Happy Thanksgiving week! I think it is safe to say that this year doesn’t look the way most of us planned. Here in Hong Kong, we will not be having our usual large multi-family celebrations as we are returning to social distancing due to a “fourth wave” of Covid that has just started. (Boo!!) I hope, that like us, you still have a lot to be thankful for. Our family will all be in the same country on on Thanksgiving, although not 100% together yet. Ryan is in hotel quarantine until Sunday, so we will celebrate then. Truth be told, the family voted for Italian instead of turkey, but I plan to sneak in a Thanksgiving-ish dinner in the next few weeks, probably with a turkey ordered from La Rotisserie with truffled mashed potatoes!! (With Pepperidge Farm stuffing on the side, of course!)
In a normal year, even if we went to multiple group Thanksgiving celebrations, I would still make my own turkey breast for a small family dinner at some point between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ovens in Hong Kong tend to be miniature and have only one rack, so you need to be very creative with how you cook everything! In our first apartment, I searched for weeks to find two dishes that fit perfectly side-by-side so I could bake two side dishes at once. (The turkey was ordered from the American Club!) And I swear by my Rachael Ray Lasagna Lugger (affiliate link) to transport hot dishes to group parties – or even to keep one hot at home! This year will be easy, as my new oven has TWO racks and the potential for a third of needed. But even if I was making my own turkey, I would still probably cook it on my slow cooker because it is easy.
The recipe that I use is the Juicy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast from Recipe Tin Eats. For our small family, it feeds us for dinner and leaves us with some leftovers as well. (I usually make Turkey Pot Pie using this easy Chicken Pot Pie recipe from Live Craft Eat.) I have a few adjustments from the original Slow Cooker Turkey Breast recipe:
- I generally sub poultry seasoning for the paprika due to personal preference.
- I omit the salt because the turkey breast I can find most easily in Hong Kong has a lot of sodium in it already.
- This takes a lot less time than the recipe states for me! If your turkey breast is small, check it starting at 2 1/2 hours. I cooked mine 4 hours the first time and it was overdone. Subsequent ones have cooked perfectly in just under 3 hours. (This may also depend on your slow cooker. Mine seems to run “hot”.) You can also use a digital probe thermometer like this one (affiliate link) in the turkey to help you figure out when it is done. It will beep when it gets to the temperature you set it for.
Now for my personal recipe to add to this post – Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce! I am a whole berry cranberry sauce person and I pretty much always make my own because it is so easy! I tend to like it on the tart side, so feel free to add more sugar if you want. (Adjust the water to the same amount as the sugar.) I love the combination of orange and cranberry together, and I have added the ginger since moving to Asia to give it a little bit of an extra kick. Cranberry sauce can be made a few days ahead, and leftovers are great with yogurt for breakfast or ice cream for dessert. I’m actually going to enjoy some with some cheesecake after I finish posting this! (My family does not share my love for cranberry sauce so I need to get creative…)
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving – no matter how you are celebrating it this year!
Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 bag fresh cranberries 12 oz
- 1 orange zest and juice
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- ⅔ cup liquid (water + orange juice)
Instructions
- Rinse and drain cranberries. Sort through them and discard any soft ones.
- Wash the orange and zest it with a microplane onto a cutting board. Set aside. Use the microplane to grate the ginger onto the same cutting board. (It took about 2 inches of ginger to get 1 tsp of grated ginger for me.)
- Juice the orange and add it to a measuring cup. Add water to get to ⅔ cup.
- Bring water/juice and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir constantly so that the sugar dissolves and doesn't burn.
- Add cranberries, orange zest and ginger and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries begin to burst and the mixture thickens. (It will thicken more as it cools.)
- Remove pan from the heat. Let cranberry sauce cool in the pot for 5 minutes. Transfer to a glass storage container or bowl and cool completely. Refrigerate until serving, preferably at least a day or two ahead of time.