@lovendures We need to make a feel good, traditions and recipe sharing thread.. to help us through these upcoming holidays Covid-19 style.
We have been using this recipe for about 15 years. It's much better than cranberry sauce, and it freezes good too!
Apricot/Cranberry Chutney
Ingredients
- ¼ cup diced dried apricots
- 1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries
- ½ cup raisins
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ½ cup cider vinegar
Directions
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, mix together the apricots, cranberries, raisins, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves.
- Step 2
In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Add the dried fruit mixture and vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a covered container.
@mtgal99 LOL funny while I was writing that about a Holiday recipe thread I thought to myself... I wonder if I still have any apricots... nah.. don't know why I am thinking about that! I am not making anything that calls for apricots this weekend. Thanks for sharing the recipe!! It sounds delicious!!!
Community, I've moved foodie posts that started in the Covid Shortages Thread to this new thread so we can share recipes.
@dannyboy @deborah-carey @journeywithme2 @mtgal99 @michele-b @kiki @lovendures @liln22
And of course the esteemed @Laura-f
I love butternut squash soup. Here's my recipe
Butternut Squash & Sausage Soup
2 ½ to 3 lbs Butternut Squash
Cut in half, remove seeds and bake @350° for 1 hour or until soft.
Peel and Puree using chicken stock ( 32oz chicken stock)
Reserve remaining chicken stock for soup base.
Combine in large soup pot
2 heaping tablespoons garlic
2-3 cup chicken stock
½ onion – chopped
½ bag frozen corn
1 lb ground sausage – browned
2 cups cooked wild rice
Add butternut squash puree and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 mintues
Add 1 pint ½ & ½ and let cool 10 mintues before serving.
No one in our family really liked turkey, so we always had ham for the holidays. My dad created a "secret family recipe" for ham glaze. It's more of a baste and dip than a glaze since it doesn't stick to or "crust" on the ham, but my dad was adamant that no one ever know his "secret". When he passed, it fell to me to re-create it each holiday, and since I despise secrets, I decided that I would share it with anyone who asked as a memorial to him and his creativity.
Glazed Ham
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 20oz (or two smaller cans) of pineapple rings in pineapple juice (NOT in syrup)
1 10oz jar of Maraschino cherries
1 ½ tsp dry mustard
½ tsp ginger
8-10 lb ham (bone-in or boneless, as you wish)
Pour off juice from pineapple to make one full cup (add water if necessary) and set pineapple aside.
Pour off liquid from Maraschino cherries and add water to make one cup of liquid. Set cherries aside.
Combine brown sugar, pineapple juice, Maraschino liquid, dry mustard, and ginger in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium, stirring well occasionally, until all ingredients are dissolved, then simmer for about 5 minutes and remove from heat (watch carefully…it can boil over pretty quickly once it’s hot).
Using toothpicks, fix pineapple rings onto the ham, then fix the cherries in the center of each ring. Baste ham with glaze and cover with foil. Heat according to instructions on the ham, basting every fifteen minutes. Remove the foil for the last half hour of cooking, and on the last baste, pour all remaining liquid over the ham. When cooking is finished, remove from oven and let ham rest for 10 minutes.
Place ham on serving plate, and pour the liquid from the cooking pan into a bowl or gravy boat for serving.
@tgraf66 We never liked turkey either. We have a roast chicken (the kind that led normal lives on small farms), and then most of the feast is vegetarian. I forgot to include garlic in the butternut squash recipes. Someone in our household can't digest garlic when eaten directly, so I infuse olive oil with garlic and use the garlic-flavored olive oil.
I’m not sure where my recipe came from but I found Ina’s which is very similar. I increase the garlic to 3 big cloves. This soup isn’t too sweet but has a nice kick from the onions & garlic. After I blend it up, I add some coconut milk creamer and skip the sour cream or yogurt. I also add the honey at the end.
Ugh... it’s not pasting. Brb! Lol
@jeanne-mayell. Oh Goodness Jeanne thank you for letting us overtake your forum with Thanksgiving deliciousness :-). ?
Love this thread, thanks @jeanne-mayell! I have a butternut squash that's been waiting on my counter for ideas on how to cook it -- now I need to decide on one of the recipes you guys have shared so far! They all sound amazing.
Also, here's a recipe for apple-walnut stuffed acorn squash that is delicious and would be perfect for Thanksgiving and the holiday season more generally:
https://www.thefreshmarket.com/inspiration/recipe-and-ideas/acorn-squash-with-apple-walnut-stuffing
Oh, I love the idea of this thread! I've done Thanksgiving on and off through the years, and here are some of my greatest hits:
Favorite turkey is hands down Thomas Keller's "My Favorite Roast Turkey". Leftovers are even better the next day! :)
Note: It's not hard, but you do need to start at least a couple of days ahead of time, AND you need to have enough room in your refrigerator (or somewhere else cold) to brine and dry safely. If that's not available, I would try a dry brine recipe like Smitten Kitchen's.
