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PHOENIX (3TV/CBS ) — From the turkey to all the trimmings, the countdown to Thanksgiving is on! If you’re making dinner this year, you better start prepping now. I hit Bashas’ Supermarket near Indian School and Hayden roads with Chef Alex Stratta of Campo Italian Bistro and Bar to shop for our meal.
Getting the ingredients
We start in the produce section, where Stratta shops for apples. “What we’re looking for is a really crisp apple that roasts well, holds up, and doesn’t get mushy,” he explained. When it comes to baking, he recommends Fuji, Honeycrisp, and Gala apples.
(Jump down to the recipes)
We also grabbed garlic, fennel, Brussels sprouts, and green beans.
When you’re buying a turkey, Stratta says he usually gets two pounds per person. That should give you plenty for leftovers. If you have eight people, grab a 16-pound bird.
Kylee said she and Chef Alex Stratta spent about $80 on ingredients to whip up a meal for eight people. That’s around $10 per person!
“Get it a few days in advance,” Stratta suggested. “You don’t want to run it under water and defrost it. You want it to defrost nice and slowly.”
The one thing not in stock was buttermilk for marinating the turkey.
We pivoted to grab herbs instead to give our turkey a Mediterranean-style taste.
We also got some bacon to go into our Brussels sprouts dish. Stratta has a certain type he uses when cooking. “I like the thick-cut bacon,” he said. “It gives you nice big chunks in there. I don’t like it too smoked. This is a naturally light smoked bacon, so it doesn’t take over the flavors.”
We spent about $80 for a turkey plus ingredients for three sides and dessert for eight people.
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Time to cook!
Download: Chef Alex Stratta’s Thankgving recipes (PDF file)
Next, we headed to Campo Italian to whip up the Thanksgiving feast. We start with the star of the show, the turkey!
We brush the turkey with olive oil and add garlic inside and out, plus lots of salt, along with pepper, sage, rosemary, and thyme. “We’re going to leave them in the roasting pan, so as the bird cooks all the juices come off of it. It’s a very simple, delicious way to do it,” Stratta said.
The expert chef says the key to cooking a juicy bird is to cook it slowly and use a meat thermometer. “What I generally do is stick the thermometer to the thickest part of the turkey, which is really right in the middle of the thigh,” he said.
While the turkey was cooking, we started on the creamy horseradish potatoes. Stratta likes using russet potatoes. “For baking, or any kind of gratin dishes, anything baked, these are really the best kind,” he said.
Stratta recommends peeling the potatoes the night before and leaving them in water overnight. He also uses a mandolin to cut all the potatoes the same size. It’s his favorite kitchen gadget.
Once all the potatoes were cut, he added heavy cream, creamy horseradish, and parmesan cheese, and then sent it to the oven.
Now it’s time for Stratta’s signature side, Brussels sprouts with bacon and roasted apples. After some chopping, he tossed the Brussels, bacon, and apples in a skillet to roast, then sprinkled over brown sugar and let it caramelize.
Stratta also makes an easy and delicious dish with green beans, fennel, and garlic.
Now, it’s time for dessert!
Stratta made a caramel pecan pie, a perfect way to end a tasty meal.
He started off making the batter, which consists of corn syrup, butter, sugars, vanilla, eggs, and, of course, pecans. It’s a relatively simple dish that doesn’t require much prep. One the batter is ready, you pour it into a pie crust and bake.
Ready to give it a try yourself?
Hopefully, by now, Stratta has inspired you to make a few new dishes for your holiday meal.
12 ways to make your holiday meal more sustainable
We asked him for his best piece of advice for cooking Thanksgiving dinner. “First of all, you’ve got to plan ahead and be organized,” he said. “Remember, it’s about the food, but more importantly about the company.”
Roasted turkey with garlic and herbs
Ingredients
- Fresh turkey (12-14 pounds)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Garlic cloves (20)
- Fresh rosemary (1 tablespoon)
- Fresh thyme (2 tablespoon)
- Fresh sage (2 tablespoon)
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley
- To taste: salt and pepper
Instructions
Chop the garlic and herbs together and add the oil to form a paste. Rub the turkey all over with the paste and then season well with salt and pepper.
