Happy Thanksgiving!

Where did November go?  It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only a few days away.  We are hard at work in the kitchens creating some fantastic desserts and side dishes.  We all look forward to having a great meal that last Thursday of the month, complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and so much more.  So we thought we would share some great entertaining tips with everyone this week in celebration of one of the largest holidays of the year.

Tip #1 - THE TURKEY: If you buy a frozen turkey, make sure to allow sufficient time for it to defrost in your refrigerator, typically 2-3 days.  When you are washing the turkey, don't forget to take out the bag of goodies from inside the cavity (Victoria knows this first-hand)!  And we found we LOVE roasting the bird breast-side down with the legs towards the back of the oven for a really juicy turkey.

Tip#2 - DINNER ROLLS: Pick them up from us Wednesday night frozen.  When you get home, put them on your cookie sheet in the refrigerator to thaw overnight.  Let them sit out on your counter or dinner table (if you ran out of counter space) while you prepare dinner or for at least an hour.  While you carve the turkey, pop them into the oven and you will have fresh, piping hot rolls in 13 minutes, and just in time for dinner.

Tip #3 - SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE: Try something else in place of the marshmallows this year - crumb topping with granola and pecans!  To make this bit of heaven, take your regular crumb topping mixture (butter, brown sugar and flour) and turn it into the phenomenal with some of our made-from-scratch granola.  Try it with our busy bee (honey maple) or harvest mix (orange cranberry nut).

Tip #4 - PIES: Once dinner is out on the table and the oven is turned off, put your pie in there.  The residual heat from the oven will warm your pie to the perfect, just-baked goodness.  You won't need to worry about it or check on it while you enjoy dinner.  All you will need ice a scoop of whipped cream, or take it overboard with some vanilla ice cream!

Tip #5 - LEFTOVERS:  Don't fret about serving the same meal for the next week.  Take your leftovers and give them makeovers all week long!  Try a turkey pot pie using chunks of turkey, gravy, vegetables and make the top crust with a thin layer of mashed potatoes.  Or make mini turkey empanadas for a quick treat with some store bought pie crust.  And how about turkey noodle soup with our turkey-shaped pasta?  Too much crumb topping from the sweet potato casserole??  Use the crumbs topping to make baked apples - core out some apples and stuff them with the crumb mixture and bake it in a pan with some apple juice for about an hour at 350 degrees.  YUM!!!!

So come visit us if you need a little help in the kitchen cooking, and most definitely with dessert.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving and we look forward to seeing you soon.