BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites

Subject: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 12:12 PM

Mudcatters and esteemed visitors,

I searched the DT and am astonished that with all of our food threads here we have not apparently discussed our favorite foods and recipes served on Thanksgiving (doesn't matter which nation's holiday, though this Mudcatter is addressing the topic from a U.S. perspective).

The ubiquitous image of a U.S. Thanksgiving is turkey and stuffing, and attendant dishes. Close runner-up, a fancy ham. Pumpkin pie for dessert. But surely there are family traditions and regional variations that will allow Mudcatters to conjure up some interesting recipes?

The thing that was a small part of the meal but always fun and only turned up once a year was a form of baking powder biscuit that Mom used to make. It was rolled out thin on a board, then rolled up into a long tube (like you would do with yeast dough for cinnamon rolls) and sliced and topped with grated cheese. They came out looking like cinnamon rolls in shape, but had the scattered crust of cheese baked onto the top.

She also made tomato aspic. I've never had it any other place, and it wasn't my favorite dish, but we always ate it once a year. Aspic is very pretty, the little gelatins each garnished on their own little plate.

I have a cookbook my mother put together many years ago, and I've pulled it out to find that recipe.

Mom's Tomato Aspic

1 bay leaf
few drops Tobasco
4 onion slices
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups tomato juice
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2/3 cups cold water
2 Tbs vinegar
2 Tbs lemon juice

Place first 5 ingredients in pan with 2 cups tomato juice. Simmer 10 minutes. Add gelatin soaked in the water and stir until dissolved. Add the rest of the tomato juice, vinegar and lemon juice. Strain. Place in either 1 quart mold or in individual molds and chill.

Variation: add finely chopped celery.

My individual contribution these days (the one requested by friends we dine with most years) is a batch of yeast rolls with lots of Italian-style spices. I make them with olive oil, and generous shakes of garlic powder, and oregano in the dough. They didn't start out as a Thanksgiving food, but because the neighbors asked for them at our shared meal, my kids have come to expect them. They are particularly good for making small turkey sandwiches.

Anyone else have a favorite recipe to share?

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MarkS
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 12:23 PM

Sounds exactly like what my mother used to make. Are you sure we are not related? I also only ate some to be nice, and only once in a while!
Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jimmyt
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 12:35 PM

I do a beef tenderloin on the grill

Trim a tenderloin and marinate in red wine vinegar for one hour

slice lengthwise half way through, stuff, tie with butchers string, puncture 30 or 40 places stuff the punctures with garlic cloves slivered. Salt and pepper copiously

stuffing: Saute 2 bunches of finely diced scallions, and a half pound of mushrooms finely diced in butter or olive oil, set aside until ready to stuff in Tenderloin.

Hot grill, indirect heat, 45-50 min, take off when still pink as it continues to cook a bit after removal from grill. Let rest for 30-40 min before slicing.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Bill D
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 12:52 PM

for "bite the bird", which ends with MY favorite, Thompson's Turkey

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=14669 , a general recipe thread, also has the recipe.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:01 PM

Probably my very favorite Thanksgiving food - (not counting Thanksgiving Eve - which is more important to me in the long run) is Creamed Onions. I fiddle with the recipe every year - but gotta have my creamed onions.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: mack/misophist
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:11 PM

Put hot dogs in micro wave (auto defrost is good enough)
Eat hot dogs. While doing so, place lima beans in micro wave.
Eat lima beans.

Thanksgiving is my least favourite holiday, just after Arbor Day.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Bill D
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:18 PM

are the hot dogs and lima beans specifically in protest of Thanksgiving, or is that just your regular fare, which you don't bother changing? (me, I'd at least FRY the hot dogs and add catsup, for a holiday, but I'm such an old emotional softy)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:29 PM

Bill, thanks for tracking down that thread. The run-on words didn't come up in my search, but it makes sense that there would be something out here! (Maybe I should have done a search on Rick Fielding--he seemed to start a disproportionate number of food threads, though they encompassed kitchen disasters as well as triumphal recipes).

Something that is a big deal down here in Texas but that I've never actually tried, or seen, is deep-fryed turkey. I guess they must dip the entire bird in the oil. Whole or cut up, I can't say. I have seen these stainless steel gas "turkey fryers" and 5-gallon containers of peanut oil on sale just about everywhere over the last couple of weeks.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: mack/misophist
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:47 PM

The entree and veg were chosen at random from my usual list. It could have been liver and artichoke bottoms.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: SINSULL
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:53 PM

Me too, MMario. Although last year my creamed onions, made on an electric stove for the first time, were a disaster. They fell on the floor, Seamus ran to grab them, stopped dead in his tracks, sniffed and walked away. SIGH!

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup broth (or water)
Make a roux with the flour and butter.
Cook it for at least one minute.
Add broth
Bring to a boil and stir until creamy.
Add onions (canned is OK but freshly boiled is better and less salty.

A splash of white wine and a sprinkle of pepper.
YUM

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 02:34 PM

A few years back, I developed a recipe for Sausage and Apple Stuffing with Walnuts. I wanted something different besides the same old herb stuffing. We've served it every Thanksgiving since, and everybody loves it. I'll share it with you. I usually start to prepare it well after I've put the turkey in the oven, because I like to use turkey drippings in the mixture.

1 lb bulk spicy pork breakfast sausage (I use Jimmy Dean Hot)
1 1/2 cups celery, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup shallots, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup finely chopped white onion
2 tablespoons butter plus 6 tablespoons melted
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
2 cups cooking apples, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces (Granny Smith works well)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced, or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, minced, or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, preferably crushed
1/4 cup fresh sage, minced, or 1 tablespoon dried sage, preferably rubbed but ground will do
6 cups dried bread cubes. (I cut the crust off all sides of several bread slices, cube the bread, then spread cubes evenly on a baking sheet and shove it in a 350 degree oven just until slightly golden and crunchy.) Store-bought stuffing mix can be substituted.
2 cups warm low-sodium chicken broth, or turkey drippings added to chicken broth to make 2 cups.
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

2. Cook the sausage in the same pan and make sure the sausage is cooked through, around 10 minutes. Drain off sausage drippings and reserve 1/4 cup.

3. Over low to medium heat, cook the shallots, onion, and celery together, covered, in a saute pan with 2 tablespoons of butter and the reserved sausage drippings. Cook until softened. Place in a large bowl.

4. Break up any overly large pieces of sausage with a fork until all the meat is a uniform texture, then put it in the bowl with the celery, onions and shallots.

