Family Favorite Recipes

Our family has been getting together for Thanksgiving dinner for many years. My sister and I tried out many recipes when our children were young. The turkey with stuffing is very much the way our mother made it -- a classic bread stuffing. Yesterday we celebrated together with her son, my daughter, their spouses, and their children. We wish my sister's other son could have made it from California with his family but it's too far! Also our brother and sister-in-law, who sometimes have joined us, are spending the year in Ireland which is way too far!

Over time, we've included many side dishes that are different from our childhood favorites. For the past 10 years our location has often been the home her son Joel and daughter-in-law Aparna in Pittsburgh, which I've documented here on my blog -- yesterday I posted a photo with a list of everything we had for this year. Here are recipes for a few favorites.

Joel's Carrots with Ginger & Cliantro.
Next to the carrots: beets in a bowl that once belonged
to our grandmother/great-grandmother.

Carrots with Ginger and Cilantro
From Mark Bittman. New to our table this year.

About 1 pound carrots
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1⁄4 cup chopped scallions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Unless you’re using baby carrots, cut the carrots into spears about 3 inches long and 1⁄2 inch wide. Toss them with 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil on a baking sheet and roast them, shaking the pan or turning them occasionally, until tender and browned, 30 to 40 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix the ginger, scallions, garlic, and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt together in a heatproof bowl. Put the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a small saucepan or skillet over high heat until smoking. Carefully pour the oil over the ginger-scallion mixture and mix well, mashing a bit with the back of your spoon. (The mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days if you’re not using it immediately.)

3. Remove the carrots from the oven and toss them with the ginger-scallion mixture. Serve warm.

The Sweet Potatoes.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro
Joel's Recipe

2 pounds sweet potatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup sour cream
3 T fresh cilantro, chopped
3 T butter
1 t salt

• Prick potatoes with fork, bake until tender, about 1 hour at 450.
• Scoop out insides.
• Saute garlic in 1 T butter (or just heat in microwave)
• Mash potatoes with garlic, sour cream, rest of butter, and salt.
• Fold in cilantro.
• Can reheat in microwave before serving.

Candied pecans. Background: home made cranberry sauce.

Candied Pecans
This simple favorite originated with a dish from years ago of carrots with candied pecans. After a while we realized that we preferred to eat the pecans without carrots!

Here's my original candied pecan recipe:

1 tbs. butter
2 tbs. maple syrup
2 tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. pecans

Spread 1 layer of pecans in small baking pan. Place in 250 degree oven for 5 minutes. Simmer other ingredients for 5 min. Then pour over the pecans and continue baking at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Immediately remove from pan, separate pecans, cool on a buttered plate.

This year Elaine changed it by increasing to 3 cups of pecans, 4 tbs. butter, 8 tbsp. maple syrup and sugar, and 1 tsp. cinnamon.