Category Archives: Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving Corn Bread Pudding

Posted on November 14, 2014 | 4 comments

Corn Bread Pudding out of the oven

My friend Audrey gave this to me many years ago, and it has become a staple on our thanksgiving table ever since. It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it. It is a favorite in the Kolen household. Can be doubled easily just will need to cook a little longer. I cooked my double corn bread pudding for at least 45 minutes and sometimes a little longer. You’ll want to press down on the middle and make sure that it’s not too soft. If outside edges start to burn put a piece of aluminum foil over it if it’s not done. Usually another 10 – 15 minutes will work on a doubled recipe and it should look like picture. Outside edges will brown a slight bit.

*I really do think this recipe comes out best not doubled, you’d almost be best off finding a larger baking dish or using 2 9×12 dishes. You will not have the issue of it being too soft if it is in a larger baking dish or 2 9×12 baking dishes.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (unsalted) 1 stick

8 oz. sour cream (lite ok but not fat-free)

8 oz. can sweet corn (drained)

8 oz. can creamed corn

8 oz. pkg. corn muffin mix

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter, mix in beaten eggs, then add the rest of the ingredients.

Pour into glass baking dish (Pyrex is good and I spray it first.) 9 x 12 works fine, it’s not a very deep pudding.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes for single recipe and double recipe will probably cook for another 10 – 15 minutes. You’ll want middle to spring back to the touch and not be too mushy.

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Posted in Holiday, Holiday Recipes, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, sides, vegetables, vegetarian

Tagged Thanksgiving Corn Bread Pudding

Aunt Pammy’s Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Posted on November 13, 2014 | 4 comments

Fully Baked Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

This recipe belongs to my sister, Pamela. She is a great cook, and this is her signature Thanksgiving Dish. We count on it every year as her contribution. I highly suggest it if you like spicy because it is! It definitely packs some heat, be careful when you buy the chipotle peppers in adobe sauce , just make sure they don’t say Hot or you might be blowing the roof off of your Thanksgiving Dinner! Be prepared for a lot of flavor ! If your family likes spicy this is an awesome recipe, and you all know how much I like spicy by now. This is certainly a new take on Sweet Potatoes because they aren’t sweet. I also make a Sweet Potato dish with Marshmallows (* see recipe) and the two are always on my table, one sweet and one spicy. Thanks Aunt Pammy.

Ingredients:

5 lbs.Yams or Sweet Potatoes

Kosher Salt ( about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)

Heavy Cream ( about 1 1/2 quarts)

Chipotle Peppers in Adobe Sauce (canned) *look in Mexican Food Aisle in most supermarkets

Directions:

Slice Potatoes thinly and add salt. Place in baking dish you are going to use and cover with kosher salt, start with 1/4 cup and go to the 1/2 cup. Use your clean hands and toss together.

Puree Chipotles in small food processor .* you can keep pureed chipotles in fridge for up to 2 months. So you can do this step ahead.

Put approximately 1 – 2 tsp. of chipotle pepper puree in heavy cream and mix together

Pour Cream Mixture over Potatoes in an ovenproof baking dish ( earthenware is nice for this)

Place in 375 degree preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour depending on your oven.

Potatoes should be somewhat set and browned on top when ready.

Enjoy! and Happy Thanksgiving

4 Comments

Posted in Holiday, Holiday Recipes, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, pasta, Uncategorized, vegetables, vegetarian

Tagged Aunt Pammy's Chipotle Sweet Potatoes, Hot and Spicy Sweet Potatoes, sweet potatoes recipe, Thanksgiving, thanksgiving recipes

