Tangy Vegetable Salad

Here is a nice salad recipe that will put a little tang into your Thanksgiving meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound small zucchini, cut in 1/2-inch slices
• 1 green bell pepper, cut in chunks
• 4 fresh firm tomatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups cauliflower flowerets, blanched
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• chopped parsley or Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Cook all zucchini and green beans, separately, until tender-crisp. Drain and combine in a large saucepan with green pepper, tomato chunks, and blanched cauliflower. Mix flour, oil, lemon juice, sugar and salt; pour over mixed vegetables in the saucepan. Bring vegetables and sauce to a simmer and simmer for a few minutes, just until the dressing thickens. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve topped with a little chopped parsley or Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Serves 8.

Pepper-Vodka Soaked Cherry Tomatoes with Seasoned Sea Salt

A very good appetizer that will get your guests' tastebuds popping!

1 pint vine-ripened cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup pepper-flavored vodka
3 tbsp. coarse or fine sea salt
1 tbsp. lemon pepper

Poke 5 or 6 holes with a wooden pick or skewer in each tomato and put in a shallow bowl. Pour vodka over tomatoes and let stand, covered, tossing occasionally, 1 to 2 hours, or until soaked to desired taste. In a small bowl stir together salt and pepper. Serve tomatoes with seasoned salt for dipping. Makes 2 cups.
From Gourmet Magazine

Banana Pudding

An old classic I think you'll love!

3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Dash salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
45 NILLA Wafers, divided
5 ripe bananas, sliced (about 3 1/2 cups), divided
Additional NILLA Wafers and banana slices, for garnish


1. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water, stirring constantly for 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

2. Save 10 wafers for garnish. Spread small amount of custard on bottom of 1 1/2-quart casserole; cover with a layer of wafers and a layer of sliced bananas. Pour about 1/3 of custard over bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make a total of 3 layers of each, ending with custard.

3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; slowly add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Spoon on top of pudding, spreading evenly to cover entire surface and sealing well to edges.

4. Bake at 350°F in top half of oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned. Cool slightly or refrigerate. Garnish with additional wafers and banana slices just before serving.

Makes 8 servings

Orange-Coconut Ambrosia

A very tasty dish for the festivities.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 large navel oranges
• 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/3 cups grated fresh coconut, or 1 can (3 1/2 oz) flaked coconut
• 3 tablespoons orange juice

PREPARATION:

Peel oranges, being careful to remove all outer white membrane. Cut oranges crosswise into thin slices, about 1/8 inch thick. Layer a third of slices in a serving bowl. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the confectioners' sugar, then with 1/3 cup coconut and 1 tablespoon orange juice.

Repeat layers two more times. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Makes 6 servings of Ambrosia

Thanksgiving Stuffed Onions

Here is a recipe courtesy of Gourmet Magazine. If you love onions, you'll love this!

Stuffed Onions

4 large onions (about 3/4 pound each)
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper
1 cup cooked turkey stuffing
6 tablespoons cranberry sauce
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
1/2 cup turkey gravy or chicken broth
1 1/3 cups mashed potatoesPreheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the top 1/2-inch from each onion, peel the onions, and with a melon-ball cutter scoop out the centers, reserving the onion pieces, leaving 2 layers of onion or 1/3-inch-thick shells, leave the bottoms slightly thicker. Transfer the reserved onion pieces to a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish. Drizzle the broth over them, and arrange the onion shells, inverted on top. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake the onions in the middle of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the shells are just tender. Remove and reserve the shells. Into the onion pieces, stir the cream, the sugar, and salt and pepper, to taste, and bake the mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.
While the onions are baking, in each reserved onion shell layer 1/4 cup of the stuffing, 1 1/2 tablespoons cranberry sauce, and another 1/4 cup of the turkey. Holding each shell in one hand pack the layers lightly. Arrange the stuffed onions on top of the baked creamed onions and pour 2 tablespoons of the gravy into each stuffed onion. Top each stuffed onion with 1/3 cup of mashed potatoes, mound them, and score with a fork. Bake the onions, stirring the creamed onions occasionally, for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden.

Broccoli Soffriti

Here is a little different way to prepare Broccoli for your holiday meal courtesy of Molto Mario.

