Recipes for all my friends:

Thanksgiving Dressing

As prepared by MaMa (Netta Mae) Craig

Cornbread (2 large skillets)

The best part of the dressing are the crispy edges!

To make cornbread:

1 cup corn meal

1 cup flour
4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 - 1 tsp. salt

1 plus cups of buttermilk

1/4 c. canola oil

2 tablespoons of Canola oil

Mix together in a bowl.  Put 2 T. oil in the bottom of skillet.  Place in HOT (425 degree oven) for ten minutes or so.  Add cornbread batter to skillet and return to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Assembling Dressing: 

2 skillets of cooked and cooled cornbread

1 lb. of Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Dressing

2 ½ cups green onion

4 cups of chopped celery

2 cups chopped bell pepper

1 – 2 onions finely chopped in processor

2 Tablespoons of poultry seasoning

2 Tablespoons of sage

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons black pepper

Crumble cornbread in large baking dish (like a roasting pan).  Add stuffing mix and veggies and seasoning.  Add broth from Turkey and maybe two or more cans of broth.    If it’s too stiff, put in 2 beaten eggs (Mama puts in four and uses mixer to beat them). 

Pour oil over the top of dressing (edges of pan).  Clean the sides of the pan.  Smash edges away from pan with a spatula.

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These sweet potatoes are so good, you'll never go
back to the old standard recipes!

Amaretto Sweet Potatoes

2 lbs. sweet potatoes
3/4 c. sugar
2/3 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
2 T. amaretto
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
2/3 c. chopped pecans

Combine teh sweet potatoes with enough water to cover in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Boil until tender, drain.  Remove the skins of the sweet potatoes.  Arrange the sweet potatoes in a greased 2-quart baking dish.  Process the sugar, buttermilk, butter, eggs, amaretto, vanilla, cinnamon and baking soda in a blender until smooth.  Stir in the pecans.  Spoon over sweet potatoes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  NOTE:  This can be made ahead, refrigerated, and allowed to return to room temp and baked the next day.

***North Harris Montgomery County Junior League "Taste of Texas"
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Homestyle Green Bean Casserole

Using fresh green beans in this delicious casserole
makes all the difference in the world.  Definitely
a welcome update to the traditional casserole.

1 1/2 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
2 T. butter
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. reduced fat milk
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 T. ranch dressing mix
2 tsp. chopped FRESH thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. butter
1 (8 oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms
Non-stick cooking spray
1 c. French fried onions, crushed
1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook green beans in boiling salted water to cover for 4 to 6 minutes, or to desired degree of doneness; drain.  Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain and pat dry.

Melt 2 T. butter in dutch oven over medium heat.  Whisk in flour until smooth.  Cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in 1 1/2 c. milk; cook, whisking constantly, 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes.  Gently toss mushroooms and green benas in buttermilk sauce.  Place in a 13 x 9" or 3 qt. baking dish.  Combine french fried onions and next two ingredients; sprinkle over green bean mixture. 

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. 

***Southern Living, November 2011

Thanksgiving Menus, Memories & More

Well, I have just finished chopping 4 cups of celery, 2 1/2 cups of onion, 2 1/2 c. of green onion, and 2 c. of green pepper for my Thanksgiving dressing.  I don't mind chopping, especially when so many fond memories are tied to this chore.  It's almost cathartic in a way, to chop each ingredient so perfectly, sealing it in a plastic tub and checking it off my list. 

You see, I have some lists that I like to read, re-read and remember.  My grandmother kept a steno pad on her kitchen counter.  She often jotted down items that she needed the next time she was at the store.  She also made organized lists of ingredients, menus and day to day lists of what needed to be done to pull off the best holiday meal ever.  I treasure these lists.  They are written in her handwriting, crossed off painstakingly after checking to make sure everything had been completed.  I love the list by days of what to do first, then next, and finally on the day of the event. 

As I chopped this afternoon, I remembered my grandmother checking my work to make sure I was chopping finely enough to suit her.  It was hard for her to accept help in the kitchen, but I so enjoyed this time with her.  I like to think what she might say about my menu for Thanksgiving this year.  She always enjoyed reading new recipes, but the older she got, the less interested she was in actually trying those new recipes, but oh how she loved it when I brought something new home to share.  She loved anything as long as she didn't have to make it.  I think that's what 70 years of cooking does to a gal. 

So I imagined this little conversation about my menu.
Me:  Well I am trying some new dishes this year, MaMa.
MaMa:  Oh, you are?
Me:  Green bean casserole, MaMa, but without soups or canned green beans.  That's right, freshly steamed green beans, fresh mushrooms, sauteed to perfection, bound together with homemade sauce, french fried onions and panko bread crumbs.  Doesn't that sound good.
MaMa:  Oh my goodness, yes!
Me:  I am also making pumpkin macaroni and cheese.  I thought the girls would like it.
MaMa:  I thought you didn't like macaroni and cheese?
Me:  I didn't for a hundred years after using my hot pot in my college dorm room to make it almost every day, but this sounds really yummy.  And it has fresh sage, fontina cheese, and soft bread crumbs.  It's gonna be so good.
MaMa:  I know it will!
Me:  I am also making Amaretto Sweet Potatoes.  Everyone loves them.  You use buttermilk to make the sauce.
MaMa:  You don't say...
Me:  Oh, and I forgot to tell you how I am going to brine my turkey. 
MaMa:  Brine?  What in the world?
Me:  Oh my goodness it is this bath with fresh herbs, limes, oranges, bay leaves, sage, garlic, lots of salt and fresh ground pepper.  It makes that turkey so juicy!  You won't believe it.
MaMa:  You did get a Butterball, didn't you?  They are the best, you know. 
Me:  Yes 'mam.  I've been paying attention. 
MaMa:  I know it's going to be wonderful.  Afterall, you got MaMa's cooking genes, you know?
Me:  I sure hope so....

Thinking of my precious grandmother as I prepare for Thanksgiving.  I thought I would share my menu just for nostalgic purposes. 

Turkey (bathed in a brine and roasted in my handy-dandy roaster)
Cornbread Dressing (my grandmother's recipe of course)
New & Improved Green Bean Casserole
Creamy Brussel Sprouts
Amaretto Sweet Potatoes
Buttery Creamed Potatoes & Gravy
Pumpkin Macaroni & Cheese
Deviled Eggs
Iced Tea, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir

Fudge Cream Pie, Pecan Pie, and Apple Pie

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope your day is filled with wonderful dishes, family, friends and special memories.