The Third Annual Huffington Post "Tell Us What You're Cooking For Thanksgiving This Year That You Didn't Cook Last Year"

It's November again, and this year we're giving you lots of time to send your Thanksgiving recipes to the "Third Annual Huffington Post Tell Us What You're Cooking for Thanksgiving This Year That You Didn't Cook Last Year."

What we're looking for is not the thing you cook year in and year out, but the recipe you're trying this year for the first time in order to give yourself the illusion that your Thanksgiving dinner this year is slightly different from your Thanksgiving dinner last year. This, in turn, is meant to make you believe that you are capable of change. Underlying all this is the implicit understanding that Thanksgiving should not be meddled with too much, and that even a small alteration in the basics can cause problems with children. Once we went to a Thanksgiving at my sister's house, and the stuffing had porcini mushrooms in it, and my eight-year-old had a meltdown and I was in complete sympathy.

This year we're going to cook our turkey the high temperature way, the easiest way to cook a turkey there is: salt & pepper the turkey, cook in a 450 oven, and drain occasionally. No brining, no basting. I swear, it works. It's a miracle. And it takes only 2 1/2 hours to cook a 14-16 pound bird. I mentioned this method last year, but I see from reading the newspapers that there are lots of food writers who still insist that you brine a turkey and baste it forever. I don't get it. The high-temperature method of cooking turkey is the food equivalent of an epidural, and why anyone would go on having a long painful experience when a short painless one is available mystifies me.

This year, for a change, we're adding some sausage to our traditional stuffing recipe -- we use Pepperidge farm herbed stuffing in the cellophane bag with blue trim, celery, onion, twice as much butter as is called for on the package, stock, and a pound of crumbled hot breakfast sausage we plan to buy from Flying Pigs Farm at the Union Square Market.

Anyway, send in your recipe. Then we'll select and post our ten favorites Thanksgiving week. (And please be sure to type out fractions--1/2 cup, for example--because symbols won't display correctly.) Then we'll select and post our ten favorites Thanksgiving week.

Get HuffPost Style on Twitter and Facebook!

 

Comments

[pved]

I am going to make this year to add to our green salad sweet and spicy pecans. Easy peasy -- takes a short amount of time and I think will dress up a very traditional and sometimes boring obligiatory green salad. I found this recipe like 5 years ago I just haven't ever done it until now:)

Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
3 tablespoons light corn syrup (you can substitute maple syrup and honey and it's amazing)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon (generous) freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

Preheat oven to 325;°F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray. Combine corn syrup and next 4 ingredients in large bowl. Stir to blend. Add pecans; stir gently to coat. Transfer to baking sheet.

Place large piece of foil on work surface. Bake pecans 5 minutes. Using fork, stir pecans to coat with melted spice mixture. Continue baking until pecans are golden and coating bubbles, about 10 minutes. Transfer to foil. Working quickly, separate nuts with fork. Cool. (You can make this 2-3 days ahead. Make sure you store these in an airtight at room temperature.)

[leftbehind2000]

Butternut squash and Apple soup

I'd like to make persimmon pudding like my grandmother used to make, but have yet to find a recipe that results in the brownie-like texture my g-ma achieved.

[ladyvader]

Normally I don't like stuffing, but I love my mom's oyster stuffing.

I med sized onion-chopped
1/2 cup celery chopped
1/4 cup melted butter
1 pint small oysters, drained
2 Tablespoon parsley
1 8oz package herb seasoned stuffing
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup light cream

1)Saute onion, celery in butter until soft. Add oysters and parsley, cook until oysters begin to curl
2)Add stuffing, water, salt, pepper, and cream. Toss lightly
3)Place stuffing in turkey.

Makes enough stuffing for a 12 to 14 pound bird.

[Trueheart]

This year, for the first time in my entire life, I will not be eating roasted turkey with sausage stuffing.

This year we can't afford to buy a turkey or anything special for Thanksgiving.
So we will have baked chicken legs with mashed potatoes, a baked stuffed pumpkin and green beans (both of which came from our garden.) We have cornmeal and molasses for Indian Pudding, and will be able to spring for some vanilla ice cream. We had enough money to pay utility bills and purchase medications, and for for all of this, we will be thankful.

[QueenCeleste]

The garden-grown veggies must be just delicious. May you have a lovely Thanksgiving and brighter new year.

[BannedInBoston]

My own goose....

[mamuraca]

I'm attempting ice cream pumpkin pie

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup margarine, melted
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon orange juice

-To prepare crust, combine crumbs, sugar and margarine in a mixing bowl. Press mixture firmly into prepared pan.
-Chill 1 hour or until firm. Or bake in a 375 degree F (190 degrees C) oven for 10 minutes or until edges are brown. Cool on rack before filling.
-To prepare filling, combine ice cream, pumpkin, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange juice, and pour into crust. Freeze until ready to serve.

It's ice cream and pumpkin pie. How can it go wrong?

[MrJoyboy]

Sarah Palin's "Russian mousse" recipe.

[dahpunkster]

I am having Thanksgiving a day early. Its the only way we could all be together. I am making stuffing even though my Dad and I will be the only ones eating it because everyone else at our gathering hates stuffing. Oh well, more for me and Dad.

Cornbread, Rosemary And Bacon Stuffing

1 loaf of jiffy's cornbread prepared according to instructions on package
2 slices of day old bread crusts removed
1 small white onion minced fine
2 stalks of celery minced fine
a dash of black pepper
4 slices of bacon crumbled
2 stalks of fresh rosemary
2 stalks of fresh sage
1 and one fourth cup of chicken or turkey stock

Cube cornbread and regular bread into medium size pieces
Fry bacon till crispy lay on paper towels to drain off excess.
Use reserved Bacon Grease in pan and saute onions and celery for 6- 8 minutes

Put all of the above ingredients into an ungreased medium sized casserole dish at 375 for 40 minutes until crisp on the top. Let cool for 5 minutes .

