Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

This fight is for everything.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Not all heroes wear capes.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

We still have time to mess this up!

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

The next time the wall wtreet journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

You cannot shame the shameless.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

You are here: Home / Food & Recipes / Cooking / Friday Recipe Exchange: Thanksgiving Files

Friday Recipe Exchange: Thanksgiving Files

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Is this thing on? I know it’s been forever – the house, work and puppies have taken most of my time. Cooking lately is mostly just for sustanance, nothing terribly creative. But Thanksgiving is almost here! Time to get cookin’. From the cooking blog:

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, next to 4th of July. Food, family, friends…and leftovers. I’m going to have a house full this year and I’m excited to host. Although I wasn’t expecting to have a puppy thrown in the mix, but that just makes it more interesting. I have compiled some of my most requested holiday recipes for tonight’s exchange.

JefferyW makes Cornbread Stuffing, (pictured above) part 1 here and part 2 here.

Roasted Butternut Apple Soup makes a great starter, recipe here.

Hearty Garlic Mashed Potatoes, click here – my family loves these, though the first time I made them they mocked me until they were served because the cooking method is so unusual. I cook them early and keep them warm in a slow-cooker while everything else cooks and stove top space is at a premium.

Two Brussels Sprout dishes: Pan Roasted with Pancetta and Onions (recipe here) and JeffreyW’s Brussels Sprout and Potato Au Gratin (click here)

Yum. What do you mean I have to take a bunch of pictures before I can even try it?

There will be a variety of pies this year, but instead of the traditional Pumpkin Pie, I’m making Pumpkin Cream Pie (above), the recipe is here, plus there are additional pumpkin dessert ideas at the link.

For the main course, we’ve made turkeys a bunch of ways here, including a Spatchcock Turkey, recipe here. For something more traditional, here are some ideas from people smarter than I am: turkey four different ways, good stuff here.

What’s on the menu for your Thanksgiving this year? Do you have a must-have recipe for your holiday dinner?

I’m not a fan of traditional candied sweet potatoes, so tonight’s featured recipes are some non-traditional styles for sweet potatoes.

Cajun Sweet Potatoes

  • 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup butter,  melted
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
  • ¼ tsp cumin (opt)

Covered casserole dish, well-greased

Steamer and saucepan

In saucepan, add water, steamer and sweet potatoes. Steam until you can easily stick a fork in them. They don’t need to be completely soft. About 10-15 minutes. Add sweet potatoes to casserole dish. Combine oil, butter and spices. Pour evenly over potatoes. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes until potatoes are soft. You can adjust cooking time if you prefer your firmer or softer potatoes.

Sweet Potatoes w/Apples

  • 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 apples, cored & sliced
  • 8 oz can sliced pineapple (including liquid)
  • 2 tsp butter
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp salt

2 qt casserole dish, greased

Add ingredients to casserole dish. Stir gently and bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes, uncovered, until apples and potatoes are very soft. Cover if it begins to brown too much

That’s it for this week. I hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.   – TaMara

Reader Interactions

65Comments

  1. 1.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Although I don’t cook, I always love your recipe threads. (I don’t garden, either, but that doesn’t get in the way of my enjoying Anne Laurie’s Sunday morning threads.)

  2. 2.

    Miss Bianca

    Ohh, looks wonderful.

    BTW, TaMara, any hints on what to do with a whole chicken (probably free-range, and therefore additional tough) that’s been in the freezer for a while? I was thinking that stewing it in the crockpot would be the best bet. Should I thaw it and brine it first? Or just pop the sucker into the pot with a bunch of veggies and hope for the best?

  3. 3.

    EBT

    I grew up in the south and thus have strong feelings on cornbread.

    It should be thus: 1 cup flour, 1 cup cornmeal, 1/2 cup milk, 3 tablespoons butter/oil, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 eggs, 1/2 tablespoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt.

  4. 4.

    Iowa Old Lady

    We always go to our son’s house and eat our DIL’s wonderful cooking, so I may have to save these recipes for later. The people who do cookbook photography always make the food look wonderful.

  8. 8.

    jenn

    Mmmm. I am looking forward to getting together with friends and a few strangers next week, and oodles of hugs and laughter – not to mention cooking! :*)

    Thanks to all here for the supportive community! There are a lot of really special people on here, and I appreciate you! Have a happy evening.

