Thanksgiving shortcuts without shame

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - It's the day before Thanksgiving. Time is growing short. And sometime in the next 24 hours, you're probably going to feel a little rushed.

You could just go to a supermarket and buy a shortcut. Prowl the stores this time of year and you can find instant everything, from dehydrated sweet potato casserole to oven-ready turkey-in-a-bag.

But we wanted to offer something better: Shortcuts without shame, a few tricks that will let you shave time and still put a respectable Thanksgiving meal on the table.

Yes, you need to have a few supplies on hand. But most are common items that you might have already.

IF YOU HAVE 2 HOURS

Make Turkey Breast Roulade.

A whole turkey can take a while to cook _ even if you don't have to thaw it. A skinless, boneless turkey breast is a lot faster and still has enough meat to serve 8 people.

IF YOU HAVE 1 ˝ HOURS

Make Shortcut Savory Monkey Bread.

Use frozen roll dough (such as Rhodes brand). Follow instructions for defrosting dough in the microwave.

Dip each dough ball in a mixture of 1 tablespoon melted butter, 3 tablespoons grainy or Dijon mustard and 1 teaspoon crumbled dried thyme. Pile coated balls in a greased tube pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1 hour. Uncover. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Remove from pan and serve warm.

Make Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie.

IF YOU HAVE 1 HOUR

Dress up turkey stock, for gravy and stuffing. (If you don't use it, save it and make turkey soup.)

Empty a 1-quart box of chicken broth into a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add 4 cups water, 2 cut-up carrots, 2 stalks cut-up celery, 1 unpeeled and quartered onion, and turkey neck, heart and gizzard from a thawed turkey (if available). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour. Transfer neck to a plate; strain stock into a bowl, cover and refrigerate.

Pick meat off turkey neck and mince meat and gizzard; add to gravy or stuffing if desired.

IF YOU HAVE 30 MINUTES

Dress up canned sweet potatoes with a crunchy pecan topping.

Drain canned sweet potatoes and place in an 8-inch baking dish.

Mix ˝ cup flour, ˝ cup packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon each ground ginger and cinnamon and Ľ teaspoon salt. Add 4 tablespoons diced butter and mash in with a fork to form coarse crumbs. Stir in ˝ to 1 cup chopped pecans. Sprinkle over sweet potatoes.

Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until topping is lightly browned.

Make Apple and Onion Stuffing Muffins.

They cook faster than a big pan of stuffing or dressing.

IF YOU HAVE 20 MINUTES

Make Fresh and Spicy Cranberry Relish.

Place 2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries in a food processor and pulse to coarsely chop. Add 1 jalapeno pepper, stem, seeds and ribs removed, and pulse again just to chop. Trim both ends off a thin-skinned orange and cut into quarters. Use the tip of a knife to remove any seeds and trim off large amounts of white pith. With motor running, drop skin-on orange quarters into food processor, grinding just until orange is chopped. Remove from food processor and stir in chopped pecans and about 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (if available). Taste and add sugar if necessary.

If you have 15 minutes

Make Flavored Whipped Cream to top any dessert (including dressing up a frozen pumpkin pie).

Put a metal mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes. Place the cold beaters in a mixer. Pour 1 cup heavy whipping cream into the bowl. Beat about a minute, until frothy.

Stop beaters and add 1 tablespoon powdered sugar and your choice of flavorings (a splash of bourbon, or 1 teaspoon flavoring extract, or 1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup; if you use syrup, skip the powdered sugar).

Turn mixer on again and beat until soft peaks form.

To make in advance, line a sieve with an opened coffee filter, pile the whipped cream in the filter, place in a second bowl to catch drips and refrigerate. It will stay fluffy for a couple of hours.

IF YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES

Dress up packaged gravy.

We've tasted a lot of canned and powdered gravies. Our pick for the best: Knorr Roasted Turkey Gravy. To make it taste more like homemade, try this:

Dice half an onion and saute in a skillet in 2 teaspoons oil. When the onion is soft, add about 1 teaspoon minced garlic. Add ˝ cup white wine, ˝ cup water and the packet of instant gravy. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring, about 5 minutes.

TURKEY ROULADE

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse in the November issue of Everyday Food magazine. You can ask the meat department to butterfly the turkey breast for you, but it isn't difficult to do yourself.

1 boneless, skinless turkey breast half (about 3 pounds)

2 cups prepared stuffing mix

12 slices bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place turkey breast, rounded side up, on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut into the thicker side of the breast from the side, cutting almost but not all the way through. Open the breast like a book. Use a meat mallet, skillet or rolling pin to pound turkey to about ˝-inch thick.

Spread the prepared stuffing mix over turkey breast, leaving a ˝ inch border all around. Starting at one long side, roll turkey up over stuffing, tucking end under to form a tight shape.

Place roulade, seam down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Lay bacon crosswise over the breast, overlapping slightly and trimming off so bacon extends about ˝ inch beyond turkey; tuck ends under. Roast 45 minutes to 1 hour, until an instant-read thermometer in thickest part registers 165 degrees. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Slice and arrange rolls on platter with stuffing showing.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

PUMPKIN ICE CREAM PIE

From "Come One, Come All: Easy Entertaining With Seasonal Menus," by Lee Svitak Dean (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2008). Even if you're not in a hurry, this would be a great finish for a heavy Thanksgiving dinner.

˝ gallon vanilla ice cream

1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin puree (if using pumpkin pie filling, skip the sugar and spices)

1 cup packed brown sugar

˝ teaspoon salt

˝ teaspoon cinnamon

˝ teaspoon ground ginger

Ľ teaspoon nutmeg

3 9-inch or 36 single-serve graham cracker crusts

Remove ice cream from freezer and soften about 30 minutes. While ice cream softens, mix pumpkin puree, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a bowl. (If there are any lumps of brown sugar, pick them out and discard them.) Add softened ice cream and blend thoroughly.

Pour ice cream mixture into crusts. Return to freezer until firm, about 1 hour. Keep in freezer until ready to serve.

Yield:

Makes 3 (9-inch) pies or 36 (3-inch) pies.

APPLE AND ONION STUFFING MUFFINS

You could skip the apple and onion and just make a simple stuffing mixture. Using muffin cups to make individual servings will still save time. Adapted from "Rachael Ray's Big Orange Cookbook" (Clarkson Potter, 2008).

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

˝ cup (1 stick) butter, divided

4 celery stalks, diced

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

3 or 4 apples, quartered, cored and diced

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons poultry seasoning

8 cups cubed stuffing mix (or use cornbread stuffing mix)

2 to 3 cups chicken or turkey stock

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add oil and 4 tablespoons butter. Add celery, apple and onions as you chop them. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Cook 5 to 6 minutes, until vegetables start to soften. Place stuffing mix in a bowl and stir in the cooked vegetables and apple. Add stock until the stuffing is soft but not wet.

Butter 12 muffin cups with remaining butter. Use an ice cream scoop to mound stuffing into tins. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until crisp on top. Remove from tins and serve on a platter or put straight onto plates with the turkey.

Yield:

12 servings.

___

© 2008, The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.).