yesterday, i had a great time meeting some of the members of the junior league of miami who came to williams sonoma to enjoy a great thanksgiving dinner demo!

the purpose of the class was to show them that it is possible to cook a stunning and traditional thanksgiving dinner within a couple of hours with a little help from some of williams sonoma products and utensils!

let’s start with the menu….

turkey breast with harvest stuffing and pan gravy
brussel sprouts with chorizo
fennel salad with roasted pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds
pumpkin slice with ginger whipped cream
vanilla and salted caramel sauce ice cream with candied pecans

and now, pick-up the recipes that you want to try, all of them are below!

to make it easier for you, i have highlighted the products that you can find at williams sonoma

turkey breast with harvest stuffing and pan gravy

ingredients

a 5- to 7-pound fresh turkey breast
sea salt & ground pepper
chopped herbs & spices such as thyme, rosemary, garlic, ginger, cumin…
vegetable oil
honey

method

preheat your oven to 325 degrees f.
brush the turkey breast with vegetable oil and honey.sprinkle with salt, pepper, herbs, and spices.
insert a meat thermometer to the center of the breast. wrap and seal the breast in heavy aluminum foil. place on a wire rack in a shallow roasting pan.

roast the turkey breast until the meat thermometer reaches 170 degrees f. (up to 2-3 hours). open the aluminum foil about 30 minutes before the breast is done and baste 2 times with the drippings.

pan gravy

once the turkey is cooked, let it rest on a rack and pour all the juices and drippings in the roasting pan.
add a little chicken broth as well as a little white wine and let it reduce on medium heat.
depending on how you like it, add one or 2 tsp of butter to make it more glossy or 1tsp of flour to get it thicker.

whole wheat harvest stuffing

ingredients

• 1 williams sonoma whole wheat harvest stuffing box
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 3 celery stalks diced
• 1/2 tsp salt and ground pepper
• 3,5 to 4 cups of warm chicken stock

method

preheat your oven to 375.
grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
in a pan, heat olive oil and cook the onion, celery until soft and translucent (up to 10 minutes). season with salt and pepper.
transfer in a large bowl and combine with the stuffing, cranberries and pecans of the williams sonoma box.
stir in 1/2 cup at a time to avoid it pool in the bottom of the bowl.

the croutons should be soft, neither crunchy nor mushy. you may not need all the stock.
transfer the mixture in the baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes then keep on baking without foil for another 25 minutes to get a golden and crisp top.
let it rest about 10 minutes before serving.

brussel sprouts with chorizo

ingredients

• 1,5 pounds brussels sprouts
• 3 tbsp good olive oil
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 spicy chorizo sausage
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth or white wine

method

preheat oven to 400.
cut off the brown ends of the brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. cut them into 2 and mix them in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. cover a roasting tray with parchment paper and spread them on it.
roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly.
once the brussels sprouts have a nice brown color, pour the broth or wine on top of them and let it reduced in the oven. it will moist the sprouts.
in the meantime, slice or cut into 2-3 mm julienne a spicy chorizo sausage and 5-10 minutes before the sprouts are cooked, spread the chorizo on the brussels sprouts. shake well and let it roast.
take it out of the oven, give it another good shake and serve it.

fennel salad with pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds

ingredients

• 2 fennel bulbs washed and trimmed
• 1 lemon juice
• 1 handful of pumpkin seeds slightly toasted
• 1 pomegranate deseeded
• olive oil, salt & pepper
• 1 tbsp williams sonoma pomegranate molasse
• 1 lemon juice
• 1 handful of fresh mixed leaves
• fresh dill roughly chopped

method

cut your fennels lengthways and get rid of the center.
thinly slice it and keep it in a large bowl of iced water with a lemon juice to keep it white otherwise it will get dark.
whisk together the pomegranate molasse, lemon juice, salt and pepper. whisk in the olive oil and adjust the seasoning.
cut the pomegranate into 2 and using a wooden spoon, knock the shells with it to release the seeds in a bowl. keep the juice to incorporate it to the dressing.
once ready, spread mixed leaves on a serving dish, cover with fennel shavings, drizzle with dressing, spread pumpkin and pomegranate seeds as well as dill. make another layer if needed and serve right away.

pumpkin slice with ginger whipped cream

ingredients

• 1 williams sonoma spiced pecan pumpkin quick bread bag
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup of water
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 tbsp williams sonoma muirhead pecan pumpkin butter

• 1,5 cup of heavy cream
• 4 tbsp of icing sugar
• 1 thumb of ginger peeled and grated

method

preheat your oven to 350.
grease a 4 x 8 inch loaf pan or cover it with parchment paper.
in a bowl, combine the quick bread mix with the melted butter, water and beaten eggs.
spread evenly the batter into the pan.
swirl 2-3 tbsp of pecan pumpkin butter into the batter in order to spread it evenly then bake it for about 50 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. let it cool down on a rack.

in a large bowl, whip the cream and the icing sugar until it gets thick and dense. incorporate the grated ginger.

with a serrated knife, cut the borders of the pumpkin cake and cut it in the middle.
turn one of both parts upside down and spread the whipped cream on it and cover with the other part.
if you have too much whipped cream, cover the top of the cake with the remaining cream and dust with light brown sugar or cinnamon.
cut into squares or voice slices and serve it right away with a scoop of ice-cream.

vanilla and caramel sauce ice cream

ingredients

• 1 pack williams sonoma vanilla ice-cream starter
• 1,5 cup of half and half
• 1,5 cup of cold heavy cream

• 4 tbsp williams sonoma dulche de leche or salted caramel sauce

method

in a large bowl, whisk together the ice-cream starter and half and half nutil the starter has dissolved. stir in the cream.
transfer the mixture in an ice-cream maker and freeze according to the instructions.
transfer to a chilled container, swirl a few tbsp of dulche de leche in it and freeze until firm (at least 2 hours).