Girl Meets Farm (2018–…): Season 2, Episode 1 - Thanksgiving - full transcript

It's Thanksgiving on the farm,

so I'm making a special menu for
my mom and some family friends.

-Happy Thanksgiving.
-Happy Thanksgiving.

There's my grilled
sweet-and-smoky turkey,

a family-favorite side dish
of charred cream corn,

some soft-pretzel stuffing,

and cranberries take a starring
role in the dessert this year

with my lemon-almond cake
with a glossy cranberry glaze.

Oh, yah. Mmm!

Hey!
This is me -- Molly Yeh.

I'm a cookbook author
and food blogger.



This is my husband, Nick.

This is our new addition,

and this is our home, our farm,

on the North Dakota/
Minnesota border,

the place where I eat, sleep,

and breathe food.

These look like a party.

My food is a delicious mix of
my Chinese and Jewish heritage

and the taste of the Midwest.

It's Thanksgiving,
and I am so excited

because I am hosting tonight.

My mom's coming and so are
a couple of our dear friends.

And I'm first starting by making
my lemon-almond cake

with cranberry glaze.



So, to get started, I'm gonna
combine my dry ingredients.

I'll get a cup
and a half of flour,

and then I'm also gonna add
1/2 cup of almond meal,

which adds a really great
texture to the cake.

It makes it denser.

All this is is simply ground,
blanched almonds.

I like adding a tablespoon
of poppy seeds in this.

They kind of dot the cake.

And lemons and poppy seeds
are such a great combination.

I'm gonna add some salt
to balance out that sweetness,

a teaspoon of baking powder,

and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda.

So I'm gonna whisk these
together and set this aside.

And I can't forget my lemon,

which is going to add
awesome flavor to this cake.

And I'm gonna add
both lemon zest

and the juice of two lemons.
Mmm!

Smells bright and good.

To add some richness,
I'm gonna add

some whole-milk Greek yogurt.

I'm adding 3/4 cup.

I use it as a substitute
for buttermilk.

I use it to add richness
to cakes.

I even use it as, like,
frosting sometimes.

I'm gonna whisk this together
to combine.

Okay.

The main fat in this cake
is olive oil,

which is one of my favorite
ingredients to use,

especially in this, because the
flavor of olive oil complements

almond and lemon so nicely,

and it also adds
that moist deliciousness.

I'm adding 3/4 cup of olive oil.

It's golden.

It's beautiful.

And another reason
I love using olive oil

is because I don't have to wait
for butter to soften.

I don't have to get out
an electric mixer to beat it up.

This cake is ry
to make with just a whisk.

Now I'm gonna add
1 1/4 cups of sugar.

And I'll whisk this to combine.

I'm gonna add 2 eggs to this,

and I'm going to mix them in
after I add each one,

just to make sure
that they are fully combined.

Now, a teaspoon
of almond extract

will amp up that almond flavor.

Mmm!

One of my favorite smells
in the world.

And I'm just whisking this
until it's very smooth.

This cake has a natural
yellow color.

It's gonna be so pretty
with the cranberry glaze.

Okay, it's time to add
my dry ingredients

and my yogurt mixture.

I'm gonna do those
in alternating batches

to make sure that
everything gets incorporated.

But I don't want to over-mix,

otherwise the texture
of the cake might get gummy.

Mmm!

Smells lemony and almondy
and good.

And now the last
of my yogurt mixture.

Delicious.

Okay, the batter is
just combined and smooth.

I'm gonna pour it
into my cake pan.

My pan is greased
so that it doesn't stick,

and I also always line
my cake pans on the bottom

with parchment paper to
make sure that they don't stick

when coming out of the pan.

This is ready for the oven.

I'm gonna bake this at 350

until a toothpick
comes out of the center clean

in about 45 minutes.

While the cake bakes, I'm gonna
make my cranberry glaze.

Now, cranberries are
typically thought of

as a condiment
on the Thanksgiving table,

but I'm shaking things up
and putting them on the dessert.

I start with some
fresh cranberries,

but frozen's okay, too.

They're so bright and colorful.

I cook them in a pot
with 1/2 cup of water

over medium heat
for about 15 minutes,

then they'll mash really easily
with a spatula.

I pass it through a sieve
to strain out

all of the seeds and skins.

It should almost look like
a jelly at this point.

I stir enough powdered sugar in
so that the juice thickens up

but still runs down
the sides of the bowl.

I mean, look at how bright
this color is,

and it's all-natural.

Okay, I've got sweet
from the powdered sugar

and tart
from the cranberries.

The last thing I'm gonna add
is just a pinch of salt

to bring it all together
and round everything out.

