The First Annual "Tell Us What You're Cooking This Year For Thanksgiving Dinner That You Didn't Cook Last Year"

Here's the deal about Thanksgiving dinner at our house: it's the same every year, except for one thing. Every year one thing changes.

Sometimes we try something new and it stays forever, like the apricot jello mold that's been a guilty pleasure of our Thanksgiving dinner for at least fourteen years.

Sometimes it's something that makes the cut for several years -- like sweet potatoes with pecan praline -- and then, for no real reason, falls off the menu never to be spoken of again.

And sometimes it's a mistake, like the pearl onions in balsamic vinegar, which turned out to be a dish that was far too full of itself.

Anyway, here's what we're doing on Huffington Post: the First Annual "Tell Us What You're Cooking This Year For Thanksgiving Dinner That You Didn't Cook Last Year."

Send in your recipe. Send in the thing you've never cooked before on Thanksgiving day, the thing that proves conclusively that you're up for change, that you're not your mother, that you're open to new ideas, that you're flexible and full of surprises and with-it food-wise, even though the truth about Thanksgiving is the exact opposite -- it's about ritual and tradition and the same-old same-old.

This year, in our house, we're cooking our version of Suzanne Goin's succotash. Of course Suzanne Goin doesn't call it succotash; in her book Sunday Suppers at Luques, she calls it sweet corn, green cabbage and bacon. We call it succotash because we throw in some lima beans and way more butter:

Cut 6 thick slices of bacon into small pieces and cook in a casserole until crispy. Remove and drain. Melt 1 stick of butter in the remaining bacon grease and add 1 sliced onion and some salt and pepper. Saute for a few minutes, then add half a small green cabbage, sliced, and cook until wilted. Add 2 packages of cooked frozen lima beans and 2 packages of frozen corn. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring, till the corn is done. You can do this in advance. Reheat gently and add the bacon.

 

Comments

[ChiGuy]

Sorry if it's not very exciting, but my deviation from the norm is a big step for one like me that LOVES the traditional "Norman Rockwell" Thanksgiving dinner.

I'll be serving two turkeys.
One is finishing up in the smoker as I write this, and the other I'll be deep frying.

My family, who has been clamoring for this former longtime restaurateur to be more daring on this celebration day, have no clue just how my insides are churning.
Not just from worry about how the dinner will turn out, but also because it is battering every sensibility and emotion I hold dear about the tradition.

I'll survive, I'm sure.
But next year, I may just re-create the cover from that famous Saturday Evening Post, just so I know that the world is back on its axis again.

[bmermaid]

Last year we had abalone (fried), that my step-son went diving for on Thanksgiving, and pheasant (poached) that my son brought from South Dakota. Neither of those things were ever on my Mother's menu, although she is a fantastic cook.

This year we have been given venison & bear meat from our neighbors Grandson, who hunts.

When you have main dishes that unusual, mashed potatoes & gravy & regular stuffing, with pumpkin pie is a good idea.

[Shorebird]

I have no idea who sent me this recipe, but it is a wonderful appetizer and I make it all the time. Best thing, you prepare it the day before.It will be one less thing to cook on Thanksgiving Day. I serve it with a sparkling wine or pinot grigio.


Pesto and Sun Dried Tomato Torte
Ingredients:
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup softened butter
1 small jar oil packed sun-dried tomatoes
10 oz. container refrigerated pesto
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:
In medium bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until well blended. Mix pesto and cheese in small bowl. Line two 8 oz. custard cups with plastic wrap. Divide cream cheese mixture into four parts. Spoon 1/4 of cream cheese mixture into each custard cup. Sprinkle each with 1/4 of the tomatoes. Spread 1/4 of the pesto mixture over tomatoes. Repeat layers until all the mixtures are used.

Fold plastic wrap over each torte, sealing well. Chill overnight until firm. Unmold, remove plastic wrap, and serve with crusty French bread slices or sturdy crackers. Serves 8 to 10

[Samplegirl]

This post kinda upset me. I am my mothers daughter and whats wrong with the Traditional Thanksgiving meal? I watched the Foodnetwork last night...and there was not one recipe I would of wanted on my table. Giana had to slop her turkey all up with oregano...yuck!
Tyler Florence had to kick his up with a touch of mexican hot and Bobby Flay had to turn Thanksgiving into a Bar-be-que and Paula Dean was doing some Greek style dressing. I celebrate my heritage once year so if you don't want turkey, corn, or mashed potatoe's and gravy & pumpkin pie my house is not the place to come....go to your local Taco Bell, Olive Garden, or favorite smorgasboard and eat all the pinto beans, pasta and barbequed wingdings you can eat. I'm all for a good old fashioned American meal once a year!

[sparkandy]

My brother is smoking a ham, so we're not having turkey. We'll have potato salad and baked beans. This year we'll also have broccoli grape salad. Here's the recipe, with the addition of a little celery and without the cheddar. Unless I get lazy and we just buy some at Charlie's chicken.

Broccoli Grape Salad Ingredients
1 1/2 cups red grapes diced
1/3 cup Pecan chopped
1 1/2 cup Broccoli chopped
1/4 cup Red onion chopped
1/2 cup Cheddar shredded
Light mayonaise

Insructions for Broccoli Grape Salad
Equal parts broccoli and grapes.
sweeten light mayonaise with splenda as dressing.

mix all together. (sunflower seeds also work great)

Main Ingredient: BroccoliCuisine: American

[jackpinesavage]

This year i'll be cooking a turkey raised by a close friend on his new, small farm. It has eaten well all summer and lived what, for a turkey, could be called the "good life". Mostly it has eaten what it has found for itself, supplemented by high-quality and diverse feed. Wednesday afternoon it will meet its end, twenty four hours later it will be cooked meat. No freezers, no trucks, no hormones, no antibiotics, no corporations.

