Cranberry Streusel Pie

My Mom found this recipe years ago, and it has become a holiday staple for our family.  It's an unusual pie, in that the "filling" isn't gooey or fruity.  It's more like a loose coffee cake in a pie shell with a sweet and crunchy topping.  Not only is it a unique addition to the dessert selections, but the leftovers make a tasty breakfast....

Cranberry Sauce

A Thanksgiving staple, and so simple to make, why would anyone buy the canned stuff?!

1 C sugar

1 C water

2 C cranberries, fresh or frozen, rinsed and picked through to remove stems and yucky berries

Boil sugar and water over medium heat for 10 minutes,(watch that it doesn’t burn).  Add cranberries immediately.  Cook, stirring, until berries pop.  Pour into serving dish to cool. 

Mother’s Cornbread Dressing

This is a staple at every Thanksgiving meal in our home.  I grew up eating this at my Grandmother’s house, and try to make it exactly as she did every year.  It’s called dressing and not stuffing, because instead of stuffing it into the Turkey it's baked separately.  I really had to think about this recipe because I learned to make it by watching my Grandmother and then my Mother every year.  They never measured anything, and neither do I.  Making it from memory is easier than writing it down.  Therefore, all measurements are approximate. 

I am going to experiment with lightly toasting the breads before mixing everything together.  This will change texture and outcome, and if it works out I'll post the results as an option for this dish.

 

1 recipe of cornbread, made ahead, slightly stale

½ loaf wheat bread, leave uncovered overnight, slightly stale

½ dozen white rolls, ditto

1 large onion, chopped

1 sweet apple, chopped

4 eggs

3 C milk

Broth from Turkey

Salt and Pepper

1 Tbsp. Sage

Tear breads up into small pieces and toss together in large roasting pan with the apple and onion.  Add beaten eggs and milk, mix well.  Add broth, one cup at a time, until the mixture is the consistency of a heavy (really heavy) cake batter.  Add the salt, pepper and sage, mix in well.  Bake covered at 350 for 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until it starts to brown around the edges.  Serve with a turkey dinner that includes gravy to pour over dressing.  

Eat until ready to explode, go vegetate in front of the game.  Go back for seconds.

Cooking Light's Ultimate Roasted Turkey

After many years of turkey-baking this is the recipe I settled on, mostly, to be quite honest, because of the silky-smooth gravy.  Moist and juicy turkey can result from most recipes but there is something delightful about this one, with the apple cider and- yes- the corn syrup.  I may try the trick of baking it upside-down for the first hour, but turning it is iffy, at best!

Brûléed Mashed Sweet Potatoes

My kids, oddly enough, never went for the marshmallow-topped sweet potato confection that has graced Thanksgiving tables across our land from sea-to-shining-sea since introduced to the Pilgrims by Squanto when he saved them from starvation.  That's the story, right?  I may be getting my culinary history confused here.  The point is, as far as my family is concerned marshmallows should only be eaten melty and warm, between graham crackers with gooey chocolate.

But I digress- this is supposed to be about sweet potatoes.

This recipe came from some magazine, some number of years ago, and is delicious, and totally marshmallow-free....  

Pie Crust

While I'm posting holiday pie recipes I ought to get this up too.  I don't remember where the recipe came from, but I've used this for as long as I've been baking pies.  So simple, there's almost no justification for purchasing pre-made pastry.

Makes 2 9” pie crusts.

2 C flour

1 tsp. salt

¼ C ice water

¾ C shortening

Mix together flour and salt.  Take out 1/3 of the flour and mix with the water to make a paste.  Cut shortening into the dry flour.  Add the paste and mix well.

The dryer the pastry, the harder it is to roll out, yet the flakier it will be.