This Thanksgiving I want to thank you.
You've allowed me into your homes for nearly 40 years on television and to shareso many of your wonderful family recipes and stories through my Rescued Recipe column each week in The Arizona Republic'scommunity editions.
What I've heard from you lately is that you love great food and family traditions, but it's a joy to find recipes that are simple without sacrificing taste. And time-honoredto eliminate the hope-it-turns-out factor!
This Thanksgiving, I hope to do that for you by sharing a few of my favorite dishes — some from my kitchen and some from yours. These are recipes that you can be proud to serve and pass along.
If some require a little more effort, please know that the time spent in the kitchen will garner high praise and second helpings at the holiday table.
Share a family kitchen memory or heritage recipe with Jan D'Atri. Reach her at jan@jandatri.comor visitwww.jandatri.com. Catch her in the Arizona Midday kitchen weekdays from 12:30-2 p.m. on Channel 12.
Happy Thanksgiving and eat hearty!
Godfrey the Gobbler Turkey Cookie
Of all the recipes I've ever made, Godfrey the Gobbler has received the most giggles. He's adorable and easy to assemble.
What you need:
1 box Keebler Fudge Striped Cookies
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (1-inch size)
1 package candy corn
1 container/package dipping chocolate
Directions:
Lay the first cookieflat.
Take a candy corn, dunk it in the chocolate and set it in the hole to brace the second cookie. Let it harden.
Dip the bottom part of the second cookie in chocolate and set it upright against the candy corn.
For the body, dip the large side of a peanut butter cup into the chocolate and attach it to the cookie. Make the face with a second candy corn. Dip the back side in chocolate and lay it on the peanut butter cup.
Finally, take a toothpick, dip it in chocolate and dot your eyes! Let harden.
Watch me pull this together at www.facebook.com/jandatri1.
Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies
(Makes about 2 dozen cookies)
Every Thanksgiving our family looks forward to these amazing cookies from my niece Gina. She was so protective of the recipe untilwe found out she actually stole it from her mom. Busted! (I'd have stolen it too!)
What you need:
1 cup canned pumpkin
¾ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks
For the Glaze:
½ cup powdered sugar plus 4 teaspoons water, mixed together until smooth.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
With an electric mixer, blend pumpkin, sugar, oil, egg and vanilla until well combined and smooth.
Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix until well blended.
Add chocolate chips and mix by hand to combine.
Drop mixture onto baking sheet a heaping teaspoonful at a time.
Bake 10-12 minutes. Once out of the oven, while cookies are still warm, brush glaze over top.
Store in airtight container.
My Dad's Turkey Stuffing
(Serves 6-8)
My big role at Thanksgiving was always to help my dad chop apples for the stuffing. This slightly sweet, savory stuffing — with sausage and the golden trilogy of sautéed onions, carrots and celery —is over the moon.
What you need:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. Hot Italian Sausage (or Breakfast Sausage)
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 large carrots, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1-2 cups chicken broth
1 package seasoned stuffing
1 package corn bread stuffing
Pepper and salt to taste
4 apples, (any firm red apple) peeled, cored and cubed
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional
Directions:
In a large sauté pan, cook garlic, onion, celery and carrots until tender, about 10 minutes.
Add sausage and cook until done, breaking up large chunks of sausage. Cool down.
In a very large bowl, place seasoned stuffing, corn bread stuffing, walnuts and apples. Mix in the sausage and sautéed vegetables. Add pepper and salt, and slowly pour chicken broth into mix, a little at a time until stuffing is moist but not soggy.
Dress turkey and place remainder of the stuffing in a casserole.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Cranberry Wild Rice Salad
(Serves 6-10)
This festive salad has everything going for it. The fresh taste of citrus, texture from the rice, sweetness from cranberries and it's gorgeous on the plate!
What you need:
3 cups Wild Rice blend (combination of black, brown and white) Check health food stores for this blend in bulk.
5 Blood Oranges or Navel Oranges
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or raspberry vinegar
¾ cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil
8 scallions, chopped
2 cups dried cranberries
½ cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
Directions:
Cook the rice in a large pot of salted boiling water until just tender, about 40minutes. Drain in a colander.
Meanwhile, cut peel and pith from oranges. Holding oranges over a bowl to catch the juice, remove segments from white membrane; cut into small pieces and place in thebowl.
Combine vinegars, 1-1/2 tsp salt, and pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil.
In a large serving bowl, combine rice, scallions, dried cranberries, parsleyandorange pieces and their juice. Drizzle vinaigrette over, gently toss and serve.
For best flavor, prepare the day before.
Cheryl's Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Lemon
(Serves about 8)
I've yet to meet anyone who has tried this recipe and has not absolutely loved it, whether you're a Brussels sprouts fan or not. This recipe was shared by Scottsdale resident Cheryl Korwin and has, through the years, become a bonafide fan favorite.
What you need:
1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 pints fresh Brussels sprouts, shredded or sliced very thin
1 large lemon (juice and zest)
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Chop the onion.
Mince the garlic or use a garlic press.
Shred Brussels sprouts by finely slicing with a knife.
Grate 1 teaspoon of yellow zest from lemon and squeeze 3 tablespoons of juice.
In a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook for about 1 minute. Add the Brussels sprouts, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until sprouts are just tender, about 15 minutes. Add lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper.
Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese.
Jan's Confetti Pie
This multi-layered, multi-flavored fruit pie is one that I created when I owned my restaurants in Scottsdale. I remember one year taking pre-orders for my Confetti Pie, and a couple hundred of these went out the door in one day. Who knew?
What you need:
2 uncooked pie shells (I prefer deep dish.)
2 cups sliced peaches or 1 package frozen peach slices
2 cups fresh blueberries or 1 package frozen
2 cups sliced apples or 1 package frozen sliced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar plus 4 tablespoons
2 tablespoons butter, divided
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Line the bottom of a pie tin with first shell, molding it with your hands into the dish.(Or, used store-bought uncooked pie shell.) Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar and bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.
In first medium bowl, combine ¼ cup sugar and sliced peaches and 1 tablespoon of butter.
In second bowl, combine ¼ cup sugar, sliced apples, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon butter.
In third bowl combine ¼ sugar and blueberries.
Cook each fruit in amedium saucepan separately until sugar is dissolved and fruit is softened. Consistency should remain fairly thick with all three fruits.
Pour fruits onto baked pie shells in three layers, one fruit per layer.
With remaining pie shell, cut out leaf designs with cookie cutter or free hand and decorate top of pie. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Quick tip for store-bought biscuit ring
Turn a regular canister of store-bought biscuits into anelegant ring of piping hot pull aparts.
What you need:
4 canisters of refrigerated biscuit dough, regular size
1 cup melted butter
Directions:
Separate biscuits and place them in an overlapping circle around the edges of a9 or 10-inch spring form pan, forming a ring. Brush melted butter on each biscuit after overlapping.
Make a second inside row, and finish with a few biscuits in the center.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Brush top with melted butter before serving.
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