Roll out the dough until 1 inch thick; shred the butter, fold in triangle, put for 15 min in the freezer (cover with clear wrap). Repeat the same procedure with the rest 2 halves of the butter sticks. This dough takes some time and effort, but it really is delicious and the best. But, if you don’t have no time for messing with this dough, just buy the ready puff pastry dough. I normally cook this dough over the weekend, because then I can relax roll out my dough go watch TV then repeat, you know… just enjoy this dough preparation procedure…:-))

The dough is ready, when you shred the last 1/2 stick of butter and put it for 15 minutes in the fridge: take it out cut in 3-4 pieces. Use one piece to roll out your dough for the strudel , the other two you can use for the croissants:-) Keep the other parts of the dough in a freeser for as long as you ned. It’s a great dough to fix quick dessert or pie, or cakes, or roll…

But strudel is my favorite. Ususally it doesn’t live for more than 3 hours in my house, croissants may last for 24 h the most.

Enjoy and share with me your ways of using this recipe of dough.

This recipe is inspired by classic deviled eggs plus spiced up by the deviled eggs seen on Food network.

It’s my combination of delicious deviled eggs that conquered the hearts of my family members.

I would be happy to see what your favorite deviled eggs recipes are.

You can submit the recipes by creating your profile ans choosing the  button Recipes to submit your recipe.

I will be happy to try your  deviled eggs recipes.

The preparation of the dish is usual.

You will need:

Hard boil the eggs. Then, take out the egg yolks, mash them and then add the shrimps (small, boiled in salt water), yellow mustard and mayo.

Mix everything very well, add pepper and salt.

Fill in your egg whites.

Voila!

Your delicious deviled eggs are ready. Decorate with basil and put in the fridge.

You can try these deviled eggs with Dijon mustard, I had yellow mustard at the time when I invented these and they were just fine.

***Tip from Helen** Deviled eggs should be served cold. So after preparing, put them in the fridge for an hour or two. The deviled eggs should be eaten within 24h.

This salad recipe is good with crab meat (as well as imitated crab meat) and shrimps (or you can use both), corn adds sweetness to the salad, rice works as the base of this salad. You can cook it without rice if you wish, but I prefer it with rice, and herbs (dill and parsley, or just dill) are important.

This recipe appeared in my menu, when we lived in Russian Far East near China. I love to cook this salad on a day to day basis or for a dinner party. (Just serve the salad in puff pastry baskets).

The ingredients for this salad are simple and may be found in every pantry.

1 cup of rice

3/4 cup of canned corn

1 cup of chopped crab meat (or imitated crab meat flakes made of fish)

1 carrot

2 eggs

1/2 white onion

1/2 cup of dill

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of black pepper

4 tablespoons of mayo

Wash and boil carrot, in separate pot wash and boil rice, in separate pot boil eggs (until hard boiled). Rice has to be boiled but not too soft and over cooked. Carrot has to be cooked, but not overcooked.

When the rice is cooked, drain it and rinse with cold water.

Eggs: when cooked (in 6-8 min) put in cold water to cool off.

Carrot drain and let it cool down.

Peel and finely chop the onion (1/2 of it)

Drain and rinse the corn (3/4 of a cup)

Peel and finely chop the carrot.

When rice cooled off, mix it with carrot,onion and corn.

Shell and cut  the eggs, wash and chop the dill.

Crab meat: now here you can use: the real crab meat, the imitated crab meat flakes or even shrimps. (I was using imitated crab meat) cut the crab meat in mid-sized pieces and add to your salad.

Add salt, pepper to your salad and mix all the ingredients well.

Add mayonnaise before serving. Enjoy!

TGIF  and today is the first week of  my TGIF Special!

Every week I’ll be featuring one post of my friends’ signature recipes , so stay tuned  maybe next week it will be your turn !

I Love this recipe, it’s simple, it’s fast to cook and tastes EVEN BETTER than at the local restaurant!

