Chef's Choice: Thanksgiving in a pinch

Well, this is it! You've been thinking about your guest list for weeks. You've poured through every culinary magazine to decide what special foods you want to prepare and how you want the table to be set. The big day is tomorrow … and you have yet to go to the grocery store. Life has caught up to you, and as they say, you are in quite a pickle.

What to do? Pull it off, of course! Here are some recipes that are a healthy mix of do-it-yourself and semi-homemade traditional foods that should help you make a beautiful and delicious Thanksgiving celebration.

The turkey

TURKEY EMERGENCY OPTION A: Call Whole Foods Market RIGHT NOW (410-573-1800) to see if they have any oven-ready turkeys left. They usually have a couple to spare. This bird comes seasoned and trussed, in a pan, with cooking instructions. It is more expensive than a typical bird, but you are paying for convenience and superior taste. All you have to do is preheat the oven and throw in the turkey. This turkey is all natural, free-range and local. And you don't have to wash the pan afterward, an added bonus.

TURKEY EMERGENCY OPTION B: If no oven-ready birds are available, read this article quickly, then make great haste to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's (across from Westfield Annapolis Mall off Jennifer Road; 410-573-0505) for a turkey from the case, hoping that you will get a bird that is not too deeply chilled. Since these stores sell birds that are never frozen, you may be able to have it ready for cooking by tomorrow morning.

My Butcher & More in Clock Tower Place on Forest Drive (410-295-7500) and The Butcher's Block on Harry S Truman Parkway (410-266-6633) also offer fresh, never-frozen, all-natural local turkeys. However, the birds needed to be ordered by Nov. 18 for Thanksgiving. If you're really in a bind, though, you can give them a call in case someone didn't pick up their bird.

The bottom line is this: DO NOT BUY A FROZEN TURKEY AND EXPECT TO COOK IT TOMORROW. Defrosting in the microwave simply is not an option here.

TURKEY EMERGENCY OPTION C: Purchase a turkey breast, grabbing some legs if you can find them in the meat case. Since the breast is smaller, it is cheaper and fits easily into your oven. And you can cook more than one breast or any number of legs, if necessary. Roasted to a perfect golden brown and served alongside a delicious savory stuffing or potatoes, it should be no less grand than the big bird.

Keep in mind that a breast has very little fat, so it doesn't have the juiciest reputation. The breast also needs to be cooked at a lower temperature, roasted in a shallow pan and covered until the last few minutes of cooking. Always allow the meat to rest 15 minutes or so before carving to let the juices be reabsorbed into the meat.

To roast a turkey breast: Using a reliable oven thermometer, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Rub butter - or even better, a compound butter - under the skin of the breast. Place the meat breast-side-down on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Alternatively, you can place the meat breast-side-up on the rack and cover the pan with foil.

After about 45 minutes, use a meat thermometer to check your turkey breast's progress. Cook until the breast has reached an internal temperature of 165 to 170 degrees and the legs are at least 170 degrees. The legs will cook slightly longer than the breast. DO NOT OVERCOOK.

Cooking time will depend on a number of factors, most notably the size of the breast, so don't rely on a timer; USE THE THERMOMETER. If you've used the breast-side-up method, remove foil about half an hour before the breast is fully cooked and raise the heat to 400 degrees to brown the skin.

The sides

The side dishes always cause me more angst than the turkey itself, because it is here that the cook can be most creative and adventurous, yet side dishes are deeply traditional for some families.

You could, of course, run to the supermarket and purchase pre-made side dishes. If you do so, purchase the very best quality and most scrumptious-looking dishes you can afford, then supplement with cooked vegetables. Remember to grab the reheating instructions, too.

When you get home, taste to adjust any seasonings. Put them into a pretty dish and choose a nice garnish. I don't advocate this emergency method unless you are VERY tight on time. Instead, try these recipes, which are all quick, easy and memorably delicious.

The stuffing

Stuffing is not hard and has endless variations. Even in a pinch, you needn't turn to the box. You will need:

1 bag of good-quality bread cubes or a loaf of bread that has been sliced and dried in the oven

1 box of organic, low-salt chicken broth or turkey broth

1-2 teaspoons dried herbs or poultry seasoning

1 cup or more vegetables

3/4 cup or more dried fruits, nuts or berries (optional)

1 pound bulk sausage (optional)

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Add turkey or chicken broth to bread cubes, then season to taste with fresh or dried herbs. Dress it up with cooked sausage, sauteed vegetables, dried fruit, nuts or berries. The bread can be corn bread, whole wheat, white or even bagels. Sausages can be chorizo, Italian sweet or spicy, or whatever you prefer. Traditional herbs are thyme, savory, marjoram and thyme, but use what pairs well with the flavor and texture of your bread.

To make homemade stuffing, place several cups of dried bread cubes and 2 teaspoons or so of poultry seasoning or the herbs of your choice in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Heat 4 cups of stock and keep warm. If you are using dried fruit or mushrooms, add to the stock to reconstitute. Dice the vegetables.

Melt butter in a saute pan, then add the vegetables and cook until softened. Add to the stuffing mix. If you are using sausage, cook and drain, then add to the mix. Add dried fruits, if using.

Pour hot stock over the mix 1/2 cup at a time, stirring softly to combine. If you use less broth, you will have a drier stuffing. If you use more, you will have a moist stuffing. Taste to test the flavor. Season to taste with salt, pepper or more herbs.

