The Holiday Kitchen Helper
Tips and delicious recipes for everything from turkey day to Christmas morning.
I am here to help.
Think of me as your holiday helpline, with some suggestions and recipes that you’ll want to tuck away for this holiday season. My resource is Bernie Mason, who was Yellowstone County family and consumer extension agent for decades.
If it’s your job to bring the turkey to the holiday gathering, Bernie has some great tips.
I was watching Sara Moulton on PBS when I learned that mashed potatoes can be prepared ahead, saving time and frustration. Bernie reached into her wealth of recipes for Make Ahead Holiday Mashed Potatoes to give the spuds some “zhuzh.”
For those looking for recipes to serve a fast-yet-special breakfast treat for those stay-over holiday guests, again Bernie to the rescue with Fastest Cinnamon Buns — no yeast, so no proofing.
Enjoy the holidays and take lots of photos. The moments will be gone before we know it.
Enjoy!
Turkey Travels
The first tip from Bernie Mason is to make sure the turkey is fully cooked. And minimize travel time, ideally to less than an hour.
A suggestion she has is to consider buying a turkey breast. It still needs to be fully cooked, but is smaller to transport. A large crock pot can be a good way to transport it — just be sure the lid is properly sealed and wrap the edge with layers of heavy aluminum foil. Fit the crock pot in a box and wrap it with towels so it doesn’t accidentally tip during transport.
If it’s a full turkey, after making sure it is fully cooked, let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes before fully slicing. Put the sliced meat in a large container with some broth in the bottom to help keep the meat moist. Be sure to wrap the container with foil and put it in one of those large, insulated food carriers with lots of towels wrapped around the food container.
You can also bring cold turkey to your gathering and reheat it once you arrive. Simply slice up the fully-cooked turkey and refrigerate. It’s important that the turkey stays below 40 degrees. When ready to travel, place the container with the sliced meat in a cooler or insulated food carrier with lots of ice and ice packets. (Be sure to keep meat and the types of ice separate.)
Once at your location, place the meat in a baking dish with broth or gravy, cover with foil, and bake in a 325-degree oven for about an hour or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Things to remember: if transporting hot turkey, it needs to remain above 140 degrees during transport. And, if it’s cold turkey, pack it with ice packs and keep it below 40 degrees.
Make-ahead Mashed Potatoes
~Recipe from Bernie Mason
SEASONED BUTTER
½ c. butter, softened
1 T. thinly sliced green onions
1 t. finely chopped fresh garlic
¼ t. salt
POTATOES
8 c. (about 4 lbs.) peeled potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 t. salt
3 oz. cream cheese, softened and cut into chunks
¾ c. milk
Paprika and chopped parsley, if desired
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the butter, sliced green onion and chopped garlic in a small mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed until well mixed. Keep at room temp.
Place potatoes in a 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven. Cover with water; add 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium. Cook until potatoes are fork-tender (15-18 minutes). Drain.
Place potatoes in a large mixer bowl. Mash potatoes on low speed. Increase speed to medium. Beat, gradually adding cream cheese, ¼ cup of milk and seasoned butter until smooth (1 to 2 minutes). Place potatoes in a 3-quart microwave safe casserole. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
MICROWAVE INSTRUCTIONS
Just before heating, pour remaining ½ cup of milk over the potatoes. Cover and microwave on high for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until heated through. Let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with paprika and chopped parsley. Makes 10 servings.
OVEN INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat to 325 degrees. Pour remaining ½ cup of milk over the potatoes. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Stir and continue baking for 20 to 30 minutes until heated through.
Fastest Cinnamon Buns
~Recipe Bernie Mason, yields 12 buns
DOUGH
¾ c. cottage cheese (4% milk fat)
⅓ c. buttermilk
¼ c. granulated sugar
4 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 t. pure vanilla extract
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, more for rolling
1 T. baking powder
½ t. salt
¼ t. baking soda
FILLING
1½ T. unsalted butter, melted
2/3 c. packed light or dark brown sugar
1½ t. ground cinnamon
½ t. ground allspice
¼ t. cloves
1 c. chopped pecans
GLAZE
Scant 2/3 c. confectioners’ sugar
2 to 3 T. cold whole or low-fat milk
1 t. pure vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray the sides and bottom of a 9-to-10-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray.
MAKE THE DOUGH: In a food processor, combine the cottage cheese, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda and pulse in short bursts just until the dough clumps together (do not overprocess). The dough will be soft and moist.
Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead with floured hands, about 4 or 5 times until smooth. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into 12x15-inch rectangle.
MAKE THE FILLING: Brush the dough with the melted butter, leaving a ½-inch unbuttered border around the edges. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered area of the dough and pat gently into the surface. Sprinkle the chopped nuts over the sugar mixture.
Starting on the long edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal and leave the ends open.
With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 equal pieces. Set the pieces, cut side up, in the prepared pan. They should fill the pan and touch slightly, but don’t worry if there are small gaps.
Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 28 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a spatula around the inside edge of the pan and remove the springform ring. Transfer the rolls to a serving plate.
MAKE THE GLAZE: In a small bowl mix the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla to make a smooth glaze. It should have a thick but pourable consistency (add up to a tablespoon more milk, if necessary. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls. Let stand for 15 minutes and serve.
