The Meal That Keeps on Giving

I'm on meal number 285 of leftover Thanksgiving food. Okay, maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration. BUT... come on. The leftovers just go on and on. I guess it's good that I really like my own cooking. LOL

Is this enough food for three people??

So, in the spirit of awesome food, today I'm going to share a few recipes that always make it to my Thanksgiving table. These are tried and true crowd-pleasers - maybe because there's booze in them. (No worries, the alcohol cooks off and is only there for flavor). 

I hope you try and enjoy them. Happy Thanksgiving leftovers!

- Alex

Warm Cranberry Compote

serves 6

2 T butter

1 small bunch of green onions

1/4 C cognac

2 C of fresh cranberries (you can also use frozen whole cranberries)

1/2 C water

1/2 C sugar

a pinch of salt

Dice the green onions including a lot of the green bit. Saute the green onion in the butter over medium heat until the onion is soft. Deglaze the pan with cognac. Add the cranberries, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil and boil until the berries pop and the compote thickens. Add a pinch of salt. Remove from heat and keep warm. This dish can be made up to three days ahead of your meal and stored, tightly covered, in the fridge. Just warm gently before serving.

Bourbon Sweet Potatoes with Buttered Pecans

serves 8

6 large sweet potatoes

3 T (or more) bourbon

1 stick of butter (softened)

2 C pecan halves

1 t Kosher salt

2 T packed dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and bake in the middle of the oven until tender, about 1 hour. (use a baking pan or they'll drip sugary stuff all over your oven) When just cool enough to handle, peel and mash until smooth. Add bourbon (I use more than the three T's the recipe calls for...) and 6 tablespoons of the soft butter and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer potatoes to a 2 quart gratin dish or similar shallow baking dish. The mash can be made up to two days ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge. Bring the potatoes up to room temperature before proceeding. 

Reduce oven temperature to 325. In a shallow baking pan, spread the pecans in a single layer and bake until fragrant - about 10 minutes. Toss the hot pecans with the remaining 2 T of butter and the course salt. Arrange pecans on top of the mashed sweet potatoes and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake the potatoes until heated through and pecans are slightly browned - about 30 mins. 

Green Bean Casserole

DON'T JUDGE ME!

2 cans of Del Monte French-cut green beans

1 can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup

A whole mess of French's French-fried onions

Black pepper

Heat oven to 325. The actual recipe on the back of the onion container also calls for milk. I find that makes the casserole too soupy. So, just mix the beans and the soup together in a casserole dish. Mix in some black pepper and some of the french fried onions. Put a layer of onions on top of the casserole and bake, uncovered, until warmed through and the onions are a bit browned - about 30 mins. 

Gobble!

This was, without a doubt, the tackiest GIF I could find

I think it's ironic that the sound the turkey makes (in American English, anyway) is a synonym for the act that is perpetrated upon his lovely cooked carcass.

I know. I'm weird.

Anyway... Happy Thanksgiving to all our U.S. readers! And, to those who do not partake of the annual display of gluttony, Happy Regular Week!

Normally, my Thanksgiving is spent with friend and/or my son and his girlfriend. Last year, we began what I had hoped with be a wonderful annual tradition - Pajama Thanksgiving. This particular incarnation was one where my son and his girlfriend came to my house (with dog in tow), in their pajamas, around noon. I (also in my pajamas) completed the cooking and laid out a buffet - upon which we grazed for the entire day in between movies and naps. It was pretty blissful.

This year, my nuclear family decided to get together so we're all piling on planes and in cars and converging on my mother's house (and the satellite condo) in Naples, Florida. We'll be expected to "dress" for Thanksgiving dinner and, I guarantee, we will not be watching movies or napping. While not as lazy and blissful as Pajama Thanksgiving, I expect it will be nice to spend the week with my siblings and their respective families.

So, in honor of the holiday, I'd like to share a couple of my all-time favorite Thanksgiving recipes with you. Note that they both have booze in them - because that's how I roll, baby.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday (or plain old week). Eat lots and be grateful.

- Alex


Jim Beam Sweet Potatoes (with buttered pecan crust)

6 large sweet potatoes
1/4 C Jim Beam (or some other bourbon)
1 stick of softened butter
2 C pecans - halved are best but you could do a very coarse chop on whole
1 tsp kosher or sea salt (something coarse)
2 Tbl brown sugar (I use light but either will do)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and then bake them on a heavy cookie sheet or baking pan until tender - about one hour. Remove from oven and let cool until you can handle them.

Peel potatoes and put in a bowl big enough to mash them in. Add the Jim Beam and 6 Tbl of the butter and mash until smooth. If you like your potatoes pureed or whipped, go for it. Adjust the bourbon (I usually end up adding a bit more) to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the potatoes to a 2 quart baking dish (or appropriate sized casserole dish that will allow for you to put a layer of buttered pecans on top.)

Reduce the oven temp to 325 F. On a cookie sheet, toast the pecan until fragrant - about 10 minutes. Toss the hot pecans with the remaining butter and the coarse salt.

Arrange the buttered pecans on top of the sweet potatoes and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake the dish until the potatoes are heated through and the pecans are slightly browned - about 30 minutes.

Hot Cranberry Compote

2 Tbl butter
2 green onions - chopped fine
1/4 C  Courvoisier (or other cognac)
2 C fresh cranberries (you can use frozen but I find fresh to have a better flavor)
1/2 C water
1/2 C sugar
Salt

Saute the green onions in butter until they're soft - about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the cognac. Add the cranberries, water, and sugar. Stir well. Bring to a boil and keep it at a boil until the cranberries pop and the mixture starts to get thick - about 5 minutes. Stir in a little salt (just a pinch really - maybe as much as an 1/8 of a teaspoon). Serve warm. Compote can be reheated gently before serving if it cools too much.