Serve with:
Cranberry sauce. #AllFoxNewsAlltheTime family asked me to stop making this because it's not sweet enough and they LIKE the stuff that comes out of the can. Sigh. (Note: I never use the candied peel, and sub with fresh orange peel.). Yes, make this the day before.
Ina Garten's Roasted Brussels Sprouts. This is the side that I get asked to bring all the time to holiday dinners. They're really that good! (I like to make them throughout the winter and keep them in the fridge for last minute snacks). This should be popped in the oven last for best results.
Moosewood's Roasted Vegetable Salad. Save yourself the headache and boil the potatoes the night before. Can be served hot, warm or cold so it's nice and flexible.
But Sidwich! I can't have all these things in the oven at the same time!!! Smitten Kitchen's Green Beans with Almond Pesto. Save yourself the headache and make the pesto the night before.
We want something to snack on while we watch movies/football: Moosewood Harvest Seeds & Nuts (Note: these also make lovely holiday gifts!)
What about brunch before/after? Make Onceuponachef's Spinach Quiche the night before and reheat in the morning.
Dessert? I'm not a big pie baker, so I usually do something like Smitten Kitchen's apple cake which really should be made the night before so the juices fully distribute throughout the cake. (Note: I usually halve the recipe and bake in a springform pan and it STILL easily serves 8 people so you have been warned!).
This Acorn squash recipe sounds delightful. Thanks for sharing it ?
Last year my daughter cooked her first Thanksgiving meal. I did the dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, but she sought out new recipes and did all the rest herself, and it was delicious! Here are a few of our favorites from that meal, sure to be used again this year.
Dry Rub:
2 Tbsp black peppercorns, freshly ground
2 Tbsp pink or black peppercorns, freshly ground
3 Tbsp + 2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp onion powder
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
This is from Bon Appetit. Sprinkle liberally all over your bird, patting to adhere, then chill the turkey for at least 24 hours or up to 2 days. We now use this rub on all kinds of meat. Try it with some liberal shakes of Worcestershire sauce over a roast in the slow cooker.
Growing up we never had a salad on Thanksgiving but this one, while not exactly low calorie, lightens the meal beautifully. The squash and pecans make it autumnal.
I’ve always made my gravy from the turkey drippings, but it looks anemic compared to this one. You can do this ahead, too. I think it’s worth the extra effort. Then again, I didn’t do the work! ?
She left out the MSG because it gives both of us migraines. We also didn’t have sherry, so she substituted a tart liquid (it was either apple or cherry juice). And she used lemon juice instead of vinegar.
If you try any of these recipes, I’d love to know what you think.
I love to bake and cook year round, but Thanksgiving is especially rewarding. My idea of a relaxing day is spending it in the kitchen making a delicious meal and dessert. I cannot calculate the amount of flour, butter, vanilla, sugar, eggs used during this covid SIP period I have gone through. Some of my favorite recipes for this time of year are - NYTimes Spatchcock Turkey- 12-14 lb. takes just 45 min. in oven and turns out perfect everytime ! Joy of Cooking Pumpkin Bread with milk is so moist ( been making it for 30 yr. ) , Tartine Bakery ginger cookies , Food 52 Apple Tart, Ina Garten's scalloped potatoes with grueyere cheese ( tossed in bowl ) This is the first year we will be spending the holiday with our 2 granddaughters, so it will be very special to us. Wishing everyone a blessed day with much gratitude and love. We all have so much to be thankful for with a positive future moving forward. Our angels have been working overtime to overcome all of the evil and darkness surrounding us. We can all take a deep breath and sigh of relief. Stay healthy- next year will be such a welcoming festive holiday !
Would you mind sharing your spoon bread recipe with me? I've made it for years, usually with good results, but I have never found the recipe that's *the one.*
I love to watch cake shows. I am somewhat of a cake artist... :)
My Cooking Story
When I had my girls I stayed home for 11 years and made everything from scratch. In fact, my youngest never had jar baby food. Skip ahead to 2005, I am teaching, going to school for my Master’s and taking care of my grandson. So one day, (and it was not a good day )I’m making pork chops and they came out disastrous. Needless to say, my hubby made the mistake of letting me know how bad they were. My response to him was “Go ahead and fire me, see if I care” and he did. Til today, he does most of the cooking and my cooking is limited to Heat and Eat nights AKA microwaving leftovers. Loving it! But like ghandigirl I love watching cooking shows.