Let’s Talk Turkey … And More!

Without a doubt, the Thanksgiving feast is the all-time favorite meal in the Cavehold. The combination of good times with family and friends; the enticing colors, aromas, and flavors of the Fall season; and to be able to celebrate all that we are thankful for all makes for a memorable and savory Holiday. With that in mind, we are going to share most of the recipes and tips that help to make our Turkey Day such a favorite for us and our guests.

First, unless you will be cooking a fresh bird or some other type of main course, you need to consider when to start defrosting your turkey. Click here to discover how to safely and effectively thaw the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving dinner. We describe both the Refrigerator Method (preferred) and the Cold Water Method (acceptable). Once you have your bird returned from it’s frozen state, you’ll want to check out our famous T-day Turkey Brine to ensure your fowl is juicy, tender, and full of flavor. It’s so good, I’ve been threatened with great bodily harm if I ever change the recipe.

You can’t have a Holiday Turkey without some tangy-sweet cranberry sauce. Unfortunately, far too many modern homo-sapiens are good with the canned variety of the berry relish. We strongly advise you to adopt the Neanderthal way of thinking and give our Cave’s Cranberry Sauce a go. It only takes an extra 20 minutes in your meal’s preparation, and you will end up with a C-sauce that will forever have you shunning the pre-made type in the future. Plus, it’s easy … just the recipe on the package with some molasses and either wine, port, cognac or brandy added. Best of all, you can make it a day or two ahead of time and refrigerate it until chow time – which actually also helps it to set up better, both, flavor and consistency wise. The only problem with early prep is keeping everyone away from it until the big meal … the Cavewoman is our biggest offender on that!

Another essential feature of the T-Day meal, that can also be prepped ahead of time (something we recommend doing whenever possible for this labor intensive repast), is the all important gravy. Our Cavey Gravy is readily prepared the day before the big meal. Then, all you need to do on Thanksgiving is add some turkey drippings and reheat. Best of all it is a flavor filled moisture making sauce that goes good on the bird, mashed potatoes, stuffing … you name it!

Unfortunately, we have yet to post our delicious Focaccia Bread Stuffing recipe. But, we promise to take pictures next week and post the recipe before Christmas. Though, another side dish considered a staple on the Thanksgiving plate is the mashed potato. We have long used our scrumptious Garlic Mashed Taters for this crucial purpose. They are loaded with flavor, easy to make, and are sure to be a hit with your Turkey Day crowd. BTW, you can also see our video version of this recipe … it’s a hoot!

Another fun and flavorsome player in our Turkey Day lineup are Cavemom’s Orange Yam Turkeys. These unique, colorful, and tasty yam birds have become a real favorite of the Cavekids … not just to eat, but to make as well. They really look forward to working in the kitchen on these with their Cavenana. Put one of these on your guest’s plate, and we guarantee they will be ooing and cooing about how cute they are. That is, until they taste it and start oohing and awing about how delicious they are! Yams, orange, pineapple, nuts, marshmallows, butter … what could be bad about that, right?!?! Plus, they are real hit with the vegetarians in your life.

This next dish has become a regular for just about all of our Holiday meals, no matter what time of year we are celebrating. The Cavewoman’s Super Spinach Soufflé is a warm, zesty, delicious dish that you probably won’t have any leftovers on, since everyone always wants seconds, and even thirds, on. While it is plainly obvious that this is not a healthy dish, we try to cut out some of the fat by using non-fat milk and light sour cream. It works great, and there is plenty of other fat in there to more than make up the difference!

Of course, every T-Day in the Cavehold is filled with football, family and friends. Which means we are together for an extened period of time. So, we always have plenty of apps, from shrimp cocktail with Cave’s Quick Cocktail Sauce to our scrumptious Baked Brie with Peach Sauce. Post-dinner, we somehow always have room for the Cavewoman’s apple pie and pumpkin pie. But, one of her biggest winners in the dessert selection are her incredible Pumpkin Whoopie Pies … a unique and welcome change to the usual T-day sweet treats. Give these a try and we promise you will be smiling with delight as they melt in your mouth.

