Thanksgiving Recipes: Favorites From Kiawah Island Club Staff

The Thanksgiving holiday is a favorite for many – getting together with loved ones, sharing the bounty of the season, and celebrating family traditions. As the chefs at the Kiawah Island Club are busy preparing for a busy Thanksgiving on the Island, they share some of their favorite holiday recipes. From their kitchens to yours, enjoy these – they may even become traditions in your family.

Turkey Roulade with Maple Glaze
Ingredients
8 ounces Jimmy Dean maple flavored pork sausage
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
8 ounces dried cranberries
15 slices thin white bread
1/2 pound butter
8 ounces chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
15 pound de-boned turkey (Ask your butcher to de-bone the turkey and leave the whole bird intact)
1 pint maple syrup
1 bunch fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons fresh sage
1/4 cup olive oil

Method: Preheat the oven to 350º. To begin the stuffing, sauté sausage in a skillet over medium heat until the meat is cooked thoroughly.

Remove meat from pan and leave drippings. Add the butter to the pan and melt, add vegetables, and sauté until soft. Add cranberries, stock, and sage and simmer for five minutes. Break up the bread into a bowl and pour the sausage and vegetable mixture over it. Mix together and season with salt and pepper. Stuffing should be slightly firm, and you should be able to form it into a ball.

For the turkey, place the meat skin side down and slice the breasts from the outside in; fold the meat to the inside so that all the meat is the same thickness. Cover the meat with a sheet of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until all of the meat is the same thickness (about a ½ inch).

Remove the plastic and brush the meat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the stuffing onto the meat and spread it evenly over the turkey, covering all the meat. From the left or right side of the turkey, tightly roll the meat up until you have a roulade*. Truss ** the turkey with butches twine the whole length of the roulade. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the whole rosemary stems in between the twine and the meat. Place the turkey in a roasting pan with a layer of chopped vegetables (carrots, onions, celery) on the bottom. Roast the bird for two hours at 350º. Reduce over temperature to 250º and glaze the turkey with maple syrup and cook 30 more minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165º.

Remove turkey from oven, cut off the twine and remove the rosemary, and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

* roulade (roo-LAHD): The French term for a thin slice of meat rolled around a filling such as mushrooms, bread crumbs, or cheese. The rolled package is usually secured with a string.
** truss: to secure poultry with string, pins, or skewers so the food maintains a compact share during cooking.

Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
2 large butternut squash cut in half (lengthwise)
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
1 small bowl of ginger, peeled and sliced thin
1 pint heavy cream
1 cup water

Method: Remove seeds of squash. On a roasting pan, place halved squash, cut side down, and bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 300º. After cooking and then cooling, remove the insides of the squash with a spoon and combine with the remaining ingredients. Simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the apples soften. Purée the soup in batches. Always be careful not to purée too much hot liquid at once, as you might get burned. Season with salt and pepper. Adjust consistency with cream is necessary. Serves 6 to 8.

Stuffing
* For a 25 – 30 pound turkey
Ingredients
6 loaves pulled stale white bread
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 pound butter
1 quart milk, scalded
ground beef and pork sausage (1 pound per loaf)
4 stalks celery, peeled and diced
salt, pepper, and thyme to taste

Method: Sauté onions and celery in butter. Add meats; brown and drain. Add salt, pepper, and thyme. Add to bread and toss, then add milk to moisten mixture. Stuff turkey and cook approximately six hours at 325º.

Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
1 pound pumpkin purée, solid pack
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method: Preheat over to 350º with rack in the middle. Put canned pumpkin, corn syrup, and brown sugar into the top of a double boiler. Over boiling water, stir frequently, heating the mixture while preparing the rest of the filling.

In a medium bow, beat eggs and stir in cream, rum, vanilla, spices, and salt. Mix well; then stir in the hot pumpkin-sugar mixture. Pour as much of the filling into a baked crust as will fit comfortably. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the filling is set. A knife inserted into the center of the pie will come out mostly clean, and the knife cute will show.

Cool completely and serve with fresh whipped cream. Makes one deep 9-inch pie. Serves 8.