What Ya' Got Cookin' Thanksgiving 2015 edition

At the tender age of 61 I discovered japanese sweet potatoes.

Purple on the outside and light straw yellow on the inside...rather thin skinned.

they roast and ooze honey -- and....there is a definite chestnut - y flavor. Have not roasted chestnuts since I met these. "Chestnuts" in abundance....just no furry inner skin stuck-in places.,, and no shells and no cut fingers.

The thing is -- the things need no sugar, no butter, no nothing. Some sweet potatoes are decent, but I never met one that didn't need the extra calories / sweet stuff to enhance.


Our sweet potato casserole this year :

4 medium-large sweet potatoes(about 3 pounds)
6 tablespoons brown sugar
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup heavy cream or whole milk
3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
FOR THE TOPPING:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened slightly
½ cup dark brown sugar
¾ cup sugared cashews and sugared peanuts

( supposed to be pecans but hubby dislikes )

I am roasting the brussels and the sweet potatoes today...
Putting the casseroles together tonight.

I hate to do ahead..early prejudice from a sicilian kitchen...but as I age...I find I can't coordinate and by the time it is all on the table -- I am half dead.




This message was edited Nov 24, 2015 8:44 AM

I bought a purple sweet potato at the international grocery once. I think I was going to sprout it and see if it had purple leaves. The Asian checkout lady said MMM these are so good!!

Maybe the same??

I tried purple regular potatoes. The flesh purple..mashes up lavender.
Sort of " bleh". Starchy and dry. Guess I am the white creamy potato type

We got Korean cabbage at the international grocery last week along with a head of regular cabbage. The Korean cabbage was noticeably sweeter and we much preferred its taste. Such amazing produce at those stores.

I've had Asian cabbage and it was very good. It has a more upright growth doesn't it. I'll bet that would be good to make "pigs in a blanket".

Actually it was wider than it was tall, sort of like a pumpkin. Definitely had stuffed cabbage potential.

I am going to look for that
I Wonder if imported veggies distribution is regional....or do you think it is grown hair.

LOL picturing cabbage with hair!!!!

It is this Survivor case for the IPAD.... IT SPELLS THINGS WRONG!! HA!

I LOVE the Korean cabbage! I get that at the international market. It is sweet and tasty. A flatter head and slightly looser leaves. I do NOT like grocery store round cabbage when it is very hard and dense.

Getting myself in gear to start assembling stuffing
Meanwhile,
http://www.sun-gazing.com/planted-seeds-brought-back-extinct-species-hasnt-around-850-years/

We cut 4 loaves of bread today in our efforts to assemble stuffing. LOL

I ripped open a bag of dry cubes...
It's assembled for baking in a pan, I'm going unstuffed this year.

Procrastinating big time here. I know I'm going to regret it and be exhausted by the time dinner rolls around on Thursday. Cooking for 15.

Terri, good luck! I'm going to open cans and mix up the green bean casserole now.

Ric--

I also like to cut some of my own croutons I use in stuffing.
Dark rye bread--and Seeded Jewish Rye bread are a must.
I have also done Challa bread and whole wheat. It depends on how much time
I want to spend making stuffing.Using the bagged ones are OK--but
I usually mix my own--toasted on a cookie sheet @ 275*, sprayed with OO, seasoned
and browned in the oven and then added to the bagged stuffing.
I LOVE the flavor of caraway seed in stuffing--hence the J. R. Bread.
Since I always make Sausage Stuffing--I add all kinds of things...
Jimmie Dean Sausage has the best flavor.

Happy Gobble...Gobble day to you all. Gita

I'm procrastinating on the dessert plan. Pumpkin pie is a must but will I make it Wednesday night, or early Thursday? And will I make apple pie also, or brownies? I want another dessert to offer. I might get Mark to pick up a store cake tomorrow. Or ice cream, and have the brownie option...

I'm decorating the microwave with Postits about meal prep, like adding the onions to the green bean casserole and how long it bakes...

Japanese sweet potatoes are the best! Once I made sweet potato casserole with he Japanese variety and it was actually too sweet. I like to roast them in the oven and eat them plain.

Today I'm making the gravy and sweet potato casserole (using regular sweet potatoes this time). Tomorrows going to be nuts. I probably won't be able to get online for awhile so Happy thanksgiving to you all and happy cooking! :)

Vaya con Dios, ssg.. (or vaya con l'esprit de Julia Child..?)