We hope that the above recipes help inspire you to create a fantastic feast for your Holiday crowd. Whether you employ these or concoctions of your own, we wish that your Thanksgiving is filled with the warmth of family and friends; the flavors and aromas of the occasion; and, most importantly, the spirit and essence of the season. In other words, Happy Thanksgiving!

©2015 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.net authored by Caveman. This may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

Homegrown Lunch

BLTT (Bacon Lettuce Tomato & Turkey) with homegrown tomato and lettuce. YUMMMMMMM!
(Can’t see it on the backside, but there’s a homemade spicy dill pickle on the plate, too!)

©2014 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This recipe originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.net authored by Caveman. This recipe may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

A Neanderthal Thanksgiving

Well, the big day isn’t until tomorrow, but the cooking almost certainly starts in earnest today. So, if you are looking for a few last minute Turkey Day ideas, I thought I’d share the annual standards we employ in the Cavehold.

I just posted my famous Cavey Gravy recipe the other day. But, you’ll need to put that gravy on something (though, some have considered just grabbing the gravy boat and a straw! 😉 ). Of course, the main event (ie. turkey) is a prime candidate to be smothered in that savory sauce, which calls for a start 24 hours before you pop it into the oven. That’s because we always use our T-day Turkey Brine to ensure a moist, flavorful bird. White wine, grapes, garlic, and rosemary are the mainstays of this magnificent marinade.

One thing that most Thanksgiving gobblers agree on: mashed potatoes are a must! Plus, they are another traditional landing pad for the gravy. But, if you are going to cook like a Caveman, you are going to have to bump it up a notch or two. We accomplish that with our tasty Garlic Mashed Taters. Milk, sour cream, and cream cheese are all combined into this recipe to create a creamy, delectable side dish … which does make it the “Angioplasty Special”. Though, if you are only cranking these spuds out once or twice a year, your cardiologist shouldn’t mind too much. I can attest that your taste buds won’t complain one bit!

Every meal calls for a vegetable. But, even the most anti-veggie attendee can’t turn their nose up on the Cavewoman’s incredible Super Spinach Soufflé. With eggs, two kinds of cheeses, milk, and butter it is plainly obvious that this is not a healthy dish, either. So, we try to cut out some of the fat by using non-fat milk and light sour cream. It works great, and there is plenty of other fat in there to more than make up the difference! I guarantee if you try this one at your T-Day feast once, it will become a regular participant in your family’s faire for years to come.
HINT: I highly recommend that you get some Cougar Gold from the WSU Creamery for this recipe. It adds the perfect flavor that just pushes the entire dish over the top.

Holiday cooking has always been where my Mom shines brightest in the kitchen. Her creative mind is always at work … but, none more so than when she puts her signature touch on a recipe. This is plainly evident with her Cavemom’s Orange Yam Turkeys – an ingenious spin on the traditional Thanksgiving yams. This unique, colorful, and tasty dish has become a real favorite of the Cavekids … not just to eat, but to make as well. They really look forward to working in the kitchen on these with their Cavenana, and this year is no different! They’ve already been asking us if their grandmother was “bringing all the stuff to make Yam Turkeys”. Put one of these on your guest’s plate, and I guarantee they will be ooing and cooing about how cute they are. That is, until they taste it and start oohing and awing about how delicious they are! Yams, orange, pineapple, nuts, marshmallows, butter … I mean, what could be bad about that, right?!?!

You can’t call it a Thanksgiving meal without cranberry sauce. However, far too many call it “good” with a canned variety of the tangy berry relish. If you are in that crowd, I strongly advise you step out of your canned comfort zone and give my Cave’s Cranberry Sauce a go. It will only take an extra 20 minutes in your meal’s preparation, and you will end up with a C-sauce that will forever have you shunning the pre-made type in the future. Plus, it’s easy … just the recipe on the package with some molasses and either wine, port, cognac or brandy added. Best of all, you can make it a day or two ahead of time and refrigerate it until chow time – which actually also helps it to set up better, both flavor and consistency wise. The only problem with that is keeping everyone away from it until the big meal … the Cavewoman is our biggest offender on that!

