Lars, does it matter what type of salt, I'm thinking Kosher salt is best or do you use just plain table salt?

What you described is my guacamole. It's not ”special” per se, but so many people apparently make poor guacamole.... It's in high demand, the hostess wants extra (leftovers), and I have to make extra for the T’day bunch like they don't expect dinner! The secret is simplicity. The other secret is never ever use a machine, and don't squish. The real secret is really good avocados. We live in avocado country, so we get great ones. They also grow good ones in Mexico. They get sent all over. Don't hesitate on the price, get the best or make Amylou's dip, which isn't dependent on the quality of fresh produce.

Choose avocados that are firm but slightly yielding, not rock hard or squishy. The skin should feel tight to the flesh, and the only scent should be a bit green, and maybe woody in certain varieties. You should only smell the skin. They're nicer if the stem base is still on.

• 5-6 good sized avocadoes, skin, stems and pits removed, as well as any icky spots
• 1-2 large beefsteak tomato (or equivalent) fully ripe but firm and fragrant, chopped and allowed to drain (optional)
• 3-8 heaping spoons of salsa picante, vinegar and tomato based with chunks of onion and jalapeño or serrano to your taste, a little garlic, salt, and whatever other seasonings you like, simmered for an hour. Or use a jarred picante you like. Raw onions weep too much and the raw taste of hot peppers takes away from the avocado flavor. The exact recipe for the salsa picante doesn't matter so long as there's plenty of acidic vinegar, sweet from tomato (you can use canned, diced or puree, if you don't have good fresh), onion chunks and hot pepper chunks.
• Onion salt
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper
• Juice of 2-3 limes, preferably the small round ones, not the lemon shaped dark green ones, though any will work, and lemons substitute fine

Put most of the lime juice in the bottom of a large mixing bowl and add the avocado, rolling it in the juice to delay oxidation. Sprinkle liberally with onion salt and garlic pepper, sort of covering the exposed avocado. Add black pepper to taste, up to a teaspoon, or lightly covering the surface. Add salsa picante. If you're unsure of the heat level, start with a modest amount. Remember, the heat will spread and intensify as the guacamole sits. Our mild is other people's burning hot.

Use a large fork or open fork style potato masher to break up and stir the avocado and flavorings. Do not actually mash! Don't press against the bowl. Just work the tines through the avocadoes, turning and stirring. Before it's finished, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Continue working the avocado until there are no big solid lumps of avocado (but lumps of onion and pepper remain from the picante). The texture shouldn't be smooth like puree. It should look kind of bumpy and have little solid bits of avocado. If you smash or overwork the avocados, they'll go watery and nasty.

Add the chopped tomato, if you're using it. Any tomatoes will work if you don't have beefsteaks, including little ones like cherries. Just let them drain before you add them, so they won't make the guacamole watery. A lot of flavor is in the seeds and peels, so I leave them in. Sitr lightly to distribute the tomatoes, but not more.

Transfer to your serving dish. I like the covered Pyrex dishes for transporting. Drizzle lime juice over the top. Put a piece of plastic wrap directly on the guacamole to keep out air, and cover the whole dish. Chill if possible.

Best made about 4-6 hours before serving.

For dry salting a turkey, I use either sea salt or Kosher salt - it should not be iodized.

Love rutabaga and it says tgiving to me. I will boil, and mash with nutmeg and butter just for us, but for a crowd, I usually do a casserole such as this one: https://food52.com/recipes/84424-rutabaga-casserole

A small mostly Israeli crowd and we decided on leg of lamb last year for this year and I was reminded of that!

So, Greek leg o lamb, mashed new potatoes with lots of goodness, extensive salad bar, bread, cherry frangipane tart for dessert.

I am looking forward to this meal.

Once I found and made this Cranberry Orange Relish/Compote, my family and friends insist I make it for every Thanksgiving and Christmas. We all love it. I’ve just snapped this pic so I can take it with me to make it for my Michigan family this Thanksgiving.

We have a relatively new Thanksgiving/Christmas tradition--cranberry chutney. It is a relief from jellied cranberry sauce and goes beautifully with chicken or turkey, ham, and pork chops or tenderloin. It keeps well for a month in the fridge.

1 12 oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries

1 1/4 c, white cane sugar

1/2 c. water

1 large cooking apple, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heata, simmer for30-45 minutes until apple is tender and mixture thickens.

