Here is your Thanksgiving Recipe Contest recipes in one handy place so that you can easily bookmark for all of your future holiday entertaining. All of these are amazing and I know that people got a lot of great ideas from them. THANK YOU! (Note: These recipes were based on a budget cap of $25 but amounts have been edited out for length.)
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake with Whiskey Whipped Cream
Submitted by Homoviper
The Crust
1 1/2 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9″ springform pan. Cover bottom of outside of pan with two layers of heavy duty foil. Combine crust ingredients until thoroughly moistened with butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and a bit up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool while you prepare
The Filling
3 8 oz bricks of cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 yolks
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
All ingredients need to be at room temp. Beat cream cheese with both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs/yolks one at a time. Add pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla; beat it up real good. Lower mixer speed and beat in the flour and pumpkin pie spice just until combined.
Pour into prepared crust. Put cheesecake in a roasting pan. Fill pan about two inches with hot water. Bake 55 – 65 minutes until cake is set around edges but still a bit jiggly in the middle. Transfer to wire rack and let it come to room temp. Cover tightly and refrigerate for a minimum of 10 hours. It must be thoroughly chilled and set before serving. When ready to serve you can top it with
Whiskey Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 – 2 tbsp Jack Daniel’s Whiskey
1 tsp vanilla extract
Put your beaters and mixing bowl in the freezer for a good long while. Put your liquor in there too. When the time comes, start whipping the cream with your hand mixer or stand mixer or whatever. Gradually add the whiskey and sugar. It will take a bit longer to stiffen because of the alcohol, but not sooooo long.
Boom. Put a dollop on your cheesecake. If you’re feeling extra fancy, you should grate a bit of fresh nutmeg on top like I did. What would that be? An extra few pennies? Something like that. Anyway it’s delicious and awesome! And you still have $5 left to buy egg sandwiches at Dunkin Donuts when you go out at 3a.m. for doorbuster deals on Black Friday!
Roasted Fall Vegetables
(Picture and Recipe Courtesy of Martha Stewart Recipes)
Submitted by LostWallet
This is my T-Day favorite (ok, I make it all year round, but my mom insists I bring some to T-Day dinner). Super simple and delicious. Very easy to customize as well. Basically, chop up a bunch of root veggies (butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions), toss with olive oil and garlic, bake at high-heat until caramelized and yummy.
The only trick is to balance your oven with the size of the chunks. 450-degrees works okay for large chunks (1.5″ square-ish), 425 for smaller pieces. Tossing is essential. I also add the baby carrots and onion when the rest are half-way done do they don’t get too crispy. The result is super-sweet and tender veggies — you’ll never use marshmallows again! Here’s the super-easy recipe. According to my calculations, I’ve spent about $5 — so more beer for me!!!
Baklava
Submitted by Cunning_Linguist
Baklava! It’s not your traditional Thanksgiving recipe, but Eastern Europeans and Middle Easterners may like to have a taste of their Mama’s best holiday dessert alongside the more traditional Thanksgiving fare, yes? I know I do. No one appreciates this dish more than my all-American friends at our potluck Friendsgiving in part because it’s so out of the ordinary for many people. I will have to warn you though, it is extremely time intensive (I must have had, like, 4 glasses of wine while prepping this last night) and phyllo dough is exceedingly delicate. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve cried over some phyllo dough. I like to think that my tears give the baklava a special tang.
PASTRY:
1 box phyllo dough (2 rolls)
2 sticks of butter, melted
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup lanched almonds, chopped
1 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
SYRUP:
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 3/4 cup water
lemon zest
1. Prep one roll of phyllo dough exactly according to the instructions on the box (leave the other roll in the refrigerator for the time being). Cut them (quickly!) to the size needed for your pan and cover phyllo immediately.
2. Brush baking pan with butter.
3. Brushing butter onto each individual sheet, fit one roll of phyllo into pan.
4. Filling: On low heat, mix lemon juice, honey, and sugar in a pot until dissolved. Slowly stir in 3/4 of your lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chopped nuts. Mix thoroughly.
5. Spread filling evenly on phyllo. Cover with the other roll of phyllo, buttering each sheet individually. (Or, if you choose, spread half of it, top with a few sheets of phyllo, spread the other half of the filling, and top with the rest of the phyllo.) Tip: The first sheet of phyllo after the filling is very difficult to butter. Patience!
6. Heat oven to 325 degrees. While that’s heating up, cut your baklava. Whenever working with phyllo dough, you should always cut before you cook. Trust me on this. Top with chopped walnuts or pistachios or whatever if you feel like it! The baklava will bake in an hour, or until the dough looks flaky and browns slightly.
7. Begin prepping the syrup as you preheat the oven–it will take almost just as long as the baking. On low heat, combine in a pot sugar, honey, water, and remaining 1/4 lemon zest until it boils. Boil for an additional 10 minutes, continue mixing until syrup thickens a bit. Take off of heat and let it cool slightly.
8. Remove baklava from oven. Pour syrup gently all over baklava. Let it sit overnight (or at least six hours). I usually let it sit for two hours, refrigerate for a few hours, and then let it sit out again for a few hours before serving so that it’s not cold but the syrup is properly syrupy.
Sausage Cheese Balls
(Recipe Courtesy of Betty Crocker.com)
Submitted by NotSoDeepSouth
I always make these Sausage Cheese Balls. They’re pretty trashy but there’s never any leftovers. Use Jimmy Dean spicy sausage and quadruple the rosemary, but make sure it’s mixed in thoroughly. They don’t require refrigeration, just seal them in an air-tight canister.
Smoked Oyster Stuffing
Submitted by GrandInquisitor
1 loaf French bread
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 red onion
1 cup celery
4 slices bacon
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp dried sage
1 tbsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper
1 tin fancy smoked oysters
1 can turkey or chicken stock
1 tbsp butter
Cube bread and spread on a cookie sheet. Dry in a 200 degree oven for about 1/2 an hour and let cool for a few minutes (you can do this the night before). As bread cools sauté garlic, onions, celery, and bacon in the olive oil. Add spices and toss well. Add oysters and then stock. Bring to a quick boil. Pour bread into a bowl and then toss in oyster mixture. Place stuffing into a buttered baking dish and cover with tinfoil. Bake 1/2 hour covered and then 20 minutes uncovered until the top is golden brown.
Sweet and Tart Cranberry Relish
Submitted by MissLinda
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup loosely packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 pound (2 bags) fresh cranberries
1 large navel orange, peeled and segmented (save the peel for zest)
2 apples (diced)
1 pear
1/2 cup almond slivers
Bring the sugars, syrup, water, orange juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook gently 5 minutes. Add the cranberries and continue to simmer uncovered until half of the berries “pop”. When the cranberries start to soften, add the apples and pears. Cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the orange segments and a bit of zest. Let cool and sprinkle with almond slivers.