5. Toast the walnuts on a cookie sheet about 10 minutes at 325°F, taking care not to burn them.

6. Roughly chop walnuts and add to the bowl.

7. Cut the peeled apples into cubes and add to the bowl with the other ingredients.

8. Add the herbs to the bowl and mix.

9. Add the bread cubes toss to mix all the ingredients.

10. Add the warm chicken broth and the melted butter and mix thoroughly, make sure the bread is well coated.

11. Put the stuffing in a buttered baking dish or casserole and cover with foil.

12. Bake for 30 minutes, and then remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Try it. I hope you enjoy it. Happy Thanksgiving!

S

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,SueB
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 03:31 PM

Thanksgiving isn't my favorite, but I like homemade cranberry sauce with whole cranberries still in it. Also, jalapeno cornbread, and mashed potatoes & gravy.

What I'd rather do than follow tradition is to make something Asian I've never made before - one year it was cats' paw dumplings and hot and sour soup and some kind of steamed fish recipe involving lemongrass. This year we are taking all the work out of it and getting a whole roast duck (already roasted) from the oriental food market, and also a whole array of takeout from the same place - Thai and Chinese and Korean and whatever looks interesting that we have the courage to try.

If I have to go the turkey route, I opt for the less labor intensive whole turkey breast and a pan of roasted vegetable - potatoes, onions, garlic cloves, carrots, etc all chopped into bite sized chunks, tossed with olive oil and garlic salt and allowed to slowly roast in the oven for the last 45 mins to an hour of turkey time. I would rather spend my time making pies! Pies, pies, pies! Apple pies with pear and cranberry. Strawberry pies, peanutbutter pies, all kinds of pies!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 03:47 PM

Thanksgiving dinner has to be one of the easiest to prepare. *grin* But then again - we have 4 cooks - and we share out the work.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Bill D
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 04:47 PM

I wonder just how hungry I'd have to be to eat creamed onions....on a scale, I guess they'd rank just above liver and bugs, and just below borsht...which is about 2 ranks below what I ever choose freely.

yes, yes,...I know...(I was 19 before I willingly ate vegetables much beyond lettuce & green beans,,)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jeffp
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 04:56 PM

I'll be doing the entire Thanksgiving dinner myself this year. My wife is recovering from cancer surgery and postoperative infection, so she won't be able to help much at all. We've pared down the menu because it just doesn't make sense to do that much for just the two of us, but we both want to have as much of the traditional dishes as we can manage.

One difference this year is that I'll be smoking the turkey on our offset smoker. I've done a breast before, but this will be my first time for something this large. I am confident, though. Haven't had a failure yet. We've got plenty of ribs in the freezer in case of emergency.

We're also thinking of dressing up the green bean casserole with artichoke hearts or something. That one is still being thrashed around. Mashed potatoes are definitely on the menu, along with homemade cranberry relish, herb dressing and homemade pumpkin pie.

Should be fun.

jeffp

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: catspaw49
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 05:38 PM

Jeffy....a suggestion.....When you smoke a whole bird, do it upside down (not you, the bird). Breast dries way too much by the time an entire bird is done so do it breast down. And throw a couple of sectioned apples in the cavity....great flavor!!!

SRS.....That thread I started (Bill's link) was started for Rick's benefit based on a phone conversation. Both of us loved food and as you said, Rick started a lot of the food threads one way or another. BTW, some of my favorite Bird day stuff is on that thread. As I said then, the best of t-day is in the leftovers and if you haven't tried Kentucky Hot Brown yet, you're missing the boat!!!

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Gypsy
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 10:40 PM

Well, since i am not wild about most thanksgiving fare, we will have prawns, salad, and cheesecake for dessert. YUM! But when i WAS cooking turkeys, something to always remember..........get a hypo, and inject at least 1 pound of butter in the bird. And let it rest for at least 20 minutes in the drippings, so it can sop them up again!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Rapparee
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 11:15 PM

Get a fresh turkey. Get a huge pot -- at least five gallons. Fill the pot with oil. Heat the oil to boiling. Sling in the turkey. When it done, take it out. Serve the turkey to your guests, and only to your guests, reminding yourself not to use motor oil the next time.

Or make what we're making this Tgiving: reservations.

(Actually, we usually get a smoked turkey breast and gently heat it. Delicious, and no waste to speak of. But this year we are going out for Thanksgiving dinner.)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Nancy King
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 12:19 AM

Here's my favorite cranberry-orange relish:

1 pkg fresh cranberries
2 whole oranges
zest of 1 orange
1 whole apple (Granny Smith is good)
3/4 - 1 cup sugar

After zesting one of the oranges, peel both oranges, making sure to remove all the seeds and all the white pith. Peel and core apple. Cut oranges and apple into chunks, and put through food processor, along with cranberries. Add orange zest. Add sugar, mix well, and chill.

This should be made at least a day or two ahead, so it has time to get itself together. It keeps very well, should you happen to have any left over.

Enjoy!

Nancy

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: LadyJean
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 12:43 AM

My father's father was a district attorney. He put someone in jail who had been harassing a Chinese gentleman. The Chinese gentleman felt himself deeply indebted to my grandfather, and turned up, regularly with gifts. (I have some lovely chinoiserie about my home. I just have to find it. But I digress.)
After several years, my grandfather decided to run for judge. He didn't want the press suggesting that he was in the pay of the Tongs, so he told his Chinese friend to stop the gifts. All went well, until Thanksgiving when someone showed up at the kitchen door with a turkey, cooked Chinese style, complete with head and feet. The delivery man spoke English only slightly better than my grandmother spoke Chinese. He kept bowing and smiling, and, finally grandmother just took the turkey and put it in the icebox.
That night, when great grandfather started to carve the American style turkey, it became obvious that the bird was rotten.
Which is why my father's family had Chinese turkey that Thanksgiving, and why I like to put water chestnuts in my turkey dressing. (That and I like water chestnuts.)
The turkey was the last of the Chinese gifts.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,SueB
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 12:53 AM

Nancy, do you not cook the cranberries?

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 01:13 AM

OH, GAWD. . . I just gained 10 pounds reading that recipe for Kentucky Hot Brown and some of the other stuff on Spaw's old thread. . . pardon me while I stagger over to a chair and rest up after all of that food talk. . . I'm feeling a little green around the gills. . . all that cholesterol. . .

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jeffp
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 08:50 AM

Thanks for the suggestion, Spaw. Upside-down is definitely the way to go. I'll probably use maple for smoking and maybe a maple glaze as well.

Jeff

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 08:52 AM

Nancy - I really enjoy that relish as well - but I've always used seedless navel oranges and not bothered to peel - etc - just chunk them up and then grind.(okay - I used to use a meat grinder - now a food processer) and no - you don't cook this relish.

Sometimes I use an onion instead of the apple - or WITH the apple. A little fresh ginger added goes well also.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,KateG
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 08:55 AM

In answer to SueB's question to Nancy. No, Cranberry-Orange relish is not cooked.   

