I can’t help it. When this time of year rolls around I can’t help but get excited about the approach of the holidays. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it and I’ve noticed a strange oddity. Thanksgiving always seems to coincide with a peculiar phenomenon that I’ve noticed. My clothes always seem to shrink about this time of year and stay that way until sometime after New Years when the fabric mysteriously begins to once again accommodate my frame. (Okay, maybe it’s after Valentines Day). But it’s odd, isn’t it? I understand I’m not alone and that others of you have noted this strange phenomenon.
We hear so much about weight loss and of course, the holidays, are particularly difficult. It’s especially hard if your sister has one mission in life – to feed the planet, or so it seems at Thanksgiving. Friends dropping by Darlene’s annual holiday feast can scarcely believe their eyes when they see the entire kitchen loaded with turkey and oyster dressing, ham and roast beef, vegetable side dishes, casseroles and homemade breads. Did I mention the eight foot dessert table?
Of course, we all make our contributions as well and it’s not long before the table is groaning under the weight of it all. The counter is lined with crockpots and roasters and the stovetop keeps pots of potato and Italian wedding soup or ham and beans warm. And if you look hard enough, you’ll probably find cornbread somewhere nearby. It’s always fun to see what new concoctions my other sister Sheryl and my nieces have come up with, and then there’s always the UFO’s, or Unidentified Food Objects that appear – dishes we’re not familiar with, but usually wind up being someone’s favorite.
I thought this month I’d deviate a little from my usual article and let you in on a few recipes that usually find their way to our Thanksgiving table. Enjoy your family and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Pumpkin Roll
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
¾ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts
Beat 3 eggs at high speed for 5 minutes. Beat in 1 cup of sugar. Add 2/3 pumpkin. Blend well. Mix flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together. Fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. Pour into a greased and floured cookie sheet. Top with the chopped nuts. Bake at 375 F for about 12 minutes. When done, turn out on a bath towel. Sprinkle with powdered sugar – then roll up with towel and let cool. When cool, unroll and spread with filling – then roll back up.
Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
1- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
4 tbsp softened butter
½ tsp vanilla
Beat together until creamy
Darlene’s Turkey and Dressing
Dressing
2 ½ pkg. stale buns or 2 loaves of bread, toasted and shredded
½ bunch parsley – tops only
1 medium onion
Heart of one stalk of celery
1 can of oysters with juice
1 stick of butter
4 eggs
Thyme and sage to taste
Adolph’s seasoned meat tenderizer or seasoned salt
Pepper to taste
Cook together parsley, onion and celery in a small amount of salted water until tender. Add 1 stick of butter and let melt.
Cook turkey giblets in 2 quarts of salted water until tender.
Add onions, parsley and celery to toasted bread. Add giblet broth to dressing to desired consistency. Add eggs, seasonings to taste and oysters with juice.
Bake in foil covered pain at 225 F for 8 hours or stuff turkey and bake at 275 overnight (foil wrapped).
Turkey
20 to 24 pound Honeysuckle White Turkey
Thaw in cold water for about 24 hours. Clean pin feathers and rinse turkey inside and out. Sprinkle turkey with salt and poultry seasoning inside and out. Fill cavities with dressing and fasten with skewers. Place long pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil in a large deep roasting pan. Place turkey breast side down in the pan. Secure foil over turkey in both directions (sideways and lengthwise) to hold juices in. Place roasting pan on a large cookie sheet. Bake overnight or 8 to 10 hours at 275. Turkey will be very juicy. Remove from oven very carefully.
Note: If you’re looking for a pretty turkey, don’t use this recipe. If, however, you’re looking for a very tasty, tender and juicy turkey, this is it!
Sweet Black Cherry Salad
1 large or 2 small pkg. black cherry Jello
1 large can sweet black cherries (reserve juice)
1 large can pineapple tidbits (reserve juice)
3 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
½ cup chopped pecans
16 oz bottle Coca Cola
½ cup reserved pineapple juice
½ cup reserved cherry juice
Heat juice and pour over Jello to dissolve. Stir softened cream cheese into the hot Jello until almost dissolved. Add fruit and Coke and pour into a pan to gel.
