Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is only eight days away!  If you're planning your menu or looking for something new to serve, here's some Thanksgiving recipes I've shared in the past.  I'm putting the finishing touches on two recipes -- one vegetable, one dessert -- I plan to post before Thanksgiving.  

Cranberry Delight Spread

 

Cornbread Dressing

Cranberry Orange Relish

 Sweet Potato Souffle

Potato Salad

Carrot Souffle

Southern Cranberry Salad

Quick and Easy Candied Sweet Potatoes

One Hour Buttermilk Rolls

Fruit Tea

Pecan Streusel Pumpkin Pie

No Bake Turkey Cookies

© Margaret's Morsels

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

                                                     

Easter Menu: Part 1

This is the first of a three part series with recipes from my Easter menu.

For as long as I can remember, Easter has been my favorite holiday.  I love the pastel colors, the reawakening of the earth with flowers and blooms and, of course, the reason for the season.  I cook a feast on Easter that rivals the feasts I cook for Thanksgiving and Christmas.


Although a lot of my holiday menus are similar to what my mother served, my Easter menu is quite different from hers.  My mother always served her Thanksgiving menu, but with roasted chicken instead of turkey.  On Easter, the centerpiece on my table is a ham.


I love pairing ham with macaroni and cheese.  I also like to serve ham with green bean bundles, deviled eggs and fruit tea, all of which I've written about in previous blogs.


I do add one fall element to my menu:  Cranberry Orange Relish.  This is an unusual side dish to make at Easter since fresh cranberries aren't in season.  However, the relish goes great with ham and provides a refreshing burst of fruit flavor.

I'm a late in life cranberry convert.  I love cranberries so much now, I enjoy eating them year round.  I buy extra bags when they're in season and store them in the freezer.  That way, I can make this -- or any cranberry dish -- during the year.


In addition to fresh cranberries, you'll need a food grinder or food processor to prepare the relish.


Rinse the cranberries under cold water and drain them in a colander.  If you're using frozen berries, don't thaw them ahead of time.

Wash an orange and cut it into eighths.  You're going to use the whole orange -- including the peel -- which gives the relish more flavor.  If you're not using a seedless orange, be sure to remove any seeds.

Peel, core and slice an apple into quarters.  I use a Granny Smith apple which is tart.  You can use a sweeter apple such as Gala, Red Delicious or Rome or something in between, such as Baldwin, Cortland or Jonathan.

Grind the fruit into small pieces.  If you're using a food processor, be careful not to pulse it too much.  You don't want the relish to be runny. Depending on the size of your grinder or food processor, you might need to grind the fruit in batches.  I grind each fruit separately and combine everything in a mixing bowl.

The ground cranberries, orange and apple.

Once the fruit has been ground, stir in a can of crushed pineapple and sugar to taste.  Cranberries are acidic and when combined with a tart apple and pineapple in its own juice, the relish isn't very sweet.  I add 1 1/4 cups sugar, but you can add more or less to suit your taste.


Put the relish in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator.  I make the relish a few days ahead of time.  Not only does this save me time, it also gives the ingredients time to blend.


The relish can be made two weeks ahead of time and stored in the freezer. Take the relish out of the freezer a day or two before serving and let it thaw in the refrigerator.  If the relish is runny when it's thawed, drain it before putting it in a serving bowl.


If you've got cranberries in the freezer, you might want to add this relish to your Easter menu.  If you don't have any cranberries, you might want to buy some this fall and keep them in the freezer.  This relish makes a great side dish all year round which is a good reason to keep cranberries in the freezer.

Cranberry Orange Relish

6 Servings

1 (12 oz.) bag cranberries, rinsed and drained

1 orange, washed, cut into eighths and seeded

1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into quarters

1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained

1 to 2 cups sugar to taste (I use 1 1/4 cups)

Grind cranberries, orange with the peel and apple in a food processor.  Be careful not to pulse it too much.  Add pineapple and sugar, stirring to mix the ingredients.  Store covered in the refrigerator.

© Margaret's Morsels