Well, I am starting to
smell my cake,

so I'm gonna check on it
to see if it's done.

Ah, it smells so good.

It smells nutty.
It smells lemony.

And I'm gonna stick a toothpick
in it to see if it's done.

No crumbs.
It's perfect.

I'm gonna let this cool fully
before I can put on my glaze.

The cake's nice and cool now,
so I'm gonna pour on my glaze.

Ah, it's so gorgeous.

This color is amazing.

I want a few perfect drips
down the side.

This is one festive cake.

To top it off, I add
some slices of cranberries,

some sliced almonds,
a few pieces of thyme,

and sprinkles, of course.

I think we're ready to dig in
for dessert.

Coming up,
I'm saving precious oven space

by firing up the grill
for my sweet-and-smoky turkey.

Then the best part --
the sides --

my pretzel stuffing
and charred cream corn.

It's time for
the main attraction,

the star of the show --
my sweet-and-smoky turkey.

And I'm grilling it,
so I'm gonna free up oven space,

and that grill is just gonna
add to the smoky flavor.

To start, I'm gonna make a rub

that's gonna infuse
so much flavor into my turkey.

Now, I'm making my rub
in a food processor.

I start by quartering
1/2 a red onion

and peeling
6 cloves of garlic --

3 for the rub and 3 for
the inside of the bird.

1 tablespoon of guajillo chilies
for a little heat,

2 tablespoons of sweet paprika,

1 tablespoon of tomato paste,

and a tablespoon
of apple cider vinegar

because apples and the fall --
it all makes sense.

1/2 teaspoon
of ground caraway seeds.

Love the bitterness
that that adds.

1/2 teaspoon of cumin,

1/2 teaspoon of coriander,

and for a little bit of heat,
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

I'm gonna add a drizzle
of olive oil.

It'll make it easier to spread
all over the bird.

And now I'll blend it
into a paste.

I'm gonna add
a little more olive oil

'cause it's looking
a little dry.

I'm gonna scrape down the sides

to make sure that everything
gets evenly blended.

Okay, I have to get a taste.

Mmm!
Mmm!

It's so sweet and smoky.

And I could just
eat this on toast.

So it's time to get this rub
on the turkey.

I'm gonna grab my bird.

Hello.

Okay, this turkey has been
dry-brined,

and all that means is that
last night,

I sprinkled it
with some salt and pepper,

and that's gonna help
tenderize the meat

and create a really juicy bird.

In the cavity, I'm stuffing in
the other half of the red onion,

three peeled cloves of garlic,
1/2 an orange,

and 1/2 a lemon.

And all of this is gonna
flavor it from the inside out.

A bouquet of fresh thyme

Yum!
I'm smelling it already.

And now I am going to
truss the legs.

Give it a bow
'cause it's pretty.

And now I'm gonna grab
my spice paste.

I'm gonna come in here
with my hands,

and I'm just gonna rub this
goodness all over the turkey,

just making sure that it gets in
all of the creases and folds.

I don't want any bit of this
turkey to be left un-flavored.

All right,
I'm gonna wash my hands.

And now, before I put it
on the grill,

I'm gonna add some wine
and stock to the roasting pan.

I'm adding about a cup of stock

to the bottom
of the roasting pan

and a cup of wine,

and those are gonna get
some additional flavor

into the turkey,
as well as moisture.

Great.

Next, I'm gonna
tent it with foil,

and this foil will stay on for
the first 45 minutes of cooking.

And that'll help get
an even cook on the bird.

My grill is pre-heated.

I'm gonna cook this at 350
for a couple of hours,

and then about halfway through,
I'll take off the foil

so that we can get
some crispy skin,

and then add
a couple more cups of stock.

I am so excited.

My turkey's on the grill,
and I'm gonna get going

on my charred cream corn,

which is smoky, it's sweet,
and it's really creamy.

And it's very easy to make.

I've got some frozen corn here,
and I'm gonna grab a shallot.

And the first thing
I'm gonna do is

I'm gonna pour
all of my frozen corn

into a very hot, dry skillet.

And I'm gonna stir it around
occasionally to make sure

that all the kernels
get charred evenly.

It smells so nutty, and I can
already hear that char forming.

The char does take a moment
to develop,

so I don't want to be
stirring it continuously.

I'll stir it, let it char,

stir it again,
and then let those kernels char.

And soon we're gonna have
a gorgeous-looking dish of corn.

And they're starting to pop.
Oh, my gosh.

All right, I'm gonna let
this corn char, and meanwhile,

I'm gonna get
my creamed mixture going.

I'm gonna chop up a shallot.