We make a very similar, but simpler, one in our family: 1 bag cranberries, 2 oranges, 1 very scant cup of sugar. The oranges are cut up to remove the seeds, but otherwise left intact, and are ground in a meat grinder or food processor. The the sugar is added and the mix is left to marry in the fridge for a day or two. However, it comes out much better in a grinder, redder and with more intense flavor. I think the grinder crushes the fruit as well as chopping it, which helps to release vital essenses. I've noticed that some of the newer food processor versions recommend a brief heating in the microwave, presumably to achieve the same end.

Leftover Cranberry relish is divine in blintzes: thin pancakes filled with cottage cheese, sour cream & relish and sauteed in butter till a bit crispy -- to die for.

Or spread it on leftover turkey sandwiches, or mix it with plain yougurt and use as a fruit topping, or....   It's addictive stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 09:59 AM

Jeff, where I live you can get really hurt messing around with the green bean casserole recipe. One year I tried to make it with fresh green beans. Sigh.... Also, I noticed that a certain fancy-dancy food purveyor I won't name tops it with "crispy fried shallots". Shallots, for all love. They are french fried onions, and they are Durkee, and that is that.

Now, I do love artichokes (one special at our restaurant today is a ham/cheese/artichoke-heart melt with honey mustard) but if you put 'em in that casserole, you are obliged to call it something else.

Dani

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jeffp
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 10:22 AM

Dani:

Fortunately, we are consenting adults committing food in the privacy of our own home. For that matter, we are married and of opposite sexes as well. If John Ashcroft knocks on our door, he will NOT be invited in.

(I do understand about tampering with tradition, I just gotta have some fun with it.)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 10:26 AM

well - as long as you aren't adding pimento or doing anything radical...

still - changing green bean casserole isn't really a topic of polite conversation - not in most places at least.

I had a cousin who made it with cream of celerysoup one year; my poor aunt was shunned for months.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jeffp
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 10:47 AM

OMIGAWD, Mmario!!!!!!!!!

That's what we use.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,Nancy King at work
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 01:23 PM

Interesting. I've had the cranberry relish made with peels and all, but found it a trifle bitter. So I stick to the ancestral method and peel the oranges, but include some orange zest for a little zing. And no, it isn't cooked. Yummy!

Nancy

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 01:39 PM

I must be weird because I HATE green bean casserole. Makes be gag just thinking about it. Yuck!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: catspaw49
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 02:21 PM

PPSSSSSTTTT.....Mario and Jeff........We have been making it by subbing Cream of Asparagus soup and asparagus for the green beans....a whole new dish sorta'....but it's damn good!!!

I'm reading all of these and adding to the collection. This year, Karen is looking at the day as her last Thanksgiving. No, not that.....but by this time next year she will have had gastric bypass surgery and that is one helluva' lifestyle change! We've been learning tons (no pun) about what things will be like and it will work out fine. Actually better than fine as we are both convinced that the surgery for her will be not only life changing but life saving as well.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 02:24 PM

oh, wow...that IS a big step...but I have heard amazing things about what it can do.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jeffp
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 02:49 PM

Well, while we're confessing to heresy, I might as well add that we also add garlic and cheese to our casserole. Maybe a little Worcestershire sauce, I'm not sure (my wife usually makes it). It's delicious, though, I can tell you.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 03:01 PM

try this - it's also not green bean casserole - in fact - it's not a casserole - but it IS tasty...

fresh asparagus spears - lightly coat with Italian dressing - roast in a 375 degree F. oven 10-15 minutes or iuntil tender.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: catspaw49
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 03:22 PM

Aw geez.....Are we about to do "Confessions on Asparagus?" Mario, I LOVE it roasted!!! Then I add a commercial horseradish sauce (like Horsey sauce at Arby's). A GREAT side for roast beef!

We're scared as well as anticipatory Bill.....Lots to go through between now and then as the Docs do a lot of testing including counselling to be sure it will work for the person. Karen typically has gotten deeply involved, read everything on the net and a half dozen books so far in conjunction with what she is getting from the Docs. She's been a lifelong dieter but in the past 4 years absolutely nothing has it worked andher weight has become a serious health issue.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: PoppaGator
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 03:24 PM

All this talk about the classic green bean casserolle is making my mouth water! Because my wife is a bit of a purist when it comes to fresh food (if not organic food), we've never had such a thing in our house in 30+ years of marriage. Never had a can of vegetables (let alone canned fried onions!) in our cupboard -- just fresh produce and, very occasionally, a "brick" of frozen spinach or maybe peas. And never-never-never has a can of condensed soup ever been used as an ingredient!

I can't really complain, though -- the years of gourmet-quality cooking more than make up for the absense of an occasional "junk food" treat.

One element that is never missing from a holiday meal in our home (and in many New Orleans homes) is oyster dressing (i.e., stuffing). Sorry, no recipe -- since I usually deal with baked goods on turkey day and Christmas, I'm not in on the secrets of stuffing the bird. I know that the ingredients include stale French (white) bread, fresh oysters, and plenty of aromatic herbs/vegetables -- onions, celery, undoubtedly some garlic, maybe green bell peppers -- ??

Those around here who prefer not to use oysters generally make their dressing/stuffing from cornbread and sausage.

Those deep-fried turkeys are pretty popular hereabouts, too, just as in Texas. A few years ago, I had never heard of such a thing, but every year now it seems to become a bigger and bigger deal. You can buy the giant pot and peanut oil to do it yourself, or order (in advance) a turkey to be fried for you.

Creamed onions: my grandmother (and later my mother) would make 'em only once or twice a year, for big holiday dinners, and I *hated* them back then. I don't get to eat them any more often now, but now I like 'em.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: LynnT
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 04:24 PM

Deviled eggs. Gotta have deviled eggs at Thanksgiving.

I started out making four dozen for the 20 or so of us who gather each year at the biggest home among us former madrigal singers (I go there by preference to joining my brother and his family -- THIS is my real family!) and each year I've upped it by a dozen til I decided that peeling seven dozen eggs was enough work! Once they're peeled, the rest is easy and scales well. Drop the halved yolks in a food processor while you prep the halved whites on trays. The yolks get Hellman's mayo, whole-grain French mustard, Old Bay, garlic powder, and a bit of cider vinegar mixed in. Fill the whites when you get to the place where dinner will be -- using two spoons works well, since my filling is too coarse to pipe in with a pastry bag. Sprinkle on a bit more Old Bay, and stand back!

LynnT

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 04:45 PM

Old Bay sounds good--I hadn't thought of that. Vinegar? How much? Is it something you can actually taste, or just a hint? We always top the deviled eggs with paprika. I use Worchestershire sauce and a little (only a couple of drops) of Tobasco along with the mustard (which has vinegar already, hence my question).

