Thanksgiving Menu

Thanksgiving Menu
Roast Turkey
Deep Fried Turkey

Sweet Potatoes w/ Marshmallows
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Baby Carrots in Butter

Deviled Eggs
Dinner Rolls

Cranberry Sauce
Green Stuff
Pumpkin Pie
Lemon Meringue Pie
Pecan Pie

Cranberry Juice Cocktail
Cranapple Juice

Super Easy Caramel Sauce

Super Easy Caramel Sauce

1 cup Sugar
6 T butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a very large saucepan, place sugar and cook over medium heat; stirring, until it is completely melted. Continue to stir and watch carefully until it reaches a dark golden color.  Add the butter and stir until it is completely melted.  Pour the cream in all at once (the sauce will bubble up) and stir until smooth. 

Spoon over brownies or ice cream .... or over ice cream on brownies!

Breakfast Sausage

We butchered a hog yesterday, ending up with 22# of meat/fat for sausage.  Here's my recipe for breakfast sausage...

22# ground pork and fat (about 70/30)
7 T Sea salt
1 cup rubbed sage
1 teaspoon each:

• Paprika
• Cayenne
• Ground cloves
• Ground Ginger
• Savory
• Mace
• Nutmeg
• Black Pepper
• Ground Thyme

Cut meat and fat into cubes, chill for at least an hour.  Sprinkle seasoning over meat cubes then grind with a coarse plate.  Make a patty and fry it up to check seasonings.  Make any adjustments in seasonings and run through the grinder a second time. 

The Best Cake I Ever Made!

We've been able to buy and put up more cherries this year than I can ever remember doing in a year.  As a result I have several new "products" in my pantry to experiment with.  Today was one of experiments...

Cherry Filled Chocolate Coconutty Cake.

1 Dark Chocolate Cake mix

1/2 stick butter

1/3 cup oil

1 1/2 cups water

3 eggs

1 qt cherry pie filling

1/4 pt cherry-almond preserves

1 cup coconut

1 tsp almond extract

In the workbowl of the mixer blend together the dry cake mix and the butter until the butter is well incorporated.  Add eggs, oil, and water and mix well.  Add coconut and almond extract, stir until blended.  Pour into a well greased bundt cake pan and bake at 350 for about 50 minutes or until cake tests done.  Allow cake to cool for 5 minutes then remove from pan. 

Allow the cake to cool completely, then with a bread knife remove the top 1/4 of the cake.  Use a spoon to hollow out the center of the bottom layer of the cake, then fill with pie filling.  Carefully replace the top of the cake, using toothpics to sure up any cracks if needed. 

Use the cherry-almond preserves to glaze the assembled cake, arranging the cherries and almonds on the top.

Fresh From the Garden Pasta Salad

8 oz Rotini, cooked and cooled
8 oz diced ham
1/2 onion
1/2 lg Bell Pepper
8 oz Black olives, sliced
1 large clove garlic
2 T Fresh chopped Parsley
1/4 tsp Black pepper
1 tsp Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning Mix
1 T sweet pickle relish
3/4 cup mayo

Chop the garlic and then place into a large bowl.  Mash the garlic and the seasoning mix with the back of a spoon until well blended.  Mash in the pepper.  Add the ham, onion, bell pepper, olives, parsley, and relish.  Mix well.  Add mayo and pasta and stir until well blended.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.