  10. 10.

    laura

    Here’s a Friday recipe:
    Heat up your waffle iron,
    Place a scant 1/2 cup of stuffing/dressing on the iron (no need for greasing first!)
    Place savory waffle on plate and assemble hot, open-face turkey, mashed potato, gravy atop. Cranberry on whatever layer or aside if your so inclined.
    Eat.
    Take to the couch with an assemblage of creatures and reading material and rest your eyes.

  11. 11.

    NotMax

    Pretty much decided on lamb Wellington (spinach and ‘shrooms between the meat and puff pastry).

    Otherwise, the usual mashed yam dish and the cranberry relish because they are so, so good and essentially foolproof, except gonna experiment with a second sweet potato side as well.

  14. 14.

    Schlemazel

    Most grocery store birds have 15% salt water injected into them so brine is only going to make them more mushing & less tasty so, no.

    Because of my issues I am going to do the turkey differently this year. I am going to separate the dark meat from the white & cook the desperately so they all come out cooked to the correct temp & I can maybe eat breast again. Since I love crisp skin I am going to remove it and cook it while the turkey rests. 325, laid out on a cookie sheet probably have to butter it a bit as there is not a lot of fat to start with. I have done this with chicken skin & made ‘cracklin’s’ that I used as croutons on a salad. I probably won’t take the turkey as crisp but close.

  15. 15.

    ruemara

    I felt a strong need for nostalgic foods, so I’m making ox tail stew and some as yet undetermined pastry for dessert. Not sure if I feel like people yet.

  18. 18.

    NotMax

    Shall make the annual comment about spending a little more to purchase a kosher turkey.

    Have yet to encounter a cooked one that came out as anything less than succulent and tasty no matter the oven oopsies.

  19. 19.

    iwritesometimes

    Delurking to share a couple of my favorites for this time of year. The scones are good anytime between September and December (protip: slather them in apple butter!!) but the cake – which isn’t terribly sweet – is a must for baking the day before Thanksgiving, to be eaten cold in thick slices with coffee the next morning while watching the parade.

    Pumpkin scones with berry butter
    Pumpkin apple streusel cake

    As an aside, hello, Balloon Juicers! Thank you for keeping me sane the last couple weeks (and really for several months prior to that). You’re all aces in my book. And extra thanks for the recipes!

    -sarah (iwritesometimes)

  23. 23.

    Schlemazel

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    mostly, not everything it was but a whole lot better than I had been lead to believe it would. I have a lot of trouble with dry meats though so I have been avoiding white meat turkey. I’d like to buy a soue vide circulator but not ready to drop 150 on something I am not sure I would get that much use out of

  25. 25.

    Keith P.

    I love turkey and stuffing (and ESPECIALLY deviled eggs). My brother wants to do surf/turf this year (we do prime rib most years), so I’m either going to have to get some leftovers from one of his friends’ families or do a post-TG feast for myself (but then, I usually do a chicken since it’s just me)
    I did a turducken a few years ago…from scratch. Never, ever again. Way too much work (it was about 8 hours of work…deboning birds, making 3 different stocks and dressings and gravies, plus it just takes a loooong time to cook. The deboning is the worst part, as the birds are just defrosted, so I had to stop every few minutes to warm my hands, but since it’s raw poultry, it requires washing the hands each time.

  26. 26.

    Mnemosyne

    Still on the train to SF (technically, Oakland). Google Maps says we’re still south of Gilroy. We’ve had to pull aside several times and wait for freight trains to go past, which is going to make us late. Feh.

    I had a bacon and cheese quesadilla from the dining car for lunch. Haven’t decided on dinner yet, but apparently trains can make me a little motion sick, which I did not know until today. ?

  27. 27.

    Schlemazel

    @NotMax:
    Good idea! I was working over in my head & thinking it might need some egg to hold everything together better. It would depend on how loose the stuffing is.

    I make a wild rice casserole and was thinking maybe that would be a good base too. Nice, nutty, flavor.

  28. 28.

    NotMax

    @Schlemazel

    Yeah, similar to making day after mashed potato pancakes.

    If coming out too eggy, can dilute the egg for the next batch with a little chicken broth.