Thanksgiving 2015

Posted on November 11, 2014 | 1 comment

Fully Baked Cremini Pumpkin Lasagna

Fully Cooked Cranberry Crisp

Magnolia Banana Pudding

Sweet and Spicy Nuts

Hurricane Sandy Cranberry Bread

Corn Bread Pudding

pre marshmallow topping

Michele’s White Chocolate Jumbo Macadamia Cookies

Butternut Squash Soup–No Cream

It’s right around the corner and before you know it November 26th is here and happening. It’s my most favorite holiday to celebrate with family and friends. So it’s November 17th and I think it’s time to lay down a few menu guidelines. I just returned from the most amazing trip to India and despite my jet lag I need to get it together. I have a few recipes I will want to be trying this year and am excited to experiment. I must have my” standards ” because there is always a collective “sigh” when something is missing from the buffet. I will try and post some new recipes in the next week or so . If anyone out there has any great suggestions for me please do email me, I’d love to see them. I can’t promise to make them this year but I will certainly try and look them all over. My menu is almost always the same and if you’ve been a faithful fan you’ve probably gotten to taste Karyn’s Cranberry Crisp, Corn bread Pudding, and my favorite stuffing just to name a few “oldies but goodies”. Check out the recipes on my blog: cookingwithcandi.com subscribe for free and fun and get my emails. Once you’ve successfully subscribed just enter a recipe into the search and that’s it! and go through my blog you may find something you want to add to your Thanksgiving Table that isn’t on this post. Hopefully this will be helpful in your planning your Holiday Meal. Look for some new recipes in enough time to try out for this year’s table.

Happy Cooking Thanksgiving 2015 and remember Gratitude not Attitude!

Thanksgiving 2015

for starters I always make my Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts. I have a few variations but they are always delicious and I try not to serve too many appetizers because it’s really an overwhelming meal.

I always do a Baked Brie served with Fig Jam and you know what? I buy it at Whole Foods and keep it in the freezer till I bake it, super perfect and you have to budget your time some how. Whole Foods makes a great one and I expend enough energy on the meal without doing this too.

Seasonal Salad: whatever you like and I have to say salad is really not necessary with all of the other sides. So use your judgement here . I love a simple green salad with some pears, nuts and my most favorite Mustard Vinaigrette which tastes just about perfect on any salad. Kale and Brussels Salad is great as well but a little filling.

Two Soups for Thanksgiving: Butternut Squash (no cream) always wins out in my family. My Pumpkin Lentil Soup is also super inviting . Both soups can and should be made ahead of time. I usually make it 3 days prior to serving , it can keep in fridge. You can also freeze it and just add some liquid when heating up. I also make a delicious Butternut Squash Soup with Chipotle Cream for a little twist on a standard.

Pumpkin Walnut Bread or Hurricane Sandy Pumpkin Cranberry Bread:

Cremini Mushroom Pumpkin Lasagna ( vegetarian), Ultimate Comfort Food Macaroni and Cheese ( vegetarian) and this year I may make a Roasted Vegetable Lasagna. Obviously you don’t need this choice if everyone is good with eating meat but if you’d like to offer a vegetarian choice one of these is perfect and can all be made ahead of time. Look for the Roasted Vegetable Lasagna which will be coming soon. I always add a pasta , don’t ask my why.

Stuffing that will be on our table: This is my stuffing that I always make. Look for it under this title. This is my tried and true. Worth the work.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes: when I’ve tried to eliminate I always get caught so they will be here again this year.

Candied Yam Souffle: East Peasy. Marshmallow Sweet Potatoes, Aunt Pammy’s Chipotle Sweet Potatoes which are nothing short of A-mazing!!

Fresh Cranberry Sauce, Karyn’s Famous Thanksgiving Cranberry Crisp ( also nothing short of amazing) and Joy’s Cranberry Sauce. If you haven’t made Karyn’s Cranberry Crisp you’re really missing out on something wonderful.

Fresh Green Beans with Lemons and Almonds

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Corn Bread Pudding–this is a must , one of the best Thanksgiving recipes ever!

Roast Whole Turkey and a Turkey Breast: if you’re family prefers white meat a turkey roast is just perfection. We also have dark meat lovers so I do both.

Michele’s White Chocolate Jumbo Macadamia Cookies, Pumpkin Cheesecake The cookies will always make an appearance and I think this year an Apple Crisp is in order because Joel has made a personal request for this. Magnolia Banana Pudding is another strong contender.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes for Mashed Potatoes

Like I said just a guide line to help with your shopping, menus, and hopefully some new ideas for you. Enjoy and please do reach out if you have some suggestions.

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Posted in Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes

Pumpkin Soup – Happy Fall

Posted on November 7, 2014 | Leave a comment

Fall is here, and time to make soups, and hearty meals. Heartwarming and comforting is what comes to mind. This pumpkin soup is all of that–warm,sweet and savory all at the same time. It contains cream; and I do use heavy cream, you can probably substitute skim milk and let me know how that works out. I figure there are 8 servings and only 1/2 cup of cream in the total so it’s not too too terrible. You can also substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth for a vegetarian style soup. It’s a smooth delicious soup, and served with a nice green salad and some crusty bread, it’s awesome! Happy Fall.

