Thanksgiving

How to Cook the Best Juicy Turkey

A flavorful, moist turkey is the centerpiece of every Thanksgiving dinner. These easy tips show how to cook the best turkey that’s always juicy and moist, and proves that it’s 100% not as scary as it seems.

By the time I post this, I will have cooked six turkeys in two weeks, with two more to go for my own Thanksgiving feast for twenty. Am I up to the task? You bet your drumstick I am.

Sure, the thought of cooking a turkey can be intimidating. I mean, why wouldn’t it be? Thanksgiving is a big deal with eager dinner guests depending on YOU—the little home cook who could—to deliver a juicy, delicious turkey dinner you may have never, ever cooked before. That’s grandma’s job! Or mom’s! Well guess who’s the mom now?

Rest assured, this recipe and these tips are about to calm all your fears.

continue to the recipe… about How to Cook the Best Juicy Turkey

50 Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes Recipes

What’s the most popular, easy Thanksgiving side dish at your house? From my top 10 Thanksgiving side dishes to 40 new twists on the classics, this list of 50 easy side dish recipes will give you plenty of side dish recipe ideas to think about.

Thanksgiving is all about gratitude and tradition, and when it comes to the Thanksgiving table, everyone has their favorite traditional dishes to share.

Ironically, the Thanksgiving side dish is one area of turkey day where you can tweak tradition with a simple twist or two.

Whether you’re hunkering down at home, or getting ready to brave the busiest travel time of the year, this list of Thanksgiving favorite sides is sure to set the mood for a festive feast.

From fresh takes on classic comfort sides to flavorful new additions, take a look and add a few new side dishes to your table. Dig in!

continue to the recipe… about 50 Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes Recipes

Easy Glazed Carrots

Sweetened with brown sugar, orange juice, and butter, this glazed carrot side dish is a one-pan side cooked right on the stove, in the microwave, or baked in the oven, too.

Aren’t carrots just the best? They’re inexpensive, always available, and one of the least disdained in the vegetable kingdom. Served as little nubbins, they’re one of the first snacks introduced to toddlers little fingers, and later, pushed into the lunch bags of veg-averse teens—who if you don’t watch will actually eat them.

But cooked to a caramelized tenderness with butter, orange juice and a dollop of brown sugar, the humble carrot turns into a candied side dish that becomes a glistening gilded accent to any main meal that everyone will happily eat.continue to the recipe… about Easy Glazed Carrots

Wet or Dry? How to Make the Best Turkey Brine

For the juiciest turkey on the block, brining the bird with salt results in a plump, moist, and flavorful turkey every time. But is a wet brine or a dry turkey brine better? I tested both, and these are my recipes and results.

I discovered the genius of turkey brining several moons ago, and now, I can’t make a Thanksgiving turkey with one.

Whether to brine my turkey or not isn’t the question. It’s which method to go with: A wet brine soak in a salt water solution or a dry brine rubbed into and under the skin?

Brine me baby! And talk turkey to me.

continue to the recipe… about Wet or Dry? How to Make the Best Turkey Brine

5-Ingredient Stovetop Creamed Spinach

All you need is five simple ingredients and time for cream to reduce with savory Parmesan cheese for a restaurant-style creamed spinach cooked right on the stovetop.

Easy Creamed Spinach Recipe

If only each meal could be a buffet of flavors like the glorious Thanksgiving dinner. A bite of this, a taste of that. That’s why I’m a big, big fan of Thanksgiving. Sure I like turkey, but it’s the variety of different side dishes mingling together on my plate that I love most.

Today I’m sharing with you one of my favorite side dishes that adds a little extra oompah to the table: Creamed spinach. This easy side dish recipe tastes so much like a classic steakhouse creamed spinach—creamy but not cloying, fresh instead of stringy. Yet another reason to love side dishes.

continue to the recipe… about 5-Ingredient Stovetop Creamed Spinach

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

These twice-baked sweet potatoes are an all-in-one creamy side dish served in their own jacked made sweet with maple syrup and savory with white cheddar and brown sugar bacon.

I’m no Southern belle, and being brought up in Utah, sweet potatoes were never much of a thing. Funeral potatoes casserole have been and will always be way more Utah’s style.