They're sweet,

and they're a little bit
more flavorful than onions.

And so the sweetness in this
is really gonna complement

the sweetness of the corn.

Let me just check on my corn

to make sure that it's not
getting too charred.

I'll melt 2 tablespoons
of butter

in a pan over medium heat

and add in my shallot.

I'll add a pinch of salt
so that it softens,

and I'll stir it around
to get it coated in that butter.

Some smoked paprika

and 3 tablespoons of flour
to get my roux started.

A dry pan is what I'm
essentially going for right now

because this mixture
is gonna thicken up that milk.

And I'm gonna add
a cup and a half of milk,

but I'm gonna add it in batches

because adding
too much cold milk

could make the mixture break.

So now I'm gonna add
some cream cheese,

which will just
take the richness

of this dish over the top.

It kind of balances out
the sweetness of the corn,

and, like, it's such a great
match to the smokiness.

Mmm!
Yes!

I'm gonna add
some fresh cracked pepper,

and a couple of tablespoons
of sugar

just to amp up
the sweetness of the corn.

The smokiness of this creamed
corn is gonna go so well

with the smokiness
of the grilled turkey.

And the spices in that turkey

and the smoked paprika
in this corn --

they're just gonna be a match
made in heaven.

I'm very excited for this meal,
if you couldn't tell.

And now I'm gonna add a few
spoonfuls of my charred corn,

and I'm gonna mash it
just to add

some textural excitement
to this dish.

Then I'll mix it all together,

and then I'm gonna taste it.

Mmm!

It's smoky and it's sweet
and it's so creamy.

I can taste that cream cheese
coming through.

This is gonna be
such a great side dish.

I cannot wait for my guests
to try this.

Coming up, I'm putting a twist
on a tried-and-true

Thanksgiving recipe
with my pretzel stuffing.

I've got my mom
and some great family friends

coming in for
Thanksgiving dinner.

I'm adding a little honey glaze
to the turkey

so the skin will caramelize
as it cooks,

then I'm moving on
to the stuffing.

If I'm being honest,
stuffing is the reason

that I show up
to the Thanksgiving table.

I have this never-ending love
of pretzel bread.

So today I'm making my pretzel
stuffing with mustard and beer.

It's gonna be sweet and tangy
and soft and salty.

I am obsessed
with this stuffing.

To start, I'm gonna chop up an
onion and four stalks of celery.

And I'm gonna finely chop this

so it mixes nicely
with my stuffing.

And same for my celery --
I'm gonna use four stalks.

And I don't mind
using the leaves.

I know a lot of people
get rid of them,

but they have more flavor there.

I'm finely chopping
my vegetables

because once it gets mixed
into the bread,

I don't want there
to be any huge, weird things

sticking out of it.

I like a stuffing that is
consistently soft throughout.

The main flavor note of stuffing
is chicken soup, pretty much.

And when I think of
chicken soup, I think of celery.

So adding a lot of celery here

will drive home
that chicken-soup flavor.

Okey-doke.

My vegetables are chopped.

I'm gonna get some butter
heating into a pan

so that I can cook my vegetables
and reserve the rest to pour

over the stuffing
before it goes into the oven.

I have my pan at a medium-high.

Now I'm gonna add my vegetables.

Lots of vegetables,

but they'll be a nice balance
to all that bread.

I'll season these
with a good pinch of salt

to bring out those flavors
and also to help them soften.

I'll stir them around,

and I'm just gonna cook these
about 7 to 10 minutes

until they're soft
and translucent.

And in the meantime, I'll mix
together my wet ingredients.

I'll crack in 2 eggs,

and these will help
bind my mixture together.

A cup and a half
of chicken stock,

which will add loads of flavor.

And for vegetarian stuffing,

vegetable stock
will absolutely work.

And now the fun part --

I'm gonna add 1/4 cup of mustard

because you really cannot
have pretzels without mustard.

And now I'm gonna add
a little bit of beer here.

This is a German lager,
and this is gonna add acidity,

it's gonna add tanginess,

and any alcohol in here
will cook right out.

And next, I'll grab some honey.

A couple tablespoons is perfect.

I'll whisk it all together,

and I've got to check on
my vegetables, too.

So, got to have all hands
on deck for Thanksgiving.

Okay, those are looking good.

This is looking good.

The last thing I'm gonna do
is chop up some parsley

before I combine everything.

And the freshness of the parsley
pairs nicely

with the richness
of this stuffing.

Okay, and now it's time
to combine everything.

So, I have a bowl of
torn pretzel bread here

that has been dried out
in an oven

at 200 degrees for an hour,

and that helps maintain
the structure of the bread

when it gets combined
with the liquid.

