Thanksgiving 2010

Well, another Thanksgiving goes by in the usual way...quickly, so that Christmas can take over every aspect of our lives. But first, a few recipes from my mother's Thanksgiving menu.

We spent the day at their house, just the parents, me, my husband, and daughter, and Angus the dog, of course. Quiet, relaxing, and food-filled. One minor conundrum: mom decided to have the fresh turkey she purchased butterflied by the butcher, which would have been no problem had she also purchased a roasting pan big enough to handle the flattened bird. So my husband and I wrestled with the thing to truss it back to it's previous form to fit it in the standard roasting pan. In the end, the resulting meat was completely delicious and was really just a complement to all of the amazing side dishes my mom prepared: cornbread dressing, Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole, scalloped oysters, jalapeno corn casserole, homemade rolls...and I threw in the cranberry orange relish and pecan pie.

All of these recipes will appear in the soon-to-be-released cookbook, which is nearing completion. I really can't believe the process is almost over! I have to submit the PDFs to Blurb.com by December 12 in order to get the published copies by Christmas, so my deadline is looming. There's going to be a big celebration when this one is finished...just in time for me to give birth to my new little project! Due date: February 4, 2011.

Cornbread Dressing
¼ cup butter
¾ cup onions, minced
½ cup celery, chopped
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp ground sage
3 cups cornbread crumbs
3 cold biscuits, crumbled
1 slice of white bread, diced
1 cup turkey or chicken broth
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 400. Melt butter in a heavy pan; add minced onion and celery and sauté with pepper and sage. Remove from stove and pour into the bread mixture; stir/toss until well mixed. Pour on enough broth to moisten the bread mixture (do not make soggy), add eggs, and mix lightly. Pour into a baking dish about 2 inches deep. Bake until lightly browned and cooked through. Do not overcook.

Cranberry Orange Relish
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 large navel orange
Sugar to taste

Wash orange and cut it up in chunks with the peel on. Mix in orange and cranberries in a food processor, adding sugar to taste.

Pecan Pie
3 eggs, well beaten
¾ cup sugar
1 cup white Karo syrup
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp melted butter
Pie crust

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients and pour into an unbaked pie shell in an 8” pie pan. Arrange whole pecans on top to cover filling. Bake until knife-blade comes out clean, about 1 hour, 15 minutes.