 |
Thanksgiving went well! My mother-in-law showed me how to cook a turkey... I'm not going vegetarian, but I must say that dressing a turkey made me consider it. Emptying out the guts and rubbing butter all over its skin was pretty gross--even with wearing gloves! I'll still be eating turkey next year, but I'll stick to preparing unforgettable sides and leave the turkey to somebody else!
Something funny from my turkey adventure is that my in-laws bought a roaster: We did the math, set the timer, and let it cook. Apparently roasters require less time than ovens... TWO HOURS before everyone arrived, the turkey was COMPLETELY DONE!!! If it were going to be just the four of us, it would have been fine to drop everything and eat right then and there. But we had more guests coming! We had to find a way to keep it hot--without overcooking and drying it out! We decided to set the roaster to "warm" and I made sure to baste it. I was almost certain it'd turn out like the one on Christmas Vacation! But it didn't. It was slightly dry but was not near as bad as it could have been, especially given that it was my first time cooking a turkey--and was in the roaster for two hours longer than it should have been!
So what else did I make??? Here are a few family favorites that I made this year:
1. Green Salad. The title sounds redundant, but it's not actually salad, which nullifies the redundancy (the color refers to the main ingredient--green gelatin). My husband's grandpa makes two batches of this delicious side every year: one with nuts and one without.
I made the green salad this year, and I only made the version with nuts. I did, however, crush the nuts really small so that even those who don't like nuts ended up liking the dish. This is because the fineness of the nuts adds more texture and crunch than flavor.
This side is everything you could want in a side: sweet, creamy, and fruity--with a bit of crunch.
VIEW RECIPE
 |
| After adding the mallows, let it cool until it forms a jelly-like texture. |
 |
| Crush the nuts so that they are more subtle. |
 |
| Fold in the whipping cream, pineapples, and nuts. |
 |
| It will look a bit soupy but will thicken in the fridge. |
TIP: I suggest preparing this dish a day before your event so that it has time to thicken.
2. Sweet Potato Casserole. This is a recipe that my vegan sister gave me. She was vegetarian at the time, so it includes eggs. Meat lovers and vegetarians alike--I have yet to find someone who doesn't absolutely love this side, which is almost more of a dessert because it's so sweet! I personally prefer it over traditional "yams with marshmallows". Taste it and you'll know why. The texture and flavor are both unforgettable!
VIEW RECIPE
 |
| I prefer using baked sweet potatoes, but canned sweet potatoes can be substituted for part or all of the potatoes in the recipe. |
 |
| Baking fresh potatoes doesn't add much prep time, yet it adds better flavor and texture to the recipe. |
 |
| Sweet Potato Mixture |
 |
| Topping Mixture |
 |
| Topping Mixture |
 |
| Cover the sweet potato mixture completely with the topping mixture. |
TIP: Even if you use freshly baked sweet potatoes for half of the potatoes in the recipe, it will improve the flavor and texture immensely (vs. using only canned potatoes).
___________________
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Up and coming:
- Homemade granola bars!
- Favorite afternoon snacks!
- Requests??? On the left side of my site you'll see a survey where you can vote for the types of recipes you'd like to see more of! I want to post what you want to read, so please take a moment to vote!
No comments:
Post a Comment