When roasted in the oven, baked sweet potatoes become so sweet and flavorful there’s not much need for adding anything else to them. But when special occasions like Thanksgiving (or any fall potluck party) comes around, dressing up the humble sweet potato with maple syrup, white cheddar cheese and brown sugar-laced bacon bits then baking them up twice is exactly what’s called for.continue to the recipe… about Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are super soft and pillowy and packed with pumpkin pie flavor! Bonus: this recipe makes a BIG batch of cookies.

My mom has a saying about cooking / eating / observing an overly ambitious amount of dinner table food. “This could feed an army!” is the exclamation I’ve heard from her more than once in my life. It’s her way of noting how lucky we are, to live and enjoy such bounty with our family and friends.

It happens most every year when we cook to excess at Thanksgiving, or when I get a wild hair and decide I need to add just a bit more to the BBQ with a few more side dishes, plus another dessert, and oh heck, why not have hot dogs PLUS hamburgers. Just so nobody goes hungry.

These pillowy, cakey, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies fit that bill. This recipe is perfect. Especially if you’re baking for a crowd. Like for my mom’s invisible army. Or better yet, for a party! Now, that’s an idea I can get behind. Or better yet, I’ll lead the charge.

So hop to it soldier (I’m looking at you, Mom), and let’s get this cookie baking party started.continue to the recipe… about Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Herb Butter Rotisserie Turkey

An herb-infused butter rub goes all over the skin of this rotisserie turkey, which is roasted over the grill, so it frees up your oven for all the Thanksgiving fixins.

Rotisserie Turkey Recipe

You know how there are some things that are just too good not to be shared? The secret ingredients. The best place to get a pedicure. Your opinions. A bicycle built for two. An easy going, laughter-filled dinner with friends.

And this herb butter turkey. It’s one of those things just begging to be shared.

I was originally hired to create, make and photograph this rotisserie turkey recipe for one of my clients, Saber Grills, to be shared on their blog. But it turned out so good. So juicy. And so dang pretty I got selfish and turned into a can’t-give-it-up-anti-giver.

And so I’m taking it back. Actually, I’m going to do double duty and share it on both sites. It’s a two-fer!

This herb butter turkey recipe isn’t grilled, but it IS cooked on a rotisserie on the grill. And let me tell you here and now, Costco’s rotisserie chickens got nothin’ on this bird!

Preparing a turkey this way is totally hands off. The rotisserie spun this turkey right round baby right round, like a record player right round, round, round. I let it do all the work. And simply reaped the benefits.

I honestly don’t know whether I’ll cook another turkey any other way. This is the juiciest turkey recipe and the bird is so flavorful thanks to its hours of spinning and an herb-flavored, buttery rub.

Friends, this is the way to cook turkey all year long.continue to the recipe… about Herb Butter Rotisserie Turkey

The Best Easy Stuffing Recipe

This traditional homemade stuffing recipe is a classic. It’s an easy, traditional stuffing made with simple ingredients to make for a Thanksgiving turkey, or served as a side dish to chicken, pork, or just about any comfort food craving any time of year.

The Best Stuffing Recipe

If I were to stand at a table loaded with the traditional Thanksgiving dinner dishes, and have to choose just one to eat for the rest of my Thanksgiving dinner days, it wouldn’t be the turkey, it wouldn’t be the mashed potatoes, and it wouldn’t even be my grandma’s ambrosia salad that would make the cut. Nope.

The one dish I wouldn’t want to miss out on at Thanksgiving is this super simple, totally basic, bread stuffing I’ve been eating since I could put food in my hungry little mouth, and will still eat hot at the table or cold straight from the fridge. It’s my side dish kryptonite and the one I can never say no to.

I’ve shared other stuffing recipes that are more unusual with more ingredients, but I’ve never shared my favorite. I always thought it was just too basic, and not unique enough. But because it’s the same one I make year in and year out, and it’s the same easy stuffing recipe my mom made every year that I would more than happily taste test for seasoning, I figured it was high time to post it here where it proudly belongs.

There’s nothing fancy about this traditional stuffing. It’s totally basic. But its simplicity is exactly why I crave it year after year after year.continue to the recipe… about The Best Easy Stuffing Recipe

Buffalo Oven Roasted Turkey

This tender and juicy oven roasted turkey gets a little heat thanks to a basting of spiced up, buttery buffalo hot sauce and is a refreshing deviation from the traditional Thanksgiving turkey.

The Best Turkey Recipe for Non-Traditionalists

After this bird shows up to the table, Thanksgiving may never be the same.

Most people who know me, know that I am not what most would consider a traditionalist. Strike that. I do have some traditionalist tendencies, so I guess I’d consider myself a progressively wavering traditionalist. I’m a little stuck in my ways but always open to trying something new.

