Thanksgiving is a day for families to get together, talk about food, memories, argue about what REALLY happened at the family reunion last year, watch football, laugh and make room for more memories. When thinking about your menu for the big day, think about foods your family loves to eat during the year. I know some folks who just don’t love to have turkey, so they grill steaks. Just remember if a dish doesn’t turn out the way you hoped, it’s not really about the food; it’s about the time we spend with one another.
Mary Tyler Spivey is a graduate of Huntingdon College
where she studied history and French but she also has a
passion for great food.
Contact her at [email protected].
Cook of the month: Maureen Nichols, Clarke-Washington EMC
Butternut Squash Pie
To cook fresh squash, slice the butternut squash into halves and remove seeds and strings. Place cut-side down on an oil-sprayed baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees until flesh is tender and can be scooped out (about an hour). Scrape the pulp from the shell and mash it.
1 1/2 cups cooked butternut squash
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar or can use Splenda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice
Dash of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a medium large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and mix well. Pour into a prepared 9-inch piecrust. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then lower the temperature to 350 and continue baking (about 45 minutes) until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Shield the crust perimeter with foil, if necessary, during the last 30 minutes, to prevent over-browning.
Loaded Mashed Potatoes
21/2 pounds potatoes (peeled and boiled)
8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
8 ounces sour cream
½-1 stick butter (melted)
1/3-½ cup milk
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
Pam non-stick cooking spray
Boil potatoes until well done. Place in bowl and begin mixing potatoes with mixer. Add cream cheese and blend well. Then add sour cream, amount of butter to your taste (at least ½ stick), and milk. Mix well. Place mixture in casserole dish that has been lightly sprayed with Pam and add grated cheese on top. Bake for approximately 15 – 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.
Mildred Nordman, North Alabama EC
Apricot Salad
6 ounces of apricot Jell-O
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
1 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 small jars of apricot baby food
1 can of condensed milk, chilled
11/2 cups pecans chopped
Bring Jell-O, water and sugar to a boil in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and add cream cheese, baby food and pineapple. You will have to smash the cream cheese with a spoon until it is blended. Set aside to cool. Add condensed milk by folding into the mixture. Pour into a large casserole dish. Sprinkle pecans on top. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Faye Stone, Baldwin EMC
Pecan Pie
1 cup white corn syrup
1 cup light brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup heaping chopped pecans
2 deep dish pie shells
Combine syrup, sugar, salt, butter or margarine, vanilla and mix well. Add eggs. Pour into pie shells. Sprinkle chopped pecans over all. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. This is a family recipe that has been passed down for over 20 years. It is a family favorite and always requested at the annual family Thanksgiving get-together.
Memory Bush, South Alabama Electric Cooperative
Rainbow Jell-O® Salad
1 package (3 ounces) each of orange, lime and lemon Jell-O®
1 envelope plain gelatin
8 ounces cream cheese
½ cup mayonnaise
1 can (15.2 ounces) crushed pineapple in its own juice
2 cans (15 ounces) apricot halves
Moisten finger with oil and barely grease loaf pan (or 9.5 cup size rectangular plastic container). Add ½ envelope of plain gelatin to orange Jell-O. Prepare according to package directions using only 1 and ½ cups boiling water instead of 2 cups total. Drain apricots, mash with a fork, stir into orange Jell-O, pour into loaf pan or plastic container and chill until firm. Prepare lemon Jell-O according to package directions using only 1 and ½ cups boiling water. Stir mayonnaise into softened cream cheese then add Jell-O to mixture. Pour this over firm layer of orange salad and chill until firm. Add remaining ½ envelope of plain gelatin to lime Jell-O. Prepare according to package directions using 1 and ½ cups boiling water. Add crushed pineapple, pour over lemon layer and chill until firm. To serve, use a knife to go around sides of loaf pan, unmold onto serving platter. Garnish if desired. If serving from plastic, simply cut Jell-O into blocks. Orange layer up is pretty for Thanksgiving. Consider color of layer as you prepare. Today’s loaf pans hold less which may require filling no more than 1/3 with each layer. Dip a few spoonsful into small plastic container. (Free sample for the cook.)
Rena Henderson, Tallapoosa River Electric Cooperative
Cranberry Salad
2- 3-ounce packages raspberry Jell-O®
2 cups boiling water
1- 16-ounce can whole berry cranberry sauce
1- 8-ounce can crushed pineapple
Topping:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Empty contents of Jell-O packets in to a large mixing bowl; add boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add cranberry sauce and continue stirring until sauce is no longer jelled. Add crushed pineapple along with its juice. In a clear cut-glass bowl place half of the cranberry mixture. Be careful not to get the mixture up the sides of the bowl. (I take a cup and dip it into the bowl to keep the sides clean.) Refrigerate until cranberry mixture is firm.
Topping: Beat ingredients together until smooth. Keep at room temperature, so it will spread easily.
When first layer of cranberry mixture is jelled, spread half of topping mixture over it. Carefully pour in the remaining cranberry mixture and refrigerate until firm. Then spread on remaining topping mixture. Sprinkle on a few more chopped nuts as a garnish.
Note: This is such a festive dish with the deep red and white layers showing through the sides of a clear glass bowl. It is a tradition for our family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.
Martha Joy Troyer, Southern Pine EC
Mother’s Dressing
4 cups of crumbled day old cornbread
2 cups dry breadcrumbs
3 ½ cups chicken broth
3 eggs
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup chopped celery
¾ cups chopped onion
Pinch of sage – no more than a pinch
Mix cornbread with breadcrumbs. Add chicken broth. Beat eggs lightly in bowl then beat into milk. Add milk, salt, pepper to cornbread mixture. Add sage, celery and onion. Mix and pour into well-greased pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.
Frances D. Borders, Tallapoosa River EC