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken / vegetable stock ( either one)

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

4 cups ( 2 cans) pumpkin puree ( not pie filling – be careful)

1 medium yellow onion chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme ( you can use fresh )

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup maple syrup

5 whole black peppercorns, or a few grinds of the pepper mill

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Heat up 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nice deep soup pot ( Le Creuset) add chopped onion and saute till translucent, add garlic and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. When onion is translucent add stock, pumpkin, thyme, maple syrup and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on low flame for at least 30 minutes uncovered.

With an immersion blender, ( if no immersion blender a regular blender or food processor will do, but then you need to do in batches of 1 cup at a time and let it cool down a bit)

Blend till well combined, and simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered. Taste for salt, the peppercorns get ground up and taste wonderful but you may want to add more pepper. Stir in heavy cream and stir well. Pour into soup bowls and enjoy!

You may want to sprinkle some fried onion rings on top. If I am pressed for time I take the onion rings right from the container ( French’s ) makes the best type and add to the soup for a little more flavor and crunch. Not too much just a taste. Of course a great crusty bread with butter and a delicious hard cheese needs nothing else but the soup.

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Posted in Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, meatless, soup

Tagged Pumpkin Soup for Fall, Pumpkin Soup with Maple Syrup

Last Minute Entry — Stringbean Casserole

Posted on November 27, 2013 | Leave a comment

This is not your mother’s green bean casserole, no cans of cream of mushroom soup here. Not that there’s anything wrong with it but I think this is a tastier, tad healthier variation on a theme. Of course there is still butter and cream and would it be a holiday casserole without all that? In any event I pulled this off the Food Network a while ago and it is from Alton Brown. Looks pretty easy and it starts with fresh green beans and fresh mushrooms, and real deal onions. If you don’t want to use the real-deal onions skip this step and use the French Fried Onions in the Can — they really are tasty and I won’t tell a soul. I actually think this would taste really good in here –just saying. Just buy 2 large cans they come in 6 oz. cans you’ll want 2 just to be sure. Then you can totally skip making onion rings.

Topping (onion rings)

*this is the part you can skip if you use canned French fried onions . French’s makes the best ones. Buy 2 6 oz. cans so you’ll have enough.

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons panko seasoned bread crumbs

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Non-stick Cooking Spray like Pam

Beans:

1 lb. fresh string beans , rinsed and trimmed

1 gallon water

2 tbsp. kosher salt

Sauce:

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2 ” pieces ( regular white button mushrooms or cremini)

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth or vegetable

1 cup half and half

Directions:

For onion topping:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.

Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with Pam Spray and evenly spread the onions in the pan. Bake in the oven until golden brown, tossing every 10 minutes, for app. 30 minutes. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Now if you want to skip this step you can use the French Fried Onions in the can. Just please use fresh string beans. No judgements here at all.

Lower heat in oven to 400 degrees. If you’re not making your own onion rings just preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare the beans, Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil . Blanch beans for app. 5 minutes , you’ll want them bright green. Drain in a colander and I plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12″ skillet over medium high heat. Saute the mushrooms with salt and pepper and cook , stirring occasionally. About 5 minutes till mushrooms give up some of their liquid. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 – 2 minutes . Sprinkle 2 tbsp. flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for another minute. Add the broth and simmer for another minute or so, add the half and half and cook until mixture thickens. About 8-10 minutes over low heat.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions ( whichever you’re using) and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly 15 – 20 minutes.

Remove and serve.

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Posted in Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, vegetables

Tagged mushrooms and onions, string bean casserole, string beans

Sweet Potato Crunch

Posted on November 24, 2013 | Leave a comment

I just came across this recipe in my archives of recipes. Just another sweet potato recipe in a long line of sweet potato recipes. I haven’t made it in a few years, but it is just delicious. We just can’t make it all, as much as we would like to sometimes. I think I will make it for another dinner…why not? Who says sweet potato casseroles are just for Thanksgiving? In my house, we eat sweet potatoes all the time, so why not this yummy casserole? The next time I have a dinner party with poultry, I am going to put this on the table. And who knows, it may just win out for Thanksgiving, as well.