HAWAIIAN SWEET POTATOES
1 large can of crushed pineapple
1 tbsp corn starch
4 tbsp dark brown sugar
¼ tsp nutmeg
Dash salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp butter
6 medium sweet potatoes
pecan pieces
Miniature marshmallows
Drain pineapple well. Add water to pineapple juice to make one cup. Mix sugar, corn starch, salt and nutmeg together. Place pineapple juice with water, sugar, corn starch, salt, nutmeg, lemon juice and butter in saucepan. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until thickened and clear. Peel and cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. In a greased baking dish alternate with layers of sweet potatoes, and pineapple. Cover with cooked syrup. Sprinkle pecan bits over the top. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until tender. Dot top with miniature marshmallows and bake another 5 minutes.
Ham-Stuffed Manicotti
8 manicotti shells
½ cup chopped onion
1 TBSP vegetable oil
3 cups (1 lb.) ground fully cooked ham
1 (4 oz.) can mushrooms
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese, divided
3 TBSP grated parmesan cheese
¼ to ½ cup finely chopped green pepper
3 TBSP butter
3 TBSP all purpose flour
2 cups milk
Paprika
Chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
Cook manicotti according to package directions; set aside. In a large skillet, sauté onion in oil until tender. Remove from heat. Add ham, mushrooms, half of the Swiss cheese and parmesan and set aside. In a saucepan, sauté green pepper in butter until tender. Stir in flour until thoroughly combined. Add milk; cook, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Mix ¼ of the sauce into ham mixture. Stuff each shell with about 1/3 cup of filling. Place in 11x7x2 baking dish. Top with remaining sauce, sprinkle with paprika. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with parsley and remaining Swiss cheese before serving. Makes 8 servings. Note: Double the sauce for a creamier version – that’s my favorite.
Pistacchio Cake
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
2 small pkg. pistachio instant pudding
½ cup Wesson oil
½ cup orange juice (from frozen concentrate that has been diluted with only 2/3 of the water)
½ cup water
4 eggs
¾ to 1 cup Hershey’s chocolate syrup
Mix all ingredients except the chocolate syrup.
Grease and flour one large bundt pan. Fill the bundt pan with 2/3 of the cake mixture. Add the chocolate syrup to the remaining cake mixture. Mix well and pour on top of cake mixture in the pan.
Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from oven and sprinkle top with powdered sugar after turning out onto serving plate. Center of slice will be filled with chocolate fudge.
SHERYL’S ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP
1 egg, slightly beaten
¾ pound ground beef
¾ pound ground pork
1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
49 ½ oz can chicken broth
1 cup water
2 cups pastina or other small pasta
1 head Escarole (or 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach)
½ grated Pecorino Romano
In a large bowl, combine egg, ground beef, bread crumbs and garlic. Mix well. Shape into small meatballs. Bring the chicken broth to a boil, then drop the meatballs into the broth, simmering for 12-15 minutes, then add escarole. When escarole is almost tender, add pasta. Serve soup with Romano cheese. Good stuff!
Janice Crow
Author: SGN
| Author's Website: http://sogospelnews.com/
Written: 11/01/2006
| 
Category: Janice Crow
Comments: 2
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Our family's favorite is Pumpkin Cake, but I have wanted a Pumpkin Roll recipe for years! (You can walk by the counter and just pick it up and eat it on the run! That's where the shrinking clothes come from. hehe) Janice, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed hearing you sing with the original Sunday Edition. It was easy to see your sweet spirit, even in such a short visit. It was so good to get to meet you and Cheryl.
Sally
Sally: Thank you so much for your kind comments. The Sunday Edition Reunion was long overdue and we had a great time singing together again after all these years. It was wonderful meeting new friends like you and your very talented family. I'll be looking forward to hearing more great things from the Quicks! Janice P.S. The pumpkin roll is worth the trouble. Good stuff!
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