Take Thanksgiving for example. It’s the ultimate traditional holiday. Back in the day the family always gathered ’round to reconnect for that one must-meet time of year. The kids watched the Macy’s Day parade. The women cooked. The men watched football. We all snuck swipes of whipped cream from the freshly made pumpkin pies. Then we joined hands, said thanks, and we ate. Then we said we were full. And then we ate again.

And then we put a whole wrench in the traditional monkeyworks and swapped out roles so that now the guys and gals cook together and the ladies are the first to fist pump the SF 49ers as they roll over those Seattle Seahawks in this year’s turkey day’s big game (fingers crossed!). And then we join hands and we say thanks. And we eat. And then we complain about how stuffed we are. And then we eat again.

Just another reason to celebrate tradition with a twist. Like this Buffalo sauce basted oven roasted turkey. Yep, that’s definitely bucking with tradition.

continue to the recipe… about Buffalo Oven Roasted Turkey

Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

This amazingly easy, 5-ingredient sautéed brussels sprouts recipe makes traditionally bitter brussels sprouts sweet and crazy delicious thanks to roasting in a cast-iron skillet to create a caramelized bite of baby cabbage and salty pancetta for a favorite simple side dish any time of the year.

This recipe is brought to you by Kroger

Whether you call them correctly with the plural Brussels sprouts, or leave the S off the end of this cruciferous veg, aka brussel sprouts, everyone can agree that these green baby cabbages are at their best when sauteed in a skillet with crispy bacon bites drizzled with a maple-sweetened vinegar tang. Even a newly-converted-brussel(s) sprout lover, like me.

When I was a kid I pretty much loved everything my mom made for dinner and was just about always the first one finished. But when she served the one or two things I really didn’t care for, (“Awwwww…Brussels sprouts and liver????”) I had two secret tricks that made it so it appeared I was eating, but really, I wasn’t.

First I’d take a gratuitous bite or two, then another combined with a fake cough straight into my napkin with whatever was in my mouth, that was quickly hid under the table and fed to the dog, or as I excused myself to go to the restroom and dumped into the toilet later.

I can’t believe my mom didn’t realize the only times I EVER had to go to the bathroom during dinner was when we had Brussels sprouts and liver. (Side note: Watch for my mom’s reply that she really did know all along in the comments below…I know her too well and I probably wan’t that good of an actress anyway.)

But thankfully, times change, and so do our palettes. At least half the time. I’m still not a fan of liver, but you can now count me as one of the lovers of Brussels. And even the singular brussel sprouts too, because of easy, 5-ingredient recipes like this.

continue to the recipe… about Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Creamed Corn

This classic Thanksgiving side is now even easier to make thanks to a little help from your slow cooker! CrockPot creamed corn uses just 5 ingredients and requires very little prep work.

You know that thing about Thanksgiving? That thing that everyone’s talking about? No, not that the 5th Avenue slick thinkers have yet to figure out how to turn T-day into a money making marketing machine like Halloween and Christmas.

No, I’m talking about how everybody is talking about how Thanksgiving conjures up cravings for family favorite recipes. It’s like clockwork. As soon as the jack-o-lantern’s candles are blown out, memories start flooding the salivary glands.

My husband has certainly fallen victim to this pilgrim-inspired condition. But wait, he’s part American-Indian. Either way, whichever side of the table he’s sitting on, as along as this 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Creamed Corn is on it, he’s going to be one happy harvest feaster.

But only if his favorite Creamed Corn doesn’t turn into Creamed Corn Flambé.

Yes, it happens. And it did, one Thanksgiving a “few” years back when we lived in California and cooked Thanksgiving for our visiting family.

His recipe, a family favorite his mom always made, was topped with crumbled Saltine crackers and may have been forgotten somewhere between the champagne being corked and the martini olives poked. He was crushed, his cravings were dashed. Look at that face. We grabbed a camera to snap a pic. I don’t think it made him feel better.

That Thanksgiving will forever be known as the dinner with Creamed Corn Flambé. See? Thanksgiving DOES create memories.

Potentially starting the house on fire is just one reason we’ve migrated to the slow cooker. No flambé crackers to forget about and set the smoke alarm ablaze. Just a low, slow cook to create a creamy family fave.

