LITTLE ROCK — For we here at the zoned editions of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Thanksgiving brings to mind three things: family, food and holiday deadlines.
The first two are things we cherish. The moved-up deadlines are a necessary evil.
But this year we decided to share a little bit of our family — by extension of our food — with our readers. We hope these recipes either provide an idea for a holiday treat or warm your heart with memories of your own family traditions. Enjoy!
Maple-Roasted Turkey With Sage Butter
By Sasha Cerrato
Page Designer
Last Thanksgiving, I found myself wandering Costa Rica as a newlywed. I’d intended to spend every moment of our trip enjoying Latin American culture, but as time passed, I realized I didn’t want Thanksgiving to lapse into just another Jueves (Thursday, in Spanish). So I decided to invite friends over for a makeshift feast and found myself in charge of preparing my first turkey. I’d planned on spending years relying on my mother and mother-in-law before preparing my own turkey, then to at least have my family to test it out on — people who had to love me even if I ruined their feast. It was sheer luck that a two-minute Google search in an Internet café led me to a recipe as delicious as the one below, and I’m proud to report that, while I certainly had my trials, the end result was a lovely turkey and meal spent with like-hearted travelers taking a moment to enjoy a bit of home.
Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/4 bunch fresh sage, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (12- to 14-pound) fresh turkey (giblets, neck and liver discarded)
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons hot water
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and remove the top rack of the oven.
Put the butter and sage in a mixing bowl and mash with a fork or spoon until the sage is well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.
Rinse the bird thoroughly inside and out with cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the cavity and skin liberally with salt and pepper. With a sharp paring knife, make small slits throughout the turkey’s skin. Using your finger, gently slip the seasoned butter under the skin, massaging as you go. Truss the bird by crossing the legs over one another and tying with a piece of kitchen twine. Put the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan, cover the turkey with aluminium foil, and place in the oven.
In a small bowl, stir the maple syrup with 2 tablespoons of hot water to thin the syrup. Roast the turkey for two hours, basting with the maple glaze every 30 minutes. Continue cooking until a thermometer registers 170 degrees. The thigh juices will run clear when pricked with a knife, about three hours total (15 minutes per pound). About one-half hour before you think the turkey is done, remove the foil so the turkey can brown. When done, take the turkey out of the oven and put the roasting pan on the stovetop. Transfer the turkey to a serving tray to rest at least 20 minutes before carving.
1-2-3 Dip
By Karen Laskey
Copy Editor
I first tasted this artichoke-Parmesan dip years ago at a party in my hometown, Pittsburg, Kan. I exclaimed my delight with the dip and asked my friend how to make it. After that, at her parties, she would point out the delicacy and say she made it for me.
I started making the dip for Nertz parties at my house. When I invited co-workers to the card games, they’d reply that they’d play if I’d make the artichoke-Parmesan dip. One of the Nertz players had a mini crockpot and would bring it to me for serving the dip. When she left town, she gave me the crockpot for my “famous” artichoke-Parmesan dip.
One of my friends requested that I make the dip as an appetizer for her Thanksgiving dinner, and I make the dip for my Christmas parties and for the appetizer table at our big family Christmas gathering.
Ingredients:
1 (regular size, not small) can artichoke hearts (in water, not marinated)
1 cup good-quality shredded (packed) or grated Parmesan cheese (not the canned variety)
1 cup mayonnaise (low-fat works fine; do not use nonfat)
3 or 4 green onions (optional)
Directions:
Drain the artichoke hearts and chop into small chunks, and cut the green onions (white and green parts) into thin slices. Mix all ingredients, and place the mixture in a small glass or pottery baking dish. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the dip is bubbly and slightly browned. Serve warm with tortilla chips or bagel chips. If you have a mini crockpot with a removable pot, bake in this, then use the crockpot to keep the dip warm while serving. A small warming plate can also be used. For a crowd, make a double recipe, which will fill the small crockpot.
Dressing
By Caroline Zilk
Staff Writer
I grew up eating and loving this dressing. It is a combination of recipes. My grandmother originally got it from a friend at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dallas. My mother crossed it with the recipe of a friend she met while my father was stationed in Italy.
“I have used the recipe since returning from Italy 23 years ago,” she said. “It is tried and true.”
It makes a small portion for my small family, but feel free to increase ingredients for a bigger portion size!
Ingredients:
1 small recipe of cornbread (such as Jiffy mix — baked, cooled, crumbled)
5 biscuits (such as Pillsbury — equal amounts of cornbread and biscuits — crumbled)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
A couple of tablespoons butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
Chicken stock (I use the easy boxed kind)
1 egg, slightly beaten by hand
1-2 teaspoons sage (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Fresh ground pepper (1/2 teaspoon or to taste)
Directions:
In a small sauté pan, melt butter and sauté onion and celery until soft. Crumble cornbread and biscuits in a mixing bowl. Add sautéed onion, celery and remaining butter atop the mixture. Add seasonings. Add can of cream of chicken soup and slightly beaten egg. Mix together.
Add enough chicken stock (or liquid such as milk or additional chicken soup) until mixture is VERY moist — almost the consistency of a heavy cake batter.
Spray baking dish with Pam. Bake in a medium (350-degree) oven uncovered for about 45 minutes or until top and edges are golden brown. You can use a lower temperature in the oven (325 degrees) and bake for a bit longer if necessary.
Tart Cranberry Dipping Sauce
By Wayne Bryan
Staff Writer
Having had both a mother and mother-in-law within close driving distance, I never cooked anything for Thanksgiving for decades. After moving away, I first tried to reproduce all the traditional items. Finally, I grew bold enough to add my own touch to the feast. I did what any 21st-century man would do: I turned to the Food Network.
From Alton Brown, I discovered an alternative to canned cranberry sauce. It takes a lot more time to prepare than opening the can and sliding out the quivering, dark-red cylinder, but the dip goes well with turkey and is worth the time. The hint of ginger adds something different.
The sauce is usually served warm on T-day, but it’s also good cold over microwaved left-overs. I have tried to serve it on the side with individual ramekins, but I usually just spoon it over my turkey.
Ingredients:
1 pound frozen cranberries
2 cups orange juice
3 cups ginger ale
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
The zest of 1 orange
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a stainless-steel saucepan (apparently, it is important to do that) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 45 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.
Carefully puree in a blender until smooth. Check to see if you think it is too tart. If so, add some more brown sugar. If you think it is too sweet already, you are on your own. It is recommended that you serve the dipping sauce to each person in small ramekins.
Mom’s recipes (casserole, cake and wraps)
By Dan Marsh
Page Designer
The arrival of Thanksgiving means that Christmas is just around the corner. In my mind, the two holidays have always formed a single entity, thanks mostly to the food. I remember the big family Thanksgiving dinners that were held at my grandparents’ house in Arkadelphia when I was a kid. It was one of the few times of year when all my relatives got together in the same place, and it was always fun. I remember the big warm dining room, full of my grandmother’s stately antique furniture, with all of us seated at the long table, sharing a meal that never seemed to end. Those are the happiest memories I have of my grandparents. The recipes below are actually courtesy of my mom, whose green bean casserole has been a holiday staple for decades. Alas, due to my allergy to peanuts (and pecans), I can’t personally vouch for the butter pecan pound cake, but my mom makes it, so how bad can it be?
Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:
2 cans cut green beans (drained)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 small can sliced mushrooms
Shredded cheddar cheese
5-6 slices bacon
1/2 onion, chopped
Directions:
Fry bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and cook onions in bacon drippings until translucent. Add mushroom soup to onions and drippings and stir to mix. Add crumbled bacon to green bean and soup mixture and mix well. Pour into casserole dish and top with cheese. Heat in 375-degree oven until hot and bubbly. (Better the second day.)
Butter Pecan Pound Cake
Ingredients:
1 box butter pecan cake mix (golden yellow if you cannot find butter pecan)
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, whole
1 can Duncan Hines Coconut Pecan Icing
Directions:
Mix first four ingredients and beat one minute. Add icing mix and beat until well mixed. Bake for 45 minutes in well-greased bundt pan at 350 degrees. Sprinkle turned out cake with powdered sugar.
Broccoli Wraps
Ingredients:
1 package flour tortillas
2 boxes chopped broccoli, drained thoroughly and dried (chopped spinach can be used instead)
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch mix
1 bunch scallions
1 cup mayonnaise, more as needed
1 jar bacon bits
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
Mix broccoli, Hidden Valley, chopped onions, mayonnaise, cheese and bacon bits. Let sit in the refrigerator an hour or so. Put amount of mixture in center of each tortilla to suit size of tortilla and roll up. Place close together in large baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and put weight on top of dish. Refrigerate overnight. Cut into 1/2-inch rounds and serve. Always a hit.
Mammaw’s Mac & Cheese
By Staci Miller
Special Sections Coordinator
My grandma used to make this mac and cheese every holiday season. She passed away this week two years ago, so I try to make this during the holidays. Although mine never quite tastes like hers, I can’t make or eat this dish without remembering the time spent with her in the kitchen making holiday meals.
