Annual Thanksgiving Day Food/Recipe Thread

Recipe Source ^

[HungarianGypsy]

The day after Thanksgiving I like to make these. That doesn't mean I am June Cleaver and always get around to making them. But, at least I think of it. These are the softest and most wonderful cinnamon rolls. Since I wasn't sure about copyright for reposting I am just adding the url for this.

[Rte66]

Grandaddy's German Bread Stuffing

Story: This was my favorite turkey dressing as a kid, though I now prefer cornbread dressing over anything else. Still, I get a craving for this one, too, but hadn't fixed it until I was an adult and my grandparents were long gone - so no way to get a recipe.

Luckily, I had helped fix it so many times, I knew the drill. The "catch" is that this is definitely a stuffing made to be cooked inside a turkey. It needs the drippings for full flavor. For many years, I haven't stuffed a turkey, because I usually deep-fried them or got a smoked one (my favorite).

So, I had to tinker with grandaddy's recipe to make it more like I remembered it. It is absolutely the best with lots of giblet gravy - lots! This is for baking separately from the turkey.

3/4 loaf regular white bread*
1/2 loaf German dark wheat bread**
12 oz. pecan meats, broken
1 cup raisins, craisins or dried cherries, or mix of all
1 Tbsp sherry, optional
1 onion, chopped and sauteed in 3 Tbsp butter until transparent
1 batch cooked turkey giblets, if you have them
2 cans or pkgs chicken broth
1 jar turkey gravy or 1 env. turkey gravy mix
Salt
Pepper - lots and lots

Two days before the turkey is to be cooked, fill a roasting pan with torn-up pieces of the breads. Leave them out to get stale.

The night before you plan to cook the turkey or bake the dressing, prepare it as needed. Heat the oven to low, 200°-250°, add the pecans to the torn-up bread pieces in the roasting pan, and put the pan in the oven to lightly toast the pecans and bread together. Leave for about 30 minutes or until you can smell the pecans. This is important for letting the pecans release their oils into the bread.

Meanwhile, boil a cup of water with a little sherry and add the raisins, craisins (dried cranberries) or dried cherries (a few dried apricot pieces are OK, too). You can cook them until they are plumped or turn off the fire, cover, and leave them to plump and then cool.

Transfer cooled bread/pecans to a large mixing bowl, then add the sauteed onion, the plumped fruits and their cooking water. If you like some chopped celery, you can saute about 1/4 cup with the onion - but this dressing is best without it. I've also added 1 chopped apple sometimes.

Toss all the ingredients in the bowl *with your hands!* and add salt to taste and a lot more pepper than you normally would think was proper. This is German, grandaddy was German, and they even put black pepper in their cookies, remember!

If you are fortunate enough to have some turkey giblets on hand, cook them in a little water, chop what needs chopping and add them now, cooking water and all. If not, add one can of chicken broth and mix it in to see the consistency.

If it's still a bit dry, it's just fine for stuffing the turkey and you can put the bowl in the fridge until it's time to stuff the bird.

If you're going to bake it by itself, add another can of chicken broth (or box, if you use that kind) and see if it's moist enough. It should be.

Now, to emulate the taste of the missing turkey drippings, stir in one half jar of turkey gravy or make up a batch from an envelope of turkey gravy mix and water, then add half of that.

Let the dressing rest in its bowl in the fridge until baking time, then stir in the rest of the gravy, and put it into a casserole baking dish (1 large or two small). Bake covered for 30 minutes at 350° and then uncovered for an additional 30 minutes. Serve with lots and lots of gravy!

When re-heating, moisten by adding more chicken broth and a small amount of the real gravy served.


*For the white bread, I've used everything from dinner rolls to regular white bread to potato bread to hamburger buns or hot dog rolls to Italian ciabatta to sourdough. I save bits and pieces in the freezer all year, just for my Thanksgiving and Christmas dressings.

I have also saved breads I've bought at country bakeries on trips with friends or from special dinners for this same reason - and then called the recipe "Friendship Stuffing" - mixing it with wild rice or cornbread for quail or game hens or other birds.

**(Pepperidge Farm, Oroweat, Brownberry, examples of store brands - this is a brown bread, dark all the way through, not beige - and no rye flour - sometimes called molasses bread - but not the steamed sweet Boston-type brown bread)

[JockoManning]

I have never heard of putting onions in cranberry relish. Is it edible? LOL. Appreciate these. Thanks. jm

[Rte66]

It's the horseradish and sour cream that usually freak people out about the recipe, but it's really good! Very *different,* but I like it.

[JockoManning]

Pepto Bismo pink ?!?!?

Mama Stamberg must have had some kinda reputation for a wild cranberry relish. That one I sent on to my mom via email & asked if she'd ever heard of such before. She's heard of everything else related to cooking, so will be fun to see if she knows about it.