PoppaGator, I've seen the paraphernalia, but I've never actually seen or tasted deep fried turkey. How long does it take and what does it taste like? Does it get any seasoning or coating, and what size chunks (or is it done whole? I'd think there would be issues regarding the thing being completely done and not burning the outside if one cooked it whole in hot oil).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: catspaw49
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 11:30 PM

Well if you don't want to cook at all and are on a liquid diet, there is THIS OPTION.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 11:59 PM

Spaw, I have the original Hot Brown Recipe from someone whose aunt worked at the Brown Hotel in Louisville where it originated. I'll have to compare it to your recipe.

I love Thanksgiving -- food and family -- lots of visiting. Just today I replenished the jelly beans in the glass turkey on my diningroom table. Now I need to get some candy corn for the other turkey. All us "kids" like to eat candy.

As far as recipes, I've had to change over the years. I love my mother's cranberry jello salad recipe, but I'm the only one who ever ate it. Also, I grew up in a household where you didn't serve mashed potatoes when you had dressing (Southern cornbread dressing). Now my family, especially Hubby, wants mashed potatoes. I got back at them last year -- if you fix them in a casserole they are so hot you always burn your mouth trying to eat them!

I miss my mother's Waldorf Salad (turkey, apples, celery, grapes) that she always made with leftover turkey. That, with dressing and sweet potato casserole was usually better than the original noon meal.

(Did y'all see the "Kathy" cartoon last Sunday talking about her mother's sweet potato casserole with the gooey marshmallows?)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Nov 04 - 12:50 AM

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but it is the one that also puts the biggest strain on my heart in recent years. It was always a big family holiday, and it is also near when my Dad suddenly died. My last Thanksgiving with Mom, in 1997, was only because I was in the Northwest dealing with my father's estate after his death in mid-November, and I couldn't get back to Texas to cook for my family. I called a neighbor, asked her to have them over for dinner, and I went down to Seattle and ate with my sister, brother, mother, and a few friends. Who knew that would be Mom's last? So I tell stories, all during the day, about when I was a kid and had to help with the dressing, how we did this and that and the other thing. I choose bowls or containers because they are part of the story, and I choose the foods because they are part of the story.

Christmas, that's much easier, it's money and decorations. We shop wisely and enjoy the day, but Thanksgiving, that was always the heart of my family's year. It still is, and as a parent I am handing it all down to my children. This year our best friend who we usually shared the holiday with has moved, and her children have scattered. We're pulling together the remnants, those who have never made other plans because Bette was always there with the meal. We move on, and this year, we'll tell stories about Bette's Thanksgiving dinners along with my mother's Thanksgiving dinners. It will be a nice meal, quieter, but nice.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Hollowfox
Date: 17 Nov 04 - 07:50 PM

Ah, SRS, you've got it. Passing around the stories is the most important part. Presently, Thanksgiving is the most laid-back of holidays for me and mine. My three urchins and I all like to cook, and we never declair an intended serving time. These past few years, we get up and put on the morning television news show to see the hilarious cooking tips. Eventually we make the stuffing, put it in the bird, and set it to roast. By then, the parades are being broadcast, and we wander from living room to kitchen. We put together the relish tray, then go back to see something rediculous (like a marching band playing Maxwell's Silver Hammer; the commentator folks either didn't know the tune or were too chicken to identify it). And so it goes until stuff is done. So far, we've gotten our acts together enough to be changed out of our pajamas by dinnertime. So for us it's a day devoted to relaxation and rememberances, topped off with a healthy dose of triptophan. After we put the food away, we're so tired htat we happily stagger to our beds for a turkey-induced nap.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Nov 04 - 10:34 PM

I bought some tomato juice today. Who knows, if I find some gelatin, maybe I'll make some aspic. I don't have anything little and fancy to mold it in. I'll have to use custard cups.

(MarkS, you can take a few bites and set it aside! I probably won't put celery in it if I make it. I think the crunchy consistency in the really soft gel was part of what I found off-putting).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,peedeecee
Date: 17 Nov 04 - 11:57 PM

What is green bean casserole? Never heard of it, but everyone else on the thread seems to find it absolutely familiar!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 12:00 AM

Never mind! I googled it. Thanks anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 11:46 AM

I haven't googled it, and I've wondered also. Share it with us, please!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 11:51 AM

simplest recipe - combine 2 cans french cut green beans(drained) with 1 can Campbell'scondensed cream of mushroom soup. Top with 1 can Durkees fried onion rings. Bake until bubbly. Serve.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 11:55 AM

(and yes - there are people who go into shock if you use anything other then french cut)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 12:52 PM

Actually, you can make most any vegetable casserole with condensed cream of mushroom soup. I'll be making a broccoli casserole with rice and onions and cheese and two soups - cream of mushroom and cream of chicken. I put Ritz crackers on top - crush them, then shake with melted butter.

Anyone have an idea for a possible Scottish guest (niece's friend)? I know he'll probably want to experience the traditional foods, but could I surprise him with something familiar to him?

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 01:03 PM

probably depends on family traditions - but Oatmeal gingerbread or Border Tart both look like they would compliment a Thansgiving dinner.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 01:55 PM

I've added to my guest list--the neighbors across the street are getting older and she planned to not cook this year. He may have to work, but she at least will come over. She asked what to bring, and frankly, I've been quite curious about the greens she cooks all of the time, so I asked if she would bring a casserole of her collard greens. I'm looking forward to it. This will be a good substitute for the green bean dish that a friend used to bring (it didn't have soup, but it had bacon crumbled in it and probably had about the same calories). Someone used to bring a casserole with asperagus that sounds suspiciously like the green bean casserole described here. I always liked it.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 03:22 PM

"Confessions On Asparagus" -- Anyone ever see the asparagus eating scene in "Beautiful Dreamer"? (It's a film about Walt Whitman.)

I just made a wonderful chicken/asparagus/sage/parmesan soup the other day. We'll have its second incarnation tonight (with added pasta, but I think gnocci next time). Bird and asparagus is a wonderful combination.

My favorite Thanksgiving treat is the turkey tetrazzini that Curmudgeon makes the next day.

Nancy & MMario -- that's the ONLY cranberry relish I can stomach. Actually, I rather like it, but "Mudge can't abide cranberries, so it's been years since I've had it. (Let's see, Tom and I have been married 22 years . . .)

So, this is a warning Sinsull (Jeri already knows) -- there will be no cranberry stuff at the Thanksgiving feast at Perdurabo this year. At least not prepared by Himself in the Pilgrim hat.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 03:28 PM

Stilly, I don't think you make casseroles with greens...at least never heard of it.