Ingredients:

6 cups sweet potatoes , drained (fresh or canned) instructions for cooking fresh below

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup evaporated milk (not condensed)

1/2 cup of sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

For Topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup (unsalted) butter, cut into pieces

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/3 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup flour

Directions:

*to cook fresh sweet potatoes. I peel and quarter up potatoes into chunks . Place in large enough saucepan and cover with water by about 2″. Add a little salt to the water and bring to a boil. I cook at a low boil for about 12 minutes till the sweet potatoes are tender. If you can pierce a chunk with a fork they are good to go. I then drain them and place back in pan till the excess moisture steams out. You want your sweet potatoes dry.

Beat all the filling ingredients together until smooth (add more milk if needed.) Add butter and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and beat until well combined. Pour into deep casserole dish using a wooden spoon.

Combine all topping ingredients except for the flour. Sprinkle flour last, and incorporate in to the rest of topping. Pour over potato mixture and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for approx. 45 minutes

And if you don’t feel like making this lovely topping get out the mini marshmallows and just cover the whole thing in those soft little sweet pillows. Either way this promises to be a great dish.

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Posted in Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, sides, vegetables, vegetarian

Tagged Sweet Potato Crunch, Sweet Potatoes

Thanksgivukah — worlds collide

Posted on November 10, 2013 | 2 comments

This year Thanksgiving ’13 and Chanukah ’13 converge on the same day! Wow what a rare and special treat this is. We can break out the latkes and serve them up with Cranberry Apple Sauce and throw the gelt on the table because this won’t happen again for at least 79,000 more years. Bust out the jelly donuts for dessert and we can light the Menorah with all our guests! That part of it I really like now will I have to get one of those turkey Menorahs? don’t think so. It should be fun to celebrate these 2 totally different holidays on one night. . This is a once in a lifetime phenomenon for sure. I may have to break down and buy one of those turkey menorahs.

Look on my blog for my Potato Zucchini Latkes they could be a very nice addition to your Thanksgivukah table.

www.Manischewitz.com has some funny commentary on their website.

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Posted in Holiday, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes

Tagged Thanksgivukah

Thanksgiving ’13 –here we come

Posted on November 9, 2013 | 1 comment

Fully Baked Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

It’s the elephant in the room and I’ve put off discussing it but the time has definitely come to start talking turkey. Thanksgiving is upon us, yes we have plenty of time to get it together but menus need to be planned so we don’t get caught unprepared. My menu is almost always the same because everyone has their favorite dish that they look forward to eating every year. Last year I skipped mashed potatoes in favor of something else and the first thing one of my nephews said was “where are the mashed potatoes?” that was his favorite thing. So I try to please all but need to add a few new items every year. Haven’t really decided on all the items but will give you a list of some of my oldies but goodies so go and look them up on my blog. Just put in the title of recipe and it will and it should pop up. If you haven’t subscribed as of yet , what are you waiting for? Please do, it’s free and it’s fun. If anyone out there has any awesome Thanksgiving recipes that they’d like to share with me just email me at cmk55@sopris.net. Looking forward to hearing from you all. Have fun and I will be posting like crazy for the next few weeks. Happy Turkey Day and Happy Cooking.

Remember Gratitude not Attitude

Here are some recipes you may want to start looking at:

Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts, Roasted Almonds Simply and Spicy , Baked Salami

Salad Dressing- Mustard Vinaigrette is always simple and delicious or Maple Syrup Vinaigrette will work perfectly on a green salad.

Butternut Squash Soup (no cream), Pumpkin Lentil Soup, with Butternut Squash Soup with Chipotle Cream (all soups can be made vegetarian)

Pumpkin Walnut Bread, Hurricane Sandy Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Cremini Mushroom Pumpkin Lasagna (vegetarian) , Ultimate Comfort Food Macaroni and Cheese (vegetarian)

Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives (vegetarian)

Thanksgiving Corn Bread Pudding (vegetarian)

Stuffing that will be on our Table

Candied Yam Souffle (Easy Peasy), Marshmallow Sweet Potatoes, Aunt Pammy’s Chipotle Sweet Potatoes (nothing short of amazing) (vegetarian)

Fresh Cranberry Sauce, Karyn’s Famous Thanksgiving Cranberry Crisp (also nothing short of amazing), Joy’s Cranberry Sauce (vegetarian)

Fresh Green Beans with Lemon and Almonds , Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Michele’s White Chocolate Jumbo Macadamia Cookies, Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

This is just a start for you so you can start your shopping and firm up your menu. I will be posting for the next few weeks and if there is anything you can’t find please feel free to contact me. Happy Cooking.

