Most sucessful new (to you) holiday recipes.

[Gypsy]

So in the US Thanksgiving has passed.

What was you most successful dish?

For me, it was a SUPER easy variation on mashed potatoes. I made mashed potatoes as usual (russet potatoes without skins sliced and boiled, half and half, butter, salt, pepper) and added all the green parts of a huge bunch (closer to two bunches) of green onions, chopped,. Threw the green onions in while the potatoes were hot (right after straining and transferring to the mashing bowl).

OMG. So good.

The gingered pumpkin bisque my SIL made tradition in my husband's family was excellent as well. But that's a standby.

What was your successful new dish/recipe?

 

[Indylady]

Beer butter marinade--a bottle of beer, worcestershire, half pound butter, hot sauce, garlic, and onion powder. It made one of the best Thanksgiving turkeys I've ever had. Gypsy, I'm going to add green onions to my leftover mashed potatoes tomorrow. Your recipe sounds incredible!

 

[vc10um]

While not a Thanksgiving recipe, last week I upped the ante on my potato and leek soup (I use the recipe from skinnytaste, but add plain yogurt instead of milk) by adding an entire bulb of celeriac (celery root) and 2 additional cups of broth.

It.
Was.
AMAZING.

Thanksgiving was my husband's 30th birthday, so we didn't really make any "traditional" dishes...but he requested a Black Forest Cake, and while I cobbled together the different components from all over the internet, the most amazing thing about it was the Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting. I've never made SMB before, and I will probably never make anything else ever again. SO MUCH BETTER than American Buttercream!

Gypsy, I LOVE green onions in my mashed potatoes, and Indy, that marinade sounds fabulous!

 

[JewelFreak]

I made a recipe I'd never tried, from Southern Living Mag. Collards & Bacon au Gratin. Collards, onions, garlic, bacon, (I added lemon juice & a whisper of cayenne to brighten flavor), and Parmesan cream sauce. Bread crumbs, olive oil, & more parmesan on top, oven till golden brown. Came out yummy.

 

[Lulie]

We celebrated ‘Thankanukkah’ for fun. My aunt made potato donuts for the kids and I gave each guest a jar of homemade Kosher Dill Pickles [Schwartz's Book] to bring home
Not a recipe but a true discovery. I managed to keep 8 lbs. of mashed potatoes in a lined/greased crock pot for 6 hours with the towel trick. I will never make mashed potatoes last minute again!

 

[JulieN]

A new and delicious one this year was large chunks of sweet potato simply oven roasted with coconut oil.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I accidentally bought a really cheap cut of steak, I thought it was a whole tenderloin and grabbed it but it turned out to be "eye round". This is what they use for cubed steak, ugh. I did some googling and found the easiest recipe I have ever seen, I figured whatever might as well. I cut it into a 2lb chunk and rolled it in onion salt, fresh pepper and paprika. I put the oven on 500. I put half a stick of frozen butter on top and put it in the oven. 15 minutes at 500 and then I just turned off the oven and left it in there for 40 more minutes.

IT WAS THE MOST DELICIOUS FRICKIN THING EVER! We ate it in roast heaven with leftover potatoes from Thanksgiving. Amazing. If anyone wants to try it it's 7 minutes per pound at 500 and then 20 minutes per pound off. And don't open the oven at all until it's done or you'll mess up the heat. That amount of time will give you medium.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Almost famous pumpkin cheesecake from food network.

To. Die. For!

 

[madelise]

Oh my god, adding lemon juice, lemon zest, and pears to cranberry sauce!! I cooked that until the cranberries popped and then some to get the pears a little softer. I took it off the fire only before the sugar burned. I wish I had cooked the pears first for a little longer before so that it could've been softer. It is delicious, and it was SUCH a hit.

Beats canned cranberry sauce anyday!!

I also honey glazed the turkey this year since I had intended to order from the Honey Baked originally. FI loved it. Savory rosemary turkey with a hint of sweet on the outside...

 

[VRBeauty]

I didn't cook for Thanksgiving this year but I've made this truffled mac and cheese recipe for family a few times and it's a huge hit:

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/truffled-mac-cheese-50400000118627/

My variations - I use whole milk, of skim spiked with half-and-half instead of just skim because I'm often making it for the folks and the whole point is to keep weight on them...

The fontina used in the recipe is Danish, not Italian...

The recipe calls for you to just pour the sauce over the cooked noodles, and then just broil long enough to brown the topping. That seems like cheating to me - so I like to increase the sauce part of the recipe by about 50 percent, and to bake the dish in the over for about 20 minutes. The crumb topping is tasty but in my book, optional. I do however like to drizzle a bit of extra truffle oil over the top.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Corn casserole with canned corn, sour cream and Jiffy corn bread mix. Tasted just like the sweet corn cake from El Torito Restaraunts. So easy too!

