Homemade Cranberry Sauce – 3 Ingredients, 3 Steps

Making your own cranberry sauce REALLY could not be any easier. And let’s be honest — who really wants that weird gelatinous stuff that comes in a can? Homemade is a-bajillion times more delicious and so much better for you. And when it’s this easy to make, why not do it? Happy Thanksgiving!

Ingredients:

– 1 c. sugar

– 12 oz. fresh whole cranberries

– 1 Tbsp. grated orange zest (or I use tangerine!)

 

Directions:

1. Pour sugar into 1 c. of water and bring to a boil in a medium saucepan

2. Add cranberries and orange zest, reduce heat to a gentle boil

3. Cook for about 10 minutes

That’s it! Allow to cool before serving or cool and refrigerate for later use. SO much better than the gunk in a can!

 

Perfect and Simple Cornbread

This is a simple, fool-proof and absolutely delicious recipe for traditional cornbread. Just slightly sweet, this bread would be perfect for use in a cornbread stuffing, though it is also wonderful eaten alone with a smear of butter and a drizzle of maple syrup…..

 

Ingredients:

– 2 c. yellow corn meal

– 2 c. flour

– 1/2 c. sugar

– 2 Tbsp. baking powder

– 2 tsp. salt

– 2 1/2 c. milk

– 5 Tbsp. melted butter

– 3 Tbsp. oil

– 4 eggs, lightly beaten

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F

2. In a large bowl combine corn meal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder

3. In a small bowl combine milk, butter, oil, and eggs

4. Add liquids to dry ingredients

5. Stir wet ingredients into dry until just combined

6. Pour batter into a well-greased 13x9x2 baking pan (you can use another size but baking times may vary)

7. Bake at 375F for 35 minutes, or until top is golden and a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean

Enjoy! If using for cornbread stuffing make at least 24 hours in advance — you want the bread to be just slightly stale so that it doesn’t get too soggy when you add your stock and other ingredients!

 

 

The New Sweet Potato Casserole

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and as we’ve been planning our holiday menu, one dish in particular kept giving me trouble: the sweet potatoes. Growing up my mother made sweet potato casserole every year without fail. Now, I love my mom, and although she seldom cooks, I do love her cooking. However, that casserole was one thing that I always put on my plate only out of politeness and sensitivity — not because it was bad, but simply because it was just too sweet. The sugar, the marshmallows, the cinnamon, the already sweet tubers; it was just too much of a good thing. So in trying to determine this year how I should prepare my own sweet potato side dish, my mind automatically went to a casserole, but I knew that I wanted to balance that sweetness somehow. The answer: salt and heat.

I did a trial run of this dish tonight (just a half-recipe), and it was ah-mah-zing! Yep. The salted nut crust on top and the subtle warmth of cayenne within collaborated with the traditional recipe to make something at once sweet and salty, creamy and crunchy, familiar and unexpected, and altogether balanced and delicious. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you — may your holiday be filled with joy, love, and gratitude.

 

Ingredients:

Yields 8-10 Servings

– 4 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 4 medium sized tubers)

– 1/2 c. evaporated milk (or almond milk for vegan)

– 4 Tbsp. melted butter, plus 2 Tbsp. for topping (or butter substitute, such as Earth Balance)

– 2 tsp. vanilla extract

– 1/3 c. sugar

– 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

– 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

– 1/4 tsp. white pepper

– 1/8 tsp. cayenne

– 2 eggs, beaten (optional — the eggs are a binder, and make for a stiffer casserole, but personally I think this dish works just as well without them)

– 1 c. salted nuts — I used pecans and peanuts here, but walnuts and cashews would also be excellent, however, the peanuts were especially complimentary to the flavor of the sweet potatoes

– 1/2 c. light brown sugar

– 3 Tbsp. flour

– 1 c. miniature marshmallows

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. Wash and dry sweet potatoes. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in oven directly onto rack.

