My Thanksgiving 2010 Menu

Last year was the very first Thanksgiving that I decided to cook for and I had absolutely no idea what to cook! So I scoured the internet & watched any show that I could find featuring Thanksgiving recipes. I picked quite a few & made most of them. Judging from the ingredients, I should have loved them all, but some just turned out not to really be my taste (I'm kind of picky). Although my guests seemed to enjoy everything, I figured that since I'm the one cooking, this year I will only be making the dishes that I enjoyed the most. I've come to realize that I'm better off going for quality rather than quantity.

Menu

Festive Cranberry Punch

Macaroni Pie (see recipe below)

Maple-Ginger Glazed Carrots

Potatoes Grand Mere

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Hot Sesame Green Beans (see recipe below)

Vegan Celery Root Soup 

Vegetable-Herb Stuffing

Small Honey Baked Ham

Small Honey Baked Turkey Breast

Hot Sesame Green Beans

I've combined 2 or 3 recipes to come up with the following recipe.

Ingredients:

Kosher salt

1 pound green beans, trimmed

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (OR plain sesame oil)

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use the amount that suits you)

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

3 medium shallots, thinly sliced (OR regular onions)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil over high heat and salt it generously.

2. Add the beans, and cook, uncovered, until just tender, about 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Drain and rinse under cold water, set aside.

4. Whisk the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, cornstarch, and pepper flakes in a small bowl.

5. Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet.

6. Add the shallots, garlic, ginger, and sesame seeds and cook until the vegetables are golden, about 3 minutes.

7. Stir in the green beans and soy sauce mixture, bring to a boil and cook until the green beans glaze, about 1 minute.

8. Sprinkle with the vinegar and serve immediately.

Macaroni Pie

This is essentially baked macaroni. I grew up eating it (it is a VERY common

dish in the West Indies) & the following recipe is a variation of my Mother's.

Ingredients:

1 Egg

Cream of Celery Soup

Black Pepper (to taste)

1 pound Elbow Macaroni

Cayenne Pepper (to taste)

1 pound Pepper Jack (cubed)

1 cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs

½ stick of Butter or Margarine

½ pound Pepper Jack (shredded) 

1 pound Extra Sharp Cheddar (cubed)

1 can Milk (whatever kind you prefer)

½ pound Extra Sharp Cheddar (shredded)

1 tbsp Garlic Powder (make sure that it's powder NOT salt)

1 tbsp Onion Powder (make sure that it's powder NOT salt)

Instructions:

1. Bring a 4 quart pot of cold water to a boil over high heat and salt it.

2. Add macaroni & cook until firm, but not hard (al dente).

3. Drain macaroni & pour into a "half size deep" (12¾ in. x 10⅜ in.) aluminum steam table pan.

4. Pre-heat oven to 375°.

5. Pour Cream of Celery Soup into a blender and then pour milk into the empty can. Swish it around to get whatever soup is left & pour into the blender, as well. Add the egg, ½ a pound  of Pepper Jack, 1 pound of Sharp Cheddar, cayenne pepper, garlic powder & onion powder, then blend.

6. Pour blended mixture over macaroni.

7. Mix bread crumbs & shredded cheeses, then spread on top.

8. Place in oven for 45 minutes or until the top is medium brown.

9. Remove from oven & let cool to desired warmth.

My hope is that at least ONE person sees this, makes, serves and enjoys a dish or two. Bon appétit!

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Unfortunately I did not have any time to take pictures, before everyone started eating. I do have some notes, though...

Pumpkin Cheesecake - I made a Nilla Wafer (instead of Graham Cracker) crust , because I'm not a fan of Graham Crackers & I like a thicker crust, so I used 2 cups of crumbs, rather than 1¾. I also added a little bit of cinnamon, nutmeg & ground cloves to the crust and made cinnamon whipped cream with heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar & ground cinnamon. But I did not put it on top. I just put the whipped in a festive serving bowl on the table with a scalloped serving spoon.

Vegan Celery Root Soup - Both this year & last I decided to opt out of topping the soup with diced apples. I just don't think that the combination would suit my taste. But, I do love the look and taste of the chive oil garnish.

Macaroni Pie - I decided to mix ½ a pound of wheat macaroni with ½ pound of white macaroni. I guess I though that it would be a little healthier... or something. LOL!

Festive Cranberry Punch - My Mother & I both thought that that the punch was a bit too tart, so I added an additional ½ cup of Orange Juice & used 36 oz (3 cans) of Sprite instead of 16. It was perfect (in my opinion) after that!