Another bonus: When Tom Turkey is showing his true colors and taking up residence as the traditional oven hog, and the rolls are patiently waiting in need to be baked and Yam Souffle is waiting on deck, this CrockPot creamed corn won’t be yet another demanding side dish standing in line.

Did I mention there are only 5 ingredients? And minimal clean-up thanks to my new blender and double sided lid slow cooker that KitchenAid sent to me to give a spin.

Okay, let’s do this T-day thing.

What’s in Creamed Corn?

In case you didn’t get the memo, this CrockPot creamed corn uses just five ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

Frozen corn
Half and half
Cream cheese
Butter
Sugar
Kosher salt and pepper

How to Make CrockPot Creamed Corn

This creamed corn with cream cheese couldn’t be easier to make. You first add the half and half and some thawed corn into a blender and puree. Then, add everything into the slow cooker and walk away.

This slow cooker creamed corn needs to cook on high for 90 minutes, or on low for 3 to 4 hours.

Before serving, stir the creamed corn to incorporate the melted cream cheese. I like to garnish my CrockPot creamed corn with chives, but that’s optional.

Can I Make This with Canned Corn?

I’ve only made this with frozen corn, so I’m not sure how using canned corn would affect the flavor. If you do use canned corn, I imagine you’d need to thoroughly rinse and drain it before adding it to the slow cooker.

Is There a Half-and-Half Substitute I Can Use?

No, half-and-half is a key ingredient in this slow cooker creamed corn. You may be able to get away with using whole milk instead, but I can’t say for sure.

Tips for Making CrockPot Creamed Corn

You want to use brick-style cream cheese for this Thanksgiving corn recipe and not the whipped kind that comes in a tub. Brick-style cream cheese makes for creamier, thicker CrockPot creamed corn.

Don’t skip the sugar in this recipe. Creamed corn is traditionally a little sweet, but the sugar isn’t overpowering.

Set your CrockPot to the “warm” setting so the creamed corn stays warm throughout the meal. Leftovers reheat well on the stove or in the microwave.

More Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Master

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #foodiecrusheats.

5 from 2 votes

5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Creamed Corn

This classic Thanksgiving side is now even easier to make thanks to a little help from your slow cooker! CrockPot creamed corn uses just 5 ingredients and requires very little prep work.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword corn

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes

Servings 10 cups

Calories 295 kcal

Ingredients

48 ounces frozen corn about 8 cups, thawed
1/2 cup half and half
10 ounces cream cheese torn into chunks
4 tablespoons butter ½ stick, sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
chives for garnish if desired

Instructions

Pour half and half in a blender with 1 cup of corn and puree until smooth. In a 3 ½ to 4 quart slow cooker add the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook over high heat for 1 ½ hours or low heat setting for 3-4 hours.
Stir the corn to incorporate the melted cream cheese. Season with more kosher salt or pepper to taste and garnish with chopped chives if desired.

Nutrition Facts

5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Creamed Corn

Amount Per Serving

Calories 295 Calories from Fat 153

% Daily Value*

Fat 17g26%

Saturated Fat 9g56%

Cholesterol 48mg16%

Sodium 143mg6%

Potassium 455mg13%

Carbohydrates 36g12%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 7g14%

Vitamin A 569IU11%

Vitamin C 10mg12%

Calcium 47mg5%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

More Side Dishes That Feature Corn

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Green Bean Casserole with Onion Rings

The classic green bean casserole gets a real food upgrade with fresh green beans and an easy to make, homemade mushroom sauce for a creamy side dish with a surprise crispy ingredient-crunch.

This recipe is brought to you by Alexia Foods

Homemade Green Bean Casserole Recipe

I see you over there, saying to yourself, “But Heidi, the classic green bean casserole is my favorite. Why go changing it?”

I get it. The classics are hard to leave behind, especially when they’re tied to food memories of time spent with family. But times change, tastes evolve, and the last time I was passed an 11×13-inch casserole dish of green bean casserole, it was a smattering of stunted, semi-green beans slathered in a greasy goop of a greyish gravy instead of a flavorful sauce.

Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.

So unless you’re still using a rotary telephone or parading to the sock hop in your poodle skirt, I’m betting you’ll be more than happy to consider this Thanksgiving side dish upgrade, too.

The original green bean casserole was created during the era of home cooks transitioning from making real-food, from-scratch meals to relishing in the time-saving methods that cooking from a box or can delivered. Now…I am the first one to raise my hand when asked to try a method that saves time in the kitchen. But I won’t sacrifice flavor or taste for the interest of time.

