Whipped Sweet Potato Bake

Thanksgiving 2007 ~ 11.23.07

This dish is really easy to make, especially if you use canned sweet potatoes. Fresh ones taste best but I usually make these in a Thanksgiving frenzy so I use canned. I also use a ricer that eliminates the step of mashes and produces a creamy potato base. This was a pretty good, basic recipe. This Thanksgiving, of course, I accidentally put in 4 times the amount of nutmeg than the recipe called for. I ended up doubling the amount of sweet potatoes and while the dish was very much nutmeggy, it was still pretty good!

Whipped Sweet Potato Bake
Recipe courtesy of KraftFoods.com

3 cans (15 oz. each) sweet potatoes, drained
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat sweet potatoes, butter, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.

SPOON into lightly greased 1-1/2-qt. casserole dish; top with marshmallows.

BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until sweet potato mixture is heated through and marshmallows are lightly browned.

Donna's Sweet Yam Crunch

My mom gave me this recipe and I think Donna was someone she worked with. It's a take on a classic Thanksgiving dish with an unusual addition of butter flavoring. It's pretty sweet and it would probably be too much to top it with marshmallows... but maybe not. I will be making this dish this year and topping half with the pecan crunch mixture and the other with marshmallows. This is a very easy dish to make the night before so all you have to do is pop it in the oven about 30 minutes before you plan to have dinner.

Donna's Sweet Yam Crunch

3 cups cooked fresh or canned yams
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla flavoring
1 Tbsp. butter flavoring
1 Tbsp. almond flavoring
1 stick margarine
2 eggs

Boil (or bake) yams until tender. If using fresh yams, peel and mash. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Spread evenly in 9 x 13 dish.

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick margarine (melted)
½ cup self rising flour
1 cup crush pecans

Mix all topping ingredients well. Spread evenly on top of yams in dish. Bake until brown, approximately 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Macaroni and Cheese

I love homemade mac and cheese. There's something very comforting about sitting down with a bowl that has just come out of the oven that satisfies like nothing else will. It's one of the first things that I cooked for James (to go along with meatloaf that he adores) and he is never disappointed to come home and see it baking in the oven. This recipe calls for elbow macaroni but I use rotini or penne pasta all the time. I even use whole wheat pasta instead of white and it tastes just as delicious.

Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (7 ounces)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded or cubed Cheddar cheese (8 ounces)

Heat oven to 350ºF.

Cook macaroni as directed on package.

While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constanly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in cheese. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted.

Drain macaroni. Gently stir macaroni into cheese sauce. Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Buttermilk Cornbread Dressing

Thanksgiving 2007 ~ 11.23.07

I sought out this recipe after eating the cornbread dressing from Piccadilly Cafeteria at a work fuction when I worked for the law office. It was my first time to really try it and I thought it was yummy and delicious with cranberry sauce (the jellied, not the whole stuff). It has been made for every Thanksigiving that I have hosted since. This recipe is moist with buttermilk lending a tangy taste and the bacon a smokey flavor. Honestly, how could you go wrong with a recipe that has buttermilk, bacon and parmesan cheese?

Buttermilk Cornbread Dressing
Recipe Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

1/2 pound bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped yellow onions
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
5 large eggs
3 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons Steen's 100 percent Pure Cane Syrup
Dash of Crystal Hot Sauce
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups crumbled leftover cornbread
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2 quart glass rectangular pan with the butter. In a large saute pan, render the bacon until crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the onions and saute for 4 minutes, or until soft. Season the onions with pepper. Add the garlic and remove from the heat. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk and syrup together. Add the bacon mixture and stir well. Season the mixture with the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add the cornbread, salt and cheese. Mix well. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until the pudding is golden brown and bubbly, about 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.