Raspberry Pretzel Salad

2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter
3 Tbsp melted butter
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz Cool Whip
1 cup sugar
1- 6 oz pkg. raspberry jello
10 oz frozen raspberries

Spread crushed pretzels in bottom of 9x13 glass pan. Sprinkle 3 Tbsp sugar over pretzels and drizzle butter overtop. Bake at 350° for 10 min. Let cool.

Cream sugar and cream cheese. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread mixture over pretzel crust and chill. Stir jello into 2 cups boiling water. Stir in raspberries. Chill for 10 min. then pour over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until firm - at least 4 hours. Overnight is best.

*Not really so much a salad as it is  a dessert, but we always have this for Thanksgiving, and this can't be the dessert!

Sweet Chili Cream Cheese Dip

Source: Tami Richardson

12 oz. jar chili sauce

8 oz. block cream cheese

4 oz. can tiny shrimp (optional)

Put cream cheese block on serving dish. Pour chili sauce over top. Add shrimp on top. Serve with crackers.

*We have had this at Thanksgiving and Christmas for as long as I can remember. I use the “Homemade” brand of chili sauce in the short cute little jar-usually found in the ketchup aisle.

Brined Roast Turkey

Source: Alton Brown

14-16 lb frozen turkey

Brine:

1 cup kosher salt

½ cup brown sugar

1 gallon vegetable stock 

1 Tbsp black peppercorns

1 ½ tsp allspice berries

1 ½ tsp candied ginger

1 gallon heavily iced water

Aromatics:

1 red apple, sliced

½ onion, sliced

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup water

4 sprigs rosemary

6 sage leaves

Canola oil

Thaw turkey in refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38° F for 2 to 3 days.

Combine all brine ingredients, except for water in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature.

Combine the brine water and ice in a 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in the brine. Weigh the bird down if necessary, until fully immersed. Cover and refrigerate for 8-16 hours, or keep in cool place, keeping consistently iced. Turn bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Remove the bird from the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a roasting pan, pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey’s cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Cover the turkey breast with a triangle of foil, to avoid dryness. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Set thermometer to 160° F (if available.) A 14 to 16 pound bird should take 2 to 2 ½ hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil at least 15 minutes, ideally for 1 hour.

*This is kind of an unconventional way to roast turkey, but the result is the most moist delicious turkey ever! Getting a smaller turkey is part of the key, so sometimes I roast 2 if I’m cooking for a crowd.

Lavona's Rolls

Source: Lavona Richardson

1 Tbsp yeast

¼ cup warm water

2 cups milk (anything but skim)

1 tsp salt

½ cup sugar

¾ cup butter

2 eggs

7-8 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Heat milk, until hot but not boiling, stir in salt, sugar, and butter. Let cool until warm. Pour into mixer bowl. 

Mix in beaten eggs and dissolved yeast. Add two cups of flour, mix until smooth. Gradually add in remaining flour, until dough comes away from the bowl. 

Knead in mixer for five minutes. Cover and let rise until double, about one hour. 

Roll out 1/3 of the dough at a time, into circles, cut into 12 triangles, roll each triangle, starting with the large end. Place rolls on baking sheet, close together. Let rise until double, about 1 hour. 

Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes. Brush with butter.

*These are the best ever!  If the tops are not soft when they come out of the oven, I cover them with a dish towel for 5 minutes, they soften right up.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Source: Tami Richardson

(this is the highlight of every Thanksgiving at our house)

Crust:

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup melted butter

¼ cup sugar

Cheesecake:

3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 ¾ cup canned pumpkin

2/3 cup evaporated milk

2 Tbsp corn starch

1 ¼ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

Topping:

2 cups sour cream

½ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

For crust:

Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Press into bottom of 9 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min.

For cheesecake:

Beat cream cheese, sugar and brown sugar in mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs, pumpkin and evaporated milk. Add cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg; beat well. Pour into crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes until edge is set but center still moves slightly.

For topping:

Combine sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Spread over surface of hot cheesecake. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Cool in pan. Chill for 5 hours, best if chilled overnight.