That’s why when I can call out my inner Sandra Lee and create a semi-homemade dish that combines real, fresh ingredients with real, time-saving ingredients, everyone (especially me) is happy at the table.continue to the recipe… about Green Bean Casserole with Onion Rings

Stuffed Pork Chops Plus 10 More Ways to Use Leftover Stuffing

In this stuffed pork chops recipe, boneless and brined pork chops make the perfect vessel for leftover stuffing for an easy weeknight or weekend dinner that will impress.

You know the drill.

It’s Thanksgiving. There’s a bounty of everything. And I always tend to over-provide.

Therefore, this is what I often hear from my mom this time of year. “Oh my word!!! There’s enough food here for the Spanish marines!”

After hearing this saying since the beginning of time—aka third grade when I wore blonde braids and culottes (hey! they’re back!)—I’m still not sure who the Spanish marines are, but apparently, there were a LOT of them.

My favorite turkey side dish known to me as stuffing and to some as dressing, is known for being plentiful. And then leftovers. What to do with all that stuffing besides stuffing more stuffing in your ever expanding mouth?

Save it. Freeze it. And make more out of what you have. That’s why I’m maximizing my leftovers by starting with this stuffed pork chop recipe and sharing more recipe links at the end of this post to cover your ever-loving-leftover-stuffing desires.

Hit it, marine!

I most recently shared my Farro, Butternut Squash, Sausage and Dried Cherries Stuffing with you here on le bloggity blog and true to form, our stuffing runneth over.

I’m the first one to say that I LOVE LEFTOVERS. But like everything, one must know when to say, “Enough is enough.”

Instead of distributing to neighbors or sending home with family, I popped my leftover stuffing in a freezer bag and froze it until I was ready for my stuffing cravings to resume. Stuffing will stay good in the freezer for about 3 months, so I was feeling pretty good about it.

Alas, I didn’t have to wait nearly that long.continue to the recipe… about Stuffed Pork Chops Plus 10 More Ways to Use Leftover Stuffing

Cranberry and Walnut Stuffing

This simple turkey stuffing recipe is studded with dried cranberries, walnuts, celery, and onions, and scented with a mix of fresh herbs, for an easy and comforting addition to your Thanksgiving table.

The Best Turkey Stuffing Recipe

Every year, the holiday season begs for taking note of all things nostalgic. From shopping mall Christmas Santas to familiar family stories, reminiscing and relishing the familiar sights, sounds and smells of the holidays goes hand in hand with the season itself.

While the destination of where we gather changes from year to year, being with those we love is always the centerpiece of our holiday table. Family is that one essential ingredient that makes the holidays the special occassions that they are: familiar but in so many ways, brand new.

But sometimes, traditions are begging to be broken, and sometimes you just need to bust out of the same old and put a new spin on things.

continue to the recipe… about Cranberry and Walnut Stuffing

My Favorite Ambrosia Salad Recipe

This classic ambrosia salad is one of my favorite family holiday recipes because nobody can pass up its mixture of tropical fruit and marshmallows bathed in tangy whipped sour cream.

The Best Ambrosia Fruit Salad Recipe

“You’re REALLY going to put that on the blog?” my man questioned. “Really?”

Yes, REALLY.

We each have our holiday favorite dishes. He has his creamed corn. I have my ambrosia salad.

These are the recipes that if missed on the holiday table cause pain and agony. Even if just for ourselves, because it simply wouldn’t be the same without them.

My grandma made this marshmallow fruit salad recipe every Thanksgiving. I think my Aunt Jill and I—and maybe my little sister Holly because she’d eat pretty much anything that was sweet—were pretty much the only ones who actually ever ate it. Although I do distinctly remember my mom adding a dollop to her plate nestled next to the cranberry sauce, even though she may deny it now.

But as the years went on, and the realization that the ambrosia likers were in a deep decline, it disappeared from the serving table.

Well guess what peeps? It’s baaaaaaaaaack.

I’ve planned on adding this ambrosia salad recipe to the blog ever since I started the blog. But I’d always second guess myself.

It’s not healthy enough.

It’s not Pinterest-worthy enough.

Who’s gonna want to look at a salad with canned fruit and marshmallows bathed in a creamy slather of deliciousness?

Me. That’s who.

continue to the recipe… about My Favorite Ambrosia Salad Recipe

10 Easy and Healthy Brussels Sprouts Recipes to Fall For Now

Roasted or sautéed, dressed with bacon or balsamic, this “best-of” list of 10 healthy Brussels sprouts recipes are literally on everyone’s lips.