[christineMO]

I love you Nora, you are so awesome! That is my family's exact stuffing recipie! Everyone always talks about our Sausage Stuffing and it is so good, we just use Jimmy Dean's Sage sausage and I am with you with twice the butter, we also toss in an egg.

I have started to make kind of a tradition of always choosing a different sweet potato recipie each year. This year I am trying Paula Deen's Sweet Potato Balls and I am looking forward to them!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/sweet-potato-balls-recipe/index.html

Happy Holidays all!

[TomInJax]

Smokey Collards

1 bunch of collard greens thoroughly cleaned, destemmed, and torn or cut into pieces.
1/4 cup of olive oil (give or take)
1 Large purple onion halved and sliced thinly.
1 tablespoon of smokey paprika
Salt to taste
1/2 cup of water

I always cook Collard Greens but this year I am adding a twist. Instead of the traditional smoked ham hock, neck bone, or even bacon, I'm going healthier.

I can not understate the necessity to rinse and clean your collards to get all of the fine sand off, especially if you bought the greens at a farmers market. Leave them wet. In a large pot add about a quarter cup of Olive Oil, heat over a medium to medium-high heat. Add your onions and cook until soft. Add smokey paprika and stir thoroughly. Give the greens one more rinse to get them wet and then add them, the water, and salt to taste. Stir and cover. Let cook about 20 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally. I usually like veggies a bit crisp, but for greens they really are better if they are tender. The color will have turned to a dark dull green from the deep bright green they are when fresh. I serve greens with my Cheddar Bacon Buttermilk Cornbread. Have a bottle of your favorite hot sauce on the side. Greens and cornbread are a meal themselves, but a definite compliment to any good Thanksgiving meal.

[AEtkind]

After many years of my mother thinking she can do it all, I finally laid down the law: give each of us, your 4 grown children, a dish assignment. Hubby asked if he can do the potatoes and let me do dessert. Which promptly spawned a "bread pudding war" to be waged on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm making for Thanksgiving, mom's doing the Christmas one. Having gotten back on something resembling track on my weight loss, I turned to my beloved www.SparkPeople.com SparkRecipes section for this recipe:

Chocolate Cinnamon Bread Pudding

Ingredients

5 slices whole-wheat or white bread, torn into small pieces

2 large eggs

12 ounces evaporated skim milk

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup coco powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 cups nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking dish. Spread the bread in the dish in an even layer. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the evaporated skim milk, brown sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and cinnamon. Whisk until the sugar and cocoa dissolve. Pour the cocoa mixture over the bread. With a fork, mix in any unsoaked bread pieces. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and let stand for 10 minutes. Bake for 35 minutes, or until puffed and set in the center. Serve warm, with a scoop of the frozen yogurt on top.

Makes 6 servings.

[KathyAnn Hart]

This year my twelve-year-old daughter, my partner and I plan to volunteer feeding a senior citizen. On returning home we will enjoy these cookies together as a Thanksgiving first:

Pumpkin Date Cookies

1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup butter or margarine (softened)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces chopped dates

Frosting:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine (softened)
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons half and half or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Lightly grease and set aside cookie sheets.
3. Combine sugar, pumpkin, butter, egg and vanilla, beating at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended.
4. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, by thirds to the pumpkin mixture.
5. Beat until a soft dough forms.
6. Fold in dates.
7. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheets and bake for 15 minutes or until set.
8. Cool completely.

For frosting

1. In a saucepan combine brown sugar and butter over medium heat stirring constantly until smooth.
2. Remove from heat and add the rest of the frosting ingredients.
3. Stir until smooth.
4. When cookies are cool spread evenly over them and sprinkle tops with nuts

[janie@atthelake]

Some of these recipes look great. Because, I really "deck the halls" I just can not do this Nov & then Christmas.
Turkey smoked from a Boy Scout Troop.
Dressing and gravy from Lubys.
I will make pies.

The only thing I will make that is new is a recipe I found on Foodnetwork..from Sunny.

[oldngrumpy]

Here's a pie that will make you a hero with the kids (and the kid in all of us) without tying up your oven. It's probably copyrighted somewhere, but what the hey. It tastes like a Reese's peanut butter cup.

1- redi made graham cracker crust (or make your own)

16 oz whipped topping

12 oz peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

1- pkg instant chocolate pudding

1 3/4 cups milk

Mix pudding and milk according to instructions on box. Pour 1/2 into crust and put in fridge while you mix the other ingredients.

Mix peanut butter and 2/3 of whipped topping until smooth. Spread over pie evenly.

Add remaining 1/2 of pudding and smooth.

Top with remaining whipped topping.

Refrigerate at least 1 hr.

Pie can be garnished with some shaved chocolate if you want it pretty.

[dahpunkster]

this sounds awesome you are my hero!

[BowlingForRevenge]

If you can afford to eat out for the holiday I think you should.
If you can afford to have your holiday meals catered I think you should.
I think we should do anything we can to help small businesses out and this is a great way.
This holiday season especially could be make it or break it for so many.

[SouthernYankeeBelle]

That is a very nice idea. My son works at Applebees and they are closed Thanksgiving day and I think Christmas Day to allow employees to be with their families. I think it is important for families to be together on those days. My husband will work at a department store Thanksgiving Night. We will eat early so he can rest because he works nights. I wanted to go visit my family who we haven't seen in over 3 yrs but he couldn't get off. He never has been off during the holidays. I think at least Thanksgiving and Christmas Day everyone should be with their loved ones. Surely this country can stop shopping for 2 days.