Food that's YOUR tradition on Thanksgiving...

[Sk8r]

I'll start...passing along the family recipe for cranberry sauce. When I was a kid, I'd just have a dish of this for dinner, thank you, and then start on dessert. It's still true.

CRANBERRY ORANGE SAUCE
Ample supply of oranges, cranberries and chopped pecans. Sugar, or sugar substitute like Splenda.
Cuisinart or food grinder.
Cranberries vary a great deal in sweetness, so there's no way to give you a recipe that means squat. But it's very simple, all the same.
Grind up the cranberries into a coarse mash. Add orange quarters [remove seeds] and keep grinding, chopping or mixing. The oranges should supply enough sweetness to balance the cranberries. Add pecans. The result: you should be able to taste the oranges amid the cranberry. Add sugar if any is needed.

This stuff WILL NEVER set into a gel. You'd probably need to add fruit pectin to get that effect. It remains a thick soup with the crunch of pecans in it. Chill it overnight [or in the freezer, to speed it along], serve very chill, and keep the kids and spouses out of it, once they discover what it tastes like, or the level in the bowl will mysteriously start sinking.

[BigSkyBart]

I do a similar version but I cook the cranberries in a small amount of water until they burst, mash a bit with a wooden spoon add about a half cup of orange marmalade (per lb. of fresh cranberries) & chopped pecans and a few tablespoons of brown sugar, serve warm

no real amounts, just what looks & tastes right

there is never any leftover

[dc]

Both those sound really good! I might have to incorporate them together.

We don't do as much without a lot of family but my fruit salad is always a must for everyone.

Drain:
fruit cocktail
mandarin oranges
marchino cherries
pineapple tidbits

Reserve the juice, add 2-3 eggs and cook to a custard. Cool and add a pkg of cherry jello.

Dice one green and one red apple, coat in lemon juice. Also 1-2 banana, Drain and let dry.

Whip whipped cream (used to use Estee powdered when this needed to be sugarfree and lowfat) Sometimes I stabilize it and sometimes I don't.

Mix all ingredients together with chopped nuts and refrigerate.

[BigSkyBart]

sausage w/wild rice stuffing
1 lb each italian sausage & breakfast sausage, one or the other should be hot
about 1/4 lb of the most exotic sounding wild rice you can find in a speciality store
crumble & brown the sausage, remove from pan, pour off fat
lightly toast the wild rice with the crumbles & fat left in the pan after pouring fat off.
allow the rice to cook when you saute' the onions, celery, seasonings, rice will absorb a lot of the moisture (& flavor) released when the onions & celery start to cook down
bla bla bla ..... follow your favorite stuffing recipie from here using the above ingredients

[Billybeau1]

White Castle stuffing.

A big hit with our family.

[michika]

Spätzle, Rouladin, Caesar Salad (so garlicy it burns), steamed yams, and occasionally a small cooked bird.

[GSMguy]

My Cranberry sauce is always a hit, recipe is simple and a far superior alternative to canned but with a traditional taste.

Sugar
water
Fresh Cranberry

[spooda420]

Originally posted by michika
Spätzle, Rouladin, Caesar Salad (so garlicy it burns), steamed yams, and occasionally a small cooked bird.

Ahh.... good german thanksgiving... We have that for Christmas... minus the yams and salad, and we add white brats, knockworst. yummy.

[michika]

Its worth the year wait for the meal, although once your done eating you always wish you hadn't tried to shove that last bite in.

I forgot to add steamed purple cabbage to the list.

[xxaquanutxx]

We go BIG every holidy!!!

Spatzles sauted in brown sugar and butter, purpble cabbage stewed with green apples and caraway seeds, butternut squash bisque, steamed green beans and radishes, garlic roasted mashed potato, mashed sweet potato,roasted acorn squash, peas and corn a really big Turkey with either a cornbread/sausage stuffing, wild rice and mushroom stuffing or a traditional stuffing with raisins, apples, onions, celery and prunes.

Sometimes we will add other dishes like green bean casserole and homemade 5 cheese macaroni, etc. oh yea... and lets not forget the homemade pumpkin pie & apple pie with cheddar and ice cream!

[TOURKID]

chop house corn has become a tradition in the past few years

Its so sweet, and yummy. way better than your average corn n butter lol

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons minced shallots
3 cups fresh corn
3 teaspoons bacon fat
3 tablespoons white wine
6 ounces heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
salt to taste
pepper to taste
3 tablespoons chopped chives for garnish

Shuck and cut the corn from the cob. Add bacon fat and butter to a saute pan and allow it to get hot. Add shallots and corn and saute for 1 minute. Add sugar and deglaze with white wine. Let it reduce until almost dry and add heavy cream. Let reduce until the corn is thick and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped chives.

[PrivateJoker64]

I have no idea where the name came from. It's my Mother's old recipe for cinnamon cookies.

Preheat oven to 375

Mix together:
2c shortening
3c sugar
4 eggs

Sift together and stir in:

5-1/2c flour
4 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Roll into golf ball sized bals and roll the balls in:

1/4 c sugar and 1/4c cinnamon mixed together

Bake 9 minutes. Cool five minutes in pan before removing.

Try not to eat all at once!

[mrferrit]

yams:

3-4 cans of sweet yams
brown sugar
marshmallows

dump yams in pan
cover with lotsa brown sugar and mix around
more brown sugar
top with marshmallows
Cook mmmm sweet yammie goodness

or garlic mashed taters with skin on

[Muttling]

Apple Cinamin Liqueur


6 cups chopped red apples
6 cups Brandee
1.5 cups sugar
1 cinamin stick


Mix all ingredients and stir daily until all sugar dissolves. Let sit in a dark place for 4 to 8 weeks. Strain through a cheese cloth and serve heated.

