Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is an American holiday that takes time to give thanks for the many blessing we have.  Traditionally it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.  Friends and family get together to celebrate what they are thankful for with a huge feast.  It is a historical celebration of the first good harvest of settler in the Massachusetts Colony.  It came after very harsh winters and hard times as the settler began to eke out a living from the land.

We all have so much to be thankful for.  This is why I love this holiday. It can be the blessing of friends and family, personal blessings in your life, telling others how they have bless you, or thinking about special ways to bless others.  It is a time of family and friends.

 

A new tradition becoming more popular is Friendsgiving on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Friends spend Thanksgiving with their families and celebrate the next day with friends.  My nephew has celebrated this with a huge circle of friends for many years.  This year my neighbors will get together for our first Friendsgiving.  Usually these get-togethers are potluck.

 

Traditionally turkey is served as the focal point of the meal.  Many families also serve ham or roast beef. Mashed potatoes, gravy cornbread stuffing and cranberry sauce are also traditional.  Various seasonal side dishes are add like baked yams, green bean casserole, waldorf salad, Jell-O salads, winter squash, Brussel sprouts, corn dishes, hot breads and other seasonal vegetables,  Dessert is traditionally pumpkin pie, apple pie and pecan pie are also popular and other sweets like cookies and cakes.  It is also very interesting that different regions of the county have their traditional dishes.  There are ethnic additions as well.  Families tend to have wat is celebrated at feasts in their culture, for instance pasta is usually served in Italian American homes.

 

A Thanksgiving Menu

Roast Turkey

Cornbread Stuffing

Turkey gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Corn Casserole (posted below)

Holiday Sweet Potatoes (posted 11-23-2015)

Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts (posted 5-7-2016)

Green Salad

Cranberry Sauce

Candied Apples (posted 11-23-2015)

Hot Cloverleaf Refrigerator Rolls (posted 11-22-2015)

Butter

Nuts

Olives

Pickles

Pumpkin Pie (posted 10-29-2016)

Apple Pie

Pecan Pie (posted below)

Whipped cream

Ice cream

 

 

This Week’s Challenge - Thanksgiving menu

 

             This year record the entire menu for Thanksgiving right down to the relishes and extras like butter and honey for the biscuits.  Note the family tradition dishes.  The ones you dare not serve or everyone will be disappointed.  We like to add a new dish or two each year.  Some become favorites and other fall by the wayside.

 

Tip for this Week – Don’t discard the giblets

 

            Even if your family with not eat the organs of the turkey, they can be put to good use.  We take the neck, heart, liver and gizzard and boil then into a broth.  The broth can be used on the stuffing and to stretch the gravy.  The meat from the neck and the heart, liver and gizzard can be finely chopped and add to the gravy for giblet gravy.  If your family will not eat this, the cooked organs can be given to the pets as their Thanksgiving treat.

 

This Week in Punkin’s Kitchen

 

Punkin’s Corn Casserole

My family loves this recipe.  It is softer and sweeter than cornbread, more like a spoonbread.  There usually isn’t anything left.

The ingredients

Melt the butter

Add the eggs and the cornbread mix.

Blend well

Add the cheese, sour cream, salt and
pepper

On the left is regular corn and on the
right is the creamed corn.

Add one can corn slightly drained
and all the creamed corn

Blend well

Pour into a prepared pan and bake

It should stay together, but is much softer
than corn bread.

print recipe

Punkin's Corn Casserole

by Grace Barnes November-19-2016

My family loves this recipe. It is softer and sweeter than cornbread, more like a spoonbread. There usually isn’t anything left.

Ingredients

• 1/2 C Butter, melted
• Two Eggs
• 1 pkg. 8.5 oz. Cornbread mix (Jiffy)
• 1 Can (15 oz.) Corn,kernel or sweet
• 1 Can (14.75 oz.) Creamed style corn
• 1/2 C Sour cream
• 1 1/2 C Grated cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees,2. Prepare and 9” X 9” baking dish, by buttering the dish or spraying with Pam.3. Mix the butter, eggs, cornbread mix together.4. Add both cans of corn, sour cream and one cup cheese.5. Pour into the prepared baking dish.6. Bake for 45 minutes or until top in browned.7. Top the hot casserole with the remaining cheese.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 8 servings

 

Pecan Pie

 

 

This is based on the recipe from The Joy of Cooking, but I added some southern touches and increased the amount of pecans.  Sometimes I use some corn syrup and some molasses.

 

 

The ingredients

Prepare the pie crust or use crust that is
already prepared and set it aside.

Cream the butter and brown sugar

I usually use a fork to cream this

Add the eggs one at a time, making
sure the egg is incorporated before
adding the next.  Then add the syrup,
vanilla and salt,

Place the pecans in the bottom of the pie
crust and pour the egg mixture of them.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes
then reduce to 350 degrees.

The finished pecan pie

 

print recipe

Pecan Pie

by from Joy of Cooking November-19-2016

This is based on the recipe from The Joy of Cooking, but I added some southern touches and increased the amount of pecans. Sometimes I use some corn syrup and some molasses.

Ingredients

• One Pie crust, uncooked
• 1/2 C Butter, softened
• 1 C Brown sugar, firmly packed
• 5 Eggs
• 1/2 C Light corn syrup or molasses
• 1 t Vanilla or 1 T rum
• 1/2 t Salt
• 1-1 ½ C Pecan nut meats

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven at 450 degrees. 2. Prepare the pie shell 3. Cream the butter and brown sugar. 4. Beat in the eggs one at a time. 5. Stir in the corn syrup or molasses, vanilla or rum, and the salt. 6. Place the pecan in the pie shell and pour the filling over them. 7. Bake for 15 minutes.. 8. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. It is done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour 5 mins Yield: one 9 " deep dish

 

Soup of the Week

 

Leek and Lentil Soup

 

This is simple soup.  You can add celery or carrots if you like.  Kick it up a notch with some cayenne pepper or chili powder.

 

Clean the leeks and thinly slice

Saute in oil in the bottom of the soup pot

Add the lentils and cover with water.
Add the thyme, salt and pepper and
simmer until the lentils are tender

print recipe

Leek and Lentil Soup

by Grace Barnes November-19-2016

This is simple soup. You can add celery or carrots if you like. Kick it up a notch with some cayenne pepper or chili powder.

Ingredients

• One or Two Leeks, thorough cleaned and thinly sliced
• 2 t Olive or canola oil
• One sm. bag (1 lb.) Brown lentils
• 1 t Thyme, fresh or dried
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Wash and sliced the leeks.2. Heat the oil in the bottom of a soup kettle.3. Cook the leeks until soft.4. Add enough water to cover the leeks.5. Add the lentils and adjust the water level.6. Add the thyme, salt and pepper.7. Simmer until the lentils are soft, about 30-40 minutes.8. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 50 mins Yield: 6-8 servings

Happy Cooking!