Wednesday, November 10

Turkey and trimmings for two

The Tennessean

Following are recipes for a Thanksgiving dinner for two. On the menu: cranberry-orange sauce, turkey with apricot stuffing, green beans with pine nuts, sweet potatoes with orange, rolls from the grocery, dessert from the bakery.

CRANBERRY-ORANGE SAUCE

Makes about three cups.

1 bag (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries

1 cup orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed

1 cup sugar

Rinse berries well, removing any stems and spoiled ones. Drain well and place in heavy 2-quart sauce pan.

Add orange juice and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a slow bubble and cook three-to-five minutes or until berries just begin to pop.

Allow to cool five minutes or so, then process in a blender for smoother sauce, or a food processor for a chunkier sauce.

Put in a serving dish if planning to serve within a day, cover and refrigerate. It will keep refrigerated in a glass jar for two to three weeks.

TURKEY WITH APRICOT STUFFING

For the turkey:

Serves two.

Preparation time: Five minutes

Cooking time: 75 to 90 minutes

1/2 turkey boneless breast, about 3 pounds, preferably fresh, unfrozen

1 and one-half teaspoons olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 to 1 cup low-sodium, no-fat chicken broth

2 tablespoons mango-peach chutney, optional

Rinse turkey well, pat dry with paper towel and rub outside with the olive oil. Sprinkle with pepper to taste.

Follow package directions to cook, or cook on a rack in a shallow pan in 325 degrees convection oven for about 1 hour 15 minutes, or in a regular oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. Baste once or twice with accumulated pan juices or a little of the chicken broth. The internal temperature should be 180 degrees and the juices will run clear when done.

Remove from the oven, cover with foil or parchment paper and let rest about 10 minutes before carving.

Add chicken broth to pan juices, heat and stir well to dissolve browned bits. If desired, stir chutney into pan juices before serving.

For the stuffing:

Serves two.

Preparation time: 30 minutes.

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 cup chopped medium onion

1/4 cup chopped celery stalk

1/4 cup chopped pecans

6 dried apricot halves (one-fourth cup when chopped)

one-fourth cup golden raisins

2 to 3 slices whole wheat bread, three-fourths cup cubed

1/2 teaspoon rubbed dried sage

one-fourth teaspoon sweet paprika

one-fourth teaspoon kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup hot water (more if necessary)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in heavy, nonstick 10-inch skillet. Add onion and celery and cook, covered, over medium heat until softened but not browned. Place in a large mixing bowl.

Add chopped pecans, apricots and raisins; mix well. Add bread cubes, sage, paprika, salt and pepper; mix gently but thoroughly.

Drizzle melted butter and hot water over the mixture, mixing just until well moistened but not soggy and pasty.

Place in lightly greased 1-quart casserole dish, cover with parchment paper and bake about 20 minutes. Remove parchment and continue baking about five more minutes, or until lightly browned on top and heated through.

GREEN BEANS WITH PINE NUTS

Serves two.

Preparation time: Five minutes.

Cooking time: Eight to 10 minutes.

one-fourth pound green beans, or more to taste

1 and one-half tablespoons pine nuts

1 clove garlic

1 and one-half tablespoons unsalted butter

1 and one-half teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Trim ends off whole tender fresh green beans; steam until tender yet slightly crisp, about five to seven minutes.

Toast pine nuts in small, nonstick heavy skillet until fragrant and lightly browned, about two to three minutes. Watch carefully or they will burn. Remove from pan.

Melt butter slowly in skillet. Mash garlic, but leave in one piece and add to butter as it's melting. Continue heating over low heat until the flavor of garlic infuses the butter and the butter solids begin to brown slightly, about one to two minutes; remove from heat.

Stir in lemon juice and drizzle over beans. Sprinkle with pine nuts and serve.

SWEET POTATOES WITH ORANGE

Serves two

Preparation time: Two minutes.

Cooking time: 15 to 20 minutes in microwave, about 1 hour in oven

1 large sweet potato, about three-fourths to 1 pound

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

pinch kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub sweet potato skin and prick with point of knife or fork. Place on rack in oven. For easy cleaning, place cookie sheet with aluminum foil on next rack under the sweet potatoes. They tend to ooze juices toward the end of cooking time.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes in the microwave or 1 hour in the conventional oven. Remove to a cutting board and allow to cool five to 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle.

Remove skin and cut cooked sweet potato into large chunks; place in medium-size bowl. Add orange juice and brown sugar, and mash well with fork or potato masher. Serve immediately, or place in small oven-going baking-dish, cover with parchment paper and reheat about 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Note: Sweet potatoes, once in the casserole dish, can be refrigerated overnight before reheating and serving.

Source: All recipes developed by Thayer Wine, food editor at The Tennessean.