[Aliie]

My Pecan Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie:

2 deep dish pie crust (follow prebake instructions)
2 small baking pumpkins (peel, cube & bake @350 for 30 min covered)
2 cups pecans
20 caramels
24 oz of Philly cream cheese
6 oz of sour cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 stick of unsalted butter melted
1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg & cinnamon & vanilla
1/4 heavy cream (may need less depending on pumpkins)

Combine the pecans, brown sugar in a bowl. Add melted butter, stir and then place in pie crust. Flatten out caramels and place over the top of the pecan mixture. Bake for approx. 10 min or until ALL the caramels are melted. Remove and cool.

Cool baked pumpkin mix on high until smooth while adding nutmeg and cinnamon, chill for 30 min. Mix in heavy cream until just soft peak stage. In another bowl mix cream cheese and sour cream then add vanilla.
In a chilled bowl fold together both the pumpkin and cream cheese mixtures. Add to COMPLETELY COOLED pecan Carmel pie crusts and chill for at least 2 hours.

For fun I take a caramel icecream topping and swirl it around the top of the pie. Add a few pecan halves in a design of your choice.

[PrivateJoker64]

Originally posted by Aliie
My Pecan Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie:

2 deep dish pie crust (follow prebake instructions)
2 small baking pumpkins (peel, cube & bake @350 for 30 min covered)
2 cups pecans
20 caramels
24 oz of Philly cream cheese
6 oz of sour cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 stick of unsalted butter melted
1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg & cinnamon & vanilla
1/4 heavy cream (may need less depending on pumpkins)

Combine the pecans, brown sugar in a bowl. Add melted butter, stir and then place in pie crust. Flatten out caramels and place over the top of the pecan mixture. Bake for approx. 10 min or until ALL the caramels are melted. Remove and cool.

Cool baked pumpkin mix on high until smooth while adding nutmeg and cinnamon, chill for 30 min. Mix in heavy cream until just soft peak stage. In another bowl mix cream cheese and sour cream then add vanilla.
In a chilled bowl fold together both the pumpkin and cream cheese mixtures. Add to COMPLETELY COOLED pecan Carmel pie crusts and chill for at least 2 hours.

For fun I take a caramel icecream topping and swirl it around the top of the pie. Add a few pecan halves in a design of your choice.

Wow!
Sounds good. I bet you can feel your heart slowing down as you eat it though. LOL

[Aliie]

It's worth it I promise.

[iCam]

Booze.

[Ladipyg]

I have a Carrot cake receipe that everyone clamors for, since mom died it's my responsibility to make it. I love the tradition...the icing is a little work, but it's unlike anything you have ever tasted. Now, no one ever said this was low cal, but since when does something that taste's really good mean low-cal.

Carrot cake:
2 cups sugar 1 1/2 cups oil 4eggs 3 cups flour 1 tsp. salt 2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. cinnamon 2 cups grated carrots (approx. 1 lb) 1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Blend sugar and oil until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time and beat well before adding the next egg. Add carrots, mix all dry ingredients together and add to butter sugar mixture, mix in walnuts. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan...Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes and removed from outer pan...let cool until it can be handled and remove from tube part of pan.

Special Icing
1 cup milk and 1 heaping tablespoon corn starch. Stirring constantly cook until it comes to a boil and thickens....remove from heat and let cool.

1/2 cup crisco 1/2 cup butter 1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese 3/4 cups sugar, beat until fluffy and no grains of sugar remain. Add completely cooled cornstarch mixture, keep beating well, add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 tsp. salt. Beat until fluffy and well blended. Ice completely cooled cake.
Store in cool place or even in fridge as it allows the icing to firm up. Enjoy.

[dc]

Oh Aliie that sounds really good, I may have to try that too.

[Aliie]

I'm going to try the cranberry sauce for sure. My uncle made it when we were kids and I liked it. Hadn't thought about it until I saw the posting for it.

If you want a "lower fat" version just make the simple substitutions but I make no claims on the taste.

[catdoc]

Our Thanksgivings always have the same menu:
Turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade noodles (which must be eaten ON the potatoes, it's a Hoosier thing), sweet potatoes with marshmallows melted on top, dressing (we usually have two versions: with oysters and without, I prefer with), tons of homemade dinner rolls, and top off the meal with a smorgasbord of desserts like pumpkin pie, strawberry pretzel salad, and chocolate-covered pretzels.

I don't have a single one of the recipes though! I've been left out of the loop all this time and only realized it just now! I better start tracking down the recipes before it's too late.

[dc]

Originally posted by catdoc
Our Thanksgivings always have the same menu:
Turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade noodles (which must be eaten ON the potatoes, it's a Hoosier thing), sweet potatoes with marshmallows melted on top, dressing (we usually have two versions: with oysters and without, I prefer with), tons of homemade dinner rolls, and top off the meal with a smorgasbord of desserts like pumpkin pie, strawberry pretzel salad, and chocolate-covered pretzels.

I don't have a single one of the recipes though! I've been left out of the loop all this time and only realized it just now! I better start tracking down the recipes before it's too late.

You really should and write them all down. Many family recipes are lost because of it. I always keep the original recipe and then one of how I changed it. I just can't do some recipes how they are written.

[crp]

We have the normal turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, etc.

My MIL also makes a great broccolli, cauliflower casserole with velvetta cheese and french fried onions. My favorite.

I've never had to cook Thanksgiving. We always go to her house. I do x-mas.

[Sk8r]

One of the nicest Christmas gifts I ever got from my parents was a filebox with the family recipes written in my mother's hand. I treasure it. They're all too rich to make on anything but holidays, and only one a year, but it gives me the pleasure of remembered tastes whenever I open that box and look through them.