DD posted apple crisp on the microwave so I guess that's her vote on the dessert question. Good choice! And bought some stuff for drinks, lol, 22 yr olds..

I remember my mother and her sisters in the kitchen one year being egged on by their only sister-in-law to drink fuzzy navels. It was so memorable because they just aren't the type to do anything "wild" and they were protesting "no, no, we CAN'T do that" the whole time, but giggling and drinking away despite the half hearted protests. They were just a wee bit tipsy by the time dinner was ready. It is a sweet memory of the many Thanksgivings spent in Pittsburgh while I was growing up.

missingrosiemissingrosie
Hillsborough, NC
(Zone 7b)
November 26, 2015
12:18 AM
Post #10173496
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Conjures up a great vision Aspen.

I burned the poundcake. Cost me $143 also- plus pans and ingredients. Daughter with no decent stand mixer. ( no mixer period )

Figure she can use for other things...but she is not fond of kitchen.

No standmixer, no pans... Pans I got were thick/ decent. But 20 min after placing in oven, I could see edges too brown and could just imagine the bottom.😳...The batter still liquid.

The oven the culprit. I made butter, choco chip. And maple sugar french vanilla.
Actually made those at home too to bring for holiday --- but forgot them!!

Wonder about the turkey now...how to cook it. better check that oven temp

I cut sides amd bottom off the cake...Will cover rest with whipped cream and syrup! The young ones won't know difference.

Roasted garnet sweet potatoes but when cutting...saw some were japanese. Just like to cut and eat those plain. So now, I got find the rest of the garnet to fix the casserole.

Plus today, going to fix many meat loaves for her to freeze
And tomato sauce by the gallons. I told her to get sweet italian sausage ...she got some spicy patty type...back to store for those and neckbones.


HOW DID I END UP WITH A KID THAT HATES THE KITCHEN WITH A CRAPPY OVEN!?? And kitchen supplies out of date. She had imitation vanilla - a quart!
Flour dated 2013.

Well, the fresh cranberry came out great!!!


This message was edited Nov 26, 2015 12:22 AM


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This message was edited Nov 26, 2015 12:27 AM

Funny stories! missingrosie, what a hoot. It can't be your raising that messed up her itchen skills, must be this new generation, haha

Bagged up some ice so the ice maker will make more. (Too cheap to spend a buck on ice from the store!!)

Tomorrow morning- need easy fun food. Bagels, salmon, cream cheese with pepper jelly..

Have an unexpected day off so I am much further along on my prep than I was anticipating. Got up at 4:30 to head out by 5:00 and Rt 15 between Lucketts and Leesburg was completely closed down due to a tractor trailer accident. I thought I could use a back road to get south of it, but no go, and then when I turned around to head back, I got caught in complete gridlock with all the yahoos who don't know the area trying to use the back roads to find a way around the accident. Bottom line, there is no easy way and it took me about an hour just to get back to the house. I couldn't even get near my gravel drive, but I managed to get to another one back behind my house and then drove through the woods on some old logging trails. I was done after that, no way was I up for getting to DC. Good news is that the road is now open and I got to the grocery store for my stuff before the real crowds that would be there if I were to have stopped on my way home from work this evening.

Rosie, what an adventure you are having trying to get all the things prepped at your daughter's house :-) I am not the most experienced cook in the world and sometimes I have to have the simplest things explained to me, but unlike your daughter, I have all the finest kitchen stuff and every gadget imaginable, I just don't know what to do with them ROFLOL.

What a morning! I think you were meant to stay home. The country will survive one more day without you, lol, hugs!

I think I'll have a fuzzy navel LOL.

Sweet potato casserole is done, OMG, hope I can stay out of it, it came out so good. LOL Mince meat pie is done and 2 pumpkin pies are in. Holly is preparing a 4 loafs of stuffing and then it's off to bed. An early rise for tomorrow. We just gotta' quit hosting stuff. LOL

So far, all I've done for Thanksgiving is send my husband to the store with a list, spread out 2 loaves of bread to dry so my youngest daughter can make stuffing tomorrow, and take a peak at the frozen pies I bought from a neighbor girl who was raising money for some school thing. Have I ever mentioned that I hate to cook? I am impressed with all of your efforts, though!

Muddy -- sounds like you got the right idea.

And a daughter that can cook!!

This message was edited Nov 26, 2015 12:56 AM

Well, I have done all could do...,and I can't do no more. What a vacation.