This is a great way to use
stale bread, too,

and you don't have to
use pretzel bread.

I'm gonna get my vegetables.

I'm gonna pour these directly
into the bowl with the bread.

It's so heavy!

I'm gonna toss the vegetables
and the bread together,

and then I will pour
in my liquid,

and that will help
bind it all together.

So, the liquid really softens
this bread a lot.

And it's important that
the bread

doesn't get mushy and too soft.

So that's why it's good
to toast the bread

before mixing it
with this liquid.

Thanksgiving smells
are the best smells.

There should be a perfume
that's Thanksgiving Day.

Okay, now I'm gonna pour it
into my casserole dish and bake.

The mixture is gonna still look
a little bit liquidy

when you pour it into the pan,

but the bread is gonna
continue to absorb

that liquid in the oven,
so that's what you want.

Another reason I love
using pretzels

is because the contrast
of the pretzel crust

and the pretzel insides
is really pretty.

You have those two beautiful
contrasting shades of brown.

There's tons of greenery
in here.

And the best part -- I'm gonna
pour more butter over it.

And this is just gonna make it
even richer and more delicious.

More butter, more better.

This will bake at 375
for about 45 minutes

until it's set and golden-brown
and a little crispy on top.

Okay, it's stuffing time.

Oh, my gosh.
This smells amazing!

Pretzel and mustardy goodness.

I have to take a taste.

Mmm, mmm, mmm!
Mmm!

It's pretzely.
It's sweet.

It's tangy.
It's salty.

And it's so soft and just the
perfect amount of crispy on top.

My family is gonna love
this stuffing.

Still to come, my mom's arriving

with some long-time
family friends.

I'll get her quick help
with the gravy,

and then it's turkey time.

Oh, my gosh! Molly!

-Hello!
-Hi, sweetie!

-Hey!
-Hey, Mom!

- Hi, sweetie!

-Oh, it's so good to see you.
-Hi, Marge!

Everyone's arrived.

I'm grabbing my mom to help me
with the gravy.

We've got to go
make gravy.

Oh, we're making gravy
already?

We're just gonna make
a simple gravy.

I'll make a roux
with the pan drippings...
Okay.

...and then we'll add broth
and then zhuzh it up.

-Perfect.
-So you've got the thyme there.

I am adding some flour
to the pan.

I can totally smell
those drippings.

That is gorgeous.

And this thyme.
Mmm!

Does that just smell
like Thanksgiving?

Perfect.

This roux
is looking good.

I think it's ready
for the stock.

That's looking
beautiful.

I'm gonna stir it
as you're pouring it in

so that thickens evenly.

Okay.
Smells amazing.

You do not want to throw
those pan drippings away

from the bottom
of the turkey

because that is the flavor
that's gonna create this sauce.

The gravy is one of
my favorite parts of the meal.
Why?

Because it means
everything else is cooked.

-Yeah.
-You do it last.

-It's the last thing.
-Everyone's there.

And everything's ready.

Everything's ready,
and it smells so good.

It smells good, yeah.

I'm gonna add just a tablespoon
of red wine vinegar

to round out
those flavors,

and it just kind of
makes it more balanced.

It does.
It just adds a little hit

of something at the end
that's just delightful.
Mm-hmm.

I think we'll just add
some of this thyme.
Okay.

We'll add most of it
to the gravy

and leave some
for sprinkling on top.

-How pretty is that?
-Mmm!

Okay, let's taste now!

Okay, ready?

Mmm! Mmm!

That's perfect.

-I cannot wait to try this.
-Oh, my gosh! Molly!

-Happy Thanksgiving.
-Happy Thanksgiving.

-Happy Thanksgiving.
-Happy Thanksgiving.

Look at how juicy that is.

That is the most ridiculously
juicy turkey.

This stuffing is made
with pretzel bread,

and there's some mustard and
a little bit of beer in there.

-Mmm!
-Oh, my gosh!

-What's in that corn?
-Cream and cream cheese.

I'm just stuck on
this corn right now.

It is just all-consuming
for me. It's great.

Everything is just
so delicious.

Okay, save room
for dessert.

-Okay.
-Oh, my goodness.

-Wow.
-Oh, wow!

-Wow!
-Oh, my gosh!

Did you notice that there was
no cranberry sauce on the table?

Didn't want to say it.

But we knew that Molly would
come up with them somewhere.

-Here they are.
-Even better.

And everything has that
little extra zhuzh to it.

It's so great
having you guys in town.

Thanks for coming,
and Happy Thanksgiving!

-Happy Thanksgiving.
-We're so happy to be here.