In the past 4 years, I have prepared Thanksgiving dinner for my family. This year was the first Thanksgiving in our new home. The staples were on the table. One year I did make a corn pudding which was quite delicious. I have to do a rewind of that recipes which I believe it was found in one of my Paula Deen cookbooks.
Typically I never follow recipes as I cook like my mom and grandmother. I add a little of this and a little of that. My mom calls this cooking by rote. For me cooking is a form of science and me being a lover of science I love to experiment with different ingredients. I also map out all my cooking schedule based on the dishes and lay out all ingredients. This saves a lot of time in the kitchen and overall clean up. This year I started cooking later than usual however by 1:00 am my turkey was done and in the refrigerator. The kitchen was sanitized and cleaned up with all dishes in the refrigerator. I always cook, store and refrigerate all of my food including the turkey. There are so many stories of food mishaps during the holidays which result in sick guests.
When people ask me for recipes it is hard for me to provide a “real” recipe however I give the basics and I guess the challenge for the cook is to make it their signature dish. My roasted turkey, cornbread stuffing (made from cornbread not bread), sweet potato souffle, mac and cheese and collard greens with smoked turkey.
Sweet Potato Souffle
4- 5 sweet potatoes
½ cup Light brown sugar
1 cup white Sugar
8 oz crushed pineapple (drained)
Unsalted Butter (1 stick)
2 tbsp of Cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
1 tbsp of vanilla extract
¼ cup orange juice
½ cup of Carnation evaporated milk
½ tsp of baking powder
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel skin and boil the potatoes until soft(check by pricking with a fork) ( do not overcook). Drain the water. Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl with the stick of butter. When potatoes are done, add stick of butter and let the potatoes cool. After the potatoes have cooled add sugar, spices, vanilla extract, pineapple, orange juice, milk and baking powder. Blend with a mixer on medium until mixture is smooth and without lumps. Taste and adjust spices if necessary. *Remove the mixer wisks to remove the strings from the potatoes before adding the eggs. Add eggs and mix on high until well blended. Pour mixture into a deep casserole dish and bake for at least 45 minutes until the center is set.
Baked Mac and Cheese
16oz elbow macaroni
(4) 8 oz block of cheese (mild cheddar cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, Colby/jack, Colby) purchase a mix
of white and yellow cheeses
120z can of Carnation evaporated milk
3 eggs
Preheat oven for 350 degrees. Prepare macaroni according to package. Drain and set aside. Wisk can
of milk and 3 eggs in a shallow bowl; set aside. Thinly slice each block of cheese and set aside in a bowl.
In a 13×9 casserole dish layer macaroni and a layer of cheese, next layer of macaroni and cheese, the
final layer should be cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the casserole. Add dots of butter. Bake for 45
minutes and check if set in center.