Ok. I know it might be a bold statement to make, because not everyone loves Brussels sprouts. Really?? But hear me out! These recipes are NOT the gross and gloppy suspicious green mystery orbs of your youth.

I was never a fan of Brussels sprouts, and would sneak them under the table to feed them to the dog whenever my mom made them. But not anymore. Maybe it’s the fact that my taste buds have grown up, or America’s obsession with revisiting retro classics, but these veggies have received some major glow in recent years.

From the texture (crispy, crunchy, shredded, shaved), to the flavor (blackened, buttery, smokey, salty, sweet) Brussels sprouts are are having their moment.

Welcome them to your table–or at least let them pull up a seat, and give them a try–with the 10 tasty recipes I’ve rounded up below.continue to the recipe… about 10 Easy and Healthy Brussels Sprouts Recipes to Fall For Now

21 Easy Recipes for Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey

This roundup of 21 easy but creative leftover turkey recipes will help you make the most of the lingering bites of Thanksgiving.

Ahhh, it’s the most wonderful time of year. Thanksgiving is upon us, which means we’ll soon be eating our weight in turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. And even though next day leftover turkey sandwiches with all the fixins’ are a gift from the gods, there’s only so many of them we can manage to shovel down our gullets. That’s why we’re determined to leverage our leftovers as best we can, in as many different ways as we can.

From soups and curries, to pot pies and casseroles, and even pop tarts (yes, pop tarts), we’ve got 21 delicious ways to enjoy your leftover T-Day bird. It’s the stuff tryptophan dreams are made of. Gobble, gobble.

continue to the recipe… about 21 Easy Recipes for Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey

Friday Faves

Happy Friday friends!

Is it true? I suppose it is. I batted my baby blues and WHAM! Thanksgiving is somehow set to appear in front of us in just 6 short days.

Last year we escaped to Turks and Caicos for the holiday and savored fresh caught conch instead of turkey for our big day dinner. Or maybe we had Thai food? Or was that the night we went out for Italian? No matter what we ate, the important thing is we were together!

This year, my husband and I ~~were conned~~ volunteered to host my man’s side of the family which could turn into 20+ people at our house. While I’m not too stressed about it thanks to hostessing tips like these finally sinking under my entertaining skin, I AM thinking there’s pretty much nothing wrong with eating out on turkey day :).

Just sayin’.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Farro, Butternut Squash, Sausage and Dried Cherry Stuffing

Farro, a healthy whole grain, adds a nutty bite to stuffing’s traditional flavors with sausage, butternut squash and sage with a sweet taste of dried cherries.

This post and its bountiful Thanksgiving flavors is sponsored by Jones Dairy Farm.

At my house it’s called stuffing.

Drunk with chicken stock, brimming with celery, onion, and butter, and perfumed with sage, this bread concoction is always cooked in the bird and comes out supremely moist. Yes, I did say “moist.” Moist. Moist. Moist. It’s how I prefer my stuffing.

At your house you may refer to it as dressing.

To me dressing delivers a dryer bite. Something maybe even a little crunchy. A bit more austere, perhaps even a little stark.

Not like my beloved stuffing. It’s my favorite part of the feast.continue to the recipe… about Farro, Butternut Squash, Sausage and Dried Cherry Stuffing

Maple Buttered Sweet Potato Wedges

These wedge-cut sweet potatoes are seasoned with a touch of chili powder, cinnamon, fresh thyme, and a generous drip good maple syrup, and then they get caramelized as they roast in the oven, for a wonderfully sweet and savory side for your Thanksgiving table.

Yesterday I was all about the pie, pie, pie, pie, pie. Today I’m all about the sides, sides, sides, sides, sides. Let’s go T-swift style and Shake! It! Up! Shake! It! Up!

You can find sweet potatoes on pretty much every Thanksgiving table. Except for ours. Growing up we never had sweet potatoes for turkey day. Or yams for that matter. I guess nobody was much of a fan of cooked marshmallows on top of canned orange jewels.

This time around, I’ve turned to the wedge—the sweet potato wedge. Gone is the mush factor found in canned varieties. Instead one of my favorite fall seasonal veggies is partnered with Real® butter, sweet maple syrup and a pinch or two of cinnamon and another smidge of cayenne. Then off on a trip to the hot oven they go.

continue to the recipe… about Maple Buttered Sweet Potato Wedges

Friday Faves

I’m starting Thanksgiving early. But this year you won’t find me in the kitchen.

