Words by Adrian Farquharson / Feast by Chef for Higher / Photography by Lauren Unger
It’s that time of the year again… fall, the season that speaks to all of our senses. While the leaves take on a bold new color scheme and our clothes take on a few more layers, we begin to indulge in frequent gatherings with family and friends to take in all of this seasonal goodness. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, there is no better time than now to introduce our special seasonal feature,”MARY’s Harvest Feast” prepared by Chef for Higher, photographed by Lauren Unger, and filmed by Dredlife.
Roast Turkey
Get a whole turkey, that roughly weighs between 12-16 lbs and make sure it’s thawed before you brine.
Brine
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup salt
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon (wedged)
Steps
Heat your sugar and salt in 4 qts water until dissolved then allow to cool to room temperature.
Place turkey in a brine bag, pour water mixture in and add garlic & lemon (add additional cold water until bird is fully covered) then place in your refrigerator for 1.5 hours per lb.
Add
- 1/4 cup canna olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Cook
Pull turkey out of the refrigerator 1 hour before you plan to cook it. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Before placing the turkey in, pat it dry and rub with oil then salt & pepper to taste. Prepare your turkey by placing it on a cooking rack in a roasting pan, breast side down.
Place turkey on cooking rack in a roasting pan, breast side down. Bake for 45 minutes then flip the turkey breast side up (use oven gloves or paper towels to grab the turkey) and roast until 170° at deepest part of thigh approximately 15 minutes per lb for thawed turkey.
Let rest 20 minutes before carving to let the juices redistribute.
Smac n Cheese
- 1 lb shells, elbow macaroni or cavatappi
- 3 cups Extra Sharp Cheddar (grated)
- 2 cups Jarlsberg (grated)
- 2 cups smoked gouda (grated)
- 6 tablespoons canna butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 qt milk
- 1.5 tablespoons Kosher salt
- 2 tsp Fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika
- * Saltine crackers
- 13 x 9 baking dish or individual ramekins
Cook
Preheat oven to 350° degrees.
Add oil to boiling salted water and cook pasta to directions on box then drain when ready.
Heat milk in a small saucepan on low heat (do not let it boil). In another large pot, melt butter over medium heat, whisk in flour until combined. Slowly whisk warmed milk into the rue and let simmer until creamy about 4-5 minutes.
Remove from heat and mix in the grated cheeses, stir, then add cooked pasta and stir until everything is mixed well. Put the pasta mixture into a 13×9 baking dish or individual ramekins.
* Top with crushed cracker or breadcrumbs. bake 35-40 minutes, basically you want the crackers and cheese to start browning.
Stuffing
- 1/4 cup canna butter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 loaf of day-old white bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large chopped yellow onion (2 1/2 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups 1/4-inch slices celery (about 3 stalks)
- 2 Carrots (sliced into 1/8” rounds)
- 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, separated to two 1 1/4 cups
- 2 large eggs
- Large mixing bowl
- Small bowl to mix eggs
- 13 x 9 baking dish
Cook
Preheat oven to 250°.
Place torn pieces of bread in a single layer on a baking sheet then place in the oven for 1 hour to dry out, stir occasionally. (bread will become hard, don’t worry).
Transfer to large mixing bowl. While the bread is drying out in the oven, place all of the butter in a large skillet on medium-high heat, add the onions and celery.
Sauté about 8 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the carrots and cook until onions and celery start to brown, about 2-4 minutes. Pour everything over the bread in the large mixing bowl. Add the add the parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, sage and salt & pepper.
Slowly add 1/2 the chicken broth and mix gently.
Whisk remaining chicken broth and eggs in the small bowl then fold into the bread mixture. Place into lightly buttered baking dish, cover with foil and put into pre-heated 350° oven. Bake for 30 minutes then remove foil and bake another 15 minutes or until internal temperature reads 160° on thermometer.
Serve warm.
Sweet Potatoes Mash
- 8 Medium Sweet Potatoes
- 1 Tablespoons Five Spice
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons canna Butter
- 1 1/2 Cups of Milk
Cook
Peel sweet potatoes and cut up into cubes. Add to pot with 1/2 cup of sugar, 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of canna butter and boil sweet potatoes till they are tender.
Drain water then add 1 whole stick of regular butter, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of milk, all of the spices, and whip together. Add more (butter, milk, or spices if needed).
Pumpkin Cake with Sugar Glaze
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons canna oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups canned pumpkin
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cook
Set oven to 350 F degrees .
Grease and flour a 12×18 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside. In a large bowl combine sugar and both oils. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture then spread batter into pan.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Glaze
Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl. Slowly stir in 3 tablespoons of milk & vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth. If the glaze isn’t thin enough, stir in an additional 1 tablespoon of milk. Pour glaze once cake has cooled.
