Save me from Serious Thanksgiving angst!
I have finally sketched out my menu http://izzyeats.blogspot.com/2007/11/wheres-my-thanksgiving-menu.html but now with so many recipes from which to choose, I just can't decide. Give me your favorite (tried and true) recipes for the following (sans pork, grandpa won't eat it!)
Brussels Sprouts
Sweet Potatoes
Stuffing
Hopefully I will get some sleep tonight!
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10 Comments:
Finger Foods
Spiced Nuts (Nigella Lawson) {good}
Fried Chickpeas {see if you can find some favas they taste good too}
Sheep Dip and Crackers (3 Corner-Field Farm) {dip is always good}
Main Course and Sides
Buttermilk Biscuits {good choice}
Roasted Turkey (Brined) {do you have a brine recipe?}
Stuffing? Cornbread/Apples/Chestnuts Sage? {the easier the better}
Gravy ? {do you do innards or no?}
Pumpkin, White Bean and Kale Ragout (The Vegetarian Option) {roasting the pumpkin?}
Cranberry Port Mold (Gourmet) {fabulous}
Brussels Sprouts (tba) {veg}
Sweet Potatoes (tba) {mash them if you are in a hurry/roast first}
Salad (tba) {I skip this and add a veg something like sherry/butter mushrooms}
Desserts
Pumpkin Cheesecake (Epicurious) {always a good move}
Apple Tarte Tatin (Patricia Wells) {this would have to be done the day of/I might rethink it **if**I was pressed for time}
JerzeeTomato at 4:30AM on 11/20/07
Sweet Potato Crunch
6 cups cooked sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, beaten
4 oz. (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup half & half
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mash drained potatoes with a fork or mixer. Add all other ingredients and mix
well. Pour in greased casserole dish and set aside while you make the topping
Topping
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup flour
2 cups chopped pecans
2/3 stick butter
combine and sprinkle over potatoes
Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees
My change: I stir just a little bit of the topping
into the potatoes and top it with the rest. You can make this a day or so ahead and refrigerate until a couple of hours before you want to bake it
suegsf at 5:09AM on 11/20/07
Stuffing/dressing
Here's how I do it. Adjust quantities according to how much you want to make.
Go to the store and get a bunch of different kinds of rolls -- white, whole grain, rye, even a few pumpernickel. Just get a good mix. Cut them in chunks and toast them in the oven.
Cook up some turkey sausage (I use pork but grandpa won't like it) that you've removed from the casing and broken into small chunks. Remove from pan and set aside in large bowl. Now saute a diced onion or two, you might need to add some olive oil if the pan is dry. When the onions are translucent add some sliced celery, including the tops. Cook for just a minute or two, you don't want the celery to mush. Put in bowl with sausage. Now you can saute some sliced mushrooms if you feel like it. I like to add diced Granny Smith apple. Maybe some dried cranberries. Put everything in the bowl with the toasted bread, add just enough melted butter and chicken stock to moisten it lightly and help it stick together. Season with a good bit of salt and pepper and whatever other seasoning grabs you, taste, and adjust. My Italian fishmonger throws in a handful of parmesan cheese! What you want is bread cubes with a mix of the other ingredients, so each mouthful gives you new flavors. This is not the most precise recipe ever submitted, but this is the way that I cook, raving nonconformist that I am.
Happy Thanksgiving y'all.
ride&cook at 8:08AM on 11/20/07
Brussels sprouts -- loved by even confirmed sprouts haters:
Shred sprouts -- a little time consuming, but worth it. Cook up a package of bacon (I use uncured turkey bacon, but regular would be good too) until crisp. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but about 2 Tbsp. of fat. Saute shredded sprouts in bacon fat, adding fresh lemon juice, salt, lots of black pepper and a bit of hot sauce (if you're so inclined). Cook just until sprouts have wilted, but they should still be bright green. Put cooked sprouts in a big bowl. Crumble the bacon, sprinkle it over sprouts and serve hot. Enjoy!
CookiePie at 11:14AM on 11/20/07
Best way to eat brussels sprouts, imo, without bacon:
Trim and halve the sprouts and put them on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet
Toss with olive oil, K salt, and pepper
Lay them flat side down after they're coated
Roast at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes and as you start to smell popcorn (yup!), you can then toss them around so the rounded sides get some caramelization too. Let 'em go another 20 mins or so, less if you like them on the squishy side (I don't--the crispier the better, imo).
I have made more b.s. converts than you can imagine by cooking them this way! You can always add cut up onions to roast along with them if you're so inclined.
Curlz at 1:25PM on 11/20/07
Curlz, whaddya mean, "without bacon"??!! I love the sprouts, and roasted onions make anything better.
ride&cook at 4:09PM on 11/20/07
I love 'em with bacon too, but the OP said "Give me your favorite (tried and true) recipes for the following (sans pork, grandpa won't eat it!)" so I offered 'em up without it.
Curlz at 4:11PM on 11/20/07
Ooh, that sounds perfect. I may add shallots too. But oven space...the turkey will be in the oven. Can I do them early and then reheat??
izzy's mama at 5:50PM on 11/20/07
ABSOLUTELY! I keep a batch in my fridge at all times this time of year! :-)
Reheat covered for a little while so they don't get TOO dry, but you'll see the difference between those that are too 'moist' looking and need the add'l exposure. Easy and delicious--I promise! Just don't skimp on the salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Curlz at 8:05PM on 11/20/07
Nix the bacon!!? Ouch!! Haven't you guys heard of beef and turkey bacon?? Everybody knows everything is better with bacon !
Wake up and smell the bacon!!!
joturtle at 2:16AM on 11/21/07