While I’m usually hostess with the mostess and making turkey dinner for the fam, complete with green bean side dishes and pumpkin desserts galore, this year the family is doing it different with the sound of crashing waves on the beach lulling me into an afternoon nap instead of the usual tryptophan-induced side affects of a juicy gobbler dinner.

Here’s what’s been going on at FC HQ this week, clockwise from top left:

continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Pumpkin Tiramisu

Who doesn’t love pie? I mean, Thanksgiving is right around the proverbial corner and that sends nearly every pie lover on earth into pie fantasy orbit complete with little pilgrim space helmets. But Pumpkin Tiramisu? In the shape of a pie? We’re talking Mayflower to Mars.

While I’m a fan of pies, particularly pumpkin pie which has ALWAYS been my favorite, sometimes I go stark raving off the typical Turkey-day-desires charts and crave something more. Well, maybe not more, just different. Like a pumpkin tiramisu shaped like a pie.

When the husband and I were carousing Costco in Las Vegas, doing a little boozey-perusing (Utah’s liquor laws don’t allow hard alcohol or wine to be sold in grocery stores—I know, don’t get me started), my little eye spied a pumpkin liqueur.

It looked creamy, it looked dreamy and I immediately knew I had to cook with it. Funny that I didn’t even think about drinking it. But now I have, and trust me, it’s good for that too.

continue to the recipe… about Pumpkin Tiramisu

Happy Thanks and Happy Eats

There are so many things I am beyond thankful for. Like this painting Smudge made for the blog. She sees how much time and effort I put into this space on the web and wants so much to be a part of it. To be a part of me. And she is, far more than she’ll ever know.

This month has been a realization in the fact that, ugh, I am aging. And she and I are getting older and life isn’t always what we expected it to be. And even though there is still so much life to live.continue to the recipe… about Happy Thanks and Happy Eats

10 Cranberry Recipes plus a Turkey Cranberry and Grilled Brie Cheese Sandwich

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner table conversation could turn from a mild meet-up to a combative melee depending on one’s beliefs. Why? Here’s one reason why.

Thanks for the stimulating conversation but I’ll be staying far from the fracas.

Thanksgiving brings out opinions aplenty in areas other than current events or whether the Redskins or Cowboys will take the turkey honors. Some of the strongest are tied to food and the stalwart stands we each take when it comes to defending our turkey day dinners.continue to the recipe… about 10 Cranberry Recipes plus a Turkey Cranberry and Grilled Brie Cheese Sandwich

Friday Faves and Pancetta and Hazelnut Green Beans

With turkey-lurkey day right around the corner everyone is scouting out side dishes to dress up the white bird.

Traditional green bean casserole surely holds a soft spot in my heart and I can never turn up my nose at creamy, onion topped green beans. Of course I have to add mushrooms, but that’s a different recipe.

My recipe for Pancetta and Hazelnut Green Beans is one of those dishes that is so easy to make but looks all fancy, like it BELONGS on the Thanksgiving dinner table menu rubbing wings with the golden bird and touching edges with mashers and gravy. I never did get the whole church and state edict of segregating food from one another on the dinner plate. We’re not in 3rd grade anymore people. I like starting off with individual tastes for sure, but by the end of the meal each dish is happily represented with a bit of turkey, a touch of mash and gravy, some cranberry and a bean or two and don’t forget the stuffing, artfully stacked on my soft, butter Parker House roll for the complete, one-bite, t-day taster.

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Pancetta and Hazelnut Green Beans

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
½ pound pancetta diced
3 tablespoons butter divided
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoon shallots sliced into thin rings
1 pound fresh green beans trimmed
¼ cup Marsala wine or chicken stock
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ cup toasted hazelnuts

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from skillet and drain on a paper towel.
Add 2 tablespoons butter to same skillet. Once butter melts, add garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently and scraping the pancetta remnants from the bottom of the skillet. Add shallots and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add green beans, lower heat to medium, cover with lid and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Add Marsala wine and additional tablespoon of butter, cooked pancetta and salt and pepper and cook for another 3 minutes or until beans are tender but not soft. Serve topped with toasted hazelnuts.