The secret of the recipe is what goes into the turkey, rather than what goes into the oven with the turkey.

[windsorstar]

Just heard about this one: peeled and cut up sweet potatoes, a little olive oil, kosher salt, garlic powder and za'atar a middle eastern spice. Coat thoroughly and roast until soft. P.S. I'm thankful for being invited out for Thanksgiving dinner this year!

[glitzqueen]

What a great idea to do this. Thanks for thinking of it, Ms. Ephron.

We're having an oddly extended Indian Summer here in New Mexico, so I'm still harvesting tomatoes and no frost has yet blighted the basil. For the first time, there'll be Insalata Caprese on the Thanksgiving menu this year.

To make it, slice vine-ripened tomatoes and sprinkle them with sea salt to bring out the sweetness. After about 30 minutes, alternate these slices with slices of juicy mozzarella di bufalo on a platter or individual salad plates. Tear basil leaves over and drizzle with really good olive oil. Serve at room temp.

For this dish to work, the tomatoes have to be fabulous. Of course you can place greens under the primary ingredients, if you like, and you might want to add wedges of lemon to squeeze over.

[MHarney]

Please pardon the unreadable characters in the sticky toffee pudding recipe above -- the two lines are 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda.

[rickroberts]

Fun idea. It's really not annual until it happens again. Now it's the first of what you hope to be an annual event.

Just nit-picking. :)

[MHarney]

Ingredient notes: blackstrap molasses is close to black treacle. Demerera sugar is like turbinado or light brown. If you can't find self-raising flour, the amount here is 2/3 cup cake flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Bicarbonate of soda is baking soda and double cream is heavy cream. Weight and temperature equivalents at http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/conversion_charts.htm.

Sticky Toffee and Date Pudding (Alison Coulling)

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PUDDING
• 100g chopped dates
• 90 ml boiling water
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 35g softened butter
• 65g demerara sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp black treacle
• 75g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 60 ml milk

FOR THE SAUCE
• 25g butter
• 75g dark brown sugar
• 120 ml double cream
• 1 tbsp black treacle

TO SERVE
• crème fraîche, frozen

METHOD

1. In small bowl, soak dates with boiling water and vanilla extract for 5 minutes then drain and mash.
2. Cream together butter and demerara sugar.
3. Beat the egg, add to butter mixture then beat in the treacle.
4. Fold in 1/3 of the flour and all the bicarbonate of soda.
5. Add half the milk and repeat continuously adding the milk and flour until it is all used then stir in the mashed dates.
6. Spoon in the date/treacle mixture into ramekins and bake for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsuis.
7. To make the sauce, melt the butter, sugar and half the cream, bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until sugar has dissolved.
8. Stir in the black treacle, turn up the heat and let mixture simmer for 2-3 minutes, stir occasionally.
9. Remove from heat and add rest of cream
10. To serve, turn the pudding out and cut off top. Place upside down on a plate. Pour 2 tablespoons of toffee sauce over the top and serve with a dollop of semi-frozen crème fraîche and a shot of rum.

[MHarney]

I live in New England, but this year, I've watched a lot of British cooking programs and have picked two items I've never cooked before to try at Thanksgiving: an aubergine (eggplant) caviar by Gordon Ramsay (whose British shows reveal him to be not even one-quarter as nasty as portrayed in this country), served on my own sourdough crouton rounds crisped in the oven, and Alison Coulling's sticky toffee and date pudding (we'd call it cake) with toffee sauce, semi-frozen crème fraîche, and a shot of rum on the side -- the winner of the dessert category in the "Britain's Best Dish 2007" competition for home cooks. The sticky toffee pudding will be in the second post.

Aubergine caviar
Gordon Ramsay

• 1 large aubergine
• 1 tsp crushed sea salt
• 1 fat clove garlic, crushed
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Halve the aubergine lengthways and score the flesh with the tip of a sharp knife a few times.
2. Sprinkle with salt and sandwich the two halves together with the garlic and herb sprigs in between.
3. Wrap well in foil, then place on a baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 45-60 minutes until the aubergine has almost collapsed upon itself. You can tell it is cooked by sticking a skewer in the middle. You should feel no resistance.
4. Unwrap, discard the herbs and scoop out the flesh. Chop it up and place in a saucepan, then cook on a medium heat until reduced by about a third. Stir frequently until it is pulpy. Cool and store in the fridge.

[Dap]

Dessert anyone?

2 lbs. Red seedless grapes (small and sweet)

4-6 oz Cherry Vanilla yogurt with fruit.

Remove red grapes from stems, wash and dry with paper towel, place in refrigerator to get cold.

In a bowl mix yogurt and grapes spoon into champagne glasses. Serve cold. Will also work with other flavor yogurts, Blueberry, Strawberry, Peach.

Fast, lite, easy. Enjoy, Happy Thanksgiving.

[Writerchick]

PUMPKIN, I meant.

[Writerchick]

This will be the first year in my life that I have ever actually "cooked" a turkey. All other years I have either purchased a Thanksgiving dinner in a box (fully cooked turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, apple pie & pumplin pie...for $60) from the supermarket, or eaten at my aunt's house or something. I do always make my own desserts, and freeze the cheapo pies for later noshing, which seems to come way too early for comfort, thigh-wise.

So I got the Butterball turkey yesterday, cause a Bell & Evans cost $956 thousand dollars and it's just a dead bird like the other one.

I hope and pray that I will cook it correctly for the right number of hours, etc,. so as not to be spending my evening in a short-staffed emergency room with my never-to-b­e-seen-aga­in guests and their roiling guts.

WISH ME LUCK!!!