Turn the mixture into a baking dish; cover with buttered foil. Bake outside the bird at 350 degrees or so for about an hour.

RYE BREAD AND SAUSAGE STUFFING

(By Craig Sewell, chef/owner, A Cook's Cafe)

1 loaf seeded rye bread

1 pound bulk Italian sausage

2 cups onion, medium dice

2 cups fennel

2 cups peeled butternut squash

1 cup diced celery

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon sage

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon butter

Cut bread into 1/2-inch cubes. Spread on two cookies sheets and bake in 325-degree oven for 15 minutes or until dry. Cool and place in large bowl.

Cook sausage, breaking up with spoon until cooked through. Using slotted spoon, transfer cooked sausage to bread bowl, leaving drippings in pan.

Saute onion, fennel, squash and celery in pan drippings until vegetables are soft. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken stock, parsley, sage, salt and pepper. Stir into bread mixture.

Spoon mixture into baking pan. Dot with butter, cover and bake 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes.

CORN BREAD STUFFING WITH CHORIZO SAUSAGE

4 to 6 cups corn bread cubes

2 cups chicken or turkey broth

1/2 pound bulk chorizo sausage

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium white onions, diced

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray a shallow baking dish.

Prepare one pan of corn bread or purchase fresh corn bread from the bakery. Cut into cubes, spread on two cookie sheets and bake until dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool and place in a mixing bowl.

While the bread bakes, warm broth on the stove top. Cook sausage in vegetable oil over medium-high heat, until fat is rendered and sausage is cooked through.

Add onions, celery ribs, carrots, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Saute until vegetables are soft and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add to corn bread.

Add 1 cup or so of broth, depending on how wet you like your stuffing. Mix well.

Transfer to baking dish. Bake 20 minutes covered, 10 minutes or so uncovered.

Optional: Add 1 handful of chopped cilantro to the corn bread prior to mixing. Garnish with sprigs of cilantro at the table.

The sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes didn't make it to the Thanksgiving table until well after Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863. I can't imagine Thanksgiving without some form of sweet potatoes, although I don't really understand the marshmallow casserole. I prefer to taste the sweet potatoes foremost, then other flavors of the season, such as maple syrup.

SWEET POTATO PUREE

Nothing is easier. Roast or steam however many potatoes you need until cooked through. Mash. Season to taste with a bit of butter, a tablespoon or so of pure maple syrup (not artificially flavored syrup), a dash or more of vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon. Season to taste with salt and pepper to achieve balance. Optional: Add a splash of orange juice or heavy cream as you puree until the potatoes reach your desired consistency.

SWEET POTATOES WITH GRANNY SMITH APPLIES

(By Craig Sewell, chef/owner, A Cook's Cafe)

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds

3 Granny Smith apples, cut into wedges

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup apple juice or cider

Heat butter in large skillet. Add sweet potatoes, apples, brown sugar and salt. Toss together. And apple juice.

Cover and cook over low heat until sweet potatoes are tender. Uncover and increase heat until the apples are well caramelized. Season with ground pepper to taste.

SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI

(By Chef Brian Bistrong)

1 sweet potato

1 Yukon Gold potato

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup flour

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet sprinkled with salt and bake until soft. Peel and dice half of each potato. Set on a clean baking sheet and bake again until the potatoes are dried out. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Mound diced potatoes on a flat work surface. Make a well in the center of the potatoes and sprinkle all over with flour. Break egg into the center of the well; add a bit of salt and pepper. Using a fork, stir the egg into the flour and potatoes to make dough. Form dough into a ball and gently knead until it is dry.

Roll dough into cylinders and cut into 1-inch pieces. Blanch the pieces in boiling water for about a minute and then shock in ice water. Drain and reserve.

Optional: Sauce with 1 tablespoon maple syrup or 2 tablespoons brown sugar added to 4 tablespoons melted butter, cooked briefly and seasoned to taste with salt.

The cranberry sauce

Cranberry sauce is easy, too. Once you make your own, you'll never serve canned cranberry sauce again. That whole ridged outline of a metal can sitting on a plate never seemed appealing to me anyway.

Instead, simply cook a bag of fresh or frozen cranberries with 1/2 to 1 cup sugar (I like to mix 1/2 cup white sugar with 1/2 cup brown, demerera or raw sugar) on the stove top over medium-high heat until the cranberries pop and soften. Lower the heat and cook more until the sauce thickens.

Cranberries marry well with apples or citrus. They are also good with a nice drop of good rum.

CITRUS CRANBERRY SAUCE

(By Chef Emeril Lagasse)

1 bag fresh cranberries

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups water, divided

3 tablespoons cornstarch

Put cranberries, orange zest, lemon zest, orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla and 1 1/2 cups water in a medium, heavy, nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until the cranberries pop and cook through.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1/2 cup of water and add to the pan. Reduce the heat to low, then stir constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

The dessert

If you do anything premade, let it be the desserts. I will be making our Thanksgiving meal with two toddlers hanging from my apron strings, so I am secretly tempted to rely on someone else for the baking this year. Luckily, we have a plethora of wonderful bakeries in our area offering everything from pies to ethnic cookies, donuts to cakes. My daughter wants the pumpkin cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory (410-224-0565), and I see no reason not to indulge her.

Be thankful

Good luck with your Thanksgiving meal! If you are feeling pressure or are in a rush, slow down for just a moment to be thankful for the friends, family and circumstances that you have the opportunity to celebrate on this very special day.