3. Roast sweet potatoes at 400F for approximately 1 1/2 hours, or until soft and a fork or knife can glide through easily

4. Remove from oven and allow to cool

5. Reduce oven temperature to 350F

6. Place sweet potatoes into a large bowl and mash well

7. Whisk in evaporated (or almond) milk, the first 4 Tbsp. of melted butter (substitute), vanilla, sugar, salt, and spices

8. Add eggs if using and mix well

9. Transfer mixture to a 2 qt. baking dish and spread evenly

10. Finely chop your nuts

11. Place nuts in a small bowl and add brown sugar, flour, and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter. Mix well.

12. Sprinkle nut mixture evenly over the top of sweet potatoes

13. Top with the miniature marshmallows

14. Bake in a 350F oven for 20-30 minutes, or until warmed through and nuts and marshmallows are golden brown

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Brussels Sprouts with Aged Provolone and Toasted Pecans

Every once in a while accidental kitchen magic happens. It usually seems to happen on those nights when you just don’t feel like cooking, or realize at 6PM that you have totally forgotten about dinner, and you must rummage through your pantry and refrigerator in the hope that, please God, there is something edible that you can quickly throw together….This recipe was born of one of these nights: I had little more than a bag of Brussels sprouts and a hunk of cheese in the fridge. We also happen to have two big, beautiful pecan trees in our back yard that have been dropping literally hundreds of nuts around our house. And so, out of necessity came this dish, but I am not exaggerating when I say kitchen magic…this totally knocked my socks off…

This recipe is so simple I almost feel guilty posting this; but it’s too delicious not to share. This is one side dish I will definitely be voting in to make an appearance at our Thanksgiving table this year, and is tasty enough to win over even sprout-haters and picky eaters. *If you are a meat-eater a little pancetta or bacon added to the cheese topping would be sublime…

Ingredients:

– 2 Tbsp. butter, divided in half

– 1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

– 1 lb. Brussels sprouts

– 1/4 c. vegetable stock, or water

– 3 Tbsp. lemon juice

– Salt and pepper to taste

– 1/2 c. grated aged provolone (Parmesan or Romano would also work really well)

Directions:

1. In a large skillet melt first tablespoon of butter

2. Add chopped nuts to butter and sautee, stirring frequently

3. While nuts are toasting, chop your sprouts. Sprouts should be cut thin; you can use a mandolin if you like, but I simply cut the sprouts down the middle and then julienned the halves

4. Add second tablespoon of butter to skillet

5. Once butter is melted add sprouts to skillet. Sautee 2-3 minutes.

6. Add stock to pan and allow to cook 5-10 minutes, until sprouts are softened but still green and toothsome. Stir often

7. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper

8. Place sprouts and nuts into a casserole dish, top evenly with the grated cheese and set under the broiler in your oven 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is melted, golden, and bubbly

9. Serve immediately

Best Apple Pie

This apple pie recipe is about as classic, simple, and delicious as it gets. This recipe is super-easy but sure to impress — the perfect pie for Thanksgiving, or just any cozy autumn evening you want something comforting and special.

Ingredients:

– Pie dough (you can use store-bought crust here, but if you do, you must use two)

– 7-8 medium sized apples (about 3.5 pounds) — I used a mix of Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Braeburn, and Granny Smith

– 1/4 c. butter or butter substitute

– 2 Tbsp. flour

– 1/2 c. granulated sugar

– 1/2 c. brown sugar

– 2 tsp. cinnamon

– 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Prepare pie dough according to recipe. Put in refrigerator to chill at least 30 minutes

2. Preheat oven to 450F

3. Peel, core, and slice apples

4. Melt butter, then pour over apples and toss to coat

5. Combine flour, sugars, and spices

6. Sprinkle dry mixture over buttered apples and mix well

7. Separate pie dough into two equal parts. Roll out one half of dough to about 1mm thick and fit to pie pan

8. Put apple filling into pie. Don’t worry if it seems like there are a lot of apples — they should mound over the top of the crust/tin and will reduce when baked

9. Roll out second piece of dough

10. Carefully place dough on top of pie to cover. Roll top edges over the overhanging dough from the bottom piece and pinch into place

11. Use a sharp knife to cut several holes into the top crust so that steam can vent

12. Bake in oven at 450F for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 325F and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, until golden brown

13. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Can be baked ahead of time and reheated at 200F for 15 minutes before serving

14. Enjoy! We enjoyed ours so much I forgot to take pictures after we cut into it! 🙂