I just picked turnip greens yesterday and stunk up the house cooking a big pot with lots of country ham and one red pepper...served with cornbread, of course.

Thanks for the ideas MMario.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 03:42 PM

Yes, the traditional way to make green bean casserole (and the way it was taught in my 7th grade Home Ick class) is with french cut green beans. It's better with frozen rather than canned, though. If you HAVE to use canned vegetables of any kind, thoroughly rinse them first. Not only gets rid of a lot of the sodium but they taste a heck of a lot better.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Dani
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 03:59 PM

Lovely, Mmario, but what the HELL is TREACLE? Can I use blackstrap molasses instead, this being NC?

Dani

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Rustic Rebel
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 05:41 PM

Stilly- I've had deep fried turkey several times. It takes about an hour, depending on the size bird (about 3 min. a lb.). I've had them where spices have been injected, or you can dry spice it. Turkey is moist and very good. Found a site for you to check out-Clicky

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 06:13 PM

I should have said "a casserole dish" meaning the container, something with a lid that can be reheated before the meal, not that the greens would be part of a casserole.

RR - Thanks for the link to turkey frying. Considering the investment in specialized equipment and oil, it isn't anything I'll be taking up. (Read to the bottom where it describes how often you can use oil and when to determine that it is too rancid to use again. Ugg.)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Terry Allan Hall
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 06:47 PM

Here's a VERY simple "ice-box pie" that has been a favorite around the holidays"

Eggnog Pie

Take two 6-oz boxes of instant vanilla pudding, add 2 cups of eggnog and beat for 1 minute, until smooth. Pour into a pie shell and refrigerate overnight.

That's it!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: DougR
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 07:22 PM

Mary: you could always serve your friend Haggis for Thanksgiving. I tasted my first (and last) in Scotland in September.

SRS: you are a Texian and have never had green bean casserole? Amazing. :>)

Mary: I love country ham. Today I had the fortutude to pass on buying one though. I tried it a year or so and I was the only one who would eat it. I had country ham to use for seasoning beans for a whole year. Lots of trouble to cook too.

My wife cooks a wonderful asparagus casserole (you can substitute broccoli if you prefer). I'll post it if anyone is interested.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 11:03 PM

No, DougR, I am NOT a Texan! I am a Washingtonian who is marooned in the state of Texas for the time being. I don't do black-eyed peas, either. Couldn't care less, though it's a big deal down here.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: dianavan
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 12:30 AM

Nobody has mentioned that awful jello salad. Actually there are usually at least two. 1. Orange jello with pineapple and carrots 2. Lime jello with cottage cheese

Haven't had any of that in about 30 years but I sure remember it from my childhood. The green stuff was disgusting. Maybe it was supposed to be a treat for the kids.

Never heard of green bean casserole, though. Canned, fried onions? That is totally absurd. How hard is it to fry an onion? I cook fresh green beans and toss them with butter and toasted almonds. Yum!

I do like black-eyed peas but not for Thanksgiving.

Oh - these are supposed to be favorites!

My favorite is giblet dressing with lots of gravy. Also love those candied sweet potatoes (I use honey)and don't forget the homemade pumpkin pie (thats another thread).

d

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: catspaw49
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 12:56 AM

I really haven't gotten it yet...........deep fried turkey.

I mean no shit here......We have this big hullaballoo about turkey being leaner and more healthful and then we throw the fucker into boiling fat????? Can someone explain this?

It just goes back to the American predilection for deep frying everything. When you're at the fair and eating deep fried ice cream and pickles you know we are a screwed up bunch!!!

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 02:13 AM

Deep Fried Turkey

I keep getting images of Homer Simpson acquiring the Army Surplus Deep Fryer capable of zapping Battalion Size numbers of Portions, and complaining that it he wanted it to cook faster....

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: dianavan
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 03:20 AM

How could the inside temperature possibly get high enough to kill the salmonella if you deep fry it. This has got to be a joke.

d

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 09:55 AM

dani - yes. Use molasses for treacle - unless you have a treacle well.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 10:03 AM

dianavan - you don't fry it stuffed. the oil goes into the cavity as well as around the outside. - there really isn't any problem getting the temperature up to correct numbers to make it safe.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 10:52 AM

And you can't deep fry anything larger than 15 pounds, according to the link above. That at least makes sense. But I agree with Spaw, deep frying something that would ordinarily be fairly good for you is a cultural affectation that fits the category of "I deep fry it because I can."

My shopping is complete, with the exception of fresh mushrooms I'll pick up the day before to go in the stuffing. I asked the kids this morning to take their dibs on what they're going to help with. My son chose rolls, so it looks like Moonglow gets to work on the stuffing. Not that it gets stuffed into the bird, it gets baked on the side, so she won't have to get up at the crack of dawn like I will to start the bird.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 10:57 AM

we use an onion and herb stuffing - no eggs, no meat, and still use the now-discouraged "slow cook" in the oven overnight.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,bbc at work
Date: 19 Nov 04 - 11:25 AM

Doug,

I'd like to see the recipe for that asparagus casserole. I have a great, easy, healthy cranberry-grape salad recipe, but I need to post from home to get the proportions right.

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: bbc
Date: 20 Nov 04 - 08:57 AM

Here's the cranberry recipe:

1 pound raw cranberries, ground
1 pound seedless grapes, cut in half (green ones look pretty)
10 ounces plain or vanilla yogurt
Sugar to taste--1/4-1/2 cup

Mix all ingredients & refrigerate.

My kids--picky eaters--have always loved this!

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Nov 04 - 09:53 AM

Creamed onions is my favorite t-day dish. Try adding curry to taste (it gets stronger as it cooks a bit). About 30 minutes after eating, retire to separate rooms for a while.

dw

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: SINSULL
Date: 20 Nov 04 - 10:54 AM

GUEST - you are welcome to come for Thanksgiving dinner at my house and you won't have to go to a separate room. A bit of curry sounds wonderful.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Nov 04 - 11:58 AM

Just be sure the carbon monoxide/methane detector has fresh batteries.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 20 Nov 04 - 07:31 PM

DougR, I googled haggis - now that is d*i*s*g*u*s*t*i*n*g! Maybe I could just serve chitlins.

We can buy a small package of country ham pieces to use just for seasoning things.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,LynnT
Date: 21 Nov 04 - 07:05 PM

About the cider vinegar in the devilled eggs -- almost enough to taste; it mostly cuts the richness. Can't give you exact amounts since I don't measure; I come from the "hurl in a goodly handful" school of cookery.

Try stirring about half a cup of diced gruyere cheese into the mix when you make the traditional green bean casserole. Adds another dimension of flavor -- plus another assault on your arteries! This also works beautifully with fresh asparagus cut into chunks -- a variant on a 15th-century recipe for "savoury toasted cheese". And those Durkee onions are french-fried after being dipped in a batter, something you CAN do yourself but somehow more traditional (midwestern?) out of the can. The batter adds something to the finished dish toasted breadcrumbs + regular browned onions can't match.

