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Cranberry Orange Relish
From Elizabeth Brunazzi
Adapted from Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook, 1957
1 quart cranberries
2 large seedless oranges
1 to 1-1/2 C raw cane organic sugar, to taste
Dashes of cinnamon and ginger, to taste
Wash fruit, peel oranges, chop rind in very small pieces. Chop orange pulp and cranberries very fine, or put all through a food processor. Mix fruits with the sugar and spices. Keeps well in the fridge for over a week without sealing, or pour into hot sterilized jars and seal to keep longer.
Classic Green Beans with Almonds
From Elizabeth Brunazzi
2 cans of green beans or equivalent quantity of fresh, steamed beans with juice
3 t dill seed
2 slices lean, thick-sliced bacon
6 T butter (or plant-derived substitute)
6 T flour
1/2 C milk
1 C bean juice
3 T grated onion
1 t cracked black pepper
3 dashes Tabasco or Cholula pepper sauce
Salt to taste
Aromatic herbs, sprinklings of basil or rosemary, to taste
A cup slivered almonds
Cook beans with dill seeds and bacon over low heat, for 30 minutes. Let sit overnight. In a saucepan, melt butter, add flour, milk, and bean juice. Add other seasonings. In a greased casserole, place a layer of beans, then a layer of sauce, until all is used. Sprinkle slivered almonds over the top, and bake for 30 minutes at 350º.
Serves 10.
Giblet Gravy
From Elizabeth Brunazzi Adapted from Cook with Marie Louise
Cook neck and giblets from the turkey in 4-5 C of water, with small bunches of chopped celery and onion, salt and pepper, and boil thoroughly until done. Take 1 T of butter or plant substitute to 1 T of flour for 2 C of the stock made from the giblets. Brown the flour in the shortening, add 1 chopped onion, 1 piece of celery, chopped, some chopped parsley, 1 bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste, and add the stock to the roux. Let it simmer briefly, stirring constantly, until thoroughly blended.
Amazing 3-Hour Turkey!
An Old Family Recipe
This is truly the most melt-in-the-mouth bird, ever. It is amazing because, no matter what size the turkey, it only takes three hours to cook. There could be some health and safety issues if you do not follow directions, so please don’t take shortcuts!
Pre-heat oven to 500º and move the oven rack to the lower part of your oven.
Rub the bird with soft butter and prep the turkey, inside and out, the way your mama taught you, with salt, pepper, sage, etc. And wear an apron!
Take two brown paper shopping bags and rub thoroughly with margarine, no gaps. No matter what a food snob you are, do not use butter. The flash points of butter and margarine are different and the butter will burn, or even set your oven on fire. This melted margarine will end up in the pan and ultimately be your gravy, so use the good stuff!
Put a roasting rack inside your turkey pan. This is an important step—you don’t want your paper bag to be on the bottom of the pan.
Put the bird inside the greasy bag and cover it with the other greasy bag so that the turkey is completely enveloped, like a Dutch oven. Then put the turkey in a roasting pan, on the roasting rack. It is helpful to have two people with this step.
Put the turkey pan in the pre-heated oven at 500º and bake for one hour. After one hour, turn your oven down to 400º and cook for another hour. After one more hour, turn your oven down to 300º and cook for another hour.
Remove from oven and let the bird rest for 15 to 30 minutes. Carefully, remove the paper—it may fall apart and be messy. Again, it’s nice to have a helper.
Voila, Happy Thanksgiving!
Bourbon Sweet Potatoes
From Elizabeth Brunazzi
Adapted from The Cotton Country Collection, 1972
6 sweet potatoes
1-1/2 – 2 C organic brown sugar to taste
1 stick butter (or equivalent plant substitute)
1/2 C bourbon or if non-alcohol preferred, a mixture of 1/4 C fresh lemon juice with 2 T of vanilla and 2 t of sugar [Editor’s note: Substituting balsamic vinegar for wine or alcohol usually works great!]
Sprinkles of cinnamon and ginger
These are easy and delicious. Boil sweet potatoes in jackets until partially done. Peel and cut into large chunks. Put one layer of potatoes into a buttered casserole and cover dish with 1/2 the amount of sugar and dot with 1/2 the amount of butter. Repeat. Pour liquid, bourbon or substitute over all. Sprinkle with spices. Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees until brown and bubbly.
Cornbread Dressing
From Elizabeth Brunazzi
Adapted from The Cotton Country Collection, 1972
1 black iron skillet of cornbread, your favorite recipe
1/2 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb sausage, your favorite ground sausage
2 C chicken stock, preferably organic, low sodium
1/2 – 1 C chicken fat, butter or plant substitute to taste
4 eggs
1 t seasoning salt, your favorite, Sylvia’s Soulful Seasoned Salt, if you can find it
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t black pepper
1 T aromatic mixture of basil, rosemary and crushed bay leaves
Salt to taste
About 6 pieces of toast, crumbled
Make cornbread ahead of time. Sauté bell pepper, celery, and onions with the sausage. Add chicken stock and shortening. Pour all ingredients into a large Dutch oven with the crumbled cornbread. Add remaining ingredients. If the dressing seems too dry, add a few tablespoons of chicken stock. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, until the crust is brown on top.
