Thanksgiving Favorites - Recently Updated Pages

Potatoes

mjaggers — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:25:11 CST

This year, there's no other mashed potatoes for me than The Pioneer Woman's Creamy Mashed Potatoes.

Other

mjaggers — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:16:02 CST

Links to recipes on family and friends' blogs:

Cornbread Casserole from Amber Morris

Brussels Sprouts with Sun Dried Tomatoes

AmyBenderWebb — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:28:05 CST

This one is a family favorite. I make it every year for Thanksgiving. It is always a big hit, even with the anti-sprout crowd. Enjoy!

Brussels Sprouts with Sundried Tomatoes
8 - 10 Servings
2 - 2.5 pounds brussels sprouts
1/2 cup drained and chopped oil-packed sundried tomatoes
1-2T of the oil from the tomatoes, reserved
2T unsalted butter, softened
2T dijon mustard
2t fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, using a small, sharp knife, trim the brussels sprouts and score the root ends with an "X". Cook the
brussels sprouts over high heat until crisp-tender and bright green, about 5
minutes. Drain in a colander and refresh under cold water.

Halve each of the brussels sprouts and arrange them all in a single layer in a large baking dish or
heatproof serving dish.

ln a medium bowl, combine the sundried tomatoes and their oil with the butter,
mustard, lemon juice and 1 1/2 t kosher salt. Mix until thoroughly combined. Dab
the tomato mixture evenly all over the brussels sprouts.

At this point, you may cover the dish and refrigerate until the following day. I make
these every year for Thanksgiving and normally let them sit overnight: I think the
marinating actually enhances the ﬂavor, but it is optional.

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Add 2T of water to the baking dish, cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes.
until piping hot.

Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Cupcakes

cupcakeproject — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:40:29 CST

Cupcakes are not traditional Thanksgiving desserts, but they very well should be! I've got some suggestions for Thanksgiving cupcakes on Cupcake Project. One isn't quite a cupcake (it's a mini pumpkin pie), but it sticks to the dessert-all-for-yourself principle.

Cran-Raspberry Lattice Top Pie

mjaggers — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:48:42 CST

2 cups fresh cranberries
6 cups fresh raspberries
1 tsp. almond extract
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup tapioca
2 tbsp. milk
Pastry for double-crust pie (from scratch or refrigerated store-bought).

In a large bowl, combine the pre-washed berries. Combine sugar, tapioca and extract and add to berries. Mix gently but thoroughly, to coat all the berries. Line pie pan with bottom crust, fill with berry mixture. Roll top crust to create lattice top. Brush top crust with milk and sprinkle sugar over milk glaze.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, until crust is golden and fruit is bubbly.

Pumpkin Pie

Kathy-G-StL — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:37:26 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Apple Jack Pie

mjaggers — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:24:53 CST

Fancy Sweet Potato Pie

mjaggers — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:22:08 CST

Mother's fruitcake

idocmurph — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:42:43 CST

Fruitcake often gets a bad rap, and usually deservedly so! One of the nastiest deserts on the planet is the fruitcakes often sold as fundraisers. What makes them so bad is the huge percentage of candied fruit. This recipe is my mother's recipe (handed down from HER mother) that only has a cup of candied fruit....which may still be about a cup too much, but it can be eliminated and this becomes a raisin-date-nut spice cake...

1 1/2 cups raisins
1 1/2 cups dates (cut into small pieces)
2 cups sugar
2 cups boiling water
5 Tbs shortening

Place raisins, dates, sugar, water & shortening in saucepan & simmer gently for 20 min. Let cool.

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup mixed candied fruit

Sift flour once before measuring, then add soda, cinnamon, cloves & salt. (hold a small amount of flour mixture aside) Add flour mixture to raisin & date mixture. Add nuts & candied fruit after coating with flour mixture which you set aside. Pour into well greased & floured Angel Food cake pan or two loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Date Pudding

idocmurph — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:37:28 CST

3 beaten eggs
1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup packed chopped dates (I like Medjools best)
1 cup broken nutmeats (pecans or English walnuts: I prefer pecans)

Beat eggs and sugar ‘til light, add sifted dry ingredients. Stir in dates and nuts, turn into greased 8 inch square pan.

Bake in 350 degree oven ½ hour

Serve warm topped with whipped cream (the REAL stuff, not aerosol or cool whip!)

Whipped cream secrets: chill mixing bowl and whisk in freezer. When cream is just starting to stiffen, add ½ cup confectioner’s sugar to 16 oz of cream. It will help it to stiffen and will also help keep it stable in the refrigerator. Do not cover in the fridge.

now the bad news: Pudding recipe is 2500 calories, 1 cup cream (makes two cups whipped) 850 calories. if you make 12 small servings, the caloric load is about 280 calories per serving

Cranberry Jello

mjaggers — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:34:37 CST

This is a recipe my Mom made for holiday dinners. She's been gone for more than 20 years, but I still think of her when I make it.

