Turkey Day Finale

Good evening everyone! It's the end of Thanksgiving week here on the blog - as usual, Maggie and I are off (I.E. not cooking) on Fridays, so we are simply sharing two more interesting and potentially useful dishes to place on the table this turkey day. What was on the menu for the two amateur chefs? Quiznos! On to tonight's recipes:

The Recipe: Candied Sweet Potato Casserole
Original Recipe Found In: The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2nd Edition: Every Recipe from the Hit TV Show With Product Ratings and a Look Behind the Scenes

What You'll Need:

8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
5 Pounds Sweet Potatoes (About 8 Medium) Peeled, Cut Into 1 Inch Cubes
1 1/2 Cups Packed Light Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Water
1 1/2 Teaspoon Table Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
2 Cups Pecan Halves
1 Egg White, Lightly Beaten
Pinch Cayenne Pepper
Pinch Ground Cumin

Begin by melting the butter in a large dutch oven over medium to medium high heat. Add the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, water, salt and black pepper and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium low and cover. Cook, stirring often, until the sweet potatoes are tender (a paring knife or fork is the best indicator for this - if it slips into and out of the sweet potato with little resistance, they are tender) - this should take about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the pecans, 1/2 cup brown sugar, egg white, 1/2 teaspoon of table salt the cayenne pepper and the cumin together in a medium bowl. Set this mixture aside.

Adjust your oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 450 degrees. Pour the potato mixture into a 13 X 9 inch baking dish. Spread the topping over the potatoes and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pecans are toasted and crisp. Serve immediately and enjoy!


The Recipe: Dinner Rolls

I've found that there are many, many, MANY options out there for dinner rolls. From Pillsbury to scratch, the options are endless. For those who truly enjoy cooking - or want to try their hand at some fresh dinner rolls, we've found these recipes to be both easy to follow and well tested - meaning you won't have to worry about Thanksgiving dinner smelling of 'roll smoke'!


The Options:

Taste Of Home has a recipe for dinner rolls that are sure to end up soft and fluffy like a pillow!

Food Network has one of the simplest and easy to follow homemade roll recipes we've seen!

Pillsbury's own website offers up some creative deviations for their canned rolls - for those looking for excitement without getting overly adventurous.

Cooks.com has a user posted recipe (that has been reviewed and verified) that is receiving rave reviews.


That's all we have for you this week. Here's hoping you found a recipe or two to try in the kitchen for the coming holiday. Maybe you found a little motivation to go out and try something new this year - get creative and have so fun. At the very least, here's hoping you at least enjoyed reading our experiences with the traditional turkey day favorites. One quick note to our family back home - don't worry about replicating the pumpkin pie recipe - I will be brining those to dinner myself! Until Monday,

~Cheers