Amply serves 12.
Greens Beans a la Peggy
From Elizabeth Brunazzi
1 can green beans or equivalent quantity of fresh, steamed beans with juice
1 T bacon drippings
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
1/4 stick butter (or equivalent quantity of a plant-based substitute)
1/4 C broken pecan pieces
1/4 C bread crumbs
Aromatic herbs, sprinklings of basil or rosemary, to taste
Sauté chopped onions and garlic in bacon drippings. Add drained beans and a cup of water. Cook in the saucepan over low heat for one hour. Make the topping from melted butter, bread crumbs, and pecans, stirring constantly over low heat. Put in a serving dish and sprinkle topping over heated beans. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4.
Wild Rice & Butternut Blessings w/ Mushrooms, Toasted Walnut Garlic Suace & Sumac
Reprinted with permission from My New Roots www.mynewroots.org
Contributed by Linda Friedman
4 lb. butternut squash (about 1 large, try to find one with a long neck!)
1 c wild rice, soaked for at least 12 hours
9 oz mixed wild mushrooms or any mushroom of your choice
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 c chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 batch Toasted Walnut Sauce recipe (below)
1 T sumac, divided (optional)
freshly cracked black pepper
a couple sprigs fresh thyme and rosemary
handful of walnuts for garnish if desired
Toasted Walnut Garlic Sauce
1 C raw walnuts
1 garlic clove
2 T cold-pressed olive oil
4 t apple cider vinegar
2 t pure maple syrup
2 generous pinches of fine sea salt plus more as needed
Cook the wild rice: drain and rinse the soaked rice well, place in a pot. Add 3 cups of fresh water, a couple pinches of sea salt, then bring to a boil, and reduce to simmer. Cook until rice is chewy-tender, about 45 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the walnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast for 7-10 minutes, watching them carefully so they do not burn, until they are golden and fragrant. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
Turn the oven heat up to 400°F. Give the butternut squash a good scrub, making sure to remove any dust or dirt. Leaving the skin on, slice the squash neck into rounds about 1” thick. Place on a baking sheet, sprinkle with a little salt, and roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, flipping once halfway through cooking, until the squash is fork tender. Remove from the oven and drizzle with olive oil and a little more salt, if desired.
While the squash is roasting, make the Toasted Walnut Sauce. Place the toasted walnuts, garlic, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and maple syrup in a blender. Blend on high, adding up to 1 cup of water to thin the dressing as needed—you are looking for the consistency of melted ice cream. Season with salt. Store in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Lastly, prepare the mushrooms. Clean and cut them as desired (I used king oyster mushrooms, sliced in half lengthwise and scored diagonally). Add a knob of your favorite cooking fat to a large skillet, and once melted add the mushrooms and a couple pinches of salt. Cook the mushrooms without crowding them, and do not move them about in the pan too much. You’re looking for a nice sear and that comes after the mushrooms have been in constant, direct contact with high heat. Once golden on one side, flip, and continue cooking until golden on the other.
In a large bowl, combine the wild rice and parsley. Drizzle a touch of the sauce and about 1/2 T of the sumac, a few grinds of black pepper, and fold to incorporate. To assemble, drizzle or puddle some sauce on the bottom of your serving plate. Add a round of butternut squash, followed by the wild rice mixture, a couple mushrooms, then repeat the layers of squash, rice, and mushrooms. Drizzle remaining sauce over top, sprinkle with additional sumac, black pepper, and a handful of walnuts.
Serves 4 Makes approximately 1 cup / 270ml of Sauce
Read more about this recipe by visiting https://www.mynewroots.org/site/2021/10/wild-rice-and-butternut-blessings/
Sarah Britton, is a holistic nutritionist, committed to helping people live healthier lives. My New Roots Grow, Sarah’s online wellness platform full of recipes, interviews, cooking classes, inspiration and so much more.
Lime Cilantro Sweet Potatoes
2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 t salt
1/4 t cayenne
1/2 t finely grated fresh lime zest
1 T fresh lime juice
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro
Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F. Toss sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons of the oil and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt in a shallow baking pan. Arrange potatoes in one layer and roast, stirring halfway through roasting until tender, about 25 minutes total.
Stir together cayenne, zest, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Whisk together lime juice and remaining tablespoon oil in a medium bowl, then add potatoes. Sprinkle with cayenne mixture and cilantro, stirring gently to combine.
Serves 4.
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