Thanksgiving Traditions

When it comes to cooking, I'm a creature of habit.  When I find culinary combinations that work well, I tend to stick with them.  For instance, I always serve Marinated Baked Chicken with Mushroom Rice Casserole

and Baked Ziti with salad and garlic bread.

This habit comes in handy at Thanksgiving, especially when the fourth Thursday in November falls early like it does this year.  My Thanksgiving menu will be reminiscent of years past which, in reality, is almost identical to what my mother served every year at Thanksgiving.

There will be slices of roast turkey on a colorful turkey serving platter and a big bowl of Cornbread Dressing.  To save time, I bake the frozen biscuits and packaged cornbread mix the day before.  The recipe makes a lot -- 8 to 12 servings -- so if there's any left, you can freeze it and use it later.

A lot of people serve mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, but my mother always served Potato Salad and so do I.  In fact, it's the only Thanksgiving recipe I use that came from my mother.  This tasty side dish can be made one or two days ahead of time.  You can substitute a 24 ounce package of Ore-Ida Steam 'n Mash cut Russet potatoes and avoid peeling, dicing and cooking the potatoes.

If you prefer sweet potatoes, I've got two recipes to share.  Sweet Potato Souffle, a fancy name for sweet potato casserole, can be made with three pounds of sweet potatoes or a package of Ore-Ida Steam 'n Mash cut sweet potatoes.  It can be made a day or two ahead of time and reheated in the oven or microwave.  If you leave it in the dish you baked it in, no one will even know it was made ahead of time.

Quick and Easy Candied Sweet Potatoes are a nice alternative to the traditional casserole.  You don't have to peel potatoes because this recipe uses canned sweet potatoes.  Unlike the sweet potato souffle that can be made ahead of time, this is best made right before serving.  It only takes a few minutes and is cooked on the stove top, which is helpful when the oven is already being used.

If you're a cranberry lover like me, I've got three tasty recipes that share some of the same ingredients, but with completely different textures.  The first one, Cranberry Orange Relish, is a sweet-tart combination made with fresh cranberries, apple, orange, pineapple and sugar.  It can be made up to two weeks ahead of time and stored in the freezer.

Southern Cranberry Salad is a congealed salad that combines whole berry cranberry sauce, mandarin oranges and pineapple with cherry gelatin. It can be made a couple of days ahead of time.

Cranberry Orange Casserole also uses whole berry cranberry sauce and mandarin oranges, but not pineapple.  The sauce and oranges are combined with lemon juice and sugar and baked in the oven.  Unlike the other two cranberry recipes that can be made ahead of time and served cold, this one is best served hot from the oven.  The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.

My mother made homemade rolls from scratch, but I use a bread machine to make One Hour Buttermilk Rolls, which means they take longer than an hour to make.  If you don't have a bread machine, the recipe includes directions for making the rolls by hand.  The rolls can be made a month ahead of time, stored in the freezer and reheated in the oven or microwave.

To quench everyone's thirst, I serve Fruit Tea.  This sweet tea is combined with pineapple juice, lemon juice and, the secret ingredient, ginger ale.  It's best made the day it's served.

I'll be posting some new Thanksgiving recipes next week, including a dessert that combines two traditional Thanksgiving flavors.

© Margaret's Morsels

                                                     

Obviously Orange

According to a recent news report, July, 2012, was the hottest month in the lower 48 states since the government started keeping temperature records 117 years ago.  A good way to beat the heat is to serve something cold for supper.  One of my favorite warm weather pairings is homemade chicken salad and a refreshingly cold congealed salad.  Most of the time, I make my husband's favorite, cherry gelatin fruit salad, but sometimes I switch things up and serve an orange salad instead.

The recipe I'm sharing, Fruity Orange Gelatin, offers a triple burst of orange flavor.  Not only does the recipe call for orange gelatin, but also mandarin oranges and, what makes the recipe so refreshing, orange sherbet.  If you can find it, you can use sugar-free sherbet instead of the regular kind.

Remove the sherbet from the freezer and let it stand at room temperature a few minutes to soften.  When it's soft, measure two cups and put the rest back in the freezer.  To get an accurate measurement, use measuring cups designed for dry ingredients.

Bring the water to a boil and remove from the heat.  Add the gelatin and stir until it's dissolved.

Add the sherbet.

Stir until melted.

Add mandarin oranges and crushed pineapple.  Although fresh pineapple is delicious, don't use it in a congealed salad.  It contains an enzyme that prevents the gelatin from congealing.  Stir to combine the ingredients.

Pour the mixture into a 2-quart serving bowl or decorative mold.  Make sure to thoroughly spray the mold -- including crevices -- with nonstick cooking spray before adding the mixture.  If you spray a square or rectangular dish with cooking spray, the salad can be cut into squares and served on lettuce leaves for a pretty presentation.

The cherry gelatin fruit salad can be confused with strawberry, cranberry and raspberry.  You won't have that problem with this salad, though, because people will know it's obviously orange!

Fruity Orange Gelatin

10 to 12 Servings

1 (6 oz.) pkg. sugar-free orange gelatin

2 cups boiling water

2 cups orange sherbet

1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained

1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple (undrained)

Bring water to a boil; remove from heat.  Add gelatin and stir until dissolved. Stir in sherbet until melted.  Stir in oranges and pineapple. Pour into a 2-quart serving bowl or decorative mold.  Chill until firm.

© Margaret's Morsels