ANDREW & SOHLA THANKSGIVING RECIPES
This week join Sohla El-Waylly and I as we make some Thanksgiving dishes: southwestern spatchcock turkey, elote spoon bread with chili and lime, broccoli queso casserole, and Blue Moon caramel orange cake.
Ingredients
Elote Spoon Bread with Chili and Lime Ingredients:
Casserole Dish Prep
2 tbsp mayonnaise
¼ cup finely crumbled cotija cheese
The Casserole
1 ⅔ cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup crumbled cojita (or paneer, farmers cheese, or cottage cheese)
2 cups whole milk
½ cup stone-ground cornmeal
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or ¾ tsp Morton’s kosher salt)
2 tsp Arbol or ancho chili powder (or 1 tsp cayenne)
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 large eggs
2 limes
½ cup cilantro, chopped
Southwestern Spatchcocked Turkey Ingredients:
Optional Dry Brine
1 tsp salt per pound of turkey
Southwestern Compound Butter
12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, divided
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tbsp kosher salt
The Turkey
2 onions, quartered (optional)
6 stalks celery, chopped into 4 inch pieces (optional)
4 carrots, chopped into 4 inch piece (optional)
1 turkey, preferably 12-15 lbs.
As needed, kosher salt
As needed, pepper
Queso Broccoli Casserole Ingredients:
Queso
4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
2 cups milk, divided
1 tbsp Corn starch
8 oz Velveeta cheese, shredded
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/4 cup picked jalapeños, finely chopped
1 tbsp pickle juice (from picked jalapeños)
1/3 cup chives, finely chopped
The Casserole
1 bag frozen steam-in-bag broccoli
1 cup fritos chips, lightly crushed
Blue Moon Caramel Orange Cake Ingredients:
The Caramel Topping
5 tbsp (70 grams) unsalted butter, divided
1 ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp (250g plus 28g) granulated sugar
2 medium oranges, scrubbed
1 cup Blue Moon Belgian White Wheat Ale
¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
The Cake
½ cup (112g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
4 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1 cup Blue Moon Belgian White Wheat Ale, at room temperature
Method
Elote Spoon Bread with Chili and Lime Method:
Casserole Dish Prep
Set an oven rack in the lower-middle position and preheat to 350F. Brush a 2-quart casserole dish with mayonnaise. Evenly sprinkle ¼ cup cotija to coat the dish. Set aside.
The Casserole
Heat a large skillet on high. Add corn kernels to the pan and cook until charred. Reserve ⅓ cup charred corn and ⅓ cup crumbled cotija for garnish.
In a medium saucepot, whisk together the milk, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and chili powder. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and cook until thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat, whisk in the baking powder and butter until melted.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until no streaks of white remain. While whisking constantly, add the hot corn mixture to the eggs, one spoonful at a time. (This is to prevent the eggs from curdling.) Stir in the remaining 1 ⅓ cups of the charred corn, remaining ⅔ cup crumbled cotija, and the zest of ½ lime. (Cut the remaining limes into wedges for serving.)
Pour the corn mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Bake until puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Top with reserved ⅓ cup charred corn, reserve ⅓ cup cotija, and chopped cilantro. Serve right away with lime wedges alongside.
Southwestern Spatchcocked Turkey Method:
Optional Dry Brine
Coat turkey in salt and allow to sit in the refrigerator, uncovered, overnight. Rinse before cooking and pat dry.
Southwestern Compound Butter
Mix 12 tablespoons of butter with garlic powder, cayenne, cumin, coriander, and salt. Reserve.
The Turkey
Preheat oven to 450 F. Prepare a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and a baking rack.
Optional: Place chopped onions, celery, and carrots on the foil, below the baking rack. This prevents the turkey drippings from burning during the cooking process.
Rinse turkey to remove excess fluids and pat dry. Flip the bird breast-side down. Using sharp kitchen shears or poultry shears, cut along each side of the backbone and remove (this can be reserved for making stock).
Flip the bird breast-side up and flatten by pressing down firmly on the breast-bone. Using your hand, gently separate the skin from the meat using the opening at the bottom of the bird. Make sure to separate not only the breast skin, but the thighs as well.
Using your hands, apply compound butter to the meat of the turkey underneath the skin. Make sure to evenly spread the butter across all the meat.
Brush the turkey with 4 tablespoons of neutral oil. Lightly coat turkey in salt and pepper. Bake for 1 hour to 1.5 hours until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 175 F. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before carving.
Queso Broccoli Casserole Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a glass pie dish (or a 9X9 glass casserole dish) with 2 tbsp. butter.
Combine 1/4 cup of milk and the cornstarch to make a slurry.
In a saucepan, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp. of butter until melted on medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add onion and garlic. Add salt and continue to cook until the onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Add cumin and cayenne, cook until fragrant. Add 1 3/4 cups of milk to the pot and bring to a simmer.
Once the milk is simmering, add the cornstarch slurry and continuously whisk until the mixture is brought back to a simmer. Continue to cook until the mixture is thickened, about 1 minute after boiling, to activate the cornstarch.
Add velveeta cheese one cup at a time. Stir well after each addition until homogenized (cheese is fully melted) before adding another cup of cheese. Repeat with the Monterey Jack cheese.
Once all the cheese is incorporated, remove from heat and add the pickled jalapeños and pickling liquid.
While the queso is cooling slightly, microwave frozen broccoli for 2 minutes on the highest power setting.
Combine par-steamed broccoli and queso in a large bowl. Add to the prepared baking pan and top with lightly crushed Fritos.
Baking for 20 minutes at 350 F, then increase temperature to 400 F. Bake for another 15 minutes until lightly browned on the edges and bubbling.
Garnish with finely chopped chives.
Blue Moon Caramel Orange Cake Method:
The Caramel Topping
Smear 2 tablespoons (28 grams) of butter on the bottom and sides of a 10-inch skillet sprinkle with 2 tablespoons (28 grams) of granulated sugar.
Using a sharp knife, cut off the top and bottom of the oranges, and stand upright. Slice the rind off in sections, moving from top to bottom and curving the knife with the shape of the fruit. Continue all the way around the orange until all of the rind and pith are removed. (If you have any white pith left on the outside of the orange, go back around and slice it off.)
Thinly slice the rinds crosswise into ⅛-inch thick pieces and set aside. Slice the orange flesh crosswise into ¼-inch thick rounds and arrange on the bottom of the prepared cake pan.
In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 1 ¼ cups (250 grams) sugar, beer, and orange rind slices and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the mixture turns a medium-dark amber color, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully stir in the salt and remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Spread the caramel and orange rinds onto an even layer on top of the orange slices and set aside to cool.
The Cake
Set an oven rack in the lower-middle position and preheat to 350F.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), combine the butter, sugar, orange zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix together until fluffy and pale, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down the paddle and bowl after each addition, and then blend in the vanilla.
Add ⅓ of the flour and mix on low until just incorporated, about 15 seconds. Add ⅓ of the beer and mix until just incorporated, about 15 seconds. Repeat until all the flour and beer have been incorporated. Using a flexible rubber spatula, scrape down the paddle and the bowl and mix the batter a few times to make sure everything is evenly combined.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and roughly level the batter with the spatula. Bake until deeply browned and the cake feels set and bounces back when pressed lightly in the center, 35 to 40 minutes.
Cool cake for 10 minutes. With an offset spatula or a butter knife, loosen any parts of the cake that seem to be sticking to the side of the pan. Invert the cake onto a large plate while still hot. Cool until warm or room temperature, cut into wedges with a serrated knife, and serve.