Welcome! Come share my tasty, lip-smacking recipes, that are crunchy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside, and without a single natural ingredient or essential vitamin to get in the way of the rich, fudgy taste. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: Some of the following recipes may actually be healthy.
I am fortunate enough to have many intelligent, extremely skilled men in my life. In years past, as well as this one, one or the other of those men have stepped up and volunteered to cook the main dish for Thanksgiving. That's a man's job anyway, right? The last turkey I cooked was probably 4 years ago even though we always have Thanksgiving at our house. Don't get me wrong; I did have to learn how to cook a giant bird once. I had great references, however, to help me along the almost panic attack inducing way. Butterball has a very comprehensive website, complete with time tables, videos, and tips on everything from buying a turkey to folding your napkins. They really lay it out better than I ever could. I recommended this site to one of my friends from China last year. She had never had turkey before but really wanted to try and make one. Apparently, her turkey came out beautifully and now ranks up there with Kentucky Fried Chicken as her favorite American food.
I have a few quick and dirty guidelines that will hopefully help you along the way.
For whole turkeys, figure on having about ¾ lb per person, 1 ½ lbs per person if you want leftovers.
For boneless turkeys and hams, count on having ½ lb per person, 1 lb per person if you want leftovers.
A good estimate for thawing is 1 day for every 4 lbs when thawed in the fridge, which is really the safest way.
You can store a completely thawed bird for up to 4 days, refrigerated.
Cook at 325°F. Cooking times vary according to weight. Cook until the thigh registers 180°F and the stuffing, if using, registers 165°F in the center.
Get you a digital temperature probe. I have one with an alarm that is great and allows me to stress much less about the food being done or not. You really don't want to worry about giving people food poisoning on top of everything else.
Rub all over with oil before seasoning and baking to help prevent moisture loss. Plus, you don't really need to baste it once you seal the skin with oil.
The breast cooks faster than the thighs so tent it with foil before baking to help prevent it from becoming dry.
My brother-in-law is Kitchen Manager at a steak house so I never really have to worry about carving the bird myself. It is really easy to do though. You just make an incision horizontally through the breast near the bottom and then slice vertically. For full step-by-step instructions go to Butterball's site and/or watch the video below.
My sister and I disagree about this family favorite. Like most sisters, we've spent the majority of our lives in disagreement, about quite a few things. She doesn't like "all that stuff" that I add to mine. We do agree that a good sweet potato casserole must have brown sugar and marshmallows. We both also agree that Thanksgiving is just not Thanksgiving until you have dressing and sweet potato casserole. Every thing else is up in the air. So I say, "Tough. Don't eat it." Inside I really wish she would and she always does because that's what sisters do, live to make each other miserable and happy in alternating cycles.
Serves 6-8
4-5 large sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled and mashed (OR one large can) ½ c. butter ¼ c. dark brown sugar, packed 1 egg, lightly beaten ¼ c. raisins 1 small can crushed pineapple, undrained ½ tsp salt ½ c. pecans, toasted and chopped 1 tsp vanilla extract ½ bag mini-marshmallows (coconut flavored ones are excellent here)
Preheat oven 350°.
In a medium bowl, cream together the sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar and egg.
In a small bowl microwave safe bowl, stir together the raisins, pineapple and pineapple juice. Warm in microwave 30 sec. Let stand 5 min.
Meanwhile, grease an 8x8" baking dish. Set aside.
Add the raisins/pineapple mixture to the sweet potato mixture.
Stir in the salt, pecans, and vanilla.
Spread into prepared baking dish.
Cover with marshmallows. Press down slightly.
Bake 20-30 min or until marshmallows are melted and slightly toasted.
This easy, no-cook, recipe was passed to me a few years ago by my brother-in-law. It was served as an appetizer, along with thick sesame sticks, at his college graduation party but would go lovely as a side dish. This fruit salad really is as beautiful as it is tasty. I just wish I had a picture to show you.
The famous Waldorf Salad was first seen in the late 1800s at the Waldorf Hotel (aka the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel) in New York. Traditionally, it consists of apple, celery, walnuts and mayonnaise. This version has been jazzed up a little to include 3 kinds of apples, raisins, grapes and a creamy, sweet, ginger dressing. Since the salad is better once the flavors marry, allow at least an hour and up to 2 days in the fridge. This fact makes it the perfect make ahead dish.
Serves 10-12, as an appetizer or side
¾ c. mayonnaise ¾ c. sour cream 1/3 c. honey 1 tbsp grated lemon rind 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice ¾ tsp ground ginger
3 large Granny Smith apples, chopped 3 large Golden Delicious apples, chopped 3 large Red Delicious apples, chopped 1 ½ c. diced celery 1 ½ c. seedless red grapes, halved ½ c. raisins
1 - 1 ¼ c. walnuts, toasted and chopped
In a large bowl, whisk together the first 6 ingredients.
Add the next 6 ingredients. Toss gently to combine.
I devised this recipe shortly after I moved in with my husband. I like to round out my Thanksgiving feast. Growing up it seemed like we had three choices: 1) potatoes, be them mashed, scalloped or in a salad 2) starchy vegetable, usually either corn, rice or sweet potatoes 3) cheese covered versions of 1 or 2. In my world, this just is not satisfying anymore. I need variety. It is the spice of life, right? Long story short, I was greatly in need of more variety and had settled on something green. OK, so my husband is probably one of the pickiest eaters that you have ever known. If it doesn't come from a can then he most likely won't eat it. This is in contrast to my family who eat from the garden 9 months out of the year. So my quandary was this; what can I fix that's not green bean casserole, heaven forbid, but is also not straight from a can? Hmm, almonds are good, so is butter and maybe if I use enough butter and cook it to death then he won't notice the onions...Yeah, that might work.