Cool completely and store refrigerated.

Chutney can be served chilled or at room temperature

I am famous for my cranberry sauce, and I have given it away to friends over the years. Also, I make a huge batch and freeze it in 2-cup containers, so that we can enjoy it all through the year. Nothing better on a turkey or chicken burger!

I don't make this every year but it is delicious. I also don't use all the ingredients called for just because I don't like them. The original recipe is from myrecipes.com.

Sweet potato cups. I call then sweet potato orange cups

4 large navel oranges. Cut in half and pulp removed.

6 small sweet potatoes. Bake @ 425, cool slightly and scoop out pulp and place in bowl.

1 can 14oz sweetened condensed milk. (I use whole milk and eye it)

3 tbsp melted butter

2 tsp vanilla (I use maybe 1 tsp)

2 tsp orange zest. I add probably 2.5)

3/4 tsp ground ginger. (I use 1/2 tsp)

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground allspice (I don't add this because I usually don't have it on hand)

1/8 tsp cinnamon (I always add moremore

because I love cinnamon)

The next 2 ingredients I never Use

1/2 c chopped pecans

1 c miniature marshmallows

AddrAdd all ingredients to bowl and using hand mixer, beat a medium speed til smooth. Spoon into orange cups,.bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Top with pecans and marshmallows and bake an extra 15/20 minutes

I make these the day before, cover and store in fridge.

I don't have a recipe to share but just want to thank Amy for posting these holiday threads. I am happy to see someone enjoying the holidays so much and it is contagious.

Here's a recipe I've been making for stuffing when I don't have time to make cornbread:

Grits Faux Cornbread Stuffing

2 tbsp vegetable oil or grape seed oil
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth (or water)
1 tbsp soup base, mushroom, chicken, vegetable, or a combination
1/8 tsp cayenne (or 1 minced chile de árbol)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp dried sage, minced
7/8 cup quick grits (not "instant")
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
2 cups dry bread, in small cubes

In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil and add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the onion, celery, and garlic, and sauté for a few minutes, or until the onions begin to soften. The celery must stay crunchy. Add the water (or broth, if you have it), soup base, cayenne, and herbs, and stir to combine. Take the pan off heat, and add the quick grits while stirring. Stir for one minute off heat, and return to low heat. Cover and simmer five minutes more (for a total of six minutes), stirring occasionally. Preheat oven to 350°. Beat the eggs with the 2 tbsp water, and then combine with the bread cubes. Transfer the bread to a 7x11 deep baking dish (or 9” square pan), add the cooked grits, and stir to combine. Bake covered for about 10 minutes – longer if the grits have been made ahead and have cooled. If you like it less moist, you can bake it uncovered.

amylou321, your spinach artichoke dip sounds very similar to a popular south Louisiana casserole dish called Spinach Madeleine. It can also be served as a dip. It's very popular for holiday meals.

http://www.jfolse.com/recipes/vegetables/sidedish45.htm

This year I'm breaking with tradition and dry brining (pre-salting) a chicken instead of a turkey breast. The rest of the meal will be our traditional sides --- Cranberry Jezebel, Chipotle Scalloped Sweet Potatoes, and Spinach Madeleine.

I’ve been making this appetizer for Thanksgiving since finding the recipe in Bon Appetit in 2002. It’s going to look long and involved but really isn’t the way I do it. For one thing, the cookies can be made well ahead and frozen. Also, instead of the roulade (can be kind of a PITA), I press/mold the cream cheese into an oversized leaf-shaped cookie cutter (about 6”x6”), chill well, lift the cookie cutter up from the cream cheese, then smooth it over with the back of a spoon or small knife, if needed. I spoon the chutney and green onion over the cream cheese leaf. OR, you could always just put the block of cream cheese on a serving dish and top with the chutney and green onions surrounded by the cookies.

Blue Cheese Shortbread Leaves With Cream Cheese Roulade

You can start making these savory leaf cookies up to three days ahead...or make them well in advance and freeze.

