Let's Talk about Thanksgiving: Great Recipes!

[happymomma]

I wasn't going to cook a Thanksgiving meal b/c we were planning to go to my parents house. Unfortunately that plan looks like isn't going to happen so that I am planning to cook a last minute Thanksgiving meal. I was looking to see if anyone had great Thanksgiving recipes that they love and if it's pretty simple. Not too hard. Especially a Turkey recipe. Thanks so much in advance. I'm probably a little late but I really want the kids to have a good Thanksgiving meal. Especially since my son has been talking about it from learning about the holiday in school.

[JoyNChrist]

I just posted my pumpkin cheesecake recipe over in the cooking forum. It's not particularly quick or easy, but it's really not that labor-intensive either...the main thing is that it has to sit in the oven for a long time. I like it because it kind of satisfies that pumpkin pie need while still serving as a really rich dessert...it's often the only dessert we eat at my in-laws' for Thanksgiving, and everyone enjoys it.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/2 cup ground pecans
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup butter
1 cup canned pumpkin
4 egg yolks
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

OPTIONAL (glaze and decoration):
1/2 cup whipping cream
3/8 cup real maple syrup
Additional pecans (ground or whole shelled)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Set eggs and cream cheese out to warm (need to be at room temperature before mixing).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Combine gingersnap crumbs, ground pecans, 2 Tbs white sugar, 2 Tbs brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and the melted butter and mix well. Firmly press into 9-inch springform pan (come up sides an inch or two).
4. Combine 3/4 cup white sugar, pumpkin, 3 egg yolks, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well.
5. In another bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; gradually add 3/8 cup white sugar and mix well. Add the whole egg, remaining egg yolk, and the whipping cream, beating well. Add cornstartch and vanilla and almond extracts, beat until smooth. Add pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour into crust in springform pan.
6. After adding filling, drop the pan on the counter about 5 times to remove air bubbles. Swirl filling around with a butter knife, then drop again.
7. Create water bath for pan - wrap bottom and sides of springform pan in 2 sheets of heavy duty foil (overlap top of pan a bit). Fill another, larger pan with about 1 inch of hot water (I use a 9x13 cake pan). Place springform pan in pan of water and place both in oven.
8. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Turn off oven, but leave cheesecake inside with door closed for about 3 hours (to cool slowly). Remove and place on wire rack for about an hour. At this point, cake should be separating from sides of pan. Remove from pan, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

OPTIONAL: Before serving, make maple syrup glaze. Combine 1/2 cup whipping cream in a small saucepan with 3/8 cup real maple syrup. Simmer on stove for about 20 minutes, then allow to cool. You can either do one of two things - stir in some ground pecans, then cover top of cheesecake with mixture, or decorate top of cheesecake with pecans (I make a ring of whole shelled pecans around the edge then spread crushed pecans in the middle) and cover with glaze. You could also just do the glaze without pecans, or leave it out altogether, but I think it really adds to the flavor.

The combination of dropping the pan, baking it in the water bath, and leaving it in the oven for several hours after baking seems to be key to avoiding air bubbles and cracking. I always get a really smooth cake with these methods.

I've been making pumpkin cheesecakes for several years and have tried many different recipes. This is by far my favorite, and it never fails to impress. :)

[kijip]

I encourage you to check out the cooking forum. There is a thread for Thanksgiving.

Will you be doing a whole turkey or just a breast of turkey? I have a great recipe for turkey breast I am dying to make, but we are visiting friends and I am not doing the turkey- I am doing the stuffing, a potato/carrot/sunchoke dish and stuffed mushrooms.