Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It is full of traditions to me and I really like the slowing down and taking a moment to think about what I'm grateful for. I think I'm most grateful for the Parental Units teaching me to cook. If they hadn't then Thanksgiving would just be another day.
As I sit here this morning making my list for Thanksgiving tomorrow I started thinking about the food I'll prepare. Ok, let's get serious. First, I am not "making a list". The "list" is already done and on a template that I print out and use every year. I mean...
So what was really happening is I was looking over the menu and thinking about how none of my Thanksgiving foods have a real recipe to them. I've made this meal so many times over the year, with Mom and later without her, that I could probably make it in my sleep.
That thought led me to my legacy. I am not going to say that the Thanksgiving meal is what people will remember most about me, but the recipes are important. I have history with these recipes. And I suddenly feel like documenting them is important.
Let's start with the appetizer. Clam Dip. This has been the appetizer for every Turkey day I can remember. Mom and I made two of them. One for her and I to much on while making dinner. And a second to share with the guest. We'd never make them together, but two separate ones. And almost always they tasted different. We used to laugh at how making two in a row would taste so different and yet the same. Mom used to say it never turned out right if you doubled the recipe, so we made them separately.
Clam Dip (Recipe to make one)
- 1 pack cream cheese, room temperature. (DO NOT use the whipped cream cheese. We made that mistake once).
- 1 can minced clams in juice
- 1-2 tsp garlic salt
- 1-2 tsp garlic powder
- 2-3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Open the clams and drain the juice into a cup to keep for later. I tend to not drain them completely. You want a little of the juice in the first mix.
Add in a bowl, the cream cheese, clams, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce. Mix to combine. If you use a hand mixer don't over mix. It'll make the dip elastic-y. Add clam juice a little at a time until the consistency is like a thick stew.
Now here's the important part. You must have Ruffles to use as the chip. Taste the dip. Usually we determine it needs more garlic powder. Add a dash or so. Taste it again. Keep tasting it until it's what you like. This usually meant at least three tastes for mom and I each.
Next on the list is the actual meal. It ALWAYS consists of Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli casserole and stuffing. Mom would make yams, but I hate them so I never make them. Funny tradition is every year dad would tell me to put some on my plate and just "taste" them. And every year I would not. Blech.
Let's start with the bird.
We used to get up at the butt crack of dawn and prepare the bird for the oven. Then spend HOURS basting and watching the bird. Then enter turkey bags.
These little gems cut cooking time in half and always ends up with a juicy turkey.
It starts with preparing the bag. You put a couple of tablespoons of flour, salt and pepper in the bag. Close it up and shake it to distribute the flour. This part actually makes zero sense to me. The flour always ends up as a clump at the bottom of the bag.
Once you've done that, the the pair of you try to wrestle this 22lb bird into the bag. Laughter ensues. Giggling next. And before you know it you're on the floor laughing your ass off and the bird is not in the bag. The Niece, who used to help me, can attest to this particular part of the event. Along with tearing the bag and then having to double bag it.
I don't stuff the cavity of the bird with anything. I usually just salt and pepper the heck out of the bird and call it good.
I should mention too that you need to get your bird out early to come to room temperature. It's important that you don't put a cold bird in the oven. Like any meat, room temp is what you want.
Once you get the bird in the bag, put that baby in the oven. The box the bag came in will tell you how long to cook the bird for the size of the bird.
Next up is preparing the stuffing and the broccoli casserole. Both require sautéed onions and celery so I was usually on the chopping of all these things. We would cook them together and then split them in half. It's just easier.
JoEllen's Dressing
Serves a small army
2 boxes boxed stuffing
1 quart (or more) chicken or turkey stock
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained and rough chopped
Sautéed onions and celery (it's a whole onion and about 4 stalks of celery)
Poultry seasoning to taste
Salt and Pepper
I think mom used to put in one egg too. I don't and I can't say I miss it.
Right, so you saute the onions and celery in butter until they are just soft.
In a bowl you dump everything in. Start adding turkey stock a cup or so at a time. Stir. Add more. Stir. Taste. Add salt. Taste. Add stock. Taste. Add poultry season. Taste.
Eventually you get a wet-ish stuffing. Some people like the dressing dry, I like mine kinda wet.
Pop that bad boy in a 9X13 pan sprayed with Pam and bake for 30 minutes or so.
(Pro tip: When you take your bird out, put your casseroles in. They will cook in the time the bird is resting).
The Broccoli Casserole side dish morphed through the years. The way I make it today is how I learned to make it. But when mom passed I found the Broccoli Casserole recipe in her Gray Box. That recipe does not have sausage in it, nor does it have cream of mushroom soup. I suspect Dad added the sausage and Mom probably thought cream of mushroom would go well with it. And it does.
9X13 pan
1 lb sausage (I use Jimmy Deans regular)
1 cup Minute Rice
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 small jar CheezWhiz
2 bags frozen broccoli pieces
Sauted onions and celery (same amount as the dressing above)
Get yourself a BIG bowl.
Cook the sausage and then drain. While the sausage is cooking, cook the minute rice in the microwave. Dump that in a big bowl.
Cook the broccoli in the microwave. Dump it in the bowl.
When the sausage is done, dump it in the bowl. Dump the onions and celery into a bowl.
Add the CheezWhiz and cream of mushroom soup.
Stir it all together. Add pepper. You most likely don't need to add salt. The Cheeze Whiz and sausage usually have plenty.
The last side dish is mashed potatoes and gravy. I won't go into how to make those cuz I think everyone knows how to do that side dish. Be sure to use your turkey drippings in your gravy though. It makes a world of difference. Mom used to boil up the neck, and innards that come with the turkey. She'd strip the next of it's meat, chop up the innards, add a chopped hard boiled egg and voila, her turkey gravy. Me? I don't want any of that in my gravy. Blech.
So as you set your table, open the wine, and perhaps cook your Thanksgiving meal, take a moment to think about the recipes you're making. Where did they come from? Have they changed over the years? And most of all, be thankful for the loved ones you have around you.
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