The Observation Deck

Any Thanksgiving recipes you would like to share?

I'm always on the look out for creative Cranberry dish ideas.

I'm not a big sweet potato fan - any creative ideas?

Any other specialties?

Lynne-

You aren't eating sweet potatoes correctly. That's why you don't like them.

The following dish works either as a dessert or as a side dish. We have used it as a side dish, but...

Sweet Potato Bread Pudding:

For the Pudding-

Whisk together:

1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup whiskey, optional
3 eggs beaten
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 teasp vanilla extract
1 teasp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup dried cranberries

Add:

4 cups French bread, cubed

Cook and Puree: Fold Into Bread Mixture:

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled,
chopped into 1" chunks

For Streusel-

Combine; Stir In:

1 cup pecans, chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Whisk pudding ingredients together in a
large bowl
Add bread cubes and stir gently
to coat; cover and chill overnight.

Cook sweet potatoes the next day in
boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain,
transfer to a food processor, and puree until smooth.

Fold sweet potatoes into chilled bread mixture.

Combine pecans, brown sugar,
and flour for the streusel in a separate bowl; stir in melted butter.

Preheat oven to 400; coat a 1 quart casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Transfer bread pudding mixture to the dish and sprinkle with streusel.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until knife tip inserted in the center comes out clean.

Heirloom Turkey.

It is true I like the dark meat.
it is the dark meat for me.

Hi Lynn,
There are some great recipes in the Plain Dealer this morning. One is for a sweet potato casserole. I make something similar but I add pecans and delete the marshmallos . I think it is a little sweetness overkill! My boys would love the western Thanksgiving as they are big oyster and salmon lovers. Interesting article. Happy Cooking! Jennifer

Lynn

I'm just such a Thanksgiving fuddy duudy. I mean I love the Holiday, probably my number 1, but I'm very much mired in the Tradition, which gives me a mind set against "trying anything new". Matter of fact, that's the subject of my next column. So, my table will look pretty much as it has for as long as I've been cooking Thanksgiving. Although, the Pumpkin soup I made for the Foundation Dinner Party (from the Gala auction) got some pretty good reviews, so I may add soup to the same old/same old....just to show I'm still able to be a little imaginative.

Jeff

The holiday tradition in my family is "Green Stuff." Two packages of instant pistachio pudding into a container of cool whip, add a couple cans of fruit cocktail (with juice) and you're good to go. Sounds weird, but trust me. It's good stuff.

My family also makes the "sweet potato souffle" with the brown sugar/pecan crust on top. My mom has charged me with making it this year. Rachel Ray says bananas are a great compliment to sweet potato dishes, so I may try that. I have to research it, but I think she just softened them in a pan with some butter, then mashed them and stirred them in.

The most recent Wine Spectator has an article about the comeback of "heritage (traditional) breeds" of hogs and that they produce infinitely superior ham, though they tend to be pretty expensive.

Thought I'd offer an old family favorite. It very simple and we don't feel like it's Thanksgiving without it.

Mashed Rutabagas.

Simply boil water and put whole rutabaga in to melt the wax they seal it in in the stores.

Take a very good knife or small cleaver and cut off the ends and quarter.

With a good paring knife (these instrument need to be sharp - this is one tough turnip) peel the quarters.

Cut into chunks like you would for boiling potatoes for mashed potatoes.

Cover with two times the amount of water that the chunks take up in pan.

Boil the bejeezus out of them, with a lid until you can get a fork into them fairly easily (will not go in as easily as if it was potatoes).

Drain. Add butter or margarine and milk (about the amount that you would for mashed potatoes), salt and pepper to taste and mash with a mixer. Don't even try to rice or hand mash them.

These turnips are very grainy so you may need to keep adding a little milk until you are getting a decent consistency. It will take longer than mashing potatoes. But they are so good.

Serve with a bit of turkey gravy over the top.

Anywhere I have taken them, they have been (I can't help it) gobbled up.

Sharon

Mashed root veggies are great! Here's a little trick to really add some flavor.

The water that you boil those rutabagas in is positively chock full of wonderful flavor. All you have to do is concentrate it.

So, when you're boiling them, use the smallest amount of water possible....better yet, steam them, in a covered pan. Instead of throwing away the cooking water, place it in a sauce pan and boil it hard. It may take awhile, but it will concentrate and you will be left with an intense syrup that can either be drizzled on top of the finished dish, used later for soups, or incorporated in while you're whipping the veggies.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff - I would still use a lot of water though because they have to boil so long to soften up. I often start them about 2 hours before dinner and if they're done before hand - I just put them in a covered dish and stick them in the oven 20 minutes before dinner.

I will do the concentrate though - I like the idea and think it would be great in vegetable beef soup.

From our Iron Chef, Michael Symon....Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts:

Serves 6-8

1 lb. brussel sprouts split outer leaves removed
1/4 lb. slab bacon large diced
2 minced shallots
2 cloves sliced garlic
1 fresno chile seed and minced
1 tbl grain mustard
2 oz chicken stock
4 oz butter
1 tbl fresh thyme

Blanche sprouts in boiling salted water for 1 minute and set aside. Heat skillet over medium heat and crisp bacon. remove bacon from pan and cramelize brussel sprouts (about 2 minutes per side) add shallots, garlc and chiles and salt liberally. Add bacon and chicken stock and bring to simmer. Mix in mustard, thyme and butter and serve.

I love Rutabagas!

Grace -

With that last name I kinda figured you did!