 

[LAJennifer]

Corn casserole with canned corn, sour cream and Jiffy corn bread mix. Tasted just like the sweet corn cake from El Torito Restaraunts. So easy too!

I made this. I saw it on FB and realized I had all of the ingredients so I made it. Really good!

 

[VRBeauty]

Corn casserole with canned corn, sour cream and Jiffy corn bread mix. Tasted just like the sweet corn cake from El Torito Restaraunts. So easy too!

Have to try this. Love the sweet corn pudding at Chevy's - maybe this is similar?

 

[artdecogirl]

We celebrated ‘Thankanukkah’ for fun. My aunt made potato donuts for the kids and I gave each guest a jar of homemade Kosher Dill Pickles [Schwartz's Book] to bring home
Not a recipe but a true discovery. I managed to keep 8 lbs. of mashed potatoes in a lined/greased crock pot for 6 hours with the towel trick. I will never make mashed potatoes last minute again!

Lulie, what is the towel trick? I hate doing stuff at the last minute.

 

[LAJennifer]

Corn casserole with canned corn, sour cream and Jiffy corn bread mix. Tasted just like the sweet corn cake from El Torito Restaraunts. So easy too!

Have to try this. Love the sweet corn pudding at Chevy's - maybe this is similar?

Here is the recipe I used (though I cut the butter to 1/4 Cup).

Corn casserole:

1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15 oz) can cream-style corn
1 package Jiffy corn muffin mix (8 oz.)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or your favorite

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. mix all ingredients, minus the cheese, together and pour into a greased baking dish. After the casserole has baked for 45 minutes, or is set in the middle and golden brown, sprinkle with cheddar and put it back in the oven. Let the cheese melt, take the casserole out and enjoy this ridiculously buttery dish.

 

[Gypsy]

Wow so many great new ideas to try.

I have to try the roasted sweet potatoes and the truffled mac and cheese.

What's the towel trick? I don't mind making mashed potatoes at the last minute, but it would be nice not to have to.

I like the cranberry sauce ideas where too. Lemon zest and pears. NUMMY.

 

[Lulie]

Haven't tried with fancier mashed potatoes yet, but here goes the Towel Trick:
Place a liner in your crock pot, grease bottom and sides with butter.
After cooking and ricing your potatoes; add room temperature unsalted butter first, mix to blend then add HOT *evaporated milk*, salt and white pepper to taste. They should be thicker than normal as the crock pot will build condensation. Transfer potatoes to the lined pot, dot with more butter, place a small piece of wax or parchment paper over the potatoes [loosely] then a triple layer of paper towels over the wax paper then cover with lid.
Set the crock pot on low. Every time you check on them- make sure your open the lid away from the crock rapidly as you will have at least a tablespoon of water trapped on the lid and you want that away from the potatoes.
Do not over mix them; just stir a couple times per hour to make sure they aren't sticking to the bottom.
I do the same thing with stuffing; both items are done around 9 am to be served at 3 pm.
* Heavy cream vs. evaporated milk discovery: HC can curdle as my new crock pot is much hotter than my older one and warm setting isn't warm enough for that much amount of potatoes No one noticed the difference.

The corn casserole sounds delish!

 

[hippi_pixi]

I'm so hungry! you americans are making me so hungry for christmas lunch!

 

[iluvshinythings]

I used my typical dressing recipe and put it in the crock pot for four hours. It tasted just like grandmas!

 

[marymm]

Corn casserole with canned corn, sour cream and Jiffy corn bread mix. Tasted just like the sweet corn cake from El Torito Restaraunts. So easy too!

Have to try this. Love the sweet corn pudding at Chevy's - maybe this is similar?

Here is the recipe I used (though I cut the butter to 1/4 Cup).

Corn casserole:

1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15 oz) can cream-style corn
1 package Jiffy corn muffin mix (8 oz.)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or your favorite

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. mix all ingredients, minus the cheese, together and pour into a greased baking dish. After the casserole has baked for 45 minutes, or is set in the middle and golden brown, sprinkle with cheddar and put it back in the oven. Let the cheese melt, take the casserole out and enjoy this ridiculously buttery dish.

This is one of my favorite recipes!
But I make the following substitutions:
2/3 cup Lowfat Greek Yogurt in place of the sour cream
1/3 cup stick butter (not melted, just cut into small chunks and strategically placed in the casserole right before it goes in the oven)

I also usually add one of those tiny cans of diced green chiles.

Really a fool-proof recipe that is great as written, and easily adapted if you want to experiment.