Thanksgiving Series

 Turkey Day is one of my favorite holidays! Cooking all day, nibbling as I go, sharing traditions with The Hubster and Herdlings and laying out a home made spread to delight everyone- I look forward to it all year!

This super Bowl of cooking isn't for everyone. Some folks are the cooks and some just come for the food. At our house that means you help pack up left overs and do dishes!!

My sister Lindsay, her fiancé Zac, and daughter Addison came to visit in the second week of November and we decided to have a Thanksgiving Celebration together. I could not wait to have one of my favorite holidays twice!! I planned a menu and The Hubster helped me shop. We worked together to make the big meal and it served as not only a great dress rehearsal to the Thanksgiving taking place on the fourth Thursday of November, but allowed me to get our favorite recipes collected and kind of photographed so I could blog them for you!

I will be breaking the big dinner into smaller, easier to handle segments. Watch for them all:

Planning/Preparation

Appetizers

Turkey

Sides

Desserts

I will include recipes, tips/things I have learned and any pictures I managed to take (that part was a lot harder than I thought it would be!) My hope is to take some of the stress out of your Thanksgiving and maybe inspire you to try something new!

Butter Beer Cupcakes

My eldest daughter is in the the Harry Potter Club at her high school. Yes... high school... Harry Potter Club. I have no idea what these kids do during their bi-weekly meetings but I am glad she is taking part in something that has captivated her since she was young!

When she was in the thrid grade we feared that she could not read. She refused. It took an hour to read a Clifford picture book. Then one day she picked up the first Harry Potter book and read through it, in the third grade, in less than a week. It was magical! (Okay... the pun was kind of intended!)

The Hubster and I (and sometimes Papa Ed and/or Auntie Mallory) went to midnight showings of the new movies or midnight parties at Barnes and Noble for the book releases and endured many, many Harry Potter Character days at school! I wish I had photos.... they are likely in one of my two broken laptops.

That has all led to today's baking experience and the very blog you are reading right now!

Tomorrow the Harry Potter Club is having a pot luck, and being that I am known for my cupcakes (Maddy's words... I think she was buttering me up!) she put herself down to bring two dozen butter beer cupcakes.

We found the recipe at Muggle Net and I have to say- they taste so much like the frothy, creamy and oh-so-delicious butter beer beverage sold at the Harry Potter area at Universal Studios!!

 

Butter Beer Cupcakes

Ingredients

• For the Cake:
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 cup cream soda
• 3 eggs
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 1/2 cup melted butterscotch chips

Directions:

Step 1: (Starting with the cake portion): Mix the yellow cake mix, cream soda, eggs, melted butter, and melted butterscotch chips (in that order) in a medium/large mixing bowl.

Step 2: Mix on medium speed for two minutes.

I have quite a collection of paper liners- I thought these were perfect for butter beer!

 Step 3: Follow the temperature and time directions as instructed on the yellow cake mix box.

THIS really bugs me. It is caused by the floor under my oven being unleveled. The only way around this is to pull my entire oven out into the middle of my kitchen, which isn't something I enjoy doing. Luckily for this occasion, it kind of works- like the foam spilling over the edge of a glass.

For the Frosting:

2 sticks of butter, softened

6 tablespoons of cream soda

6 cups of powdered sugar

4 tablespoons of butterscotch ice cream topping

Step 1: cream the butter and cream soda by mixing on medium speed for approximately two minutes.

Step 2: Mix in powdered sugar, one cup at a time for easy mixing.

Step 3: Then mix in butterscotch topping.

Step 4: When cupcakes are cooled, cover each with frosting

 

Tempted to try it??

You can find the recipe credit HERE

Cheese Crisps

The Hubster loves these! Any time I make anything with cheese, I do a few crisps as a treat for him.

On this particular day I was making quesadillas on the griddle. You can try a variety of cheeses.... the only types I do not use are mozzarella and American/Velveeta. Cheddar, Swiss, parmesan and Colby jack are all terrific!

Get your pan or griddle hot and stack some cheese on! It doesn't have to be perfect- everything will melt down. Keep in mind, the more cheese you put in one spot, the larger your crisp will be.

You can free form or mold your cheese by using a metal ring (cookie or biscuit cutter)

Use tongs or an oven mitt when removing the ring- it will be hot!

Molding the cheese is good when you want to have a little more "wow factor" or if you just like things to be tidy looking.

I also like to throw single shreds of cheese on the griddle to make cheesy crouton replacements!

For any method or desired shape, let the cheese sizzle away until no more bubble appear. You can flip, but I usually just let one side brown.

Remove to paper towel. I like to let it finish cooling on a wire rack to help keep it crisp until my hubby gets to them.... which usually isn't long!

Besides eating them straight up, I like these in tomato soup, on sandwiches and as a garnish on a steak or potato dish!

The best way to store these? I do not know.... there are never any left!!

Indoor S'mores

This one is a favorite here so I thought I would pass it along for other families too!!

S'mores are a fall tradition in our Herd but a backyard fire is not always possible or convenient. When the Herdlings are asking for this favorite treat- it can go one of two ways:

Deconstructed S'mores (I plate grahams, chocolate pieces and marshmallows and they eat them separately) or Indoor (sometimes called "cold") S'mores! The latter is messier and more reminiscent of the campfire dessert sans the fire.

You need three ingrediants: graham crackers, marshmallow fluff and chocolate frosting.

Spread the fluff on one cracker, the frosting on the other

Squish them together and Enjoy!!

Savor the Flavor

I have not yet mastered a good tomato sauce- so I tinker with the jarred stuff we buy at the store.

My best tip for getting a lot of flavor into the sauce is to cook off your meats IN the sauce.

Meatballs or sausage- either will work.  

Brown the meat

I like to add a little water and put a lid on the pot to steam the sausage- this helps to keep the casing from splitting open!

 Once you have the meat nearly cooked through, and the water has evaporated, add your sauce

Let it hang out for a little while- on medium heat- & give the meat time to infuse the sauce with tasty flavors! I took the meat out, sliced it and returned everything to the sauce/pan. The sausage was still pink in the middle so I cooked it for a little bit longer.

While all of this is going on, cook your noodles, this time around I happened to use tri colored rotini.

Once the pasta and meat are both finished cooking: drain the noodles and combine everything in the larger pot.

Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan and side of your choice! (something green will bring life to your plate!)