Thanksgiving Traditions: Pear Pecan Salad

Pear Pecan Salad

-Jamie Cook

Ingredients:

Romaine Lettuce

Diced Pear

Craisins

Candied Pecans

Feta

Diced Red Onion

Dressing:

In blender combine:

4 Tbs Red Wine Vinegar

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

4 Tbs Sugar

1/4 tsp pepper

Splash of Tabasco

Thanksgiving Traditions: Cranberry Salad & Squash

Cranberry Pomegranate Salad

-Heather Brown

12 ounces fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups sugar

1-2 pomegranates, depending on size, seeded

2 cups red grapes, halved

1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped course

1 pint whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons sugar

*vanilla yogurt

Day Before: Process the cranberries in a food processor until chopped and small pieces remain. Do not process until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar and let stand for two hours at room temperature. Place mixture in a sieve/strainer over a bowl and let drain overnight.

Next Day: Combine cranberry mixture with grapes and pomegranate seeds. In a separate bowl whip cream, vanilla and 2 tablespoons sugar until cream is whipped. Fold cream mixture into fruit. Mix in chopped pecans just before serving to keep pecans crisp.

*The salad at recipe club had vanilla yogurt substituted for half of the whipped whipping cream. To help lighten the dish and make slightly less rich.

Mashed Butternut Squash

-Heather Brown

1-2 butternut squash

1/2-1 cube of butter

2-4 tablespoons of real maple syrup

salt, to taste

Roast or steam squash until tender. While warm peel skin off and add butter and maple syrup to warm butternut squash. Mash with a potato masher. For really creamy squash put all ingredients into a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

*When I make this for my family I make the lesser amount and when we have company over I use the doubled ingredients.

Thanksgiving Traditions: Pie Crust

Perfect Pie Crust

-Jenn Iverson (Master Pie-Crust Maker)

1 cup butter flavored Crisco

2 cups flour (slightly heaping in MA)

1/3 cup water

1/3 teaspoon salt

Combine Crisco and flour with knife or pastry blender. Add water and salt and mix with hands. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest or 30 minutes before rolling out. Makes a double 9" crust. Bake a single crust at 400º for 10 minutes.

Thanksgiving Traditions: Oatmeal Pecan Pie

Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip Pie

-Christina Sorensen

½ (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)

Cooking Spray

1 c. packed dark brown sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

2/3 c. regular oats

¾ c. chopped pecans

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 large egg whites, beaten into peaks

½ cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325

2. Roll dough into an 11-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under, flute.

3. Combine sugar and remaining 9 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 325 for 50 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Thanksgiving Traditions: Cranberry Relish & Brussels Sprouts

Cranberry Relish

-Christy Evans

I love this as a cranberry sauce with turkey, mashed potatoes, etc., but I also use this as jam with fresh rolls and it is delicious too! It keeps up to a week int he refrigerator or freezes up to a year in the freezer. This recipe makes a lot, so you can have a big supply in your freezer or gift it to friends for their holiday meals.

1 package fresh cranberries (about 1 1/2 cups)

8 apples - tart granny smith or golden delicious, peeled and cored

2 oranges

Put in a food processor an chop, then add one cup of sugar for each cup of fruit mix (i.e. 8 cups of fruit mix, you need 8 cups of sugar). Then put into jam jars or freezer safe Tupperware.

Chiffonade of Brussels Sprouts with diced bacon and hazelnuts

-Christy Evans

(Serves 8-10)

2 lbs. brussels sprouts

3 slices bacon, finely diced

1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts *see note below

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Trim the stem end of the Brussels sprouts and remove any yellow or spotted outer leaves. Cut the Brussels sprouts into 1/16 inch slices, and use your fingertips to separate the slices into shreds. (This can be a bit labor intense, if I had a food processor I would do the latter method: it definitely would be faster. This method can be fun though too. I let Eva help me with this part. She loves to wash the Brussels sprouts and peel off the outer layer. Also she then separates the shred for me.) Alternative Method, shred the Brussels sprouts using a food processor with the course shredding disk attached.

Place i a bowl and set aside until ready to saute.

Heat a 12 inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside. Reserve the bacon fat in the pan.

Just before serving, reheat the bacon fat until hot and add the Brussels sprout to the pan. Saute until crisp-tender and bright green about 3-5 minutes. Add the bacon, hazelnuts, salt and pepper and stir to mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust the seasonings and serve.

*Try to by shelled hazelnuts (also know as 'filberts' - I got mine at Russos) with the skins removed. Toast for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. If they have skins, when they are cool enough to handle, lay them on a clean kitchen towel, or between several sheets of paper towels. Rub the nuts to remove most of the skins (they never come completely off). You can also substitute unsalted cashews, if necessary. Toast like hazelnuts, until lightly browned about 12-15 minutes.

Thanksgiving Traditions: Pea Dish

Pea Dish

-Lindsay Bullock

2 pkg. frozen petit peas

1/2 lb. bacon

1 onion, chopped

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced

Thaw peas in large bowl. Cook bacon in large frying pan. Crumble drained bacon over peas. In 2 tablespoons bacon grease, saute onion and mushroom until tender. Add to peas and mix together. Heat in microwave until hot throughout.

Thanksgiving Traditions: Grandma's Dressing & Rolls

Grandma's Holiday Stuffing

-Ashley Boyer

1 onion, chopped
4 celery sticks, chopped
1 stick of butter
1 can chicken stock
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp sage

Take above ingredients and cover with a little water. Boil until tender.

Crumble 6 corn muffins and 6 pieces of bread in your dish--allow them to "dry out". (May want to do a couple days beforehand) .

Pour the first mixture to coat the bread crumbs and then add two eggs (that have been beaten before hand with a little water). Stir in. The mixture should be "soupy." Add a little more sage, pepper and salt. Give a final mix and bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes.

Thanksgiving Rolls

-Daija Heaton

In large 4 cup glass measurer:

3 C milk, scalded

Add:

1 cube butter &

¼ C shortening

Stir in:

1 C instant potato flakes

¾ C Sugar

1 Tablespoon salt

In mixer:

Mix 4 eggs

Add above ingredients

Put in 2 C flour & mix

Add 2 tablespoons yeast

Start adding flour – about 5-6 more cups. Let mix for 5-6 minutes. If it’s very sticky, add more flour.

Oil bowl and dough

Let raise for 1-1 ½ hours (until double)

Oil hands and counter, roll out or cut out

Raise again

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.