Traffic / gridlocks is no fun. I wish there were separate roads for tractor trailers. Lately ( maybe just me getting old ) they seem like flying!

going to start the meal with a roasted butternut squash soup. I meant to tosst some pumpkinseeds for top but forgot.

Took some hints from Gita for cranberries -- came out pretty good.

Added very thick cut bacon to the brussels and guyere.

I did not brine nor salt the fresh turkey...sure hope not stringy or dry.

Made too much stuffing and so stuffed some big red peppers with leftover and some mushrooms. Roasted already, but not making it to the table tomorrow.

I had to laugh, I asked daughter to rinse out metal bowl (I prepared and froze six meatloaves for her ) SHE PUT HER HAND IN A BAGGIE TO SCRAPE THE BITS OF PORK AND GROUND BEEF INTO THE TRASH ...she did not want her hand to touch the meat. 😳

Well, tomorrow...I am gonna sit back and let the kids do all the clean up ...my feet are killing me! They are gonna have a good amount of leftovers to carry to the armory for the military personnel there.

I hope you all spend your Thanksgiving exactly as you want...loud and noisy or peaceful and quiet. Count your blessings. I sure hope this country has an uneventful Thanksgiving 2015. There seems to be a lot of warnings about travel and there are so many folks trying to get home for the holiday.

Cracking up as I read about your adventures, missingroaie.
Glad you got an extra day, aspenhill.
Everyone's preparations sound great.
We're heading around the corner for a continental breakfast for Miss Maggie's birthday. I'll put the ham in the oven before we leave. When it comes out the roast chicken and a turkey breast will go in. Stuffing, I guess I should say dressing since it's not going IN a bird, is ready to cook. Mashed taters and gravy. I made some cranberry sauce a couple days ago. The one DIL and her girls will assemble the vegetable turkey. She is also in charge of drinks. The other DIL will do sweet potatoes and some corn and another hot veggie.
The apple pies and pumpkin cakes are done. A birthday cake will round out the desserts. Oh, and the grandies made some acorns from kisses, mini vanilla wafers and a butterscotch chip.
Dinner at 5.

Will have to look for the Japanese sweet potatoes and the cabbage. They sound great

Enjoy the day!!!,

Making a mental note about the purple-skinned sweet potatoes and korean cabbage... thx!

Easiest turkey I've dealt with in years -- butchered carefully, no tears in the skin, which came away from the meat easily to make big pockets for stuffing, easy to tie up & truss. I got so much of the stuffing into pockets under the skin that the turkey filled the rectangular roaster nicely LOL... and I had the whole main cavity available, so I stuffed it with apples and an onion. Healthy it's not, but we intend to eat those turkey-roasted apples!

I've never heard of putting stuffing under the skin or apples in the cavity, but both sound
like great ideas. Stuffing gets too soggy when put in the main cavity, IMO. We're cooking ours in a casserole...should be done soon.

Pat made a tray of cute deviled eggs for the get-together today. Another guest brought a fun veggie tray.

love Pat's 'pumpkin' eggs

So do I; how creative!

They were something I saw on Pinterest a couple of years ago. Would never have come up with them on my own.

Love the punkins! We had a veggie turkey also

On the road from PA.
Sad to leave the daughter and family. Glad to be heading south. Stopped at a buffet last evening...great food ( for a buffet ) but saddens me what I see people take -- and waste. i saw a 2.5-3 year old with a plate a large man could not finish. What was mom thinking?

those eggs ant the veggie turkey look great!

Sounds like you all had a good holiday 👏🏻

We had young turkey..so expected a bit tough. Feared dry too... But I stuffed under the skin over the breast area and laid it on its side on the rack and flipped midway. Most and tender - nice surprise.

Wow Holly, I love that turkey! I'm going to have to try something similar next year.

Missingrosie, some people don't seem to care about wasting food, especially at a buffet. I was raised to never waste a drop of food. I think some people take it too far, though; it's cruel to force someone (no matter what age) to eat when they're full.

I agree. With 12 siblings and their kids thru the years ....I can't say we ever had so much food that we were forced to eat when full....but we had to eat what was put in front of us however small portioned .....I DREADED the days when mom made lamb....just writing it makes me shake. Forced eating not good no matter. Oh...and eggs that were runny.....oh my....

Restaurants can't give unused food away...it all gets trashed. If folks at those all you can eat buffets would expect less on the tables / and not take so much food that they won't / can't possibly eat....the waste would be far less.