While all of this turkey talk is fun, we all know it’s just the pre-game warm-up for the Superbowl of holidays: Christmas. Smudge has even taken awares, letting me know that she thinks Christmas is probably the most popular holiday. I wonder how she figured that out? Obviously not from the ads pimping holiday sales before Halloween or the fact that we’ve had a Christmas tree up in our living room since mid-October. She’s a smart cookie, planting seeds for her holiday list just in case someone is listening or watching or might assume it just really isn’t a big deal.

The new Holiday issue of FoodieCrush is going to be a big, big deal too.

From hipsters to Hannukah, this next issue has food bloggers sharing…

Easy yet lush cocktail and entertaining tips…

Their cookie decorating secrets…

Delectable desserts…
And even a special podcast from two of our favorite holiday homefries.

You know you can’t wait. Neither can I! Check out last year’s Holiday Issue for tons of great food blogging ideas, recipes and behind the scenes interviews with some of your favorite food bloggers.

But until then, my Friday Faves…

1. Even the tumult of Hurricane Sandy and 11 days of power can’t keep a good food blogger down. See what Shelly can whip up with a generator, good neighbors and scammed internet connections.

2. And more food bloggers are helping the best way they know how: through food of course. Barb and Jenn have taken the initiative to turn the tide from despair into hope. Support them by checking out the participants of Food Bloggers Support for Sandy and follow the hashtag #FBS4Sandy on Twitter and donating to national relief efforts.

3. I am coveting this Instagram-imaged calendar by one of my favorite Instagrammers, Alice, who will be donating 25% of proceeds to hurricane relief. If you aren’t inspired by her photos I’m not sure we can be friends.

4. Which leads us to Instagram lurking. How much do we love that we can now stalk our favorite Instagrammers photos and interchanging header on our computers?

5. This week’s new favorite food blog. I could stare at it all day long.

6. Behind the scenes of Cooking Light’s 25th Anniversary issue.

7. Maria and I are working on something new for the holidays that we can’t wait to share in the next few weeks but until then, here’s Nicki’s sweet story that’s one of the reasons we’re creating it.

8. It’s always been the style of my birthday cake so I’m totally digging following Lora and Anuradha’s #bundamonth baking challenge.

9. Will we finally have private Pinterest boards?

10. And my favorite Tweet of the week: “Put your own mask on first. Plane safety = life mantra.” via @andkathleen

Also, I’m in this little Pinterest contest and so if you haven’t yet, pin this little ditty for me would ‘ya? ‘Preciate it.

Make sure to subscribe to FoodieCrush for sneak peeks and the first reveal of the Holiday issue. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram too.

Friday Faves and Maple Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

For so many, this week cannot get over soon enough.

The focus has certainly been on the weather fiasco that has swept away homes and memories along the upper East Coast. With so many people who will be digging out from under Sandy’s destruction for some time ahead, it’s hard for those of us distanced from the front line to know exactly how to help. But there is a way to help, by simply going online and donating to relief efforts. And don’t forget about the animals, they’re in need too.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves and Maple Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Green Beans and Shiitake Mushrooms Plus 5 Simple Thanksgiving Sides

The stories are what I remember the most.

Everyone gathered around my Grandma Mary Jane’s dining table set with her best crystal and china—that I now have. The ambrosia salad that she’d make just for me. Helping my Aunt Jill make the relish tray and sneaking the squeeze cheese minus the celery.

But the best part of Thanksgiving was my Grandma M.J. retelling the same stories each year, with the same style and wit as if it was the first. Her memories of when my mom and and her siblings were young. No matter how many times we’d heard the story, the entire table would wait anxiously, grinning from ear to ear, and roar in laughter at the punch line.

No one could tell a story like Grandma MJ. Except for Uncle Tom, whose laugh was positively booming and infectious, and whose motto is, “I’m on a seafood diet. I see food and I eat it.”

Ah, words to live by.

Lucky for you, I’ve started—just barely—to move out of my ambrosia salad phase.continue to the recipe… about Green Beans and Shiitake Mushrooms Plus 5 Simple Thanksgiving Sides

Thanksgiving

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The Best Turkey Recipe for Non-Traditionalists

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Can I Make This with Canned Corn?

Is There a Half-and-Half Substitute I Can Use?

Tips for Making CrockPot Creamed Corn

More Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Master

5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Creamed Corn

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More Side Dishes That Feature Corn

Homemade Green Bean Casserole Recipe

The Best Turkey Stuffing Recipe

The Best Ambrosia Fruit Salad Recipe

Pancetta and Hazelnut Green Beans

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