Meet the owner of the blog Itsy Bitsy Foodies Kelsey  Hilts:

Kelsey Hilts has always been interested in cooking, traveling, exploring new places, learning languages and learning about other cultures. In 2005 she graduated from Pomona College with a degree in Romance Literatures and Languages (French and Spanish). During college, she studied in France and Spain where she had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe and taste regional cuisines.

Meet Kelsey’s Teriyaki Chicken in My interpretation:

The recipe could be found here.

The only two things are that I added are: the onion to the chicken just 5 minutes before the turning the gas off and I also added steamed broccoli, which is just a must for me, when dining with teriyaki chicken:-)

And another thing, I was using ginger once and the ginger powder another time: I liked the recipe more with ginger powder, but that’s up to each and everyone’s taste!

Enjoy!

And thank you Kelsey for an AMAZING recipe!

You know that I love cauliflower, I had the whole day dedicated to cauliflower in my ***good food*** section on Helen’s Cooking Facebook fan page. Cauliflower is very nutritious, easy to work with and Surprise! Surprise! It’s delicious. This is a signature recipe of my Mom, she cooks cauliflower this way very often. When I was a kid and had a special diet , she told me that it tastes just like fried mushrooms (which I Loved but weren’t allowed to eat). Since that successful introduction by my Mom I love the cauliflower and especially this one (fried).

It’s easy to cook and it will make a great appetizer.

For 4 servings you’ll need;

1 cauliflower head

1 egg

½ cup of water

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of fresh ground black pepper

2 tablespoons of flour

5 tablespoons of cooking oil.

Take your cauliflower, cut the leaves , wash it and put aside. Set a saucepan with water (that will be able to fit in your cauliflower) on medium gas and as soon as the water will start boiling put your cauliflower in it for 5-7 minutes. Your cauliflower should be soft, but a little bit crunchy.

***Tip from Helen*** Boiling reduces the levels of these compounds, with losses of 20–30% after five minutes, 40–50% after ten minutes, and 75% after thirty minutes.^[14] However, other preparation methods, such as steaming, microwaving, and stir frying, had no significant effect on the compounds ***Tip from Helen***

Drain the water and let the cauliflower cool off. After it cooled off cut the cauliflower into flowerets (if they are big you can cut them in halves). Take an egg, beat it up with water and add the flower. Season the cauliflower, add salt and pepper to the egg-water-flour mix.

Set a frying pan on medium gas, add cooking oil; coat the cauliflower in egg-water-flower mix and fry on each side until golden brown.

Your cauliflower is ready, it’s good warn and when it’s cold from the fridge, it’s good with dips.

Enjoy!

This is a recipe of salad from 1927, very extraordinary in implementation I would say.

You all remember this newspaper menu of the 1927 family that I posted on my Facebook page: 

I decided to experiment with the filling , as we don’t really eat celery in my family.

The result was astonishing, my fiancee, who doesn’t eat cucumbers ate this salad and really liked it!

I took one cucumber and  pared it  as it was said in the newspaper. Then I invented my fillings:

For cucumber 1:

Finely chopped cabbage

Honey Smoked Turkey

Pickled cornichons

Lemon basil

Dill

Cucumber 2:

Cherry tomatoes

Red apple

Red bell pepper (boiled for 2-3 min)

Dill

Lemon basil

Salad for Cucumber 1:

Finely chop the cabbage, cut in thin strips the turkey, slice pickled cornichons and finely chop the dill (use half for the other salad). Add the mayo, mix well. Put the salad into the cucumber 1 and decorate with the lemon basil.

Salad for Cucumber 2

Put the red bell pepper in boiling water for 2-3 min, then drain and cool it off.

Cut in the apple in quarters (I used ¼ of the apple, take out the apple seeds, slice the apple, then cut in cubes)

Clean the seeds of the red bell pepper, (I used the half of it) slice, and then cut the pepper in cubes.

Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves. Mix: cherry tomatoes, apples, pepper, dill and add mayo.

Put the salad in cucumber 2 and decorate with lemon basil.

Enjoy!