Am I the only one getting my pallet ready for some good ol Thanksgiving food?! I’m not having it this year but I will be heading to my sister’s house to eat up her food. For as long as I can remember, my sister has always been a good cook. I think the best cooks are the ones who enjoy cooking. Michy is one of those. When she is done with you, you’ll have to roll your a$$ out of her house cause she fed you to capacity.
So since I’m going to be on the receiving side of things this year. I have a little more time on my hands and I’ve curated some great recipes from my favorite bloggers and chefs so you can wow your guests when they come by, to top it all off every single dish can be done in under 30 minutes. I’m not one to eat dinner at 6PM especially since I am on a tea and crackers diet for the day to save up all the room for dinner. So if you want to wow your guest and not take up too much time trying to make the dish, please try one of these dishes. I’ve tried each and everyone of them and highly recommend them for you and your guests. Sorry but not sorry for the premature salivating.
Mac & Cheese (Trinidadian Style)
My mom is from Guyana and my dad(who doesn’t cook at all) is from Trinidad. So it wasn’t until I was at someone’s house that I discovered Trinidadian Mac& Cheese. This is not just any mac&cheese this is heaven in a pan, the kind that make you wanna slap your mama man. Even if you don’t try it this year, be sure to try it some time before your New Years’ resolutions.
Ingredients
- 8 ounce (2cups)Macaroni
- 2 Tablespoon sunsalted butter
- 1-2 tablespoon jalapenos pepper minced, seeded
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ½ cup finely diced onion
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 egg
- 4 ounce mozzarella cheese, grated
- 4 ounce sharp cheddar cheese , grated
- 1 teaspoon salt (I used creole salt)
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoons dry mustard (optional)
- Cook macaroni according to package directions.Be sure to salt water before cooking.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan, sauté the garlic, thyme, Jalapeno pepper, smoked paprika for about 1 minute in 2 tablespoons butter.
- Then add onions and continue cooking for about a minute more.
- Proceed by adding the flour; whisk until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until mixture thickens. Remove about ¼ cup of the mixture and slowly whisk with the egg making sure it doesn’t curdle. Dump the tempered egg back into the pan.and mix well to incorporate all ingredients.
- Stir in more than half of the cheese (leave the rest to sprinkle on top) creole salt and pepper until smooth.
- Drain macaroni and add to sauce; stir until coated. Adjust seasonings. Transfer to a greased 2-quart baking dish or 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle remains cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 -30 minutes or until heated through.
Sweet Potato Casserole (Boston Market Style)
I love me some Boston Market sweet potato and I pretty much eat it like dessert whenever I do go there. Before I take a single spoonful, I have to observe the goodness of it. The different textures from the smoothness of the sweet potato and the fluffiness of the marshmallows added with sweet and salty crunch oatmeal crumbs. Its definitely the food version of love. If you don’t want anyone to go home, than please make this casserole because its bound to change and reevaluate lives.
- Sweet Potatoes 3 ½ – 4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Topping
- 2 cups marshmallows
- ½ cup flour
- 4 tablespoons butter unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cheesy Sausage Bread
This cheesy sausage bread is the best thing since the sliced one. I mean if you’re not into meat it can even be done without it. I love the fluffiness of this bread and if you do decide on getting the pesto sauce then you may have potential family turned stalkers, don’t say I didn’t warn ya.
Ingredients
- 8-oz bulk Italian sausage (or Italian turkey sausage)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 3 1/4-3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons dry Italian seasoning
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Fontina cheese (6 oz)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (6 oz)
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (2 oz)
- 1 cup purchased basil pesto (or make your own, here)
Instructions
- In a large skillet cook sausage and onion over medium-high heat until meat is brown, using a wooden spoon to break up meat as it cooks. Drain off fat. Cover and chill sausage mixture until needed.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together 1 1/4 cups of the flour, the yeast, and Italian seasoning. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, butter, sugar, and salt just until warm (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; add egg. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface of dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size. (about 1 hour).
- Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in thirds. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl combine sausage mixture, fontina cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
- Roll each portion of dough into a 30-inch-long rope. Cut ropes into 1-inch pieces. Divide one-third of the pieces between the prepared loaf pans. Divide one-third of the cheese mixture between pans. Repeat layers two more times.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans; peel off parchment paper. Serve warm with pesto.
Freezer Instructions: Before baking, place prepared loaf in freezer. When frozen solid, you can remove the bread mass using the parchment the pan is lined in. Wrap well in plastic and/or foil and seal in a zip top bag. When ready to bake, unwrap and return parchment lined bread to pan. Let sit at room temp for 3-5 hours, until thawed and then bake as directed.
Spicy Ginger Lemonade
Now listen, I love lemonade so much that I didn’t think I could love it anymore, until I had a spicy ginger lemonade. Now I always try and convince myself that I’m not a ginger person but most of the things I love to eat has ginger in it. Spicy Lemonade is my new found crush. I even love it with a little vodka in it or you can always remix it and put some ginger ale which makes it a little more fuzzy. This drink can wash all the goodness down and get you ready for some good dessert.
- 10 ounces fresh ginger
- 2 cups sugar
- 10 cups water, divided
- 2 cups freshly-squeezed lemon juice (from about 15 lemons)
Instructions
- Peel the ginger and chop into roughly 1/4-inch pieces.
- Combine the ginger, sugar, and 4 cups of the water in a medium pot over high heat.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Strain the syrup through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on the ginger with the back of a spoon.
- You should have about 3 cups of syrup. Cool to room temperature.
- Combine the lemon juice and remaining 6 cups water in a large pitcher or pot. Stir in all of the ginger syrup. Chill before serving or serve over ice.
Recipe Notes
- Feel free to adjust the amount of simple syrup based on your personal taste.
- The ginger pieces left from making the syrup make for a delightfully spicy, slightly sweet snack. Store them in the fridge to eat throughout the week or add them to your favorite muffin recipe.
I have so much to be thankful for this year! I’m also so thankful for you guys and for you taking the time out to read my posts and like and share. Love you guys!
*hit the source link under pics if you want step by step instructions on each recipe