(I have TRIED to get her to hang out on FR, but it's over her head, maybe. It took my sibs and me years to get her to just do email and that's about her limit I think.)

Will let you know what she says.

You have quite a repertoire of recipes.

jm

[Rte66]

*The* pink relish recipe was given to me by a friend on another forum a couple of years ago, but come to find out, it has a story all its own:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4175681

[bad company]

Just tried that recipie. What comes out isn't quite what I'd call a caserole. That said, the smell and taste is so close that I'll have it nailed down by Christmas. It's awfully runny. I'll triple the crackers and maybe add another egg.

You have no idea how happy the family will be when they see this dish on the table again. Thanks so much.

[Silly]

CARROT BUTTONS (serves 6)
1. Peel 12 carrots and chop them into round 'buttons.'
2. Fry in butter with salt and pepper.
3. Serve.

GYPSY SKIRT STEAK
1. Steal some skirt steaks.
2. Rub with olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Pan fry or roast over open flame until cooked to taste.
4. Serve.

[HungarianGypsy]

Carrots like that are also wonderful with dill sprinkled on top. As for the Gypsy Skirt Steak, you live up to your namewith that one, Silly.

[GiovannaNicoletta]

bookmark

[Silly]

These two recipes are featured in Amy Sedaris' new book, "I Like You: Entertaining Under the Influence".

[JockoManning]

What are skirt steaks?

[Silly]

Google it.

[cgk]

New one... the relatives are bringing dessert for dinner, so I'm off the hook on baking them :)

Here you all are!

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Bourbon Pumpkin Pie

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Pie pastry for single-crust 9-inch pie

1 (15-ounce) can (2 cups) pumpkin puree

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons bourbon or rum

11/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Sweetened whipped cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough, working from the center until you have a 12-inch round. Fold the dough in half and ease it into a 9-inch pie pan with the fold in the center. Unfold the dough and fit the pastry into the pan. Trim and flute the edges and prick the crust all over with a fork. Freeze at least 30 minutes.

Press a sheet of foil into the bottom of the pie shell. Bake 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 5 to 8 minutes, or until the crust is pale golden. If the pastry starts to puff up, press the bottom gently with a large spatula to flatten. Fill immediately or cool on a rack.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar and eggs. Then whisk in the cream, milk, bourbon, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Pour into the pie shell.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes until the filling is set at the edges and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before serving at room temperature. Serve topped with whipped cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

[cgk]

Just reading this, I REALLY need an ice cream maker. It sounds wonderful!

[cgk]

I use skirt steaks to make carne asada... MMMMmmm! It used to be cheap, too, darnit!

[Lil'freeper]

Thanks! I was working on some bake-ahead things for Thanksgiving (thank goodness my MIL is hosting this year ... I only have to bring a couple dishes) and made some cherry chocolate chip cookies. Just add 1 c of dried cherries to your favorite choco chip cookie recipe. Cherries are this year's' cranberry. Pomegranate is this year's cranberry, too, i think.

[cgk]

Oooh those cookies sounds great! I adore cherries, too, and pomegranate (yes it does seem to be the new "in" fruit all around the produce section!)

Here's a wonderful sauce for turkey (and cheesecake, LOL) if you're cranberried out:

Pomegranate Sauce:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium Spanish onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 cup port wine
6 cups home-made chicken stock
2 cups pomegranate juice (or substitute cranberry juice)
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, and sweat the onion and garlic until the onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add the peppercorns and cook another 3 minutes.

Add the port and cook, stirring, until most of it has evaporated. Add the stock, pomegranate juice, molasses and brown sugar, raise the heat to medium-high, and reduce slowly to a sauce consistency. As the sugars caramelize, the sauce will turn brownish red. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add chives and pomegranate seeds.

(You can find the pom. molasses in the middle eastern food section... OR you can make it yourself:

Pomegranate molasses:
3 c pomegranate juice
1/2 c lemon juice
1/2 c sugar

Combine all ingredients: simmer and reduce until there is 1 c of liquid. (30-45 mins avg). Chill. )


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[JockoManning]

A skirt steak is a lesser cut. It is the cow’s diaphragm muscle, and is cut from the flank. It is a long, flat piece of meat, with a tendency toward toughness. But it has good flavor. It can be grilled or pan fried quickly with good results. Another traditional method is to stuff it, roll it, and braise it. The skirt steak is often used to make fajitas.

[JockoManning]

OIC. Thanks. Carne asada's so nice, though I get wimpy sometimes if it's too spicy hot.

Nice talking with you, thanks again.

jm

[JockoManning]

Must be delicious! Thanks.