Apple Yam Casserole

This recipe is from Dub. A lot of us in our family don't particularly like sweet potatoes or yams, but Dub has been making this recipe for a few years now. I kind of like it myself and have developed a taste for some sweet potato dishes.

Apple Yam Casserole (from Dub adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes or yams (the orange ones -- NOT the yellow ones)
2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup water + 1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or 1 tablespoon corn starch)
3 slices lemon, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Boil sweet potatoes in water in large saucepan for 30 minutes. Peel and cube.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
3. In the casserole dish, alternately layer the sweet potatoes and apples.
4. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix together brown sugar, 1/3 cup water, cinnamon, raisins, butter and salt. Cook 5 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, stir together remaining water and flour or corn starch. Combine with the brown sugar mixture. Pick out any lumps that may have formed, heh heh. Pour sauce over the sweet potatoes and apples. Place the lemon slices on top.
6. Bake covered in the preheated oven 20 minutes. Uncover and continue baking 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes and apples are tender.

Turkey Gravy

I've never really made gravy before, so I had no idea how one would make the excellent turkey gravy that typically accompanies the turkey and mashed potatoes. Fortunately, Dad was willing to contribute, so this comes straight from Dad!

Turkey Gravy from Dad

It isn't a recipe so much as it is a method. I collect all of the juices from the pan in which the turkey was roasted and let them set until the grease has separated and risen to the top. I measure and use one tablespoon of flour for every tablespoon of grease. For every cup of gravy I want to make I use one cup of the drippings from which the grease has been removed and add to it one tablespoon of grease and flour for a thin gravy, or two tablespoons of grease and flour for a medium gravy, or three tablespoons of grease and flour for a thick gravy. I make sure the grease and flour are well dissolved in the drippings before I heat the mixture to boiling. The gravy will thicken when boiled so boil it for a minute or so and then add the chopped giblets and boil for another minute or so.

If there aren't enough drippings to make the amount of gravy you desire you can add potato water to the drippings until you have the volume you desire. If you are short of grease you can add butter, but keep the ratios of grease/butter, flour, and drippings/potato water the same.

You can use corn starch instead of flour but use about half as much corn starch as flour.

Stuffing

This stuffing would usually go right into the turkey.

Stuffing from Mom

1 Box of stuffing
Turkey giblets, cut in small pieces
1 egg
Sauteed yellow onions and celery

Make a box of stuffing according to directions. Add some of the turkey giblets, 1 egg, and sauteed onions and celery. Stuff into the turkey and cook with the turkey according to directions on the turkey. Spoon out of the turkey, into a serving dish, and enjoy!

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are a must at a holiday meal. I asked cash for a mashed potatoes recipe because I don't always like them and don't usually make them for myself. Here is a typical recipe for mashed potatoes:

Mashed Potatoes from Cash

Potatoes
Salt
Sour cream
Butter
Milk
Pepper

Peel potatoes and cut into equal sizes (about quarters of medium potatoes). Boil in salted water until you can run your fork into them without too much effort. Drain, but leave a couple of tablespoons of the salty water. Beat with sour cream, butter, and milk (quantities to taste). Sprinkle in salt and pepper (to taste). Enjoy.

Feather-light Rolls

Watching Mom prepare these rolls is one of my earliest and most treasured memories in the kitchen as a child. This recipe is perfect for children who want to help out a little in the kitchen (during the rolling) and made an appearance at most Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners that I can remember. Of course, I am excepting that Christmas spent in China on a train when we had mandarin oranges and Digestives (crackers) for dinner.

We would typically use the leftover rolls for turkey sandwiches for days after Thanksgiving. I personally love these rolls heated up with butter or with butter and honey.

Feather-light Rolls from Mom (The origins of this recipe were from Grandma Althea, but I think it actually came through Uncle Clawson's mother.)

Makes 32 rolls

1 Tbsp dry yeast or 1 yeast cake
1 Tbsp sugar
1 c scalded milk
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c melted butter
3/4 tsp salt
3 well-beaten eggs
3 1/4 to 4 c sifted flour

Put 1 Tbsp sugar and dry yeast in 1/3 c water. Add lukewarm milk. As the yeast starts to work, add sugar, butter, salt and eggs. Mix thoroughly. Add flour until the dough is soft, yet stiff enough to knead. Cover and allow to rise for 5 to 6 hours. (This can be made the night before and left in the refrigerator or other cool place overnight. Pull it out early enough to let it get warm and rise.)

Place dough on bread board and knead. To make butter-horn rolls, divide the dough in half and roll out each half as nearly round as possible and about 1/4 inch thick. Cut as one would a pie into 16 pieces. Beginning at the broad end, roll each section loosely to the small end and pinch the end down. Put on buttered trays. Let rise until very light, 4 to 6 hours.

Bake rolls at *375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

*At a high altitude, bake at 350 degrees for about 16 minutes.

Cranberry Jell-O

Mom used to make this for Thanksgiving all the time. Our family doesn't typically love cranberry items, so a lot of the time there would be leftovers of it. Consequently, this recipe was eventually abandoned as we got older. I think that Mom should make it now because I bet that my brother-in-law Noj would really like it. I still wouldn't like it, though, because I'm generally opposed to celery.

Cranberry Jello from Mom (originally from Joan M.)

1 large package cherry Jell-O
1 c jellied cranberry sauce, melted
1 c diced celery
1 c chopped walnuts
1 c crushed pineapple, drained

Dissolve the package of cherry Jell-O in 2 cups hot water. Stir in melted cranberry sauce. Stir in celery, walnuts, and crushed pineapple. Pour liquid into an 8 x 11 x 2 inch glass pan. Chill for a few hours until set. Serve in squares on a lettuce leaf.

Relish Tray

The relish tray was always an essential part of the pre-holiday dinner snacking for us. Here are some classic elements of the holiday relish tray:

Black olives
Green olives
Baby sweet pickles
Baby dill pickles
Celery, cut in 3 inch pieces and filled with Cheez Whiz
Celery, cut in 3 inch pieces and filled with peanut butter

Some other relish tray ideas:
Radishes
Carrots
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Cherry tomatoes

Aunt Carol's Cheese Ball

Aunt Carol always brings us this cheese ball at Christmas, and we love the tradition.

Aunt Carol's Cheese Ball

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c butter or margarine, softened
2 Tbsp finely chopped pimiento
1 Tbsp snipped parsley
1 tsp grated onion
1/3 c finely chopped nuts
1/3 c snipped parsley

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, and butter; beat with electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in pimiento, 1 Tbsp parsley, and onion. Chill. Shape into a ball. Coat with nuts and 1/3 c parsley. Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

Serve with Ritz-like crackers.

Corned Beef Cheese Ball

This is another classic holiday cheese ball recipe.

Corned Beef Cheese Ball (from Mom)

3 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Accent Seasoning or flavor enhancer
1 onion, chopped fine (or 1 bunch green onions, chopped fine)
4 (2.5 oz) pkgs corned beef lunch meat, chopped fine

Mix together cream cheese, sauce, accent, onion, and half of the corned beef. Roll mixture into two balls. Roll each ball into remaining half of corned beef. Chill, and serve with crackers.

Shrimp Cocktail Cheese Ball

This recipe is a staple for holiday appetizers.

Shrimp Cocktail Cheese Ball from Mom

1 can of little shrimp
1 bottle of cocktail sauce
1 pkg cream cheese
Crackers of choice (frequently Wheat Thins)

Using the foil wrap that comes around the cream cheese, shape the cream cheese into a ball. Put the cheese ball on the center of a serving platter or plate. Drain liquid from canned shrimp. Dump shrimp on top of cheese ball. Add enough cocktail sauce to basically cover the shrimp and cheese ball. There will likely be some leftover. Surround cheese ball with crackers. Enjoy!

Swedish Pancakes

I decided to start with this one because it represents how I feel about the recipes. I want our traditional recipes to be handed down to next generations and to not lose them, just because we live apart from each other.

Swedish Pancakes from Great-grandma Hulda

2/3 c powdered milk
1/3 c water
3 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 c flour
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 c water

Blend together powdered milk, water, and sugar. In a separate bowl blend together the egg, salt, flour, oil, and water. After each have been sufficiently blended, stir both mixtures together. Batter will be thin.

Pour almost 1/2 cup of batter onto a hot, greased 9 inch round, flat griddle or crepe pan. Turn when light brown. Serve with butter, jam, and syrup or whipping cream and fresh berries.