Leah's Thanksgiving Dressing

This is a moist, heavy dressing that my mother made (without fail) every Thanksgiving.  I love it even more than turkey, rolls, AND pie (and that's saying a lot).  It's a simple recipe without any exotic or unusual ingredients - and my family and I enjoy it with a LOT of (jellied) cranberry sauce.  I'm missing Mom this year - it's the first year without her.   Any holiday is just not the same without her here to enjoy it with us.  

Mom was always diligent about cubing her bread and letting it set out to dry for a few weeks before Thanksgiving.  Now you can pick up bags of dry cubed bread at most bakeries - but it's fun to do it anyway.  I buy the cheapest bread out there - it really doesn't matter.  But I make sure that half of it is wheat bread - which gives it a better flavor and color than all white bread.  Mom saved her scraps and "heels" of bread for her dressing.  

Here it is in all it's simplicity:

1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup water (reconstitute bouillon cubes in this amount)
1 pound loaf of bread, cubed
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup melted butter
1 Tbs poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Additional chicken broth

*This dressing is better if you cube the bread at least 1-2 weeks before, to allow it to air-dry.

Brown onion and celery in melted butter.  

Place bouillon cubes in water and microwave until combined.

Combine all seasonings in a small bowl and mix lightly.  Sprinkle over the dried bread cubes in a large bowl.  Toss to distribute seasonings evenly.  Set aside.

Combine bouillon/water mixture with onion/celery/butter mixture - then distribute over seasoned bread.

If baking alone (and not stuffed in a turkey) - place in a buttered casserole dish or dripper pan.  Add a small amount of liquid (additional chicken broth) to compensate and moisten the mixture.  

Cover and bake at 300-325° for about 1 hour.  Uncover near the end of cooking to allow the dressing to "brown". 

My daughter Aryn made sure we had "kids" tables...

The kids had fun "checking off" all they had eaten.

The best we could do as far as photos before everyone enjoyed eating.
No... we aren't a "magazine-worthy" family - but we eat well!

Aryn outdid herself with these beautiful centerpieces.

Real Southern Pecan Pie

When I saw this post for pecan pie that ISN’T runny, it got my attention.  This is one of my favorite pies, but for the life of me - I can’t figure out why it never completely sets up.  This reminds me of a VERY soft & chewy pecan cookie.  Then the fact that it’s nestled in a delicious pastry doesn’t hurt either.

I have a few favorite cooks I follow on the web, and Frieda (of friedalovesbread.com) is one of them.  She has a no-nonsense way of looking at cooking - always ready to learn and share a new tip or two with every recipe.

She obtained this recipe from a professional baker, Susan K. Payne.  She shares six tips for the perfect (Southern) pecan pie.  (Thanks Frieda!)

Number One:  Pan toast the nuts to add a nice flavor.  Number Two:  Stir with a spoon (which keeps the sugar from dissolving, which then causes the top of your pie to burn as it bakes).  

Number Three:  Fashion a pie “shield” or “fence” that will prevent the crust from browning too quickly.
  

Number Four:  Use glass pans (not metal).  Not sure why, but it works.   Number Five:  Use frozen pie crusts that you’ve pre-made for convenience.  

Number Six:  Allow the pie to cool completely before cutting.  This prevents the filling from turning runny.

We really loved this pie over Thanksgiving.  It was gone in a flash.  It’s cookie-like outer shell is just fabulous, not to mention the smooth-as-silk filling dotted with toasted pecans.  

For the recipe, go to:
www.changeabletable.com

Thanksgiving Salad

Interesting how a very simple recipe can become so draped in memories by the simple act of showing up at a holiday meal.  About 40 years ago - cream cheese, whipped cream, cherries, & nuts were kind of rare at a normal meal.  That’s why this salad was so special.  Thanksgiving was just not the same without it.

I had to document this recipe for my family so we don’t lose it.  Most people nowadays would not think this is anything out of the ordinary - as “extreme” ingredients are all the rage.  It’s rosy pink color (which I didn’t achieve because I chose not to include the juice from the cherries) - was always so pretty on a Thanksgiving table.  

My mother made this for as long as I could remember.  We always had it at Thanksgiving, and sometimes for Easter dinner as well.  When Mom made it for Easter, she portioned it into individual “bunny” molds.  First, though, she melted chocolate chips and poured them into the impressions at the bottom that looked like little bunnies.  Then she spooned this creamy jello salad over the top.  Each of us had our own small round, chocolate bunny-topped salad nestled into a leaf of lettuce.  Those were great memories!

For some reason though - my kids never developed a taste for pecans, walnuts, or even maraschino cherries.  So it’s alive only in my memory, as well as my sisters’.  It’s really a delicious salad (more like a dessert though).  I brought it to my sister’s home for Thanksgiving dinner this year - and we all had a little trip down memory lane.

The pictures here aren’t stellar - but you get the idea.  We had too much fun eating that day - great photography wasn’t a priority.

For the recipe, go to:
www.changeabletable.com

Big Batch Green Bean Casserole

This popular Thanksgiving side dish in the US was created in 1955 by a staff member in the home economics department of Campbell Soup Company.  Dorcas Reilly - the team leader - said their objective was to “create a quick & easy recipe around two things most Americans always had on hand in the 1950’s: green beans & Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup."

I can’t count the number of times I’ve had my kids call home needing to know the “exact” recipe for Green Bean Casserole.  It’s usually around Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter.  This year on Thanksgiving eve, two of my daughters reminded me that “Mom... it’s NOT on the blog!”  

So this is a mandatory post.  I know it’s not rocket science, or food snobbery.  It’s just good old fashioned comfort food - what I grew up hearing wise cooks refer to as a “hotdish”.  At my sister’s home this year - the younger group made their own fresh green beans.  We in the (wise) older generation preferred the comfort version of good old Green Bean Casserole.  (Healthy cooking returns after the holidays...)

Of course, this would not be the same without the addition of French Fried Onions.  These are smaller than fried onion rings you would find in a fast food drive through.  Instead, they are smaller and irregular in shape.  This makes them perfect as a garnish for this great comfort food casserole.  It used to be that they were sold in a paper canister, but this year I noticed they have switched to an airtight plastic can.  

Since I usually only make this in MASS for a large group gathering - I’ve listed amounts for a DOUBLE batch.  You can halve it for a standard 9” x 13” deep dripper pan.  When I make a large amount like this, I buy a #10 can of green beans from Costco or Sam’s.  The warehouse stores during the holiday season often carry a foodservice size bag of french fried onions - which makes it more economical.  

Everyone seems to make their green bean casserole differently.  The original recipe directed that you stir half the french onions INTO the soup & beans.  The remaining half are then to be sprinkled over the top before baking.  We like them ALL on top - so they stay crunchy.  Some families add water chestnuts for a little crunch... again, we are purists and like them without.

So kids... here you go.  The really HARD recipe for Green Bean Casserole.

"Our" (family size) recipe can be found at:
www.changeabletable.com

Roll On...

Have you ever listened people talk about Thanksgiving, and what their favorite food is?  It seems that the conversation skips around the planet kind of like this:  

dark meat - vs - white meat, whether you like (or hate) yams, whole or jellied cranberry sauce, stuffing (or not), was the gravy just right, should the mashed potatoes be lumpy or totally creamy, your favorite pie, the (in)famous green bean casserole, cheese-stuffed celery (weird, I know - but that's a requirement in my husband's family), and then....

Finally...

The Rolls.

They are spoken of in hushed and reverent tones.  And there's usually one family member that is given that job (kind of like a badge of honor).  

In Utah, everyone talks about Lion House Rolls.  The Lion House was the home of Brigham Young, second prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (the Mormons).  The recipe is all over the internet, in several cookbooks published locally, and in most Ward Cookbooks.  

Yet, with all that information floating around - it's still a big mystery just HOW they get them to roll up so perfectly.  So - as my Thanksgiving offering to those who might be reading - here is the "secret".

It's about a 4 minute video - and don't blink, or you'll miss it.  Genius.  I need to try it with the gajillions of roll recipes I've tried over the years.  You'll find my favorite roll recipes in the labels at the bottom of the page entitled "rolls" and "breads".  I'm sure you have a favorite roll recipe too (and that's why you are that person of honor who gets to bring the rolls)

Here are a few of our favorites...  (and have a memorable Thanksgiving!)

Sometimes the easiest rolls come from my favorite bread recipe.
Here's the LINK (from one of my early attempts at posting years ago...)

A great all-purpose roll that can be made into a sweet roll, OR a dinner roll.
Conference Crescents

Freezable Cool Rise Rolls - always turn out.
(from my son-in-law's mother, this is what I'm making this year)

Texas Roadhouse Rolls
Especially good when they are HOT from the oven.

Sour Cream Rosettes - another roll that freezes well.

Caramel Apple Pie

All the flavor of a caramel apple, minus the mess - this pie is SO good.  The basic idea is to nestle the apples in a pie shell, add a lattice top, then pour a rich creamy caramel sauce over the top.  The caramel seeps down into the apples  - tenderizing them.  The lattice top is coated with caramel too.

A week ago, when the weather was still “fall-ish” - I felt my annual craving for apple pie begin.  The leaves had turned a beautiful red & gold, and I had a sack of Jonathan apples from my sister-in-law Nancy just waiting to fulfill their purpose.

This pie has been called everything from Caramel Pie, to Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie.  It has all kinds of variations, but I decided to use the same caramel sauce and put it together my own way.  I learned a few things I'll try next time I make this.

It really did turn out perfect - so delicious.  All the recipe variations out there don’t call for cinnamon - so I tossed my apples in a bit of cinnamon before turning them into the pie crust.  

Making a standard lattice crust is not worth the bother for me, so I used a handy-dandy kitchen tool called a lattice dough cutter.  It’s basically a roller with a pattern of cuts that are offset in a way that the pastry becomes a stretchy, airy lattice.  Kind of reminds me of fishnet stockings?  If you use such a tool, be sure to keep your crust cold and roll it a little thicker than normal so it won’t shred as you place it.  The only problem was I didn’t apply quite enough pressure to make the cuts go all the way through - but it still turned out well.

The caramel poured over the top was fantastic, but after - I wished I had poured about 2/3’s of it over the apples before placing the lattice on top.  Then pouring the remaining 1/3 over the top after would have contained the caramel a little better.  That would allow the caramel to seep all the way through the apples - clear to the bottom crust.  That’s my plan next time.

Be sure to place the pie on a baking sheet, just in case the caramel decides to overflow rather than seep into the apples.
  

When I took it out of the oven, the lattice top had become a firm “shell” over the top - and the apples had softened and settled, leaving an air pocket that can conveniently drink in melting ice cream, (or a little more caramel).

For the recipe, go to:
www.changeabletable.com

Cranberry Crush Salad

Cranberries bring a touch of sunshine to this drab time of year, yet they are too often used just as a condiment.  This salad can be any shade of red you choose, depending on how “crushed” you like your cranberries.  Adding pomegranate arils to the mix will make it even more rosy. 

I loved this salad because of the texture of the cranberries after macerating in the sugar overnight.  They became sweet/tart - much like a pie cherry.  I was convinced the cranberries and grapes were cherries - but not so!  The pineapple and cream were the perfect finishing touch, and I added just a few toasted slivered almonds for crunch.

Karen Tate (a good friend and great cook), brought her version of this salad to a recent Conference Center party for hosts/tour guides a few weeks ago.  She simply called it “Pomegranate Salad” - and it was delicious made with pomegranate arils and finely chopped cranberries.  It turned a deep red color and was beautiful as a Christmas side dish.  

Since I didn’t have any pomegranates on hand, I decided to try it with coarsely chopped cranberries minus the poms.  It was an entirely different experience.  I’ve included both versions - so make your choice depending on whether you like (or dislike) pomegranates and slivered almonds. 

For this holiday spin using the humble cranberry - the recipe can be found at:

www.changeabletable.com