  31. 31.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Mnemosyne: A couple of years ago I took the train from San Diego to San Jose. It was the summer, and I took the train in daylight, and it was a glorious ride.

  38. 38.

    Alain the site fixer

    @Omnes Omnibus: goose is so damn good it hurts. With some red cabbage, it’s heaven. Was served that once on Lufthansa in coach – goose, red cabbage, and spaetzle. With tolerable wine and a good roll. I think we’re going for either duck or rabbit for thanksgiving but we shall see.

  40. 40.

    CaseyL

    I’ve been asked to bring my oatmeal cherry crisp to the gathering this year. This is a long-time favorite, and has a funny story to go with:

    I’m not much of a cook. I can follow a recipe just fine, though. A few years ago I went through a gluten-free period for no particular reason. I like desserts that aren’t too sweet, and I adore sour cherries. A recipe search turned up the oatmeal cherry crisp.

    I bought 2 big bags of Remlinger Farms frozen sour cherries, thawed ’em out and put them in the baking dish. Made the crisp mixture (oatmeal, mostly, with oodles of butter cut in). Set the timer, enjoyed the wonderful aroma that filled the house, and when the timer went off opened the oven with great anticipation.

    If anyone here knows about baking with fruit, they may already have guessed what was waiting for me. A deep glass baking dish full of… hot cherry soup and… semi-liquified oatmeal. It never occurred to me that fresh-frozen cherries had too much liquid and needed to be pressed and drained before baking. The oatmeal-and-cherry soup tasted just fine, but was kind of gross because the oatmeal was the consistency of glue, with glutinous strings stretching from dish to spoon to mouth. Yuck.

    I’ve been really good about pressing the cherries ever since. Bonus: sour cherry juice is delish, and those big bags made a LOT of it. I use canned cherries when I don’t feel like bothering with the pressing and draining – though you’d be amazed how hard it is to find canned sour (not sweet) cherry pie filling.

  42. 42.

    Schlemazel

    @Alain the site fixer:
    Last year it was just going to be the two of us for Christmas day and I have not had goose in years so I made my mind up to roast one. Then I found out it would cost $80 to buy one. For that kind of money I’d go with a prime roast.

  43. 43.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Alain the site fixer: Rabbits are quite small. Depending on your numbers at T-day, you may need a lot of bunnies. I love duck, but deplore the fact that so many folks pair it with sickly sweet sauces,

  47. 47.

    Wag

    I’m doing a mole turkey with homemade mole stuffed under the skin. Cornbread, pine nut, chorizo and green chile stuffing green chiles in the mashed potatoes. And the best (mole flavored) gravy ever

  48. 48.

    Alain the site fixer

    @Omnes Omnibus: usually small crowd is three so rabbit is perfect. Duck..we usually make classic a l’orange sauce which is semi bitter if done right. I am in love with steaming duck cavity down for 30-40 mins then finishing in roasting pan and using torch to crisp if necessary. It renders so much fat out and remains moist.

  49. 49.

    Schlemazel

    @NotMax:
    I’m OK with mayo on some sandwiches but probably not pizza. I never really was excited about pomme frites in Germany & Holland with mayo

  51. 51.

    Alain the site fixer

    @NotMax: it’s an acquired taste lol. Though I do love me some ippenaki-style noodles (like ramen but not soup). The secret to their sauce is a mustard mayo hybrid. Japanese mayo is different then us/European mayo and is great for sauces and dips.

  53. 53.

    Alain the site fixer

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’ll add it to the list. Next up is a pate terrine and a fish poacher to make the pate in. All so I can imitate uncle and make some Christmas pate treat! If only I could find a good source of local venison!

  56. 56.

    Wag

    @Alain the site fixer: Here’s the mole recipe.

    When preparing the bird I use my hands to separate the skin from the flesh starting at the butt end. Smear a generous amount of mole between the skin and flesh and let it sit and marinate while you prepare the stuffing.

    For the stuffing you need stale corn bread (made a few days ahead of time) mix it with diced onion, 5 or 6 oz toasted pine nuts, 8-12 oz browned chorizo, a few finely dice roasted green chiles, and some cilantro if you like.

    Stuff the bird and roast by your preferred method. Make gravybusing the juices from the bird.

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