Thanksgiving Was Wonderful! Moving On To Christmas!

         Friends, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!  We certainly did!  It was so nice for my sister, Janise, and I to visit with my brother Bob and his wife, Connie.  We had good food and good company!

         The entrée was a pre-cooked spiral ham, just because that's a personal favorite of all of us.  The only time I cooked a turkey was just a few years ago and I fixed Thanksgiving dinner for an old boyfriend.  The biggest thing I remember about that dinner was, if you're going to "garnish" the turkey with pineapple, wait until the turkey is almost cooked to place the pineapple on it instead of letting the pineapple cook for hours.  It doesn't hold up well.  Let me show you what I did this year!

        This was one of my favorite dishes.  It's beautiful to look at with its bright colors, it is tasty and crisp and it offsets "some" of the fat, and there is a lot of it, in the other dishes.  It was also the most simple dish to make. 

Sauteed Corn and Green Peppers!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of a cooking oil
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels (or fresh if in season), thawed in the refrigerator
• 1 green bell pepper, small diced
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
In a non-stick skillet, heat the oil over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking Add corn and diced green pepper and saute', stirring, until tender but still crunchy, about three (3) minutes. Stir in red pepper flakes and cook 15 more seconds. Season with salt and pepper.

        Here's an honorable mention:  these are the hard-boiled eggs my sous chef painstakingly peeled, and I took the yoke to make deviled eggs with salt, pepper, sweet salad cubes and too much mayo.  They were delicious but were not photogenic at all.  Another delicious take on deviled eggs is to add chopped green olives and add them instead of sweet salad cubes.  Yum!

Stovetop Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Maple Pecan Drizzle!

        This recipe was so wonderful, I could have eaten the whole dish!  I did not do a great job of taking photos during prep or you would see the toasted pecans heated in a sauce pan with butter and maple syrup!  Click on the picture of the whipped potatoes for the recipe.  If you've never checked out "The Kitchn" Facebook page and blog, it is well worth checking out for tons of kitchen tips and recipes!

        Here are the biscuits from scratch for the dressing.  Here's a recipe we were tested on in culinary school.  I converted the measurements for those who might not have a food scale, so they might look a little wonky.  Also, because this recipe does not include buttermilk, my friends have called into question that they are "Country Biscuits".  I agree, but cutting extra cold butter into the dough will make for some flaky biscuits!

Country Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 3 cup all-purpose flour*
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 3/4 tsp granulated sugar
• 3 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 stick plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter (cold)
• 1 cup milk

Directions:
        Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

1. Stir the dry ingredients together, making sure they are blended thoroughly.
2. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter, or rub the butter in with your fingers until the mixture looks mealy, or like crumbs.  Do not over-mix.
3. Add the milk and stir, only until the ingredients are mixed together.
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead until it forms one mass, approximately five or six kneadings.
5. Roll out the dough to a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a two-inch cutter and place the biscuits on the lined sheet pan, touch each other.
6. Bake until the tops are light brown, the sides are almost white and the insides are still moist, approximately 10-12 minutes. Internal heat will continue to cook the biscuits after they have been removed from the oven.
7. Remove the biscuits to a wire rack to cool.

Cook's Note:  Okay, you can't beat a hot, buttery homemade biscuit; however, for purposes of expediency, or for this dressing where the biscuits are mixed with cornbread and other ingredients,  you have two other options.  They are: 

(1)  You can still make the biscuits from scratch and use self-rising flour and buttermilk (eliminates the need for baking powder and/or baking soda) .  Check out this recipe!  http://www.marthawhite.com/recipes/famous-buttermilk-biscuits-2462  or

(2) Buy Mary B's Buttermilk Biscuits in the freezer section at your grocer's.  They are so convenient and taste like homemade!  They also make the idea of creating a dressing seem not so daunting! 

        I forgot to take a picture of the cornbread but I use the Martha White Southern Cornbread recipe.  It is an easy-peasy recipe.  I use lard (yes, politically incorrect) to grease a cast iron skillet.  Here's the link:  http://www.marthawhite.com/recipes/southern-cornbread-2630   

Southern Cornbread Dressing With Gravy!

        Then comes the dressing!  This recipe is awesome, and the gravy recipe is almost drinkable.  I did not make enough gravy!  These are two of the dishes I made last year.  I tweaked the recipes a little on last year's blog.  You can find them here:  http://www.dishedwithlove.com/blogging/tis-the-season-to-be-thankful-and-jolly

Classic Cranberry Sauce!

   Also, on the same blog post from November of last year, you will find this delicious homemade cranberry sauce recipe.  How pretty is it in one of the jars my friend Karen gave me!  http://www.dishedwithlove.com/blogging/tis-the-season-to-be-thankful-and-jolly

        More Honorable Mentions: Sister Schubert's Dinner Yeast Rolls and Smithfield's Spiral Sliced Ham with Classic Ham Glaze!

Southern Peach Cobbler With Blackberries!

        Since Bobby and Connie had not had this wonderful peach and blackberry cobbler before, I decided to share this with them rather than my original plan of a homemade apple pie. Turns out it was my brother's choice! I made this for a "tailgating" party in September when peaches were still fresh, but let me tell you, the frozen ones are just as good and a lot more convenient!  Here's the link again:
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/southern-peach-cobbler.html  It's just a coincidence that more than one recipe has the name Southern in them!

        I hope you've enjoyed the blog as much as I have enjoyed putting it all together for you.  One day I'll learn to pace myself so I can get lots more pictures of the prepping, which is my favorite part.  There's nothing like preparing all of the ingredients and then putting them all together to make something beautiful and delicious, except for the looks on the faces of the friends and family who are enjoying the dishes!

        We're spending Christmas with cousins at Seminole Lake in South Georgia.  Sis's birthday present to us this year is a trip to Callaway Resort and Gardens to visit the gardens and see the Fantasy of Lights on our birthday, which is four days before Christmas! 

        Merry Christmas to all of you.  Let us all remember the Reason for the Season, Jesus Christ! 

          Dished With Love, Denise!