Refrigerate and allow to marinate for 6-8 hours.
Pre-heat a conventional oven at 350°F.
Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and place in a heavy baking dish.
Cook the turkey for 1 hour until it begins to color lightly.
Turn the temperature down to 325°F and continue to cook for an additional hour or so. Check the temperature with an internal meat thermometer by sticking it in the leg (at the joint of the thigh and the drumstick), The temperature should read about 150-155°F.
Once temperature reaches 155°F, turn off the oven and leave the turkey to “carry over” to 160-165°F.
The turkey will be moist and juicy.
Serves 8.
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Green beans with fennel and roasted garlic
Ingredients
- 3 pounds fresh green beans
- Head of fresh fennel (1)
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- To taste: salt and pepper
Instructions
Boil a gallon of water and add 2 tablespoons of salt.
Trim green beans and cut them in half and plunge in boiling water for 2 minutes.
Drain off beans and cool in ice water to keep them crisp and green.
Once drained, reserve until needed (refrigerate).
Crush the garlic cloves and slice the fennel into 1/8-inch pieces.
Once ready to serve, heat a heavy pan over medium high heat and allow pan to get hot.
Add the butter and allow it to begin to brown lightly.
Add the crushed garlic cloves and brown to golden brown.
Add the thin strips of fennel and coat well in the browning butter.
Add the green beans and sauté all together, until coated and thoroughly heated through.
Season well with salt and pepper and serve.
Serves 8.
🔗 Click here to download the recipes
Brussels sprouts with bacon and roasted apples
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cups hickory smoked bacon
- 3 honey crisp apples
- 3 pounds brussels sprouts
- 2 tablespoons blended olive oil
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- To taste: salt and pepper
- ¼ cup Italian parsley
Instructions
Soak the cranberries in the vinegar at room temperature for at least one hour and reserve.
Cut the bacon into 1/2-inch pieces and set aside until needed.
Peel, quarter, then core the apples and cut in half again (8 wedge shaped pieces per apple) .
Remove the stem and clean brussels sprouts and cut in half (from top to bottom).
Heat the oil over medium flame in a heavy skillet and allow oil to shimmer and smoke lightly.
Place the bacon, apples, and brussels sprouts in the hot oil, covering the surface of the pan in an even layer, allowing the vegetables to get direct heat (do not overcrowd the pan).
Allow sprouts, apples and bacon to roast and color to dark golden brown and sprinkle over with the brown sugar and allow to caramelize by stirring well.
Once caramelized, season with salt and pepper and add the cranberries and vinegar.
Allow the vinegar to evaporate until liquid is gone.
Finish with chopped parsley and serve.
Serves 8.
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Horseradish-Parmigiano potato gratin
Ingredients
- Russet potatoes (8)
- 1-quart heavy cream
- ½ cup prepared creamy horseradish
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese (finely grated)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Pre-heat a conventional oven at 300°F.
Rinse and peel the potatoes and cut them on a mandolin into 1/8-inch thick rounds.
Mix the cream, seasonings, cheese, and horseradish in a large bowl and toss in the potatoes (do not rinse the potatoes).
Arrange the creamed potatoes in a 2-inch-deep pan on an even layer with about ¼-inch cream covering most of the potatoes.
Clean the sides of the pan well with a damp cloth and wrap well with plastic and tin foil.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 1 hour, uncover the potatoes.
Turn heat to 350°F and finish cooking and brown for an additional 1/2 hour.
Once the potatoes are cooked and evenly browned on top, allow 10 minutes to settle and serve.
Serves 8.
🔗 Click here to download the recipes
Caramel pecan pie
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cups dark brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 whole large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 quart pecan halves
- 1 9-inch pre-baked pie shell
Instructions
Heat oven to 325F°.
Whisk corn syrup, sugars, butter, vanilla, salt, and eggs in a bowl; fold in chopped pecans (distribute filling evenly over dough).
Arrange pecan halves decoratively around the inside edge of the pie crust.
Bake until crust is golden brown, and filling is set (about 45 minutes).
Let cool completely before serving.
Serves 8.
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