A Simple Thread Thanksgiving 2020

This Thanksgiving is different. We can’t spend time with family and friends as usual. But we can still enjoy some turkey, stuffing, and way too much pie.

We can still be thankful for the spots of goodness over the last year, despite the many challenges. We can still reach out to friends and family to let them know we appreciate them.

Many of our team enjoy cooking, and we had fun sharing recipes last year. We have quite a few new team members this year and a fresh batch of new Thanksgiving recipes to enjoy!

Portobello Bisque

Delicious one-pot soup that can be served equally well as an appetizer or alongside the meal.

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped Portobello mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 4 T Worcestershire sauce
• 2 sticks butter
• 2 – 4 T flour – enough to make a paste with butter
• 2 habanero peppers, deseeded & cut in quarters
• 5 cup vegetable broth
• 2 cup sour cream

Instructions

1. Cook mushrooms, onions & garlic in butter until tender. This will make a dark brown roux if cooked long enough.
2. Add Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Add flour slowly, whisking in to make a smooth paste.
3. Add vegetable broth slowly, whisking into mixture to make smooth without lumps. Boil mixture and then reduce heat, stirring all the while, until it thickens. Add sour cream.
4. Let it simmer for a while to mix flavors – 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.

Perfect Roasted Sweet Potatoes

If you’re looking to switch up your sweet potato game, this simple roasted sweet potato recipe is astonishingly good. It starts with potatoes in a cold oven to slowly steam and allow starches to convert to sugars. The end result is a perfectly caramelized, almost crispy exterior and a shockingly soft, pillowy, and sweet interior. They reheat decently, but you lose most of the crispy texture.

Ingredients

• 3 lb sweet potatoes, 5-7 medium potatoes
• 2 T neutral oil
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Pepper to taste

Instructions

NOTE: This recipe starts the potatoes in a cold oven. Do not preheat the oven.

1. Wash, trim ends, and peel potatoes. Cut into 3/4-inch thick rounds.
2. Toss potatoes in a bowl with oil, salt, and pepper coated.
3. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease with oil or spray. Place potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
4. Place potatoes in cold oven on a rack in the middle position. Turn the oven to 425º and cook potatoes for about 25 minutes – up to 30 minutes if your oven heats slowly.
5. Remove baking sheet from oven and remove the top layer of foil, carefully to avoid steam exhaust. Rotating the pan, return potatoes to the oven and cook until the bottom edge of potatoes is golden brown, 15 to 25 minutes – depending on size of potatoes and how fast oven heats.
6. Remove baking sheet from oven and gently flip rounds over. Rotating pan again, return to oven and roast until bottom edges of potatoes are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes longer.
7. Remove from oven. Let potatoes cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes or until ready to serve.

Southern Cheesy Pineapple Casserole

This dish started as a family favorite with ham, but it became so popular that we serve it on every holiday. It may sound weird and sweet, and it is! But it’s also weirdly delicious.

Ingredients

• 8 T unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
• 2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (2 sleeves)
• 1 20oz can crushed pineapple
• 1 8oz can pineapple chunks
• 6T juice drained from pineapple cans
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 T self-rising flour
• 2 cups (8 ounces) grated cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine melted butter and cracker crumbs. Sprinkle ½ cup of cracker mixture evenly over bottom of baking dish.
3. Drain the pineapple over a bowl to save juice.
4. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and 6T of reserved pineapple juice until smooth. Stir in cheese and pineapple. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish, spread over crackers.
5. Sprinkle remaining buttered cracker crumbs in an even layer on top.
6. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Tips

• Regular AP flour is okay also, with adding 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
• Use a block of very sharp cheddar and grate it yourself. The flavor is noticeably better in this application.
• Any combination of pineapple sizes can work, depending on the desired texture. Roughly 25-30 oz.

Vegetarian Stuffing

This has been our go-to stuffing for several years and it turns out delicious every single time.

Ingredients

• 1 16oz box of traditional vegetarian stuffing mix

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 1/2 sticks butter

• 3 sprigs thyme, stems removed and leaves finely chopped
• 2 sprigs sage, stems removed and leaves finely chopped
• 1 Vidalia onion, finely chopped
• 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 2 fuji apples, cored and finely chopped
• 3 cups of liquid (equal mix of white wine, lager beer and vegetable stock)

Instructions

1. Empty stuffing mix into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
2. In a medium pan over medium heat add the olive oil and melt the butter.
3. Add the onion, celery and apples to the pan and allow them to cook for about 5 minutes until tender.
4. Add the chopped herbs and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the liquids and let simmer for 5-6 minutes.
6. Add everything in the pan to the stuffing mix and toss until it is combined.
7. Transfer to a lightly greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Tips

• The trick is to cut the apples as small as possible so that they impart the slight sweetness but you don’t get a mouthful of apple in a bite.

Baked Corn Casserole

Sometimes dishes are a classic for a reason. This casserole has an intense, clean flavor of corn that pairs well with traditional Thanksgiving flavors.

Ingredients

• 1 can (~14oz) creamed corn
• 1 can (~14oz) corn, drained
• 3 T flour
• 3 T sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 T salted butter, cut into 20 equal pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º. In a medium bowl, beat eggs thoroughly with sugar. Add flour and mix until just incorporated. Some lumps are okay.
2. Stir in corn, both creamed and drained. Then gently mix in milk until well blended.
3. Pour into a greased 2 quart baking dish and sprinkle butter pieces evenly over top.
4. Bake at 350º for 60-75 minutes, until the casserole is set.
5. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Tips

• If using fresh corn or if the cans of corn are low sodium, roughly a teaspoon of kosher salt should be added.

Traditional “Best Cranberry Sauce” 😎

Ingredients

• 1 can cranberry sauce, jellied or whole berry.

Instructions

1. Open can of cranberry sauce.
2. Place in a bowl or plate.

Tips

• For jellied sauce, some people prefer to serve slices to preserve the festive can lines.

Cranberry Chess Pie

This is a fun seasonal twist on the classic Southern pie.

Ingredients

• 1 9″ prebaked pie crust
• 12 oz. cranberries, fresh or frozen
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 T lemon zest, roughly 1 lemon
• 1 T fine cornmeal
• 1 T AP flour
• 4 large eggs
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 4 T unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup lemon juice

Instructions

1. Set in middle position. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. Cook cranberries in saucepan over medium heat, until they begin to split, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool, and drain. Reserve tablespoon of cranberries for decoration.
3. Mix sugar and salt in bowl, add lemon zest. Rub or press zest into sugar until moist and fragrant.
4. Thoroughly whisk cornmeal and flour into sugar mixture. Add eggs and vigorously whisk until well combined. Whisk in cream, butter, and vanilla, then add lemon juice and whisk again.
5. Gently fold in drained cranberries, breaking up clumps. Place pie crust in pie pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour mixture into pie crust and sprinkle reserved cranberries over top of filling.
6. Bake pie until the top is golden brown and set but still jiggles in the center, roughly 50–70 minutes.
7. Transfer pie to a wire rack and let cool at least 1 hour before serving.

Tips

If your pie isn’t as brown as you’d like it, you can increase oven temperature to 350°F for the last 5–10 minutes or broil briefly. Take care not to burn the crust.