by wildcherry on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 | Knowledge, Life | No Comments

To help you kick-start your Thanksgiving menu, here are three recipes that will spice up an otherwise traditional meal:

Caramelized shallot mashed red-skinned potatoes:

I make mashed potatoes all the time, so for Thanksgiving, I like to make them a little more special by stirring in caramelized shallots.

For the caramelized shallots:

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

10 Shallots, thinly sliced

1∕4 Teaspoon kosher salt

1∕ 4 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the potatoes:

4 Pounds unpeeled red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

3 Teaspoons kosher salt

1 Cup whole milk

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter (one stick)

1 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 to 10 servings

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour and 10 minutes for the shallots; 40 minutes for the potatoes.

For the shallots:

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Stir in the brown sugar until dissolved. Add the shallots and stir occasionally until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon water, reduce the heat to low, and cover partially. Cook about 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes and adding an additional tablespoon of water if shallots are drying out or sticking. Stir in the salt and pepper. Set aside until the mashed potatoes are ready. (The shallots can be made a few days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator, then reheated at serving time.)

For the potatoes:

Place the potatoes in a stockpot. Cover with cold water and add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer and cool until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and return the potatoes to the pan. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk and butter. Use a potato masher to begin mashing potatoes. Slowly add in milk mixture and continue to mash. Potatoes should be smooth, with some chunks. Stir in reserved shallots, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Crisp Green Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

3 Pounds French green beans, trimmed

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 Shallots, minced

1 Cup diced sun-dried tomatoes

1 Tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

¾ Teaspoon kosher salt

½ Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 to 10 servings

Prep time: 20 minutes, then 5 minutes to cool beans

Cook time: 12 minutes

Prepare an ice water bath. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the green beans and cook two minutes. Drain the beans and plunge into the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. (This step can be done the day before. Refrigerate the beans until ready to finish.)

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté until tender, about three minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook 2 minutes. Add the beans, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Cook until the beans are heated through, about five minutes.

Famous Pumpkin Nut Bread

Ingredients: 1 cup butter, melted 4 eggs 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) pumpkin 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. ground cloves 1 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2-3/4 cups flour 1 cup chopped nuts

Instructions: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter. Add eggs and pumpkin. Beat thoroughly. Add sugars, baking soda and powder, and spices. Beat thoroughly until all lumps are removed. Add flour. Beat thoroughly. Add nuts and mix. Spoon into 2 greased bread pans. Bake for 1 hour. Test with toothpick to ensure loaves are ready.

The next item on our list of Thanksgiving dishes is the ever-famous cheese ball. This particular item is usually present at most Thanksgiving get-togethers, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait until the end of November to whip up this easy snack!

Cheese Ball

Ingredients: 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained 1 tablespoon diced onion 1 tablespoon chopped green bell pepper 1/4 tablespoon seasoning salt 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions: Mix together the cream cheese, pineapple, onion, bell pepper, and seasoning salt. Form into a ball and roll in chopped pecans. Chill and serve with butter crackers.

If your craving leans more towards sweet potatoes, then we have the perfect recipe for you! Sweet potato balls are an easy dish to prepare and are just as great on their own as they are when complimenting turkey, ham, or any other meat you fancy.

Sweet Potato Balls

Ingredients: 1 (40 ounce) can sweet potatoes, drained 1/4 cup butter salt to taste 3 cups crushed cornflakes cereal 3/4 cup real maple syrup 10 large marshmallows

Directions: Drain sweet potatoes and put into large mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes with butter or margarine. Salt to taste. Hand-pat mixture into 3 inch diameter balls. Roll in crushed corn flakes and put into 9×12 inch greased baking dish. Pour maple syrup evenly over all balls. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 40 minutes. When the timer gets to the last fifteen minutes, put a marshmallow over each ball.

For those of you who are craving some serious Thanksgiving meat, we’ve got a great turkey recipe for you to try out. The best part about this recipe is that you don’t have to cook an entire bird?which means you don’t have to deal with carving up the leftover meat and storing it.

Turkey Breasts Stuffed with Cranberry

Ingredients:
2 boneless and skinless turkey breasts
1 (12 ounce) package herb-seasoned dry bread

Stuffing Mix
1 1/2 c. of dried cranberries (sweetened is preferred)
1 c. of pecans (chopped)
1/2 c. halved pecans
2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions: Make the stuffing as usual and set aside. Cut the chicken breasts open so that they lay flat, place between waxed paper and flatten with a meat tenderizer. Remove the wax paper and spread the stuffing over each breast (leaving a bit of room around the edges), then sprinkle with most of the dried cranberries. Add all of the pecans. Starting at the longer side, roll the breast up similar to a Swiss roll. Tuck in the ends and tie it together with string. You’ll probably need about four bits of string to tie the middle and one to go length-wise.

Place the olive oil in an oven proof skillet and let it heat. Try to brown the meat on all sides, but don’t cook it thoroughly yet. Put the skillet in the oven and bake in at 350 degrees F for about an hour or until meat is white all the way through. Try not to let these get too dry. Let the turkey rolls sit for 15 minutes before removing the string and slicing into 1/2 inch circles. You can garnish with any leftover cranberries or pecans.

Finally, we have a recipe for one of the greatest Autumn-time drinks: apple cider! What’s better than cozying up with a book or movie and a steaming cup of spiced cider? It gets better, because this simplified version of spiced cider allows you to keep your cider warmed in a slow cooker for easy re-fills.

Easy Apple Cider

Ingredients: 1 (64 fluid ounce) bottle apple cider 3 cinnamon sticks 1 teaspoon whole allspice 1 teaspoon whole cloves 1/3 cup brown sugar

Directions: In a slow cooker, combine apple cider and cinnamon sticks. Wrap allspice and cloves in a small piece of cheesecloth and add to pot. Stir in brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and keep warm.

Baked Mashed Potatoes

What you need:

3 lbs (9 -10 medium) gold, yellow or russet potatoes, peeled

4 T butter

8 oz package cream cheese
, softened

12 oz or 11/2 c sour cream

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Quarter potatoes and boil in salted water until fork tender but not mushy; drain. Place potatoes in a large bowl with 2 T of butter and mix with hand mixer until fairly smooth. Add sour cream, cream cheese, salt and pepper and mix until well blended.

Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick spray. Add potatoes and dot with remaining 2 T of butter. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered; serve.

Cranberry Sauce

What you need:

12 oz bag cranberries

1 c water

1 c sugar

What you do:

Add sugar and water to a med sized saucepan; heat to boiling. Add cranberries to pan and return to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, 5-8 minutes or until cranberries burst

Easy Breezy Pecan Pie

What you need:

9 inch unbaked pie shell

1 c shelled pecans

3 large eggs

3/4 c white sugar

3/4 c light corn syrup

1/3 c butter

1/4 t salt

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat eggs well. Add sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt and beat until well mixed. Mix in pecans. Pour into 9 inch pie shell. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until top is firm.

Sweet Potato Casserole

What you need:

4 c sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed

1/2 c brown sugar (divided in half)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c milk

1/2 c butter (divided in half)

1/4 t salt

1/2 c chopped pecans (divided in half)

1/4 c frosted flakes, crushed

What you do:

Combine potatoes, milk, egg, salt, 1/4 c brown sugar and 1/4 c butter; blend with mixer. Fold in half the pecans. Pour into greased casserole pan. Melt remaining 1/4 cup of butter and mix with remaining brown sugar. Add frosted flakes and the remaining pecans. Spread mixture evenly over the top of the casserole. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

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