The most Instagrammable Thanksgiving recipes

If it’s not on the ‘gram, did it even happen?
Christopher's

If there's one thing that is guaranteed to happen this Thursday (Thanksgiving, FYI), it's that your Instagram feed will fill up with pictures of turkeys followed by long-winded captions of why Jessica is thankful for her #blessed life.

So if you want to be the cream of the Instagram crop, consider giving the below 'gram-worthy recipes a whirl.

Starter – Pumpkin bread rolls by Rhiannon Abbott of the Epsom Bakehouse

The Epsom Bakehouse

Ingredients

7g active yeast

60g tepid water

¼ tsp sugar

120ml full fat milk

50g butter

50g light muscovado sugar

100g mashed, roasted pumpkin flesh, or 100g canned pumpkin puree

500g strong white bread flour

5g salt

½ tsp ground nutmeg

100g water

Pecans, to decorate (optional)

Method

1. Active (or quick) yeast doesn’t usually need proofing – it’s named quick because you can just add it into your dough and it will get to work. However, this dough is enriched with butter and milk, so it can be a good idea to give your yeast a kickstart. Weigh out your 60g water (it’s more accurate!) and add in the yeast and the dash of sugar (to feed the yeast). Set aside until required later in the recipe – the mixture should begin to bubble and get foamy. If you miss this step, don’t worry – just add the active yeast in with the flour later and remember to add the water in too.

Thanksgiving recipes

1/4

2. Heat the milk gently in a small saucepan on a low to medium heat – watch it like a hawk! Heat until it begins to steam. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter to melt it, then add in the muscavado sugar. Finally, stir in the pumpkin flesh or puree and set aside to cool – the mixture should be no more than hand hot when you add it to the dough, otherwise it will kill the yeast.

3. Weigh out the flour, salt and nutmeg (and add in the yeast if you didn’t do step 1). Add in the remaining 100g water, then the yeast mixture and then the cooled pumpkin and milk mixture.

4. Bring together the dough – it should be soft, pliable and a little sticky. Don’t be tempted to add more flour if it’s a bit sticky! Turn out the ball of dough and knead for 5 – 10 minutes. It’s important not to flour the surface, as this adds extra flour into your dough and will dry it out. If the dough is a bit sticky, use a little olive oil to help you knead. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and silky.

5. Shape the dough into a rough ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise for about an hour and a half to two hours, until it has doubled in size.

6. Once the dough has risen, turn it out of the bowl and knock it back. This just involves gently deflating the dough, using the heel of your hand to push it flat and then kneading it for a minute or two.

7. You’re now ready to shape your dough! Divide your dough into 60g pieces – I got about 15 pieces from this dough. You could make a little bigger or smaller if you wished.

8. Roll each piece into a tight ball. Then shape your pumpkins! Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Place a ball on the sheet, the flatten slightly with the heel of your hand. Using a sharp knife, cut the shape into eight segments.

9. Cover the pumpkin rolls with clingfilm and leave them to prove for about 45 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 200C during this time.

10. Once proved, flour your little finger and poke it into the centre of each one to make a deep hole.

11. Bake the rolls for 10 – 12 minutes. They will brown quickly because of their sugar content – if they get too brown but don’t feel fully baked, cover the trays with foil to stop further browning and bake for a few more minutes. The rolls should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom when baked.

12. Cool the rolls. To create a ‘stalk’, slice pecan halves lengthways and pop a length into the hole on each roll (you might have to poke the pecan in if the hole’s closed up during baking). For shine, you can glaze the rolls with a thin smear of golden syrup or honey.

You can find the Epsom Bakehouse on their website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Main - Deconstructed Turkey & Stuffing by Julie Van Rosendaal of Dinner with Julie

Dinner with Julie

Ingredients

One 10-15 lb (5-7 kg) fresh turkey (or whatever size you like)

Canola oil, for cooking

Butter (lots)

4 celery stalks, chopped (with leaves)

2-3 garlic cloves, crushed

1-1 1/2 large crusty sourdough loves, torn or cubed

2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage, or 1 Tbsp dried

Salt and pepper, to taste

1-2 cups chicken or turkey stock

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

Method

1. Break down your turkey or get your butcher to break it down for you - I left the drumsticks and thighs intact, so wound up with two thigh/drumsticks, two breast pieces and two wings. He also gave me the carcass to take home for stock.

2. Preheat the oven to 350?F. In a large skillet, heat a generous drizzle of oil with a generous dab of butter and saute the onion and celery for 4-5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

3. Meanwhile, tear or cube your bread into a large bowl. Add the sauteed veggies along with the sage, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Melt about 1/2 cup butter and drizzle it over the bread, toss again and spread out in a large, shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle over some chicken stock - enough to moisten the bread without making it soggy. (This kinda depends on the type and age of your bread - just go with your gut.)

4. Place the chicken carcass and wings in an ovenproof skillet, drizzle with a bit of oil if you like, and slide it into the oven. Pat the leg and breast pieces dry with paper towel and rub all over with oil or soft butter. Set on top of the stuffing mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pull the leaves off a few sprigs of thyme and sprinkle that over too. If you like, tuck a few sprigs into the stuffing as well.

5. Roast for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a breast or thigh reads 160?F (it will continue to rise in temperature as it rests). Rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. While it rests, make the gravy; move the bones to a pot for stock, and make the gravy on the stovetop out of the browned bits in the bottom of the pan.

Serves 8 or more.

You can find Julie on her website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Dessert - Pumpkin pie by Christopher’s

Christopher's

Pastry - either made from scratch or bought

Line flan ring with pastry case and cook blind in oven, gas temp 150 ° C for 15 to 20mins

PUMPKIN FILLING

¾ cup sugar

½ tsp. salt

1tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground cloves

½ tsp. ground ginger

2 large eggs

425g pumpkin puree

12floz evaporated milk

1kg sweet pastry

10” or 25cm loose bottom flan ring

Pumpkin filling method

Preheat oven to 200 ° C

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl

2. Beat the eggs in a large bowl

3. Stir in the pumpkin puree and the dry ingredients into the egg mixture

4. Then gradually stir in the milk

5. Pour into pie shell and bake at: 200 ° C (gas mark 6) for 15min then reduce temp to 160 °C (gas mark 3) for 30 to 45 min

6. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours and then it’s ready to serve!

Serve with bourbon vanilla cream or any accompaniment that takes your fancy.

You can find Christopher’s on their website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in