(Did you know that macaroni and cheese is medieval? I have a 13-century English recipe for "lozenges" which is dough rolled thin and cut into diamond shapes, boiled, then layered with white cheese and a bit of nutmeg. White lasagna anyone? I also found an early reference to elbow macaroni or quill pasta, from 15th-century Italy -- it talks about taking dough about the thickness of a straw and rolling it around an iron rod the thickness of a cord. This is then dried, and the book says it keeps about three years this way.)

I also make an easy apple pie with cranberries -- stir a can of whole-berry cranberry sauce (cut into dice) plus some cinnamon into about four Granny Smith or York apples peeled and cut into thin slices. Add a cup of vanilla yoghurt if you like, and/or an handful of broken pecans. Pour this into a crust and bake until bubbly.

MY SO made another traditional dish today for lunch -- oyster stew.   He is from Hadley Mass and makes his very plain -- oysters, butter, cream and oyster crackers with a bit of salt and pepper, that's it. Me being from upstate New York, mine is fussier -- onions browned with bacon, shredded carrot, and celery, cream, oysters, and a bit of sherry. Almost New England chowder.

Getting hungry?

LynnT

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Pogo
Date: 22 Nov 04 - 12:54 AM

mmmmmm...Thankgiving....*drools*

Oh, don't be bashin' my deep-fried turkey now!!! ;o) Done properly it is so nice and tender...we have a cousin who shoots it up with cajun seasoning...yes I am aware it ain't healthy but I figure I can cut loose a bit at Thanksgiving after all. Otherwise...soak it overnight in a solution of salt water, wrap it up nice and tight in foil and bake...doesn't make the white meat dry out so badly

There's also squash casserole, sweet potatoes, my grandma's stuffing recipe...mashed potatoes occasionally (trying putting in a can of evaporated milk with them that's the way I like 'em) Hmmm...also butter beans, collards, cornbread (mixing in a dollop or two of sour cream and creamed corn is a nice variation) spiral ham, biscuits and rice...that's pretty much standard fare.

My grandmother fooled us all one year with a pie that we swore up and down had to be crabapple pie or something similar. I mean...it tasted almost like apple pie, so very good....turned out it was ZUCHINNI of all things! Red Velvet cake remains my favorite...that and a cherry pie made with cream cheese filling.

Only a few more days...

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Nov 04 - 01:46 AM

Red velvet cake--that's one that I've tried a few times, a friend from upstate New York makes it as a special treat, but I can't get over the amount of red food coloring that goes into it.

Do you have a recipe for your squash casserole that you can post here? That sounds like a nice variation from the usual starchy Thanksgiving fare. My neighbor is coming over with her greens, and I expect I'll be collecting a recipe from her, also. She has adapted one of her greens recipes for Swiss chard that I take to her during the summer. (I usually just steam it and put vinegar over it, or cut it up small and use in in custard like a ham and cheese quiche, or as a green in vegetable soup).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: dianavan
Date: 22 Nov 04 - 02:39 AM

SRS - Do you eat meat? If so, try this:

Cut your swiss chard or any greens (collards work best)

Fry some cut up bacon and onions in butter.

Remove the bacon and onions and add the greens and a little water.

Cover and steam.

Drain and top with crumbled bacon and onions.

Yummy! Turns daily greens into a real tasty treat.

d

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: emjay
Date: 22 Nov 04 - 02:48 AM

This has to be the best collection of Thanksgiving recipes I've seen. I read through this time, I'm going to have to put some paper in the printer, though ,so I can take the recipes out to the kitchen and try some.
I thought I was the only one who still put apple in cranberry relish!
And after reading the comments, you are right. I will go back to making the relish in the grinder rather than the food processor. The color is better, and the flavors meld faster.
A daughter-in-law taught us to add finely chopped onion and cream cheese to the mashed potatoes. My brother brings scalloped tomatoes, canned, crushed tomatoes, with bread crumbs, butter, mushrooms. It may not sound good, but it is wonderful!
Creamed onions aren't bad, but once a year is enough. I add a little freshly grated nutmeg.
Asparagus is good stir-fried with sweet red pepper and fresh ginger--really good! And pretty as well.
And after a break, we like to go back for pie. We will have pumpkin, mince, chocolate silk, and whatever else someone feels like making. Maybe rhubarb, raspberry, apple, pecan, cherry, who knows?
Lots of people, mostly family, all ages. We rent a church conference center, and people start coming Wednesday night, the last leave after a big breakfast and cleanup on Friday.
And that breakfast is always special, too. First there's pot after pot of coffee, then, depending on who is doing breakfast, there might be corned beef hash,or breakfast burritos, or moose and caribou steaks. It will be good, no matter what. And there will be turkey and Homemade rolls left from dinner as well as a lot of pie.
Probably no green bean casserole this year, the Texan isn't coming.
And we'll talk, and talk, and talk, and play games, and there might be some singing.
I can hardly wait!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Nov 04 - 02:05 PM

Dianavan, that sounds much like the way my neighbor described cooking greens. Thanks for the directions.

They talked about how explosively dangerous those turkey fryers can be on Good Morning America today. Scary stuff!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: saulgoldie
Date: 22 Nov 04 - 05:41 PM

Mama Stamberg's cranberry relish...NOT! But if you GOTTA try it, here it is:


Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish

2 cups whole raw cranberries, washed

1 small onion

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons horseradish from a jar ("red is a bit milder than white")

Grind the raw berries and onion together. ("I use an old-fashioned meat grinder," says Stamberg. "I'm sure there's a setting on the food processor that will give you a chunky grind -- not a puree.")

Add everything else and mix.

Put in a plastic container and freeze.

Early Thanksgiving morning, move it from freezer to refrigerator compartment to thaw. ("It should still have some little icy slivers left.")

The relish will be thick, creamy, and shocking pink. ("OK, Pepto Bismol pink. It has a tangy taste that cuts through and perks up the turkey and gravy. It's also good on next-day turkey sandwiches, and with roast beef.")

