Your all time fave Thanksgiving recipe

[SuzySunshine]

Ooh ooh - I make to die for yams - I'll get the recipe when I get home!

Cranberry Fiesta (or Fiasco)

Cranberry Fiesta (or Fiasco)

This is a nice side, or dessert-type dish.

14 oz can Eagle brand milk
20 oz can crushed pineapple (drained)
16 oz can whole cranberry sauce
1/4 c lemon juice
8 oz bowl cool whip, thawed
1/2 c pecans, chopped (I don't add these)

Mix together in order listed. Freeze. Take out of freezer half an hour before you want to serve it (when you forget, the 'fiasco' label applies).

Some people put mini marshmallows in it, but this just ruins it. It's like cranberry ice cream.

[SuzySunshine]

Cheri’s Yummy Yams

4 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes (about 3 large)
½ cup margarine, softened 3 eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup sugar ½ cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped pecans ½ cup flaked coconut
2 cups miniature marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine sweet potatoes and margarine in large bowl; mix until well blended. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, sugar, evaporated milk, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Stir in pecans and coconut.

Grease a large baking dish. Spoon sweet potato mixture into prepared baking dish.

Bake sweet potato mixture for 20 minutes or until heated through. Arrange marshmallows over top. Bake for about 3 minutes or until marshmallows are puffed and golden brown.

**Note – for time help, you can make the mashed potatoes the day before; this makes the preparation go much faster the day of.

[Sheherezade]

V. easy cake for dessert. Kids LOVE it. We usually make it along with the pies (apple and pumpkin). Now the kids can make it themselves. I'm hoping they take this recipe away as something they can make even during the college years (when cooking doesn't really happen). We usually make this in the morning when I'm cooking other stuff and stick it in the fridge till dessert time. It keeps them busy!

Whipped Cream Cake

One box chocolate wafer cookies

One pint whipped cream
powdered sugar to taste
vanilla to taste

good chocolate bar to make curls

Make the whipped cream with the sugar and the vanilla.
Spread whipped cream between cookies, gradually making a long snake of cookies with whipped cream between them. When you've reached the size cake you want (or run out of ingredients) frost the whole cake with the remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate for 3 + hours covered with plastic wrap with toothpicks to protect the top. Before serving, dust with cocoa powder or make chocolate curls from a chocolate bar. Throw on top. Cut the log cake on the bias. You'll get a cake slice with stripes of chocolate cookie and whipped cream. V. popular with kids.

[Sheherezade]

I promise that I have some real food recipes, too. I just can't think of them off hand. :> I'll post a roasted root veggies recipe later.

Mmm...that stuffing sounds good. I usually try different things from year to year with a few exceptions. I make the same sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie every year.

The sweet potatoes are mashed with pears and pear nectar:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recip ... /views/809

I'll have to see if I ever typed out the pie recipe here. It's from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Pie and Pastry Bible. For me, it's one of those things that make most other pumpkin pies not worth eating. Picky, picky.

ETA: found it. I think I need to do a trial run.

From The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum p 198

**a little extra work but SO worth it

Great Pumpkin Pie
Pie crust for a 9" pie
4 (2 inch) gingersnaps
1/4 c pecan halves
1 15 oz can unsweetened pumpkin puree
3/4 c light brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c milk
2/3 c cream (I just use 1 1/3 c half and half)
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla


Roll out crust and place in a 9" pie plate. Cut the border into a checkerboard design or use a fork or spoon for a decorative border. Do not make a high raised border or extend it over the sides of the pan, as it will not hold up baked so close to the heat source. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees at least 20 minutes before baking. Plan to bake directly on the floor of the oven, or set an oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone or cookie sheet on it before preheating.
Process the gingersnaps and pecans until finely ground. Sprinkle them over the bottom of the crust and, using your fingers or the back of a spoon, press them into the dough to coat the entire bottom, going about 1/2 inch up the sides.

Make the Filling
In a small heavy saucepan, stir together the pumpkin, brown sugar, spices, and salt. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a sputtering simmer, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes until thick and shiny.
Scrape the mixture into a food processor and process for 1 minute. With the motor on, add the milk and cream, processing until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the work bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, processing just to incorporate, about 5 seconds after each addition; add the vanilla along with the last egg.
Pour the mixture into the pie shell and set it directly on the floor of the oven (or on the baking stone). Bake the pie for 50 to 60 minutes or just until a knife inserted between the sides and center comes out almost clean. The filling will have puffed and the surface dulled, except for the center. (The filling will shake like jelly when moved. This will happen before it has finished baking, so it cannot be used as a firm indication of doneness; conversely, if it doesn't have this jelly-like consistency, you can be sure that it is not baked adequately). If the crust appears to be darkening too much on the bottom, raise the pie to the next rack.
Cool on a rack.

oooh ... that's from that pie chick you just told me about. I googled her name + pies yesterday, and that is the recipe I came up with. I JUST got back from the grocery store! How could I forget ginger snaps!!!

I'd go ahead and try it without. Do you have pecans? I think that cooking the pumpkin with the spices on the stove and then putting it through the food processor is the big thing.

[Vanquisher]

This recipe took over my family's stuffing last year, and will be a permanent fixture for us:

Apple, Sausage, and Cranberry Stuffing

1 1/2 cups cubed whole wheat bread
3 3/4 cups cubed white bread
1 pound ground turkey sausage
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 apple, cored and chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
3/4 cup turkey or chicken stock
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C). Spread the white and whole wheat bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.
In a large skillet, cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the lumps until evenly browned. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.
Pour sausage mixture over bread in bowl. Mix in chopped apples, dried cranberries, and parsley. Drizzle with turkey stock and melted butter, and mix lightly. Spoon into turkey to loosely fill.

[DCJenn]

My layered yam/apple recipe is posted here somewhere.

My favorite family recipe is my grandfather's Oyster Stuffing. Like the good Irishman he was, he put oysters in everything. (or maybe it's the yankee thing. Or both)

Jenn

I've been thinking about and craving that stuffing. And cornbread. Maybe tomorrow night. Mmmmm...

Yummmmmmmy stuffing! It was a hit. I also made potatoes au gratin and roasted chicken thighs. I loved the potatoes but now I'm wishing I made Cheri's sweet potatoes.

which stuffing did you make Nellie?

I made Annie's. Now that you ask, I went back and saw the others. I'll try Heidi's next.

I love stuffing. I would have been perfectly happy with just stuffing for dinner.

Me too. And my mom always said that gravy was her favorite beverage . origin of weight issues becoming more and more clear daily.