Shortbread Ingredients:
3 1/2 oz. crumbled blue cheese (about 1/2 cup)
3 T. butter, room temp.
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Roulade Ingredients:
1 8-oz. pkg. chilled cream cheese
2/3 cup purchased spiced cranberry-apple chutney (or other favorite chutney)
1/2 cup very thinly sliced green onions

For Shortbread:
Blend blue cheese and butter in processor until creamy. Add flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add walnuts and process just until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball. Flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out dough between sheets of plastic wrap to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove top sheet. Using 2 1/2x1-inch leaf-shaped cookie cutter, cut out leaves. Transfer leaves to prepared baking sheets. Gather dough scraps and reroll; cut out additional leaves. Transfer to prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer leaves to rack and cool. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

For Roulade:
Using rolling pin, flatten cream cheese between sheets of plastic wrap; roll into 10x8-inch rectangle. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap. Spread 1/3 cup chutney atop cream cheese rectangle, leaving 1-inch plain border. Sprinkle chutney with 2 tablespoons green onions. Using plastic as aid and starting at 1 long side, roll up cream cheese, jelly-roll style, into log. Gently press remaining green onions onto roulade. Wrap roulade tightly with plastic. Refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Place roulade on platter. Surround with shortbread leaves. Top roulade with remaining 1/3 cup chutney and serve.

I make crab stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer. I also make a sweet potato casserole with a pecan and brown sugar topping rather than marshmallow.

I hope these are inspirational, because I don't have recipes.

Suggestion for mushrooms: https://www.spendwithpennies.com/crab-stuffed-mushrooms/#wprm-recipe-container-142332

Suggestion for the casserole I do, because it dagum close:

https://www.averiecooks.com/sweet-potato-casserole-butter-pecan-crumble-topping/

I can endorse Chloebud’s blue cheese shortbread (again), and I've never even made the roulade. I just serve them plain. SO good!

I definitely want to try the blue cheese shortbread!

Puréed yams with butter, brown sugar, fresh orange juice and zest, and Grand Marnier- my MIL’s recipe, handed down to my late DH, and now to our DS and DD. I always make the creamed spinach, a tradition from my mom, using the recipe from her 1953 edition of The Joy of Cooking.

As I said earlier my mom was an out of the can gal. My MIL was not. So when I fell in love with her cranberries who knew they were just the recipes on the back of the Ocean Spray fresh cranberries!! Cranberry and orange is a great combo!! This year I bought a different brand of berries so went searching for the recipies on line. I came across many with apples instead of orange. Now I see there's one on this thread with that combo. Does it matter what sort of apple one uses? It sure lightens the look from the pictures one sees.

Always for dessert Pumpkin Chiffon Pie...with whipped cream!

I have to comment on ded's post. As background, I am not a big cook or entertainer but I always did Thanksgiving- for probably about 30 years or so. I haven't done it for about 4 or 5 years now but will be hosting this year.

I've never liked cranberry sauce so I serve it but yuck..

I made the very basic recipe on the bag of cranberries and was surprised how simple it was, and people seemed to really enjoy it. I had asked DH how he liked it and he said that it was ok but he really grew up liking the canned variety and even preferred it plopped in the bolwl with the imprints of the can showing!!!!!!!!

I do have a very nice side dish which I hope to make again this year. It was very well received when I made it at one of my last Thanksgivings- I just need to be careful and not slice my finger again.

This is the recipe- I do not turn the sprouts at the halfway mark and I did not add the glaze. I've seen some add walnuts and other things which I'm sure would be delicious as well.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Grapes

Another dessert option I like for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Time saver: Make pastry cups well in advance to freeze. Make curd a few days ahead to chill. I’ve assembled these a day ahead to store in the fridge.

Cranberry Curd Tartlets

Note: This makes about 40. Curd can be made 3 days ahead and stored in fridge. Pastry cups can be made 3 days ahead and stored in airtight container at room temp.

Ingredients for Curd:
4 cups fresh or unthawed frozen cranberries (a 14.5 ounce package)
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
5 T. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 3/4 cups sugar
Pinch of coarse salt
3 large egg yolks plus 1 large whole egg
Whipped cream for serving

Ingredients for Tartlets:
3/4 cup toasted pecan halves
1 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1/2 stick butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. coarse salt
Non-stick cooking spray

Method for Curd:
~Place cranberries, water, and orange juice in a saucepan, cover, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cranberries burst, about 20-30 minutes. Press through a fine sieve, scraping back of sieve to get all the pulp (you should have about 1 3/4 cups), and discard solids. Cook pulp in pan with butter, sugar, and salt over medium heat, stirring, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved, about 7 minutes.

~Whisk together egg yolks and egg in a medium bowl, then whisk in cranberry mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time. Return mixture to pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 8 minutes. Pass through sieve into a bowl (you should have about 3 cups) and press plastic wrap directly on surface of curd to cover. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes. To serve, let guests assemble their own tartlets, or spoon curd into pastry cups and top with whipped cream.

Method for Pastry Cups:
~Process pecans in a food processor until finely ground. Beat together mascarpone and butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Add flour, pecans, and salt and beat just until dough comes together.

~Divide dough into 40 balls (about 1 tablespoon each) and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

~Working in batches if necessary, lightly coat cups of mini muffin tins with cooking spray. Press balls into bottoms and up sides of cups and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pastry cups 15 minutes. Press down bottoms of cups with the end of a wooden spoon handle, then continue to bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Let cool completely before filling with curd.

As for the Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, i plop it on its side and slice it. My kids would fight over who got the end piece with the circles from the can. Id have to cut that slice in half.

This year I am making reservations for dinner.

OMG! Chloebud, those tartlets look sinful, and I have to make them!

This year I just want to bake! But nobody (including me!) wants to eat all the sweets... But I have to make the tartlets....

I just had a wild notion. I have a silicone mini cone mold (like 40 cones). Do you think the dough would accept rolling thin and being conic? I could unmold them before they're set and make them into little cornucopias.

A staple side is a platter of roasted brussels sprouts, parsnips, and leeks with perhaps one or two other vegetables depending, I use a little bit of turkey drippings and nothing else - we like the otherwise unadorned flavors of the vegetables. Sometimes I will make mashed potatoes but tend to favor sweet potato & apple casserole.

Also. sometimes if I'm feeling particularly energetic, I'll make Mushroom Crescents - a recipe I've had for 45 years - or more likely just the filling with crackers:

Pastry: 9 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter (now I use olive oil spread) softened

1 -1/2 cups flour

Stir all together until well combined and smooth. Refrigerate at least 30 min. Roll out half at a time to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into 2.5" circles. Place on ungreased baking sheet.

Filling: 2 Tbs butter or spread

1 med. onion chopped somewhat fine

8 oz. mushrooms, chopped

3 oz cream cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp thyme

1/8 tsp pepper

Melt butter in skillet, saute onion until lightly browned. Add mushrooms, cook over med-high heat ~ 3 min. Lower heat, add cream cheese a bit at a time, stirring until melted. Stir in seasonings; cool

Preheat oven to 450F. Place 1/2 tsp filling on each circle, fold in half and seal with fork. Make a small slit in the top, Brush with egg glaze (1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water).

Bake 15 minutes

Cranberry-walnut pie for dessert.

I make family favorites for our dinner, building on my mother’s recipes from the 1950s. I roast a fresh turkey suffed with sage and bread or cornbread stuffing. A fresh turkey makes a huge difference, so moist. Family loves the cranberry relish on the bag of fresh Ocean Spray cranberries. Twice baked stuffed potatoes are a must; potatoes mashed with butter, milk, sour cream, salt salt, pepper, with shredded cheddar folded into the potstoes. The family favorite garnish for the bird is mincemeat peaches, canned peach halves with a tablespoon of jar mincemeat on the indentation from the removed seed and warmed in the oven 10 minutes. Tastes so good with a bite of turkey. We also love Paula Deane’s corn pudding recipe. And a pumpkin bread recipe i have been baking since the 1960s.

Plllog, hmmm…I’m thinking. Are the bottoms of the cones pointed or flat? Pointed like this one?

Not sure what you mean by ”unmold before they’re set?” Before they’re “set/firm up” in the pan after baking? Like any shortbread dough, you could definitely roll the dough out thin. It seems fitting it into the points could take awhile and/or be a PITA. I do like the idea of little cornucopias…adorable!

Cranberry-orange sauce is dead easy - I don't really have a recipe, just 3-4 cups fresh cranberries, washed & picked over(2 bags of Trader Joe's organic), 1 whole organic orange, and sugar to taste. I seed and finely chop the orange, rind, pith and all (navels are best for this, since they're seedless and not very bitter), then place that and the berries and about 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan with enough water to come about halfway up to the top of the fruit and bring to boil, then simmer, covered, until the berries pop and add more sugar to taste, then simmer some more until the peel gets translucent. I use a potato masher to break up the berries, and add more sugar and water as needed, and that's it. I store in canning jars in the fridge.

I've made it with Meyer lemon and tangerines too - exactly the same process, but I no longer have access to Meyers since my trees passed away.

I used to go all out, but after years of Dad and hubs grumbling, I just do the minimum. Stove Top stuffing, jarred gravy, pie from the bakery, canned cranberry sauce and frozen green beans. I do plain baked sweet potatoes, everyone likes that. The only thing I am going to try to do is get a fresh turkey this year. We don't need one of those huge frozen ones. I even buy a bagged salad unless I'm in the mood to make coleslaw. It all tastes pretty good to me, no one complains or even notices so I don't go to any extra trouble. I am not a fan of most of those foods anyway, other than the pie and the local bakery pies are better than my home made so I'd rather have the time to myself for other things than make a pie.

If I was having company that appreciated something special, I would do it but that's not the case. If I get inspired I might do home made stuffing and cranberry sauce. I usually use the recipe on the cranberry bag for cranberry orange relish or one with apples and walnuts depending on what else I'm having. Although I can get good versions of those too at the grocery deli. If I make a home made pie, it would be maple pecan, with store bought crust. I don't have a set recipe because the one I have is kinda runny so if I did it again I'd have to experiment.

Here's my favorite stuffing, but hubs doesn't like it because it is not traditional. It's Bobby Flay's wild rice and goat cheese dressing. I love wild rice.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/wild-rice-and-goat-cheese-dressing-recipe-1950550

If I want to do a fancy salad, I have done orange olive salad with fennel or usually chopped celery and then use ground fennel in the dressing, it's cheaper. Dressing is EVOO with orange juice and fennel. I also do marinated beets, celery and goat cheese with the same dressing, orange juice and evoo. This is my "go to" beet salad, from the Moosewood Cookbooks, https://www.denisonfarm.com/syrian-beet-salad/ If I do that, then just an evoo and balsamic dressing.

Hubs makes pumpkin cheesecake or plain cheesecake and never uses a recipe. It's against his nature to follow anyone else's directions. I made a Cooking Light recipe one years ago and loved it but hubs was critical. Last time I made cheesecake for him ever again. Can't find a link to the recipe but as I recall the main "light" things about it was neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese and light sour cream and that was about it. Hubs says he likes a "denser" pumpkin cheescake. My family likes the creamy kind. I also learned a trick where you spread the pumpkin pie filling out on several layers of paper towels to soak up some of the excess moisture. Makes a nice dense creamy texture to the finished product. The paper towels peel away, you can easily get the pumpkin puree to scrape off without leaving any behind.

Adding that I first joined CF when I hosted my first Thanksgiving almost 20 years ago. Vegetarian-me was nervous since I didn't know how to cook a good turkey. Little did I know how unimpressed my family would be with anything special. And a turkey is dead easy to roast, btw now that they inject them etc.

But I never am stuck trying to do a big one. If I had a huge crowd I'd do two turkeys rather than attempt one of those huge ones, too much trouble. But I have a double oven. Not sure what would do if I was trying to roast two at a time . . .

I like duck or Cornish hens, but hubs does not so we don't do that either. Fresh turkeys can be great if you can find them . . . Fresh as in not frozen ahead of your buying them . . .

Pegasus and HU, those sweet potato dishes sound delish. Maybe I will get inspired to try one, since my dad loves the sweet dishes. Maybe for another meal.

Judi the year it was just hubs and I and we did a chicken instead of turkey was one of our favorite Thanksgiving meals. We just prefer chicken all the way around.

So may great recipes. I might make them for other meals for myself!! My guys have holiday issues when it comes to food, but they might be more open to a different kind of dish at a non Thanksgiving meal. I am having to pivot to a different type of meal now that garden fresh stuff is not in season and it's more root vegetables and shelf stable stuff or frozen. I've lost 30 lbs so have to resist the urge to binge on carbs. and booze as the nights get longer and the weather gets damp and cold. Sorry to say, chamomile tea just doesn't cut it! :)

I had the same experience with my cranberry relish. I like the home made stuff but hubs said he doesn't care, so I just decided to go with what is easy. I buy bags of cranberries after the holidays on sale, and freeze for other uses like in quick breads or pies or compotes. Squash cranberry casserole is great too. Some brown sugar, nuts and butter. But not for thanksgiving, too rich with all that other stuff . . .

Thanks, Chloebud, you understood me perfectly! Yes, pointy, though I think smaller than the one you showed (I was wrong--sixty six!). I don't care about pointly. I'll take not too lobsided. :) I'm not good at "just so". I figure I can use a bamboo skewer to tamp a little dough in the bottom to make sure the end is sealed. And yes, not set up firm after baking, still a little moist and warm, so malleable enough to curl up the points, and kind of roll back the lip on top, for the cornucopia shape. Then try not to make too huge a mess piping the curd and getting it back into the chill before it slips out. Because at one bite, I think anyone could overlook the KCal, and they'd be so cute! I thought about adding some decos to be the harvest, but I can't think of any that would taste good and not interfere with the textures of the crust and curd.

I might have to make Raee's mushroom crescents too...

here are some of our KT Holiday Recipes

That wild rice and goat cheese stuffing sounds like a fine dinner dish that I will have to make!

The blue cheese shortbread as well!

Is it okay if I post a really l-o-n-g “Aromatic Duck” recipe from a late 1800s NYC restaurant?

Yes!

Positivey Ducky

aka Aromatic Duck

aka Caroline’s Drunken Duck

Makes four servings (Not really; but then we love duck!)

1 duckling, about 5 lbs. Fresh or frozen (thawed) I prefer domestic duck for this receipe.

2 teaspoons black peppercorns

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves, crumbled or snipped small

6 whole cloves

1 Tablespoon course Kosher salt

1 Tablespoon brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Brandy (I use more. Recipe said gin, vodka, or brandy)

1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped (I use more)

1 large orange, sliced in half

(I use more of all the spices.)

Optional: 5-6 large, neat red cabbage leaves.

Cut off the duck’s wing tips and simmer with the giblets for gravy. Pull out and discard (or freeze to render) any loose interior fat.

Rinse the duckling inside and out and pat dry.

Mix together in a spice mill or mortar - the pepper, thyme, bay leaves, cloves, and salt. Grind to a fine texture.

Combine ground spices in a small dish with the brown sugar and brandy.

Place duck in a snug-fitting heavy plastic bag. (I use a large Zip-Loc)

Rub half the spice/brandy mixture inside the duck, the remainder on the outside. Place the garlic cloves in the duck’s cavity.

Close the bag tightly, set on a platter, and refrigerate for about 24 hours, turning the duck, rubbing the surface to squeezing in the spices when ever you happen to think of it.

( I do this every 2-3 hours. )

After 24 hours, remove the duck from the bag and pat it dry. Set it on a cake rack, set on a plater, and return, uncovered, to the refrigerator for about 24 hours, turning once. (I prop it up on a vertical chicken roaster over a plate.)

After those 24 hours, pat the duck with paper towels if any moist spots remain. Let it reach room temperature, which takes about two hours.

Insert the two orange halves in the bird’s cavity.

Preheat oven to 300°F Using a large needle and white cotton thread, sew closed the neck and tail openings.

Set duck on its side on a rack set in a roasting pan.

Roast 45 minutes.

Then, with a large needle or skewer prick the fatty parts on the upper side. Do not prick deeply enough to pierce the flesh. Using wadded up paper towels to protect your hands, hold the duck’s legs and turn it to the other side.

Increase the heat to 350° and roast 30 minutes. Prick the fatty parts on the now upturned side and turn the duck onto its breast. The back will be facing up.

Roast 25 minutes longer. Then prick the upturned side (now the duck’s back) Turn the duck breast upward.

Increase the heat to 400° and roast for 30 minutes longer, or until the duck is deeply browned and most of the fat has melted off.

Remove from the oven and let cool 1-2 hours before carving and serving.

To serve: Using a heavy cleaver or poultry shears, cut through the flesh and bone of the duck to make 12-14 serving pieces. Cut carefully, keeping the skin neatly intact on each piece.

Spread the cabbage leaves on a platter or shallow basket and arrange the duck on them.

If you prefer duck that is sizzling hot, you can easily re-heat the pieces.

Arrange the cut pieces in a pan in a single layer, skin side up, and roast in a 350° oven for 15 minutes or until hot.

The duck recipe above takes an hour or more to trim and prep. Of course it will need much longer if the duck needs to thaw.

Then it needs 48 hours for the marinating and drying stages.

Plus nearly two hours for roasting, and a couple hours of ”resting” before cutting it into serving pieces.

Plan the serving time accordingly.

It’s a great dish to prepare when the weather is colder and you have time to just enjoy the process,

This is not my photo nor the same receipe, but the Drunken Duck will look similar to this. I can never get mine cut so neatly, but then, I’m probably using the wrong knife! 🤣

I serve the Aromatic Drunken Duck on a bed of curly kale, surrounded by grapes and orange or clementine segments.

Mom used to make mashed potatoes and mix them with sautéd onions and garlic, put them in a casserole and dot with butter on top and put it in the oven. Not only kept them warm and fresh tasting for the crowd so it wasn't a last minute mash, but they also fluffed some in the oven and tasted even better.

Appetizer I like to make and take — Shrimp scampi stuffed mushrooms. I just began making these, sans recipe. Essentially, I buy a lots of large white/button mushrooms. Clean with a soft brush and trum off any hard areas. Remove the stem and caredully remove the gills and center. Save this in a bowl.

I pan fry shrimp with garlic In Shell tto maximize flavor, careful to just barely cook. Remove the shrimp from the shell and devein. SAVE shell Chop or cut shrimp into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside.

Refry the shrimps shells in more butter, olive oil. You want to brown the shells to maximize flavor. Add some minced garlic 2 to 3 T. Then deglaze pan with a bit (1 to 2 T of pale dry sherry and a bit of chicken broth or water. Make abou 1/2 C of rich shrimp broth. Strain and remove shells.

Then in a bowl combine coarsely chopped shrimp, a bit of roasted garlic or garlic powder, bit of ground black pepper., and bread crumbs. Moisten with the shrimp-garlic flavored broth and gently combine.

Fill the hollowed out mushrooms caps, being careful not to densely pack.

Place the stuffed caps in a buttered pan with a bit of EVOO. You can sprinkle some fresshly grated Parmesan cheese over the top of each stuffed mushroom. Add a bit of water to the bottom of the pan. Cover with aluminum foil and set in a preheated 300 deg F oven, middle rack and bake for about 20 minutes. Check for donenness. Remove foil and bake for another 5 or so minutes.

These are good served warm or room temperature.

Another Thanksgiving side that I like are baked stuffed artichokes (Italian style).

Desserts:

Some of those I bake/take include:

* Mother Wonderful’s (Myra Chenin’s) Pumpkin Cheesecake. It is the most delicious cheesecake. The recipe was in a local paper years ago and it is in one of her books and perhaps online. Not your ho hum cheesecake.

* Deep dish baby-butt smooth baked custard pie. Cooked perfectly.

* Flourless chocolate Cake

* A cranberry or colorful fruit lattice-topped pie. The juice from the dark berries colors the golden lattice top here and there, making it a visual knockout. Homemade pie crust only.

“I figure I can use a bamboo skewer to tamp a little dough in the bottom to make sure the end is sealed.”

That could work. Wow, 66! I’m not sure how malleable they’d be to fiddle with due to the nature of most shortbread doughs. They can be crumbly even partially baked. I wonder if, after piping in the curd, you could store them upright in the fridge by putting them back in the cone pan. The curd firms up but I’ve only made the tartlet cups served upright. I’m not sure how long the curd would ”hold” in mini cornucopias served, more or less, horizontally, if that makes sense. However, how totally CUTE if it would work!

I meant to mention you’re right regarding the blue cheese shortbread cookies being good on their own.👍🏻

Good points! Thank-you! I'm not sure I could shape a whole batch before they set, so I would only bake maybe a dozen at a time. I get it about the dough, which is why I asked how you thought it would work. A slightly doubtful, quizical maybe is a good answer, telling me to have an alternate plan. Like try a dozen, and see how it goes, and if not so great either freehand larger ones or make proper tartlets. ;) Getting the oven time right will be a challenge, too. I'm not sure I'll get them done, but will try. I've fiddled with a lotof warm shortbread, but the flour, butter, sugar kind. The nuts and cheese is new to me, As such though I've made similar as actual tarts. Just you calling it ”shortbread” is encouraging.

Caroline, the duck looks fab! I do not have what it takes to make this, not the patience, notr the fridge space, especially for one little duck, so I don't know that I'll ever make it, but the plastic bag made me think of sous vide, and got me wondering if a reasonable facsimile could be done that way, relying on the vacuum to pull i the spices, rather than the masseges. A reverse sear to get it all brown and all. I need to read up on how to deal with rendering fat for sous vide duck... :) Thank-you for the inspiration!

Gnocchi Alfredo - Nuke covered 2 1/2 C milk, 1/2 C heavy cream to very warm @ 3 min. In a pan melt 3T butter, 2 or 3 mashed garlic for 1 min. Sprinkle 3T AP flour and cook 2 min whisking. Add milk/cream and cook just to a slow boil and thickened @7 min. Whisk in 4 oz shredded Fontina or Jack and 3/4 C grated Parmesan, and some salt and pepper. Fold in 2 pkg Gnocchi (1# ea). Put in sprayed 9x13 pan then sprinkle with 4 oz shredded Fontina and 1/4 C Parmesan. Bake 350F 30-35 min until golden on top, Sprinkle with chopped basil and green onion. From Pioneer Woman.

I have also forgone all the sauce making and just heated a large jar of Alfredo sauce, added some garlic, sprinkled in some jack cheese and parm, mixed and poured into a sprayed casserole dish, covered with more jack and parm with a tiny hit of red pepper flakes before baking. Tasted pretty darn good for jarred and not being from scratch. On the other hand I have made my own potato gnocchi, boiled it and folded it in with the other ingredients. Homemade from scratch or mixed and matched with pantry things. It depends on how energetic I feel. And, cold leftovers are delicious with cooked hot asparagus! Who knew?

The cranberry chutney recipe posted by HU-929826674 sounded so good that I picked up supplies and made it last night. Yummy. It's just me so a lot for one. I added a couple of generous dollops to Cream of Wheat this AM - delicious, and made it so pretty too.

@plllog, is it too late to comment on your cornucopias? Instead of trying to put dough *in* the cone shape, could you put the cone-mold upside down on a cookie sheet and mold the dough around the outside of the cones? Does that make sense? I think a similar technique is sometimes used with cupcake pans to make cookie baskets or chocolate shells.

Not my turkey cooking but my nephews and the best darn turkey breast I've ever had. Sous vide turkey breast injected with cajun butter, that's it and unbelievable. I've always been a leg and thigh guy because breast always was bland and dry to me but 4 yrs ago people said try this turkey breast! I did and it was so good and tender.

That's what I'll be eating tomorrow, but I'll also get some leg and thigh from my brother's smoked Turkey he does on his Traeger.

I cut one of my squashes. It is soooo huge (20#) that I cut it in two and gave half to my gardener. I'm thinking of roasting most - if not all - of it. We are having a very non-traditional Feast. This squash will just be part of it. The rest will be lamb chops, mushroom rissotto and a salad.

Musquee de Provence.

Amy, thanks for starting this thread. I am not making this years dinner, but will make some things for a Saturday dinner party.

I might try Caroline’s duck one of these days.

The shortbread sounds like a winner.

I loved those large stuff artichokes and was wondering about finding a way to make a smaller appetizer from them. Think it might work to make the large stuffed artichokes as usual. Refrigerate them so that they firm up, then with a very sharp, thin knife cut them into halves or quarters — appetizer size? Maybe quarters would be too risky and messy.

Has anyone tried anything like this?

One New Year’s, a friend and I ”invented” a recipe for lobster ”Rangoon” with lots of lobster in the filling. It was a bit time consuming and messy (and expensive), but they turned out well.

Too late for today’s dinner, but one of the most delicious appetizers I’ve ever had was this:

Shrimp in a white cream and cheese (Gruyere) sauce with a bit of sherry folded into phyllo pastry triangles and baked in an oven until perfectly done and golden. I will put this one on my culinary bucket list.

@bbstx, I'm sorry, I missed your message, until I found a notification today, though I read through the end of the thread. I've seen that before but never thought of it. Perfect! So much easier to shape and remove, and slightly bigger to get more curd. I still might try these, this year, depending on what entertaining happens. Thank-you!