Well, you don't actually cook it to death. This recipe can actually be made in about 15 minutes. You can use any smoked meat. My dad always throws in some uncooked bacon to his fresh from the garden, well, anything. Matter of fact, I seriously considered using smoked turkey wings instead of ham for flavor but my hubby freaked out and accused me of sabotaging his one side dish. I rest my case on the pickiness.
Serves 8
2 lbs fresh green beans, 1 ½" pieces (or 3 (14oz) cans cut green beans, undrained) 1 small ham hock, fully cooked 1 c. water (reduce to ½ c. if using canned beans) 2/3 c. slivered almonds 1/3 c. minced onion 3 tbsp butter, melted 1 tsp salt, to taste
Add green beans, ham hock and water to a large pot.
Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 12-15 min for fresh or 10 min for canned.
Drain and set aside. You can either discard the ham, shred in into the green beans or reserve it for a later use.
I feel a little silly posting a recipe for cornbread but I've had some really bad cornbread before. Against the advice of my husband I'm posting the super simple recipe that I use 2 or 3 times a week. You can use any of the liquids listed but each will give a different texture. Water cornbread is very coarse, buttermilk cornbread is creamy and milk is somewhere in between. I forbid you to add sugar to your cornbread, unless, of course, you're OK with being a Yankee. True Southerners never add sugar; that's just blasphemous.
For the really crisp crust that defines good cornbread you need to get yourself a cast iron skillet. I unfortunately did not get my Mama's decades old skillets. They went to my sister when my Mama moved to her new house and decided that she was no longer going to cook. Sadly, I had to begin to season my own. After about 10 years, my skillets are now starting to gain that smooth, thicken black iron look. They are also highly non-stick. When I get a chance I will make a post on the care of cast iron skillets. You can substitute a small baking dish (8x8 or similar) but the crust will not be a crispy.
A friend asked me once what was in that covered coffee cup that sits beside my stove. Bacon grease, of course. Saving bacon grease for cornbread is just something I learned growing up. Because grease is very hydrophobic it doesn't go bad for a very long time. If this idea seems strange just use vegetable oil and butter. Be forewarned though that it will just not be the same.
Serves ~8, Makes 1 - 8 or 9" pone
1½ c. cornmeal mix 1 c. milk, buttermilk or water 1 egg, lightly beaten 2-3 tbsp bacon grease (or 2 tbsp vegetable oil + 1 tbsp butter)
Preheat oven 450°.
Heat skillet over medium high heat until very hot.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, milk, and egg. Stir well.
Add grease to hot skillet.
Immediately pour cornbread batter into skillet and place into oven.
Bake 20-25 min or until golden.
Flip pone out onto heat-proof plate and serve warm with butter.
True Southerners don't eat stuffing. Let's not even think about those seasoned dried out bread squares that come in those little bags at the grocery store. Southerners don't really stuff their turkeys either. We have dressing which is quintessential with turkey or ham but also considered a side. Think of it as a savory bread casserole. It is one of many, many sides that cover tables (yes, tables with an s) on any major holiday at almost all homes south of the Mason-Dixon line. Really good dressing has to have cornbread as its base. Trust me. I've had people that meant well but were trying to reinvent dressing serve me really weird, not so tasty dressing using everything from sweet potato bread to pumpernickel. Nope, sorry, not going to work. Oh, and by the way, do not put sugar in your cornbread. That is a very Yankee thing to do and it will not be tolerated.
Growing up my Mama only used cornbread in her dressing. She also boiled a chicken and shredded that into it. As I've gotten older and now have taken over the Thanksgiving reins I do add both crackers and day-old bread to mine. The cracker and bread add both lightness and additional flavor. I've opted to leave out the shredded chicken. It's just overkill with so much meat already. I reminisce about Mama's heavy, savory dressing but tend to like mine better.
Serves 6-10
2 pones cornbread, crumbled 1 medium onion, chopped 1 bunch celery, chopped (4-5 stalks) ¼ c. butter 1 stack saltine crackers, crushed 3-4 pieces stale or lightly toasted bread, crumbled 1 tbsp poultry seasoning 1 tsp ground sage ¼ tsp dried thyme, leaves or ground 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt (use less if making broth with bouillon) 3 eggs, lightly beaten ~5 c. chicken or vegetable broth
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the onion and celery and saute until translucent. Do not brown.
Set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat oven 350°.
Grease a 13x9" baking dish, set aside.
Combine all other ingredients in a very large mixing bowl. Mix well.
Add celery and onion mixture to dry ingredients.
Add enough broth to dressing mixture until it is slightly loose. Stir well to combine.
Pour dressing into prepared casserole dish.
Bake ~40 min or until lightly golden and slightly firm to the touch.
I commandeered this super easy recipe from Paula Deen a few years ago. It's one of those stick to your ribs kind of dishes that fits perfectly into any Thanksgiving meal. I add slightly more liquid than the original recipe because in my opinion Paula's casserole was, well, dry. I've also substituted in frozen creamed corn because I love the sweetness that you get from those weird little logs.
Serves 6-8
2 logs frozen creamed corn, thawed 1 (8oz) package Jiffy corn muffin mix 1 c. sour cream ½ c. melted butter
Preheat oven 350°.
Grease an 8x8" baking dish, set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir corn until no longer clumpy.
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