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
This Week: Thanksgiving Side Dishes!
(If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking thread ping-list, please send a private message.)
-JT
This Thanksgiving, I will definitely be making my own cranberry sauce from scratch. As a diabetic, I can’t countenance bringing home the sugar-laden commercial stuff in a can.
Williamsburg peanut soup and Rockefeller oyster stuffing. I can make changes to anyything on the menu as long as I have these two things on the table.
Don’t know if you seen this. Might be of interest.
Black Licorice: Trick or Treat?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3601032/posts
Anyone know of a good reliable vacuum sealer that works well with wet foods? There are some that won’t seal if food is wet like fresh caught salmon, etc.
How will you sweeten it? Cranberries are extremely sour without some sweetening.
When I’ve made my own, I’ve used Tasha Tudor’s recipe; I posted here a couple of years ago:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3354432/posts
Yes! I used to have an older friend who loved licorice, and I had heard of that, and mentioned it to her when she developed heart trouble.
(Fortunately, she lived about 25 years past her bypass surgery ;-)
We’ve had good luck with the Food Saver, but we’ve never done whole, fresh-caught fish. Are you going to freeze?
You should be able to pat it dry, stick it in there, and seal - the newer ones have a ‘moist’ setting. Husband assumes the vacuum action will be a little more gentle on that, but the vacuum-seal won’t be as complete, so if you’re freezing long-term, you might get some freezer burn.
They have one called a ‘Gamesaver’ that might have different features, but we don’t have experience with it:
Stevia.
Ah. Let us know how it comes out.
(I was recently reading about Xylitol, especially as it relates to remineralizing teeth. Not sure how it is used in cooking, and some people have GI issues with it. Also, it can be fatal to dogs and birds.)
I will read up on Stevia.
THX for da ping.
I made the peanut soup once - actually, I think it was one of the very first recipes I posted when I began this weekly cooking thread - and it is wonderful!
That stuff in a can doesn’t taste like anything but sugar.
Homemade is the only way to go, whether you use real or artificial sweetener.
I’ve read the negative comments on lots of top brand sealers on Amazon and on Walmart - they give up after five or six sealings (not all at once either) - the one’s that have this moisture button don’t work very well. I’ll check out your recommends. And yes, the food is to be frozen and also dried stuff for emergencies.
I agree. It’s a huge difference. I don’t make it often, because I’m the only one in my crew who likes it; but it was quite a revelation to make it from scratch, and compare it to the jelly “tube” that slides out of the can.
The Parm sauce must be delicious......will definitely try it.
I am also going to make a Sirarcha Aioli created by a Japanese Chef. The original recipe is quite involved.
But it is easily duplicted....just add sherry vinegr, sriarcha, and a bit gar/cl paste to jarred mayo.
The Japanese restaurant served it over Blistered Asparagus....Japanese chefs have a fondness for roasting.
We have had excellent results with Foodsaver. We’re on our second one, bought a few years ago - and the first one, from 12 or so years ago, is still going strong.
I’ve used the foodsaver with wet things, even whole wet fish. It might take a time or 2 but the bags do seal. They also make bags with an absorbent strip at the bottom. Or you could fold a paper towel strip and lay it along the bag opening just below where you will seal.
Please excuse me, I’m jumping in here without reading the other posts. What we do with wet foods is to first wrap the food in plastic wrap, then put that into the bag to be sealed. It has worked well for us.
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