newlyFED: Thanksgiving Edition
I love Thanksgiving. It may be an understatement – I really, really love Thanksgiving, a holiday that focuses on food and family. Whats not to love about that?
While for years I enjoyed the day as a guest, the past couple of years my mom has let me cook with her. I have mostly focused on sides, and I get so excited I wind up making a lot of them.
Last year I made more than a dozen sides, and the problem was with timing all the sides with one oven. It’s not an easy task.
Juggling so many dishes leaves me with sides that take longer to cook and others that get cold waiting for the big meal.
To avoid the madness this year, we’re trying to scale down the sides. We enlisted the help of some newlyFED fan favorites to help us pick the best ones. Check out this edition of newlyFED and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Recipes posted below.
The Sweet Potato Gratin recipe can be found here
Corn Casserole
(serves 8)
Ingredients
3 cans of corn kernels (16 oz)
2 cans of cream corn (16 oz)
Breadcrumbs to spread on top (Italian used in this recipe, panko can be used)
6 pats of butter
pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a 9 X 12 baking pan mix all the cans of corn. Spread the breadcrumbs to cover the top of the casserole. Add the pats of butter of the top. Add pepper if desired. Heat covered until warmed through about 20 minutes.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
(serves 8)
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar (you can reduce this to 1/2 cup)
Zest of a orange
Juice of orange
3 cups of cranberries
In a medium sauce pan, combine the water and sugar over medium heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the remaining ingredients. Keep on medium heat for 30 minutes stirring frequently to prevent the sauce from burning. Allow to cool before serving.
In the Turkey Dressing
(serves 8)
Ingredients
1 roll pork Sausage
1 loaf White bread torn up, stale or toasted
1 white onion diced
3 celery stalks diced
1 stick of butter
Bells turkey seasoning (to taste)
In a medium frying pan, cook the pork sausage until browned. In a large bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and mix. Stuff the dressing in the cavity of your turkey and allow to cook with your turkey.
Cornbread Stuffing* FAN FAVORITE
(serves 6)
Ingredients
2 packages of prepared jiffy cornbread cubed, stale or toasted
6 slices of bacon
4 scallions diced
3 cups turkey stock
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large frying pan, prepare the slices of bacon. Once they are done, drain on paper towels. Once drained, break the bacon into small pieces. In the same frying pan, put the heat on low and cook the scallions for about 1-2 minutes. Add in the corn bread, the stock, the cooked bacon and salt and pepper and heat through. Be careful with the salt, the bacon will provide some salt.
In a 5X9 greased baking pan add the cornbread mixture. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.
Rosemary Stuffing
(serves 6)
Ingredients
2 loaves of rosemary sourdough bread cubed ( if you cant find rosemary sourdough, use sourdough and add in rosemary to the recipe while toasting)
3 cloves of garlic sliced
3 tbsps olive oil
1/3 cup of parsley
1/2 cup of leek diced
6 celery stalks diced (include the leaves and hearts)
4 cups turkey stock
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
On a large baking sheet, spread the sourdough, 2 tbsps of olive oil and garlic. Toast for 15 minutes. In a frying pan, add 1 tbsp of olive and heat over medium heat. Once hot, add the leeks and celery and sweat for 5 minutes. salt and pepper to taste.
Turn the oven down to 375 degrees.
In a 9 X 12 baking pan, add all of the ingredients. Bake until warmed through, about 30 minutes.
Green Bean Casserole
(serves 6)
Ingredients
1.5 lbs green beans
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic diced
8 oz cremini mushrooms
3 cups of gravy
1/2 cup of cream
salt and pepper to taste
For the fried onions:
1 white onion sliced
flour for dredging
1 egg
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup oil for frying (I use olive oil, you can use vegetable or peanut as well)
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
For the fried onion topping, dredge the sliced onion in flour, egg and the bread crumbs. Repeat until all of the onions have been breaded. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Once hot, fry the onions for about 2 minutes on each side. Be careful to make sure the oil doesnt get too hot, turn down the heat if it does. Transfer to paper towels to drain and set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Blanche the green beans for 7 minutes. Transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Set aside.
In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and the garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the gravy and cream and heat together for 2 minutes.
In a 9 X 12 baking pan, add the green beans and the mushroom mixture, mix together. Add the fried onions to the top and bake until its bubbling, for 30 minutes.
