Can you believe the holiday season is here already? We can’t! All of us at Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris are surprised that Thanksgiving is right around the corner! We took a quick office survey and came up with some easy, last minute recipes that will make your Thanksgiving feast look like you’ve been planning it for weeks, when in reality you finally made it to the grocery store on Wednesday. We’ve double-checked and made sure all of the ingredients are readily available at any of our local grocery stores.

Turkey Cheeseball

This is almost too cute to eat! Let your kids make this while you work on the rest of the dinner. 

16oz Cream Cheese, room temp.

2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 teaspoons salt

2 green onions, chopped finely

2 handfuls of pecans

Crackers for the tail

2 thin slices of red pepper (head)

1 thin slice of yellow pepper (beak)

2 small pieces of black olive (eyes)

Put aside a small amount of softened cream cheese to use for “glue” for the eyes and beak. Mix remaining cream cheese with Worcestershire Sauce, salt, and green onions and form into a ball. Place the pecans for feathers and the crackers for the tail. “Glue” the red pepper strip for a neck and head. Use the cream cheese you set aside to “glue” the beak to the head and two small pieces of black olives for the eyes. Hint: We found placing the tail, neck, and head first helped when figuring out where to put the pecans.

Roasted Spatchcock Turkey

Don’t have all day to cook a turkey? No problem! We discovered that the old-fashion method of Spatchcock (removing the backbone and flattening the bird) produces the juiciest, golden-brown turkey you’ll ever have in only an hour and a half. 

10-pound Whole Turkey

½ Cup Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon salt

1 Tablespoon each of fresh sage, thyme, rosemary finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place a roasting rack on a baking sheet.
2. Turn the turkey over, breast-side down. Using a pair of sharp heavy-duty kitchen shears, cut along one side of the backbone. Repeat on the other side of the backbone. Reserve the backbone for making turkey stock for gravy. Press firmly down onto both sides of turkey to flatten.
3. Tuck the wing tips under the turkey and place on the roasting rack. Pat skin dry and rub olive oil over the entire turkey; season with salt, sage, thyme, rosemary, and black pepper.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, rotating baking sheet every 30 minutes. Increase temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and roast until skin is crisp, about 15 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove turkey from the oven, cover loosely with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Parmesan Brussels Sprouts Salad

If nobody on your guest list every says the brussels sprouts are their favorite part on Thanksgiving dinner, try them in a salad! This is not only delicious, but looks so festive it could be your center piece. 

5 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

5 tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 c. freshly chopped parsley

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 lb. Brussels sprouts, halved and thinly sliced (about 8 cups)

1/2 c. chopped toasted almonds

1/2 c. pomegranate seeds

Shaved Parmesan, for serving

In a medium bowl, whisk olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper until combined. Add Brussels sprouts and toss until completely coated. Let sit, tossing occasionally, for at least 20 minutes and up to 4 hours before serving. Fold in almonds and pomegranate seeds and garnish with shaved Parmesan before serving.

Nutella  Fondue

There are so many great bakeries in Park City that will make the traditional pumpkin or pecan pie, so we think you should just buy those. But, pie is usually served as people wander away from the table with a plate in-hand.  Keep the family around the table with this luscious chocolate-hazelnut fondue. If you’re like us, you received a fondue pot as a gift and it’s currently stuffed at the back of one of your closets. Dig it out and give this a try! 

1 35.3oz jar of Nutella

1 Cup heavy cream

A variety of dipping sides such as oranges, strawberries, pound cake, pineapple, apple, bananas, and marshmallows.

Set your fondue warmer on low. In a saucepan, heat the cream to steaming, then add the entire jar of Nutella. With a whisk, blend the cream and Nutella until it’s a smooth consistency and just a little thick. Transfer this to your fondue warmer and pass out the forks!

The Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris wish you a restful, happy Thanksgiving. We hope at least one of our recipes makes to your table, and we’d love to share some of yours in our Christmas blog entry!