Most of all, we wish you the sweetest of Thanksgiving Holidays, filled with laughter, love, and memories to last a lifetime!

©2013 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. These recipes originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.net authored by Caveman. These recipes may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies them.

Cavey Gravy

Okay … beat me, whip me, make me write bad checks! It’s been so long since my last recipe here that I’m sure entire species have had the opportunity to evolve. I promise to have more coming in the near future. No … REALLY! 😉 For now, I’m back just in time to share my famous gravy recipe – a must for any Turkey-Day table. Best thing is that you can make this base ahead of time and then just reheat and add some turkey drippings on the big day.

INGREDIENTS

1 Turkey Neck and Giblets
4 Cups Vegetable Broth
2 Carrots Sticks – Peeled and Quartered
2 Celery Stalks – Quartered
3 Garlic Cloves – Sliced
1/2 Sweet Onion – Rough Chopped
1/2 Cup Mushrooms – Sliced
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

RECIPE

In large saucepan, heat oil and garlic slices. Then, add turkey neck, giblets, salt, and pepper.

Brown neck and giblets. When you flip them to brown the other side, add carrots, celery, onion, and mushrooms.

When neck and giblets are fully browned, and onions begin to get translucent, add stock. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer for 90 minutes covered.

When done, strain broth into suitable container and set aside. Also reserve 1/3 of each type of veggie. Remove neck and shred as much meat as possible off of it with two forks. Chop up liver into small pieces. Discard gizzard, heart, and remainder of neck.

Place reserved veggies, neck and liver meat, and reserved broth into blender or processor on “high” until ingredients are completely liquified.

This is your gravy base. It should have the color of dull mustard and should have the consistency of a milkshake. Place into an airtight container and refrigerate until needed.

When you are ready to make your gravy, remove the base from the fridge about 20 minutes prior. Return to large saucepan, cover and heat over a low flame. Take drippings from turkey roasting pan (after having skimmed off the fat) and stir into base. BOOM … you have gravy!

Pour liberally over turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and anything else you desire (careful, though … it’s hot 😉 ). Most importantly, have a great Holiday with friends and family, being sure to give thanks for moments like these.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Prep Time = 20 minutes
Cook Time = 105 minutes
Serves 12-16

©2013 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This recipe originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.net authored by Caveman. This recipe may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

T-Minus 5 (Time To Thaw The Turkey)

If your Thanksgiving turkey is chillin’ in the freezer, you are going to need to make some plans in the next several days to start defrosting it. The method you choose, and the size of your bird, will determine when you need to commence the thawing process in order to guarantee you won’t be left with a turkey-bowling ball on the big day.

When defrosting your bird, it is critical to follow strict guidelines so as to not poison yourself and your guests with some bacteria borne illness. Personally, I don’t like the microwave method because the turkey usually starts to cook in the process. So, I try to follow one of two thawing procedures, the Refrigerator Method (the slow, and best way) or the Cold Water Method (the quick way). Whichever way you choose to do it, DO NOT just let it defrost on your countertop … you’ll be inviting food-borne illnesses to your Holiday meal.

Refrigerator Method (Recommended)

For this procedure it is important to really plan ahead. You need to allow about 24 hours for every 5 pounds in a fridge set to 40 °F. Here are the approximate times to thaw a whole Turkey:

8 to 12 pounds -> 1 to 2 days
12 to 16 pounds -> 2 to 3 days
16 to 20 pounds -> 3 to 4 days
20 to 24 pounds -> 4 to 5 days

Cold Water Method (Acceptable)

Make sure the turkey is in leak-proof packaging … they absorb water like a sponge. Cover the turkey completely in cold water. Be sure to change the water every so often and allow about 30 minutes per pound when thawing a turkey this way.

8 to 12 pounds -> 4 to 6 hours
12 to 16 pounds -> 6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 pounds -> 8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 pounds -> 10 to 12 hours

Either brine or cook your turkey immediately upon completing one of the above defrosting methods. By following these simple steps your bird should be safe to eat and, next year, your guests won’t be making up strange excuses as to why they can’t join you for Thanksgiving. 😉

©2012 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at https://cavemancooking.wordpress.com authored by Caveman. This may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

It’s Saturday … Do You Know Where Your Turkey Is?

Yeah, believe it or not, it’s the Saturday before Thanksgiving … ALREADY!!! Time just seems to fly by too quickly .. and it also appears to be accelerating each year. But, it’s time to start talking turkey! Especially if you are planning on cooking a big bird for your holiday feast. You have to get that baby defrosting NOW, particularly if you have a 20+ pounder that’s still frozen. Using the “Refrigerator Method”, the safest and best way to transform your turkey from it’s icy condition, you need to allow a day for each 5 pounds of poultry. Using my five-finger Caveman calculator, that means you have to get going on that hefty hen TODAY. Of course, for more tips and all the methods available for defrosting the centerpiece of your T-day meal, you can always check out our post Thawing Your Turkey. By the way, you’ll notice we did not include the “Microwave Method” of defrosting in that article. That’s because it is a real flavor and texture killer … we highly recommend using one of the other two methods we’ve detailed.

Once you have unlocked your turkey from it’s frozen state, you need to either cook it or brine it immediately. In the Cavehold, we would never do the former without first doing the latter. Years ago, when I was just a young Cavelad, the Cavemom developed a great brine that included wine and grapes. Since then, when the Cavewoman and I took over the duties of hosting this particular holiday, we took her brine and bumped it up a notch or two. This recipe was a closely held family secret until we spilled the beans two years ago with our post T-day Turkey Brine. If you want to ensure you serve a juicy, tender turkey full of great flavor, every time, I suggest you give this one a go. It’s easy, it’s foolproof, and as we say around here, “Once you brine, your turkey will be fine!”. By the way, I’ve been told by our Turkey Day faithful that I will be kicked to the curb if I ever try to deviate from this recipe on Thanksgiving … I think that says it all!

Of course, Caveman (or Cavewoman) does not live by turkey alone … even on Thanksgiving. So you might want to check out some of the side dishes and aperitifs we shared previously that have become holiday traditions in the Cavehold. For instance, no T-day meal is complete with out cranberry sauce. Many folks believe it’s just too hard to make their own and go with the canned versions available in the store. But, if you venture just a bit further down the aisle to the veggie and fruit section, and take an extra 20 minutes in your meal’s preparation, you will end up with a C-sauce that will forever have you shunning the pre-made type in the future. Our Cave’s Cranberry Sauce is really just the recipe on the package with some molasses and either wine, port, cognac or brandy added. Best of all, you can make it a day or two ahead of time and just refrigerate it until chow time – which actually also helps it to set up better, both flavor and consistency wise. The only problem with that, really, is keeping everyone away from it until the big meal … the Cavewoman is our biggest offender on that!

Yams or sweet potatoes are another must for this Fall harvest feast. While they take many forms in each family, I really have never tasted anything better than the Cavemom’s Orange Yam Turkeys. This unique, colorful, and tasty dish has become a real favorite of the Cavekids … not just to eat, but to make as well. They really look forward to working in the kitchen on these with their Cavenana, and this year is no different! They’ve already been asking us if their grandmother was “bringing all the stuff to make Yam Turkeys”. Put one of these on your guest’s plate, and I guarantee they will be ooing and cooing about how cute they are. That is, until they taste it and start oohing and awing about how delicious they are! Yams, orange, pineapple, nuts, marshmallows, butter … I mean, what could be bad about that, right?!?!

Another regular player on the Thanksgiving plate is the mashed potato. You’ve got to have something to to put the gravy on – besides turkey and stuffing, of course. You know that in the Cavehold we can’t simply serve a boiled tater mashed up with some butter and salt. We’ve got to give the spud a serious kick in the pants! (GRRRREAT! Visions of kicking Mr. Potato Head are now swirling around in my Neanderthal noggin!!). Which is why our Garlic Mashed Taters always make an appearance on our holiday menu. If you’re going to squish a potato beyond all recognition, why not take it to the next level with butter, milk, sour cream, cream cheese, green onion chives, and roasted “gah-lick”. True, it’s not the healthiest of dishes. But, oh my, is it goooooooooood! Best of all, this is also one of those recipes that you don’t need to save just for Turkey Day … we use this one just about every time we have a hankerin’ to do some mashin’. In fact, they are pictured here with Korean Pork Chops (Daeji Galbi) and Sauteed Asian Veggies.

Before getting to the real meal, we try to tempt our guests’ palates with some basic, yet delicious appetizers. And, shrimp cocktail is about as basic as it gets. However, a chilled shrimp is only as good as the sauce that accompanies it. You could make your own sauce from scratch. But, that is time consuming and, as you know, we like to make things as easy as possible around here. Thus, with necessity being the mother of invention, came the recipe for Cave’s Quick Cocktail Sauce. As the name suggests, it’s quick, it’s easy, and man is it goooooood! If there is any doubt about how good it really is, on a holiday known for leftovers, there are never any leftover shrimp!

As good as those little crustaceans bathed in that sauce are, we still have to make sure that the non-carnivorous crowd is well accounted for. So, we also whip up an incredible, veggie friendly, Baked Brie with Peach Sauce. When coupled with the dried cherries and pecans, this gooey plate of yum becomes a huge hit. Serve it up with some quality Lavosh or water crackers and let the feasting begin!
NOTE: Even though you will want to dig right in, be sure to let the baked brie cool for about 10 minutes after pulling it from the oven as the melted cheese inside the brie casing can get quite hot. Nothing worse than burning your tongue on that first bite and not be able to taste the full flavor of the rest of the meal. Yes, this is the voice of experience talking! 😳

Lastly, while both apple pie and pumpkin pie are expected desserts amongst the Caveclan come Thanksgiving day, a new addition to the post-meal eats has made it’s way into our hearts and stomachs. The Cavewoman’s Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are a unique and welcome change to the usual T-day sweet treats. Give these a try and I promise you will be smiling with delight as they melt in your mouth. Besides, these Whoopie Pies also garnered a Food Blogs “Post Of The Day” honor! So … what are you waiting for? Hit the link!!

Yes, we’ve given you a lot to contemplate here. However, this is the one holiday that truly centers around the food that is served. So, consider giving some, if not all, of these recipes a try and let us know how it goes. But, if you haven’t gotten that big bird out of the freezer yet, stop reading this and get a move on! 😉 The entire Caveclan wishes you and yours a safe, happy, and delicious Thanksgiving.

P.S. – We are less than two weeks from the premier of Caution: Caveman Cooking’s online cooking show, C3TV. Look for more info on the launch right after Turkey Day. In the meantime, you can get a sneak peek here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw-uf78Tlzk

©2011 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at https://cavemancooking.wordpress.com authored by Caveman. This may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

Happy Tweet-giving!

Yesterday, while cooking up a storm, I was also “Tweeting” up a storm on Twitter. Using my semi-new Droid X, I was taking pics as I went along and posting them up on my Twitter account @CavemanCooking. Just in case you missed them (or aren’t a “Tweep”), I thought I’d share them, in chronological order (Actually, the first three are from the day before):

Turkey is brined!

Cranberry sauce is done!

Gravy base is simmering!

The “outside the bird” stuffing is ready to go!

Turkey is stuffed and going in the oven!

Spinach Souffle is ready to go.

OMG the house smells good! I keep going outside & coming back in to get a fresh nose full!! 😉
(No picture)

Cavemom’s Orange Yam Turkeys are ready to go!

Table is almost ready!

Shrimp Cocktail is served!

Baked Brie is served!

Turkey is done!

Forgot to get the “before” shot. Oh well! 😉 Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving pie trio. (From L to R) Pecan, Apple, and Pumpkin. YUM!

Great day … but, our house looks like Fall threw up on it! 😉
(No picture)

Our first T-Day in our new home was absolutely fantastic. Everyone had a great time and were stuffed fuller than our Thanksgiving Turkey! It was especially nice to have the Cave-mom-in-law there, after her harrowing health issues this year. We hope that your Holiday was filled with love, laughter and deliciousness!
If you’d like to see some more pics from our gathering, go to the Cavewoman’s Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16372067@N00/

©2010 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at https://cavemancooking.wordpress.com authored by Caveman. This may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

Thawing Your Turkey

If your Thanksgiving turkey is frozen, you are going to need to make some plans in the next several days to start defrosting it. The method you choose, and the size of your bird, will determine when you need to commence the thawing process in order to guarantee you won’t be left with a giant odd-shaped curling stone on the big day.
When defrosting a turkey it is critical to follow strict guidelines so as to not poison yourself and your guests with some bacteria borne illness. Personally, I don’t like the microwave method because the bird usually starts to cook in the process. So, I try to follow one of two thawing procedures, the Refrigerator Method (the slow, and best way) or the Cold Water Method (the quick way).

Refrigerator Method (Recommended)

For this procedure it is important to really plan ahead. You need to allow about 24 hours for every 5 pounds in a fridge set to 40 °F. Here are the approximate times to thaw a whole Turkey:

8 to 12 pounds -> 1 to 2 days
12 to 16 pounds -> 2 to 3 days
16 to 20 pounds -> 3 to 4 days
20 to 24 pounds -> 4 to 5 days

Cold Water Method (Acceptable)

Make sure the turkey is in leak-proof packaging … they absorb water like crazy. Cover the turkey completely in cold water. Be sure to change the water every so often and allow about 30 minutes per pound when thawing a turkey this way.

8 to 12 pounds -> 4 to 6 hours
12 to 16 pounds -> 6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 pounds -> 8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 pounds -> 10 to 12 hours

Either brine or cook your turkey immediately upon completing one of the above defrosting methods. By following these simple steps your bird should be safe to eat and, next year, your guests won’t be making up strange excuses as to why they can’t join you for Thanksgiving. 😉

©2010 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at https://cavemancooking.wordpress.com authored by Caveman. This may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

Thanksgiving Prep

I don’t know about you but, for the Caveclan, Thanksgiving is the holiday we look forward to the most. A day filled with friends and family, fantastic football, and fabulous food is certainly a day worth giving thanks for. Which is why, when the Cavewoman and I wed, we chose Turkey Day as the one we would host for the entire family. Yeah, it is a lot of work in the kitchen. But, seeing everyone slumped into the couch, satiated and smiling, is worth every moment spent hoping not to burn the gravy or undercook the bird.
Over the last dozen years, we have incorporated some of our families’ recipes with our own to create a meal that has become a tradition … to the point we are threatened with embarrassing public revelations from our pasts if we change anything. Making blackmail truly the most sincere form of flattery you can receive! 😉 With that in mind, I want to share with you some of the recipes we’ll be employing next week for the big day. I hope to also post a few new recipes over the next week that we will be enjoying this year, as well.
Before getting to real meal, we try to tempt our guests palates with some basic, yet delicious appetizers. And, shrimp cocktail is about as basic as it gets. However, a chilled shrimp is only as good as the sauce that accompanies it. You could make your own sauce from scratch. But, that is time consuming and, as you know, we like to make things as easy as possible around here. Thus, with necessity being the mother of invention, came the recipe for Cave’s Quick Cocktail Sauce. As the name suggests, it’s quick, it’s easy, and man is it goooooood! If there is any doubt about how good it really is, on a holiday known for leftovers, there are never any leftover shrimp!
As good as those little crustaceans bathed in that sauce are, man (and, more specifically, the vegetarian Cavewoman) can’t live on prawns alone. So, we also whip up an incredible veggie friendly Baked Brie with Peach Sauce. When coupled with the dried cherries and pecans, this gooey plate of yum becomes a huge hit. Serve it up with some quality Lavosh or water crackers and let the feasting begin!
NOTE: Even though you will want to dig right in, be sure to let the baked brie cool for about 10 minutes after pulling it from the oven as the melted cheese inside the brie casing can get quite hot. Nothing worse than burning your tongue on that first bite and not be able to taste the full flavor of the rest of the meal. Yes, this is the voice of experience talking! 😳

