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Since tomorrow is Turkey Day (or not, if you’re not a meat eater), I thought that food would be the most appropriate topic for tonight. I’m sure many of us are scrambling to get our shit together by tomorrow, whether we’re hosting or taking a dish to somebody else’s house. I just got back a while ago from Kroger, and let’s just say that it’s a clusterfuck (I definitely shouldn’t have waited until the last minute to pick up supplies). Food is on everybody’s mind right about now.
Thanksgiving is a time of tradition, even if that tradition is flouting tradition. One of my friends has a delightful non-traditional tradition of going out to eat Indian food on Thanksgiving—I joined her family a couple of years ago and couldn’t complain about the dearth of dry turkey or the surplus of chicken tikka masala. If you’re eating at home, you probably have some tried and tested family recipes you’re busting out for tomorrow. As for myself, this year I will be joining the BF’s family. Holiday dinners are always interesting at his family’s house, since it always ends up being a mix between “traditional” food items such as turkey and stuffing and random Vietnamese/Asian dishes. I’ve decided that my offering tomorrow will be a new recipe I found for corn pudding, which I will be working on tonight before bed:
2 pounds frozen yellow corn (buy premium quality)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
6 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
3 teaspoons kosher salt (1 1/2 teaspoon fine salt)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup melted butter, divided (2/3 for batter, 1/3 for baking dish)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
[Blend all ingredients except butter and heavy cream. Whisk in butter and heavy cream and pour batter into greased baking dish.] Place baking dish on a sheet pan and bake at 350 F. for between 60 and 75 minutes, or until brown and just set.
We’ll see how it turns out tomorrow and whether or not it will earn a place in my recipe repertoire.
I do have a couple of other favorite Thanksgiving recipes that I’m not making this year for various reasons. First, the classic sweet potato casserole. This is my personal favorite recipe (which I will not be making, because the BF doesn’t like sweet potatoes...WTF, I know):
For the sweet potato base: 2-1/2 lb of sweet potatoes cooked at 350 for about 1 and half hour, or until tender 2 Eggs 1/4 cup of Granulated Sugar
1/4 cup Whole Milk
1/4 cup of Brown Sugar
1/4 cup of Unsalted Butter softened at room temperature
1/2 tsp Salt
For the Topping:
1/4 cup of Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp of Flour 1-1/2 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter cold and cut into cubes 1/2 cup of Chopped Pecans About 1 to 1-½ cups of Marshmallows
1) With your oven preheated to 350F, grease a 2qt baking dish and set aside.
2) Scoop out all the flesh of the cooked sweet potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Using a potato masher, mash until smooth, add the butter, milk and both kinds of sugar and mix to combine.
3) Allow the mixture to sit and cool for a few minutes, stir in the eggs and set aside.
4) To make the topping, place the brown sugar, flour and butter into a bowl and using a pastry cutter or a fork, mix the ingredients together making sure the butter breaks up a bit and gets distributed well with the sugar and flour.
5) Add the sweet potato mixture to the baking dish, top with the streusel topping followed by the pecans. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly.
6) Scatter the mini marshmallows in a single layer, pop it back in the oven for about 5 minutes or until they puff up and develop some golden color on top.
A couple of Thanksgivings ago, I also tried this Serious Eats recipe for pull-apart “stuffing rolls,” and they became an instant favorite. They’re made with pizza dough (good store-bought dough is fine), and all of the essential stuffing flavors are incorporated. The gathering tomorrow is too big and I don’t want to make enough rolls to feed everybody, so I’m taking a pass on them this year, sadly.
- 4 tablespoons (57g) butter, divided
- 8 ounces (225g) sage sausage or breakfast sausage, removed from casings (see note above)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
- 1 rib celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 4 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup (7g) minced fresh sage leaves
- 1/4 cup (7g) minced fresh parsley leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1 pound (450g) homemade or store-bought pizza dough (see note above)
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil
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Melt 2 tablespoons (28g) butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and mash with a stiff whisk or potato masher to break up into fine pieces (largest pieces should be no bigger than 1/4 inch). Cook, stirring frequently, until only a few bits of pink remain, about 8 minutes. Add onion, celery, garlic, and sage and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer contents to a large bowl and set aside until completely cool.
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While filling cools, make knots. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into 2 even pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll or stretch into an oblong strip about 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. With a bench scraper or knife, cut crosswise into 12 strips. Repeat with other half of dough.
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Tie each strip into a knot and transfer to bowl with sausage mixture. Toss and fold with your hands until every knot is thoroughly coated in sausage mixture. Grease a 9- by 13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon (14g) butter. Transfer knots to baking dish in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, cover tightly with plastic, and set aside until doubled in size, about 4 hours. Alternatively, refrigerate until doubled in size, 12 to 16 hours.
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When ready to bake, adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Unwrap rolls. Transfer to oven and bake until golden brown and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.
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When rolls are almost ready, melt remaining tablespoon butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. Remove rolls from oven and immediately brush on butter. Serve with
gravy and
cranberry sauce on the side.
What are your favorite Thanksgiving recipes, “traditional” or not? Now, on to the tops…
Top Comments (November 23, 2016):
From Canadian Reader:
I am recommending this comment by Garrett because it illustrates so well that even news items from very reputable, generally reliable sources can include untruths. In this case, local officials apparently made a false claim, and media outlets repeated it without checking. It may not seem to matter much when it's off in some faraway country, but it happens a lot, much closer to home.
From BeninSC:
I appreciated this exchange between ZenTrainer and GayIthacan, following this election, on the power of fuck. (Only one comment is linked, but the second follows immediately. Please rec both if you like them.)
Highlighted by Horsefeathers:
Is a comment by BMScott I will link in a moment, in reply to a reply jtg made to a photo posted by slksfca in today’s Woozles diary by ZenTrainer. To sort that out, jtg’s comment preceded BMScott’s comment.
Top Mojo (November 22, 2016):
Top Mojo is courtesy of mik! Click here for more on how Top Mojo works.
Top Pictures (November 22, 2016):
Tonight’s picture quilt is courtesy of jotter!