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked elbow macaroni, drained
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place macaroni in a large bowl while still hot and add the cheddar.
In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and add to the macaroni mixture.
Pour macaroni mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes until top is golden brown. Top with additional cheese if desired. Yields about 8 servings.
Aunt Pauline’s Pumpkin Pie
By Jeanni Brosius
Staff Writer
After being asked for a favorite Thanksgiving recipe, I called my older two children and asked them what dish they always looked forward to, and they both replied pumpkin pie and quiche.
For some reason, and I’m not really sure how this got started, my kids always requested spinach and bacon quiche for Thanksgiving, but I decided to stay true to the majority of holiday tablescapes and share an old family pumpkin pie recipe.
Of course, there are always the recipes on the label of the pumpkin can, but we were never traditional in that regard. So I called my sister and asked her to send me the recipe for the pumpkin pie our daddy always raved about.
“This was Daddy’s favorite pie,” my sister Patti said. “We had it every Thanksgiving at Grammer’s house. He said nobody could make a pumpkin pie like Aunt Pauline, because they usually put too much spice in it.”
Ingredients:
2 eggs
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups cooked pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling with spices already added)
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 unbaked pie shell
Directions:
Beat eggs slightly, add sugar, spices and salt, and mix well. Add remaining ingredients; stir until blended and pour into pie shell.
Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. It may take an hour or more, depending on your oven.
Magic Cookie Bars
By Rusty Hubbard
Staff Photographer
This is one of the things my mom usually makes for the holidays. She sent me a package of these cookie bars, which took several weeks to arrive, when I lived in Prague. I was surprised they traveled really well and was amazed how much better they taste if they are allowed to sit for a while after preparation. It’s an incredibly rich and tasty treat. There are several variations to the recipe that include butterscotch chips, different types of nuts and using oatmeal instead of graham crackers for the crust.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for glass dish). Coat 13-by-9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with a fork.
3. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.
Heath Candy
By Jeff LeMaster
Editor
For as long as I can remember, my mom has made this candy during the holidays. She makes instant friends with it, and I’m told it helped bring about the end of the Cold War.
OK, so I made that up (the Cold War part, not Mom making friends). But it’s still really good.
I remember one Christmas, Mom was invited to sell her candy at a bake sale. She contracted me and one of my brothers to help her make dozens of batches of it. It sold like bottled water in Death Valley, and I made about $20 for my efforts. Being only 10 at the time, I felt like an Auburn quarterback on signing day. Nowadays, she could just pay me by letting me keep a batch of candy, and I’d probably be OK with that.
One warning, though: You can see by the list of ingredients that this is not for those of you who are trying to watch your waistline. Delicious this is; low-calorie it is not.
Ingredients:
1 pound margarine
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
5 regular Hershey chocolate bars
Directions:
Heat a pressure cooker (with the lid off) or other heavy cooking pot on the stove at medium-high heat. Add the margarine, sugar and 1 cup of the chopped pecans and stir.
Continue stirring (be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the pot to avoid burning) until the mixture thickens and begins to shift from a medium- to a dark-brown color. You’ll notice a subtle change in smell when the candy is done cooking — almost burnt, but not quite. The cooking and stirring will last about 20 minutes, and as the candy thickens, your arms will get a workout from the stirring.
Once the mixture is done cooking, pour it onto a 9-by-13-inch cookie sheet and spread to cover as much of the sheet as possible.
Once the candy has been spread, add the chocolate bars on top (four is a minimum, but I like to use more). When the chocolate has melted, spread it using a butter knife to coat the entire sheet of candy.
Sprinkle the remaining chopped pecans on top of the chocolate before the chocolate cools.
Set aside to cool for at least three or four hours. Once the candy and chocolate have thoroughly cooled and hardened, use a butter knife to “stab” the candy, thereby breaking it into manageable pieces.
Eggnog Pumpkin Pie
By Hannah Burney
Page Designer
My husband’s family, my family, friends and co-workers all ask me for this pie every year. It’s a variation of my mother’s traditional pumpkin pie. At the bottom of her recipe, there was a note that eggnog could be substituted for the evaporated milk in a traditional pie. She had never tried it, but I love eggnog and pumpkin pie, so I didn’t see how I could go wrong. It makes a denser, creamier pie and has more of that holiday-spice flavor. I use a deep-dish frozen pie crust to speed up preparation time.
Ingredients:
Frozen pie crust, thawed
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 can pumpkin (15 ounce)
1 2/3 cups eggnog
Pumpkin pie spice:
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Beat eggs. Mix in all other ingredients and pour mixture into the thawed pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional hour or until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean. Cool and serve.