Makes 1 1/2 pints.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Nov 04 - 06:15 PM

I thought of that recipe when I started this thread. I can hear her voice as I read the recipe. Thanks!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Rustic Rebel
Date: 22 Nov 04 - 11:23 PM

This dessert I have had one time and it's very good. I'm planning on making it for Christmas.-

Pumkin trifle recipe

1 pkg (14 1/2 oz.) Gingerbread cake mix
1 1/4 c. water
1 egg
4 cups cold fat-free milk
4 pkgs. (1 oz each)sugar free butterscotch pudding mix
1 can (15 oz) solid pack pumkin
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. each ginger, nutmeg, & allspice
1 carton (12 oz) whipped topping (real stuff)

In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, water and egg; mix well. Pour into an ungreased 8 in. square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserterd near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan onto a wire rack. When competely cooled, crumble the cake. Set aside 1/4 cup crumbs for garnish.
In a bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Let stand for 2 minutes, or until soft set. Stir in pumkin and spices; mix well. In a trifle bowl or 3 1/2 qt. glass serving bowl, layer 1/4 of the cake crumbs, 1/2 of the pumkin mixture, 1/4 of the cake crumbs, and 1/2 of the whipped topping. Repeat layers. Garnish with reserved crumbs. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 11:42 AM

I've finished toasting the day-old (homemade) bread for use in stuffing. The turkey is sitting in a bath of cold water to finish thawing today for use bright and early tomorrow morning. The kitchen counter is going to be cleared of all non-cooking materials to make way for the production line tomorrow.

At work yesterday several of us were discussing the meals we will be cooking. My legs and hips began to ache just at the thought of all of that cooking. It is a real workout, and they agreed, by the time the cook is finished and putting it on the table, she's pretty tired and not always very hungry. Not from nibbling, but simply from such prolonged exposure. Get a good night's sleep before your workout tomorrow!

Rustic, that sounds like a fabulous recipe--I have a recipe something along those same lines that uses various free-standing products like chocolate cake mix and caramels and chocolate chips to create the richest, most incredible brownies I've ever eaten. It's good to put on a cookie platter for the holidays.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 08:54 AM

Anybody got a recipee for Panty Pudding?

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jaze
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 09:44 AM

Spaw, I tried that asparagus casserole variation over the weekend. Great idea!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Nov 04 - 12:19 AM

I'm exhausted. First time on the computer all day, and only to do a quick check to see that the system all works. (In addition to preparing for the holiday I've been rearranging furniture around the house. I redid part of my office last night.)

Turkey came out a bit dry--it cooked faster than my timer alloted, and I was so busy I didn't check it early enough. Everything else came out great. I do a sweet potato recipe that comes from my old Fanny Farmer cookbook (called Mashed Sweet Potatoes de Luxe), and it is so fast, but tastes great. Uses the boiled then mashed sweet potatoes, some orange juice, what it calls "a few grains" but I do more like a big "dash" of nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon, a half-cup or so of shopped pecans, and little marshmallows on top, baked till they're brown. Since the marshmallows are really not much sugar, (they melt down to almost nothing) there is very little extra sugar in this dish. I like it much better than the "candied" variety of sweet potatoes or yams.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Nov 21 - 10:47 AM

I was poking around looking for a Thanksgiving thread and found these old recipes. (And I never make that aspic - I've decided that it's a waste of perfectly good tomato juice.)

It's a poignant pleasure to read messages from departed friends.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Nov 21 - 09:18 AM

Channeling catspaw, the ideal Thanksgiving day begins with several shots of 101 peppermint Scnapps or vodka and sleep till noon when some Goldschlager cinnamon makes a nice wake me up and at dinner a half dozen beers to wash down dessert and fall sound asleep. Later blame the turkey for making you sleepy.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Thompson
Date: 15 Nov 21 - 04:56 PM

If people want a green bean casserole with a bit of zing to it, there's an absolutely delicious version called Loubieh Bi Zeit that comes from (I think) Lebanon. You wouldn't think cooking fresh green beans for a long time would taste nice, but they're sweet and very tasty.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Nov 21 - 06:02 PM

The green beans in Marcella's minestrone are cooked for three hours...

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Nov 21 - 09:02 PM

I have a turkey in my freezer, though I was looking at some today to see how much they run. So far they're affordable. I confess that I'm hoarding a bit of pork, it seems to be going up in price. I bought some extra packs of bacon and a couple of chubs of one of my favorite sausage brands. I'm not a fan of stuffing, but if I make it I use crumbled sausage in it.

We will be trying to get together under one roof this year (last year I baked and handed out covered plates at the door to people who would normally have come in and sat at the table). I say trying because my daughter who lives in the area is due for surgery and may not be able to travel here like usual (instead keeping the leg up at her home). In which case, will make a couple of my favorite dishes and take them to wherever she is sitting with the foot elevated. We haven't reached the point yet where the next generation takes over the holiday prep, but we do try to be flexible.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mrrzy
Date: 16 Nov 21 - 09:45 AM

I am planning on eating carbs this Thanksgiving. I shall have a biscuit and some of the sour-cream-apple pie with cookie crust and streusel topping I make, and some of the cherry pie with the hidden marzipan layer my eldest sister makes. None of the pecan pie, probably. Definitely no pumpkin pie.
Oh, other food? Brussels sprouts, peas and mushrooms. Salad. Skipping turkey (boring), stuffing (ditto), and all the potatoes.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: leeneia
Date: 18 Nov 21 - 11:41 AM

Thanksgiving favorite? Pumpkin pie made using the Joy of Cooking's recipe. You cook the filling in a double boiler, bake the empty crust in the oven, fill the crust just before eating. The filling is delicious.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mrrzy
Date: 19 Nov 21 - 11:23 AM

Turns out we are having chicken, and a different sister is making the cherry marzy pie. Pourvu que ça marche!

Anybody want my apple pie recipe?

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Nov 21 - 12:58 PM

I always enjoy seeing people's apple pie recipes.

I like apple pie, but tend most often to make cobbler because while I make a good pie crust for a pie, it takes a lot more work than the biscuit topper for the cobbler.

I was reading a friend's remarks about the pecans falling in his yard (he's collecting and shelling to make a pecan pie.) A friend offered a remark on his Instagram account about a Kentucky Derby pie. I've never heard of that, but my friend thinks it sounds good. I tend to stick to pecans in things like the mashed sweet potatoes (with orange juice and pie seasonings) and the pumpkin bread, banana bread, etc. And on cookies. Pecan pie is a bridge too far for me as far as the huge amount of sugar.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mrrzy
Date: 20 Nov 21 - 01:15 PM

Mrrzy's take on Ron's apple pie:

(C is cup, t is teaspoon, T is tablespoon)

Preheat oven to 450F

Crumb crust:
1 1/2 C cookie crumbs (best are sandies)
1/3 C melted butter
2-4 T sugar
Cinnamon
(You can make a regular crust, instead.)

Mix, press into bottom of pie dish, not up sides

Filling (in parens are the amounts calibrated for making a 9x13 pan's worth):

6-9 apples, original recipe says MacIntosh but I prefer granny smith (10)
1 2/3 C sour cream (2 1/2)
1 egg (2)
1 C sugar (I prefer brown) (1 1/2)
1/2 t salt (3/4)
2 T vanilla (3)
1/3 C flour (1/2)

Mix all, pile high in pie dish. Save extras, if any. Makes great pudding or something.