I don't think they'd let me in the door if I didn't bring it for Thanksgiving!

1 large box red jello
2 cups boiling water
2 (15-16 oz.) cans cranberry sauce
2 (16 oz.) cans crushed pineapple
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 (8 oz.) cream cheese
2 pkg. Dream Whip, prepared according to package directions
2 cups miniature marshmallows

Dissolve jello in water in 13x9 pan. Add cranberry sauce and stir till dissolved. Add crushed pineapple and nuts. Refrigerate till firm. Beat cream cheese until soft. Add Dream Whip into cheese. Add marshmallows. Spread mixture on top of firmed jello. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

-- Kathy G. Kathy at 49

Decorating Ideas

mjaggers — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:58:48 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Cranberries

mjaggers — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:48:40 CST

My mom's favorite cranberry sauce memory was her mother opening two cans and slicing the contents in half -- she and her sisters and brother would each get half a can on a plate with their Thanksgiving dinner. Hilarious!

I always make my cranberry sauce from scratch, but still buy a can for the kids (the tend to like the overprocessed kind better than mom's).

How do you like your cranberries?

Thanksgiving Favorites Home

mjaggers — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:45:06 CST

The idea behind this site is to gather favorite Thanksgiving recipes, ideas and memories of family and friends -- so we can all share them easily and access them online in a living, changing cookbook and holiday planner, contributed to and collaborated on together.

I'm interested in learning what YOUR family favorites are, what different recipes people count on having at the table year after year.

This site is a wiki, a collaborative Web site that is easy to use and edit. Please add your recipes to the appropriate section by creating a new page and clicking the Easy Edit button on the top left of the page. Let us know where they came from, or a bit of the history behind the dish at your Thanksgiving table.

The Other page is a collection of Thanksgiving fun, memories, links and ideas. Please feel free to create a new page for any recipe or topic.

Use the Threads at the bottom of the page for discussion or to comment on one another's ideas and recipes.

Thanks so much for your contributions and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

-- Marijean Jaggers, www.stlworkingmom.com

Salads

Kathy-G-StL — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:38:47 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Rumcake

mjaggers — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:23:47 CST

With the holiday season upon us you may find yourself spending more time in the kitchen. I have a recipe that is just right for this time of year.

Best Rum Cake Ever

1 or 2 quarts rum
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter
lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
brown sugar
2 large eggs
1cup dried fruit
Baking powder
nuts

Before you start, sample the rum to check for quality. Good, isn’t it?! Now proceed. Select a large mixing bowl, measuring cup, etc. Check the rum again. It must be just right. To be sure the rum is of the highest quality, pour one level cup of rum into a glass and drink it as fast as you can. Repeat, but only once. With an electric mixsure, beat 1 cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add 1 seaspoon of thugar and beat again. Meanwhile, make sure the rum is the finest quality, try another cup. Open second quart at this time, while you still can. Add 2 arge leggs, 2 cups fried druit, and beat until high, If druit gets stuck in beaters, just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Taste rum, sift 3 cups of pepper or salt (it doesn’t really matter). Taste rum for room temperature. Sift ½ pint of lemon juice. Fold in chopped butter and strained nuts. Add 1 babbespoon of sugar or whatever color you can find. Wix mell, grease oven and turn cake pan to 350 gredees, pour into oven and beg. Now you can have a leisurely drink of rum and bo to ged.

Desserts

CMDixon — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:13:15 CST

My friend Raquita once told me that her family "throws DOWN" over the Sweet Potato Pie vs. Pumpkin Pie discussion.

Which way does your family go?

* I was shocked when I got married that my husband's grandmother makes 4, yes 4, kinds of pie for Thanksgiving. Pumpkin, apple, cherry and pecan. No complaints from ANYONE.

Turkey

CMDixon — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:09:04 CST

Smoked, roasted, fried or . . . tofu? What's the turkey like on your table?

--The Good Eats turkey. Will let you know how it turns out.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

mjaggers — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:01:19 CST

This is Grandma Mahaffie's (slightly edited) recipe and a favorite of Aaron's -- he'll go back for thirds if there's enough. I recommend letting it bake longer than you might expect -- it takes those potatoes a long time to be cooked through.

Ingredients:
32 oz. package of refrigerated diced potatoes
1/2 large onion, diced
1 and 1/3 tsps. salt
1/2 tbsp. black pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup
16 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients and spread in 9" x 13" casserole dish. Bake 1.5 hours in a 350 degree oven or until potatoes are tender.

-- Marijean Jaggers

Thanksgiving Fun

mjaggers — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:46:47 CST