Thanksgiving in Denmark: Recipe extravaganza!

For Canadians, Thanksgiving has come and gone for yet another year, along with turkey, potatoes and pie....so much pie. 

When I moved to Denmark, I decided to bring Thanksgiving with me. We roast a turkey and all the trimmings for my husband's family every year, and they kind of love it. We have to order our turkey from a farm, and spend a couple days making food for around 20 people. It's tons of work, but SO much fun and well worth it in the end. The best part is all the leftovers we have for the next day we can just toss in the microwave. This year, I even had a "pie day" where a friend of mine came over for brunch and dessert. 

This year's bird was a 10.5 kg monster turkey (23 lbs), served with glazed carrots, brussel sprouts with pecans and bacon, my mom's dressing (we don't stuff our bird), mashed potatoes, caramel apple pie, vanilla ice cream, and two pumpkin pies! Whew! You can see a few pictures of all that hard work below:

Pumpkin pie.

Caramel apple pie

This year's napkins

The mighty roast beast

Decoration and wine

Rolls

Brussel sprouts with pecans and bacon

Horn of plenty

I'll start by talking about the star of the meal: the turkey. Tasty bird, but so easy to dry out due to the low fat content. This year's bird was perfect and dripping with moisture after we cooked it. Our secret? Just butter and foil. We didn't brine it or flip it over halfway through cooking. Butter, tin foil and a cooking thermometer (which I recommend everyone have in their kitchen to be on the safe side). We mixed up a pack of butter (250 g or 2 sticks) with loads of fresh herbs (rosemary, tarragon, parsley, thyme, and sage). We gently separated the skin from the meat and rubbed the butter all over the breast and leg meat. We roasted the bird for 15 minutes at around 215° C(419° F) to tighten the skin around that butter, then reduced the heat to 175° C(347° F). The bird was covered with foil, the tray was filled with veggies, herbs and stock, and it was roasted for about 2.5 hours until the thermometer read 75°C (167° F) on the breast. Ta-da! We let the bird rest in foil and under a clean towel until ready to serve! The flavour that comes from all the butter (which is spooned off) and herbs is always amazing. The gravy turns out so well that we try to make a bit more every year, and every year we scrape the bottom of the pot looking for more. If you'd like recipes for any of the dishes I made, check out the list below!

Other recipes can be found by clicking the links below:

• Quite Chefy's mom's savoury dressing/stuffing - This stuffing has a wonderful savoury flavour that goes well with mild poultry like turkey and chicken. We don't stuff our bird, since it takes longer to cook and the bird can get dry by the time the stuffing reaches the correct, safe temperature inside to serve. It can be a hygiene nightmare.
• Quite Chefy's poultry seasoning - An herb and spice blend that's great for stuffings, turkey or chicken. Use dry herbs and grind to a powder. Easy peasy. 
• Roasted brussel sprouts with bacon, pecans and white balsamic vinegar - Boiling sprouts can make them smell like feet - yuck. Skip that and roast your sprouts instead for a wonderful side dish with the smokiness of bacon, sweet pecan nuts and a hint of white balsamic vinegar.
• Pumpkin pie with cookie and pecan layer - Classic pumpkin pie with a punch of pecan and cinnamon/ginger flavour of crushed cookies. Once you taste butter roasted pecans, you'll hate me forever because they are absolutely addictive!
• Pie crust - If you're up for a challenge, this is a great flaky pie crust. The trick is to work with very cold ingredients. When you roll the dough out, let it sit and warm slightly so that when you press into it, it has some give, but doesn't crack to pieces. 
• Caramel apple pie - Tart Granny Smith apples paired with a rich caramel sauce and a hint of cinnamon make this pie a wonderful addition to the dessert repertoire. Serve with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream on the side and you'll be in heaven.
• Crusty dinner rolls - for those of you that like your bread with a nice chewy crust and fluffy interior, this is a wonderful bread recipe that also pairs great with soups and pasta.

These recipes all remind me of home and big family meals. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. If you like them, feel free to leave a comment or share with your friends. I can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram as QuiteChefy.

​Stay Chefy everyone!