Monday, December 1, 2008

Thanksgiving feast!

I really enjoy making much of the typical Thanksgiving fare, and when I go to family meals, usually only get to contribute one or two dishes... This year I decided to invite friends over to continue the tradition. luckily I was able to sneak in some family too since my dad's family was doing it on Friday and only live an hour away.

So, I had 2 Americans, a Canadian and 3 Swede's over for Thanksgiving. Everyone brought something to share - names in italics - and our menu ended up being:

Stuffed Mushrooms (Dustin)

Turkey (only a little guy) w/gravy
Quorn "turkey" roast
Stuffing
Cranberries (Jocelyn)
Roasted Yams (Jocelyn)
Mashed Acorn Squash with Walnuts and Maple Syrup (Jocelyn)
Jansson's frestelse (Jonas and Frida)
Endive, Parsley, Radicchio and Pear Salad with Roasted Walnuts (Matthew)

Caramel Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream

Hot Winter Pimms Punch
Limeade (Dennis)
Watermelonade (Dennis)

I forgot to take pictures :-( Bolded items have recipes to follow.

Stuffing
Cube one loaf of bread of choice, spread on a cookie sheet and bake on low temperature until stale, or leave out for a few days if you have time.
Saute diced onions, celery and mushrooms over low heat in some olive oil until translucent and tender. Mix with bread pieces in a bowl. Add diced fuyu persimmon pieces. Pour in enough stock to just get moist, unless you like mushier stuffing. Pour all into a greased casserole dish and bake until hot!

Cranberries
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 cup water (or enough to cover the cranberries)
1/2 cup sweetener (white sugar works well)
juice of one mandarin orange
Place all in a pan and simmer until thick. Sweeten to taste...

Yams
Cube yams. Toss in olive oil, thyme, garlic and salt. Roast at 350 until tender

Acorn Squash
Cut squash in half, place face down in a pan and bake until soft. Scoop out the meat and mash until smooth. Add maple syrup, toasted walnuts and salt.

Pumpkin pie filling
1.5 cups pumpkin puree
1.5 cups evaporated milk
3 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon, ginger,
1 tsp nutmeg, allspice
Or a bunch of pumpkin pie spice...

Mix all together and pour into a partially baked pie shell at 350 for 20 minutes with the crust covered, 15 minutes uncovered. Insert a toothpick, if it comes out clean, it's done.

Caramel Apple Pie Filling
5-6 Granny Smith apples cored and cut up
20 caramel candies, cut in half (I recommend Werther's brand)
Taffy (1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup butter, 1/4 cup butter, melted)
add into bottom shell in layers. Cover with top layer, poke a few air holes, brush crust with milk. Make sure to bake on a junky cookie sheet or over tin foil since it has a tendency to overflow.
Bake at 350, covered for 20 minutes, 20 minutes uncovered.

Hot Winter Pimm's Punch
1 part pimms
2 parts ginger ale
cinnamon sticks
cardamon or cloves
Heat in a pan and enjoy!

No comments: