On the fourth thursday of every November, we celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a holiday to commemorate giving thanks for the blessings we have in our lives. Although this holiday is primarily focused on giving thanks, it is also known for families gathering around the dining table to eat an array of food. Typically, people celebrate this occasion with mouthwatering home cooked meals like turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pies but from this, we decided to compile a list of home cooked meals we like to devour in our own household, transitioning from typical Thanksgiving meals to our family’s traditional Thanksgiving chow down.

Sausage Stuffing Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 bag Pepperidge Farm Cornbread stuffing or homemade cornbread – dried and crumbled

1lb Jimmy Dean Hot Pork Sausage

3 Celery Stalks – chopped

1 Medium Vidalia Onion – chopped

1 Medium Orange Bell Pepper – chopped

1 Small Habanero pepper – chopped or minced

1-2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic

2 Sticks Unsalted Butter

4-6 cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

1. Brown sausage in skillet. Set aside.
2. On low – medium heat, melt butter and sauté minced garlic, chopped celery, chopped onion, chopped peppers in large stock pot until veggies are tender.
3. Add 1 cup stock to browned sausage and reheat to low boil. Remove and retain any sausage stuck to skillet.
4. Mix stock & sausage from skillet with veggies; pour sausage mixture into stock pot with sautéed veggies.
5. Bring ingredients in stock pot to a low boil
6. Remove stock pot from heat
7. Add cornbread stuffing (or crumbles) to stock pot with the sautéed veggies and sausage mixture.
8. Gently mix ingredients in stock pot with a large wooden spoon (metal utensils will become very hot)
9. Pour 1-2 cups of stock into stuffing mixture in stock pot and continue mixing. Add more stock for moist stuffing, less stock for dry stuffing.
10. Add salt and pepper as desired.
11. Spoon most moist stuffing into Turkey.
12. Transfer remaining stuffing into 11×13 glass baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake 325 degrees for 15-25 minutes. Bake longer for dry stuffing.

Nantucket Cranberry Streusel Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp orange zest

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

2 ½ cups whole fresh cranberries

Streusel Topping:

¾ cup light brown sugar

½ cup flour

2 tsp cinnamon

4 tbsp (½ stick) butter

½ cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and lightly flour a 13×9 baking pan.
2. Prepare coffee cake: Using mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and orange zest.
3. Mix flour, baking powder, soda and salt together. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream to make a smooth, thick batter.
4. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle cranberries over top.
5. Prepare topping: Toss sugar, flour and cinnamon together in a small mixing bowl. Cut in batter with pastry blender or fingers until mix is crumbly. Stir in the walnuts. Spread streusel evenly over cranberries on the coffee cake.
6. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Killer Kare-Kare

Ingredients:

2 lbs beef (round or sirloin cut) cut into cubes

1 ½ beef tripe

2 lbs Oxtail cut 2 inch long

3 cups of peanut butter

¼ cup cup of grounded, toasted rice

½ cup cooked bagoong alamang (anchovies) sauteed shrimp paste

2 pieces of onions – diced

4 heads of garlic – minced

4 tablespoons of atsuete oil

4 pieces of eggplant – cut diagonally, about ¼ inches thick

1 bundle of Pechay (Bok Choy) cut into 2 pieces

1 bundle of Sitaw (String beans) cut into 2” long

1 banana bud – cut diagonally

½ cup canola oil

8 cups of water

Salt (to taste)

Instructions:

1. In a stockpot, coil beef, beef tripe and oxtails in water for an hour or until cooked
2. Strain and keep the stock
3. Heat oil and atsuete oil together in a big pan or wok
4. Saute garlic and onions until golden brown then add the beef stock, toasted rice, beef, oxtail and peanut butter
5. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes; salt to taste.
6. Add the eggplant, string beans (sitaw), pechay and banana bud. Cook the vegetables for a few minutes and then simmer for three minutes. Stir once in awhile to prevent the sauce from sticking to the pan.

Additional: Serve with Bagoong (shrimp paste) on the side with steaming hot rice.

                                                    Flavorful Fettuccini Alfredo

Ingredients:

½ cup ( ¼ of a pound) butter

Ovenproof serving dish

Boiling, salted water

1 pound (16 ounces) egg noodles ½-inch wide

1 cup of heavy cream

½ to ¾ cup of freshly grated Romano-Locatelli cheeses (sharp, grating cheeses)  

½ teaspoon of crushed leaf basil (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare serving dish: Place butter in in dish, then place dish in a 325-degree oven so butter will melt while noodles cook
2. Place noodles into a large saucepan with boiling, salted water, let cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until tender; drain
3. Remove dish with butter from oven, add drained noodles, cream and cheeses, tossing well to mix
4. If desired, add basil, and toss into mix. Makes 4 servings