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Posted in Cooking, Holiday, Holiday Recipes, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes

Tagged Thanksgiving Menu 2014

Carrot Souffle

Posted on December 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

I was looking for a carrot souffle recipe that would be perfect for the holidays and came across quite a few, I settled on this one and I was very happy I did. Original recipe comes from Emeril Lagasse, and if you can believe it, it had more butter and more brown sugar than it does, I took a few liberties with the recipe and it was just delicious. The orange flavor is very strong, so if you like you can cut that a bit but I love the fresh flavor of orange so I kept it at a full tablespoon. It is not difficult to make, just takes some time and a lot of ingredients. I peeled the carrots, and just cut them in thirds to boil, because they were getting thrown in the food processor anyway. You need a food processor for this, and a large one at that. I literally put all ingredients into it and gave it a few whirls. . It is a most perfect holiday dish, perfect for Christmas, Jewish New Year and Thanksgiving, really any time you are making dinner for a big group. If you’d like you can cut this recipe in 1/2 for a smaller gathering. I also didn’t use a 9 x 13 but used a deeper casserole dish, which was fine, you can use whatever pretty baking dish you like. I cooked it for 1/2 the time the day before and then just put in oven again day we were eating it for another 45 minutes or so. The deeper the dish , the longer it will take to fully cook through. It was light like a souffle should be and the topping is crunchy and sweet. This goes to any holiday meal, and really any time. Good news is carrots are always readily available no excuse not to eat them.

*this recipe can easily be cut in half

Ingredients:

3 pounds carrots, I peeled them and cut them into thirds

6 large eggs – beat before adding to processor

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk ( I used skim plus)

1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon orange zest ( use the orange that you will juice)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg ( or 1 teaspoon powder)

pinch of salt ( regular table salt)

Topping:

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans/walnuts whichever you prefer

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 tablespoon ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter , at room temperature

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole pan ( up to 9 x 13 ) . Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the peeled cut up carrots, and cook until tender, app. 15 minutes and drain. Combine the carrots with the remaining ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. I was able to put all ingredients in a large processor, if not you will have to work in batches. Spoon the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.

Combine the topping ingredients, brown sugar, pecans, flour and butter in a medium size bowl , stir to blend. Scatter the mixture over the top of the casserole and bake until the topping is lightly browned, 55 minutes to 1 hour. I baked for 35 minutes the day I made it, and will re – heat it for another 45 minutes before serving. You’ll want it a little bubbly around edges.

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Posted in Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, meatless, vegetables

Tagged Carrot Souffle, Carrot Souffle for Thanksgiving

Joy’s Cranberry Sauce

Posted on November 21, 2012 | 4 comments

. This looks so good, and it is pretty easy. So if you’re still in the market for a Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce give this one a try. I try to keep a few bags of cranberries in my freezer all year round , they are the perfect side to a roast chicken anytime of the year. I always make simple fresh plain Cranberry Sauce and Karyns’s Cranberry Crisp on the holidays. This is a lovely alternative to the simple Fresh Cranberry Sauce recipe or A little twist on Cranberry Sauce on my blog.

Thanks to Joy who is a friend and has been a faithful fan and supporter since the beginning of this blog. I think we can trust her in the food dept. she knows her stuff!

Recipe as follows: (of course you can double)

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. bag of cranberries

3 granny smith apples , peeled and cut into 1/2 ” cubes

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup apple juice

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Directions:

Bring to boil over medium simmer ( about 6 minutes) all of the above ingredients. If it seems too thick add a little water . Refrigerate and serve!

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Posted in Holiday Recipes, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, Sauce, sides, Uncategorized

Tagged Cranberry Sauce Recipes, Joy's Cranberry Sauce

Category Archives: Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving Corn Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

Directions:

Aunt Pammy’s Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

Directions:

Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving 2015

Pumpkin Soup – Happy Fall

Ingredients:

Directions: