Thanksgiving Candied Sweet Potatoes

One of my favorites. A good way to get kids to eat a LOT of sweet potatoes...unless they're smart and eat only the marshmallows on top. :)

4 x-large sweet potatoes
**peeled, chopped, boiled until soft, and placed in a greased 9x13 glass baking dish,



then make the sauce:

1 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4-6oz orange juice
**Place all together in a sauce pan over med-lo heat until all melted together. Pour over sweet potatoes. Place 1 bag marshmallows (or two if you're in Finland) on top (big or small, it doesn't matter).



Bake at 350F/180C until marshmallows are browned--about 10 minutes. Mmmmm....

Thanksgiving Turkey

Another of my favorite dishes... Turkey! This year, we were lucky enough to actually have found one here at a local supermarket! Wow! So, we had a wild Finnish turkey! Very Thanksgiving-y! :) It was SO good, though! And so easy to make!

1 Turkey
Olive Oil
Seasoned Salt (I make my own! Better than Lawry's! Click here for the recipe)
Herbs: I use parsley, basil, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. I like to use fresh. Probably about 1-2 Tbsp of each!
3-4 c Water

Place defrosted and washed turkey in roasting pan. (To clean, run under cool water. Rub the thing clean! Flush the inside out with water as well until it runs clear.) Pour in water. (With the water, I'm only guessing on the amount. This depends on if you're planning to make gravy with it after it's been cooked! And how much gravy you want! :) I am a gravy FIEND, so I usually use a lot of water! :) As a rule of thumb, I usually fill my roasting pan until it's about an inch or so deep with water on the bottom. More or less.) Pour olive oil on the turkey. I also pour a bit into the water! Add salt as desired on top (and to the water!) and rub it in. Sprinkle the herbs ALL over. If the lid can go on your roasting pan with the turkey inside, place the lid on top. If it doesn't fit, make a tent out of kitchen (aluminum) foil. Bake at about 300F/150C until done. It should be golden brown, and the juices will run clear with no pink in the meat. Usually around 3-4 hours, depending on the size of your turkey. However, if you happen to overcook it a bit, the gravy will mask it pretty well! :)

Gravy:

Turkey drippings
Flour
1/2 c Water

Pour all the turkey drippings into a sauce pan and place on medium heat on the stove. Take out about 1/2 cup from the turkey drippings, add another 1/2 c cool water, then add flour (1 Tbsp at a time) until you can make a thick yet runny paste. Add this concoction to the remaining drippings in the sauce pan using a wire whisk. Cook until thick and bubbly! (If it's not thick enough for you, repeat the above steps until at desired thickness! If it's too thick, just add water.)

Mmmmmmmm....

Thanksgiving Stuffing

I LOVE stuffing. LOVE it. Thanksgiving is NOTHING without stuffing. I used to use the old StoveTop standby, but then I began making it myself, and let me tell you-it's SOOOOOOOOOO much better!!!!!! So, here's a basic idea of what I do to make this traditional Thanksgiving side dish:

Lots of bread broken into small pieces (I use many different kinds--white, whole wheat, oat, rye--and mix them all together)
1/4 c Fresh Parsley (about 3 bunches)
2 tsp Thyme (dry--OR 1 Tbsp fresh)
3-4 stalks Celery (including leaves!), finely chopped
1 small Onion, finely chopped
3 c Chicken broth (3c water+3tsp chicken bouillon)
1/2 c Butter (as needed....probably quite a bit unless you like it lighter...but I like it buttery!!)

Break bread into small pieces and save in a super large mixing bowl.


(The kids love to help with this part!)

In a sauce pan, saute celery and onions in butter until slightly transparent. Add everything else (except bread). Bring to a boil. Add more butter! Ha! Pour over bread a little at a time until all the bread is moist. Not TOO soggy, but not TOO dry. :) Taste it to make sure it's good! (Yes, that sounds weird, but it really should taste good!!)



Pour into 9x13 baking dish (um, coated with butter...) and bake at 375F for about 15 minutes. Stir, then bake again until the top is slightly crisp and the bottom is slightly browned--about 15-20 min (unless you have the option of a fan assisted oven...then it's only 10 more minutes). Serve! Top with lots of homemade gravy and you have a gourmet dish!




I've also in the past added sausage. It is SO good! I don't do it anymore because I don't have any sausage available to me. If you want to use sausage, cook it with the celery and onions. :)