Broccoli Soffriti

3 pounds fresh broccoli, with leaves, or broccoli rabe
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, sliced in half
10 salted anchovies, cleaned, filleted and roughly chopped

Trim the broccoli into long stalks, removing the bottom 2 inches and leaving the leaves attached. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, place a 12 to 14-inch saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the garlic and anchovies and cook 5 minutes, until just golden brown and very fragrant.

While the garlic and anchovies cook, plunge broccoli into boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Remove broccoli from water, drain well, and add it to the pan with the garlic and anchovies. Cook 10 to12 minutes, until tender and yet still holding its shape. Remove from heat and season aggressively with pepper and timidly with salt. This dish may be served hot or at room temperature.

Turducken

Turducken! Made famous by John Madden and his multi-legged Turducken. He hands out Turducken to the outstanding football player/players on Thanksgiving day.

Turducken

Brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 gallon water

18 to 21-pound turkey, skin intact and boned except for drumsticks
House seasoning, recipe follows
Cornbread Dressing, recipe follows
3 to 4-pound duck, boned
3 to 4-pound chicken, boned
Paprika

To make the brine: Mix salt and sugar with the water. Brine is ready when the mixture is completely dissolved. If the water is heated to quicken the process, make sure it is cooled to room temperature before placing meat in. Let the 3 birds sit in brine in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat roaster to 500 degrees F.

Lay turkey skin side down on a flat surface. Dust turkey with House Seasoning and add 1/4-inch layer of cornbread dressing. Lay duck skin side down on top of dressing. Dust duck with House Seasoning and add 1/4-inch layer of dressing. Repeat with the chicken.

Begin trussing up the turkey at the neck. Insert metal skewer about 1/2-inch from the edge and up through the other side. Run butcher's twine between skin and skewer and tighten to draw both sides together. Continue down to legs. With every other skewer, draw together the duck and chicken skin. Tie together turkey legs to resemble standard turkey. Dust turkey skin with paprika.

Roast turducken for 15 minutes. Then turn the roaster down to 225 degrees F to finish, approximately 3 hours. Remove turducken from roaster once the internal temperature in the chicken reaches 155 degrees F. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.

Cut across the middle of the breast completely through. Plate thin slices containing turkey, duck and chicken.

*Notes: If using a smoker to cook, smoke at 225 degrees F for 5 hours, rotating every 20 to 30 minutes until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F and external temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Try to keep the flare-ups from the fire to a minimum.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powderMix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Cornbread:
1 cup self rising cornmeal
1/2 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Dressing:
7 slices white bread, dried in warm oven
Cornbread
1 sleeve saltine crackers
2 cups chopped celery
1 large onion, chopped
8 tablespoons butter
7 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
5 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the cornbread, combine all ingredients and pour into a greased shallow baking dish. Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

To make the dressing, crumble dried white bread slices, cornbread and crackers. Mix together and set aside. Saute chopped celery and onion in butter until transparent, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Pour over corn bread mixture. Add stock, mix well and add salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning. Add beaten eggs and mix well. Follow instructions above to stuff birds.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Deep Fried Turkey

Delicious turkey recipe from Paula Deen

Deep-Fried Turkey

5 gallons peanut oil*
10 to 15-pound unstuffed turkey
1 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons House Seasoning, recipe follows

*Note: To measure the amount of oil needed to fry the turkey, place turkey in fryer, add water to top of turkey, remove the turkey and the water line will indicate how much oil will be needed to fry your turkey. Having too much oil can cause a fire. The pot should not be more than 3/4 full or the oil could overflow when the turkey is added.

Put peanut oil in a 10-gallon pot. Put pot on propane cooker and heat oil to 400 degrees F.

Have turkey completely thawed and dry turkey thoroughly. Tie 2 cotton strings around carcass so bird can be easily lifted out of oil. Carefully submerge turkey in oil.

Deep-fry for 3 to 4 minutes per pound and cook until turkey floats to the top. Remove bird from oil and place on a platter or cutting board.

In a small pan, melt the butter. Add the garlic powder, cayenne and seasoning. Brush turkey with butter mixture. Pour any remaining butter mixture inside the turkey. Allow to cool 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

Please be extremely careful when deep-frying the turkey. Do it outdoors on a level and non-flammable surface.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powderMix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.