Too often, one of the cornerstones of the Thanksgiving meal is taken for granted. The cranberry sauce! Serving it right out of the can isn’t worthy of the time and effort most will put into their holiday spread. You could just follow the rather simple directions that come on a bag of fresh cranberries … at least that is a huge step up from pre-made. But, if you want to bump it up a major notch, I suggest you take the few extra steps recommended in our Cave’s Cranberry Sauce recipe. It’s still very simple to make. But, instead of having your cran-sauce be just an also-ran on the plate, it will become one of the stars of your holiday meal. In fact, you just might find yourself making this dish throughout the year!
Of course, it isn’t Thanksgiving without a turkey. However, it isn’t much of a Thanksgiving, foodwise, if your bird isn’t flavorful, juicy and tender. Fortunately, there is one thing you can do to help assure you achieve all three of those lofty goals: marinate your turkey in brine! My now-famous T-day Turkey Brine is one of those modified/modernized family recipes that has been handed down from my Cavenana to my Cavemom, and most recently to me. Combing wine, fresh grapes, garlic, rosemary and various other ingredients for an overnight marinade creates a turkey that is perfect nearly every time. Turkeys done this way usually don’t have much in the way of drippings because the bird retains so much of the moisture. But, it also helps make the meal’s main attraction tender, moist and full of flavor.
Like I said, these are just a few of the recipes we will be whipping up in the coming days. We should have a few more to share before you start winging it around the kitchen. No matter what you end up making, we wish you and yours a safe, savory and happy Thanksgiving. And, don’t be bashful about telling the people sharing your holiday table how thankful you are for having them in your life – it is the only true fail-safe ingredient to a successful T-Day gathering.

©2010 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at https://cavemancooking.wordpress.com authored by Caveman. This may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

BTA Turkey Sandwich

No, BTA doesn’t stand for Bacon, Tomato, Avocado. Though, the latter two are part of this sub sandwich. Rather, it stands for Better Than Average … which it is! 😉

INGREDIENTS

1/4 Pound Sliced Turkey
1-2 Slices of Cheese
1/4 Avocado, ripened
1 Lettuce Leaf
2-3 Slices of Tomato
1-2 Slices of Sweet Onion, shaved
1 Tbsp. Mayonnaise (or other condiments)
1 tsp. Olive Oil
2 tsp. Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 tsp. World Spice Merchants Italian Herbs or TSS Italian Herbs & Cheese
1 Sandwich Roll

RECIPE

Slice your roll lengthwise, making sure not to cut all the way through the crust on one side.
HINT #1: Believe it or not, the choice of roll is one of the most important steps in making this sandwich rock. Fortunately, our local market has a bakery that makes incredible sub rolls.
Spread your condiments evenly on both halves of the roll. I use lite-mayo to try and make it a little healthier. But, you can use regular mayo, pesto-mayo, mustard, 1000 Island, etc., or any combination thereof.
On the bottom half of the roll evenly place your turkey slices. Then add your cheese slices.
NOTE: I usually use Swiss Cheese, but we were out of everything except for the kids’ String Cheese. So, I just pulled it apart and used that. Any of your favorite hard or semi-hard cheeses will work well.
Next, add your lettuce leaf, tomato slices and shaved onion. On the top half of the roll lay your avocado slices. Sprinkle the Italian herbs over the sandwich. Then, drizzle your oil and vinegar over the sandwich.

I also like to add pickle slices to my sandwich (not pictured because I forgot them until just before my first bite, and I was too lazy and hungry to re-shoot it ;)). You can also throw any of your other favorite veggies on there including cucumbers, mushrooms, peppers (marinated Red Peppers work really well), etc. Be creative … a sandwich is only limited by your imagination!
Enjoy with some chips, pasta salad, side salad, mac salad, etc. Served here with Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips (again, trying to be a little healthier).
HINT #2: To make closing this sandwich up easier, and to be able to slice it easily, take a large sharp knife and lay it against the ingredients on the bottom half of the sandwich firmly enough to hold everything in place without squishing them. Simultaneously, fold the top half over the knife, and then smoothly slide the knife out of the sandwich.

Prep Time = 5 minutes
Cook Time = n/a
Serves 1

©2010 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This recipe originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.net authored by Caveman. This recipe may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.