Posted on 11/02/2017 4:05:32 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
Thanksgiving is a time when people don’t seem to want ‘new’ - they want ‘traditional’, the food they’ve always associated with the holiday. But it’s also an opportunity to slip in at least one new and different dish, to perhaps broaden your guests’ gustatory horizons – and give the cook a little diversity in the annual labors ;-)
My first introduction to anything vaguely ‘Indian’ was this Hot Curried Fruit that my Aunt used to make for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It seems to be a somewhat traditional ‘thing’ in Virginia and parts South; and whenever I’ve made it for office parties, people have wanted the recipe for something easy to take to the extended-family Thanksgiving, or to a potluck. There are many variations on it – you can use different mixtures of canned fruit – but here is Taste of Home’s version, which is typical of those that I’ve seen:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/hot-curried-fruit
Many decades ago, when I was responsible for cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner - and the first to entertain my brother’s new bride - I wanted to do something different with plain old green peas. Somewhere, I had found a “hot cheese sauce” for vegetables, and used it with frozen green peas and pearl onions. The recipe makes 1-1/2 cups, and of course you can multiply the ingredients to suit the amount of steamed peas and pearl onions - or other vegetables - that you will need for your guests.
Hot Cheese Sauce for Vegetables
Heat ½ C. milk and 1 8-oz. package of cream cheese over low heat, stirring until smooth.
Blend in ½ tsp. Onion salt and ¼ C. Parmesan Cheese.
-JT
Oh yeah that does sound more tasty than using shortening. I might have to experiment, Now that I’m a southerner :-)
I’ve made the Cooks Illustrated Chicken and Dumplings many times; it always turns out great. It is posted, sometimes in slight variations, in a number of places:
http://fourcornersfarm.com/blog/2011/07/23/cooks-illustrated-chicken-and-dumplings/
But my tomatoes, I just do them like my MIL who was raised on a farm did. I dip them and slip the peels off, core, etc, cut up and cook w/o salt. Then I get my jars and lids sterilized and waiting in hot water.
I fill the jars with boiling hot tomatoes leaving headspace, add 1 tsp salt, wipe the rim with damp towel, seal and turn the ring back 1/4 in I think it is supposed to be.
Set in a space away from drafts and they will start popping. I did 18 jars last time I canned tomatoes, don't think one spoiled. Used them all that winter, of course heat the contents very well. No lemon juice. Retained good color and best canned tomatoes I ever had.
They don't recommend it but it's much faster. The first time I ever did it, I left the tomatoes whole, did the water bath, and they float to the top of the jars leaving liquid underneath, are edible but don't look nice.
But you can do what I do and add a water bath, would have to look up the time, about 30 min I think.
Never heard of canned bacon, but I'd be game if it was the only I could preserve it.
We might be shocked at how some of our favorite foods are processed, especially cheeses and the like. Also the handling of fresh food I just don't like to think of it.
Foodsaver has “dam” bags for that. See youtube video.
They also mention tbe paper towel trick and admit it doesn’t achieve full vacuum. At the same time their dam bag doesn’t. always work. Guessing that moisture quantity is the key factor.
There is also a video from the same channel that advises freezing first, then vacuum sealing. Works for fresh fish, tomatoes, srews, soups, and such
J
It does make one wonder about the commercial vac-packed meats. Vac-packed Corned beef briskets fairly swim in liquids as did the London Broil I bought just yesterday. Industrial flash freezing seems almost mandatory to achieve the vacuum seal. Hmmm, time to read the fine print on labeld more closely.
They may have more sophisticated equipment and can vacuum those things fresh; but at home, I’d just freeze a few hours on a tray first. We don’t vacuum things for short-term refrigerator storage anyway, just for freezing.
After some searching, my grandmother’s recipe for Thanksgiving cranberry relish is not to be found. I’ll keep looking but I think this recipe is very close. One exception: hers was not smooth, it was more like ‘mashed’ through a food grinder.
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup walnut halves, lightly toasted
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 (12-oz.) bag fresh cranberries
1 large orange, zested, then peeled and thinly sliced, seeds removed
Instructions: Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until almost smooth; chill until ready to serve.
https://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/cranberry-walnut-relish?iM6kr62LBasWv1hk.03
Thanks, Lady J. This sounds very similar. Do remember having to make use of the grinder (and cleaning it!)
No Food Processors in those days.
The suggestions on the Corporate Ocean Spray website were interesting. One was to make and freeze this, cutting a portion to thaw when serving.
**I’ve made this recipe for every Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey dinner for decades! I make it ahead and put it in the freezer. But I also make a batch, thanks to finding cranberries in my grocery store’s freezer section, all year long! I freeze it in a square container so whenever I want some, I take it out and slice off a couple inches to add to our plates. By the time dinner is ready, it’s defrosted. Yum! (comment from Fargo, ND)**
Ingredients:
---1 (20 ounce) can chilled crushed pineapple in heavy syrup, drained, but juices reserved
---1 (14.5 ounce) can chilled sweet Bing cherries or dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup, drained and chopped, but syrup reserved
---2 small (4 serving size) cherry flavored Jello (not sugar free)
---1 (12 ounce) can chilled Coca-Cola (you may not use it all)
---1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts,
optionalTopping, cottage cheese, or sweet salad dressing mayonnaise (like Miracle Whip), for garnish,optional Topping
---1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
---2 cups of thawed Cool Whip or whipped creamDirections:
Drain the cherry syrup and pineapple juices into a saucepan. Set the fruit aside in the refrigerator to keep chilled. Bring fruit juices to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the Jello powder until fully dissolved. Transfer to a 4 cup glass measuring cup and add enough Coca-Cola to equal a total of 4 cups of liquid. Stir in pineapple, cherries, and nuts and transfer to a 9 x 13 inch pan. Allow to fully set for at least 3 to 5 hours or longer, preferably overnight - do not stir!For the topping, cream together the cream cheese and sugar; stir in the Cool Whip or whipped cream, until well combined. Spread over top of jello before serving, or dollop over top of individual servings.
Options/Hints: In a pinch, a can of cherry pie filling may be substituted. Chill the fruit cans in advance if you have time - it will help the gelatin to set. Do not use fresh pineapple. Other compatible liquids may be used, including other cold drinks like Dr Pepper, or Cherry Coke.
I do believe this is it - most of the ingredients remembered are listed. Found on Deep South Dish?
http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2010/11/old-fashioned-cherry-coke-salad.html#axzz4xYMGH26P
Recipe: Old Fashioned Cherry Coke Salad? However, the soda pop was ALWAYS COCA COLA (period) To use anything else would have been blasphemous.
It was always a big hit at luncheons :)
Also, another item known by those in the South as a ‘Funeral Food’.
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