Bake 10 mn at 450F, reduce heat
Bake another 35 mn at 350F
Take pie out, stir filling without disturbing crust, add topping, bake another 15mn. Or longer: keep an eye on the topping.

Topping (here I use the larger amounts for 9x13 pan but in parens are the original measures. I likes me that topping!):

1/2 C brown sugar (1/3)
1/2 C sugar (1/3)
3/4 C flour (1/2)
1 1/2 T cinnamon (1)
Generous pinch salt (regular pinch)
4 1/2 T butter (3 T)

Mix all. Put on top of pie, not all the way to the edges, after stirring.

I am unclear on whether that butter should be melted, but I think just softened.

Make the day before. This pie is best room temp. Rich, rich, rich.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Nov 21 - 06:21 PM

Here's the Kentucky Derby pie. Sounds super rich.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Thompson
Date: 21 Nov 21 - 06:17 AM

What are sandies?

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mrrzy
Date: 22 Nov 21 - 10:56 AM

Sandies are a kind of cookie. No chocolate, not quite shortbread. Oh, wait, I buy the Keebler brand which does say shortbread. I never noticed.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Donuel
Date: 25 Nov 21 - 10:46 AM

The harvest celebration is ancient and global but Thanksgiving is American.
Our shared dinner with the early welcoming Wampanog is gracious.
But never happened.
Our first settlers were taught how to grow food suitable for the climate.
We weren't an an invading Army in their eyes since we brought women and children.
But they were wrong.
We arrived bringing pandemics to our 10,000 year old cultural Americans.
Today our benfactors are left with a tenth of 1% of their original lands.
Sing our Thanksgiving song
Bless the families with empty chairs this year
Bless each other for surviving all our fears
and bless the rest who had reasons for their tears

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Nov 21 - 01:23 PM

Pausing in preparations for a small gathering (only 3 of us). Yesterday I boiled the sweet potatoes and seasoned them (I had a little honey I wanted to use it so I added it, usually there is no additional sweetening). I have a batch of yeast rolls rising, one of two I'll make today. This first batch is for gifting to neighbors, along with jars of my pickled okra from this summer. The second batch is for here.

Turkey is in the brine, spatchcocked this year - NOT an easy operation. The next hard part will be flattening this bird and I think I'll bake it in the roaster oven then I don't need to find a pan to fit it and still catch all of the drippings. It'll go right on the rack, and lift out easily.

Pie is coming, per our family tradition. Pumpkin this year with only three people, we usually have an apple pie and a pumpkin pie (the kids favorites). One kid is out of state, one is recuperating from foot surgery and not traveling even this far (an hour's drive).

Part of our Thanksgiving ritual is buttermilk pancakes for breakfast. I made a batch for myself, cooked all of them and put three small packages in the freezer to reheat for future breakfasts.

The sparkling Martinelli cider (the best of this type) is in the fridge chilling, the restaurant take-home containers are out, dusted off, and ready to fill to send home with my guests. I have to choose a movie to stream and get back to work. Will it be Holiday or Hitchcock? They both have their attractions. :)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Thompson
Date: 26 Nov 21 - 04:19 AM

Ah, maybe sandies are like what the French call sablé, a slightly sandy-chewing shortbreadish biscuit.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Neil D
Date: 26 Nov 21 - 09:32 AM

This isn't actually a recipe, juust a suggestion. If you are baking pumpkin pies using the recipe from the Libby's Pumpkin can, use at least double the spices recommended and about 4 times as much ground clove.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Nov 21 - 12:53 PM

I always end up with heaping measuring spoons when it comes to a good pumpkin pie (or pumpkin bread). It's like when you cook with vanilla - the recipe amount is only a suggestion and I at least double it.

My spatchcocked turkey is one of the best I've made in years, is up there in the top two of all time, I'd say. And much easier than the suggestions to start the whole bird breast down and turn it partway through baking. The operation of turning a heavy hot greasy bird is always messy and dangerous. This came out evenly cooked in all parts and when it came time to send people home with leftovers it came apart quite easily with just a cut of skin here or there, not the usual struggle to carve it off of the whole carcass. I do need a bigger pan. (I'll measure the ones I have and keep my eyes open at Goodwill, the larger ones turn up fairly regularly. No point in buying new when so many really good ones are donated to the thrift store.)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mrrzy
Date: 26 Nov 21 - 01:39 PM

Yes, sandies are like sablés, oddly enough, never thought of that!

The sister who made the cherry pie used almond extract instead of marzipan, and it worked a treat!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Thompson
Date: 27 Nov 21 - 12:59 PM

Vanilla… and all spices. I love Delia Smith's recipes, which always work first time, but anything with spices *at least* double them.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Nov 21 - 08:40 AM

I made the apple cranberry pecan nut pie and it tastes festive and delicious. The vanilla & sugar rub crust with a teeny drizzle of cranberry juice and using a 1/4 cup of brown sugar in the total filling were my changes

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Nov 23 - 04:05 PM

Smaller turkey this year, more veggies and breads. There will be five or six of us and two are vegetarian, and I don't like to make non-meat-eaters have to graze around the edges. Roasted vegetables instead of stuffing (because I don't like stuffing), yeast rolls, deviled eggs, homemade cranberry sauce, etc. Mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, and making in quantities so I can send a lot home with people and not be eating a revisited T-giving dinner for every day next week. A friend is bringing a rice and lentil polou that we all like and requested this year.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Nov 23 - 04:05 PM

Smaller turkey this year, more veggies and breads. There will be five or six of us and two are vegetarian, and I don't like to make non-meat-eaters have to graze around the edges. Roasted vegetables instead of stuffing (because I don't like stuffing), yeast rolls, deviled eggs, homemade cranberry sauce, etc. Mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, and making in quantities so I can send a lot home with people and not be eating a revisited T-giving dinner for every day next week. A friend is bringing a rice and lentil polou that we all like and requested this year.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Nov 23 - 09:51 PM

Don, your pie sounds delicious!

I have the ingredients for several things I can make ahead. One is a rich cranberry bar that calls for things like a cake mix, eggs, butter, and nuts. (The mix is the flour part of the recipe, you don't make the cake then do something with it.) I cut 1" squares and freeze them so they're handy if I have guests over or put together a plate of cookies (I usually make 2 - 3 types of cookies for those gifts to the neighbors).

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mrrzy
Date: 21 Nov 23 - 08:29 AM

My Family In A Nutshell.

I'll add recipes later...

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mrrzy
Date: 21 Nov 23 - 11:28 AM

Mom's mac and cheese. Baked, no crumbs. I can't duplicate it.