Lifestyle

Traditional homemade holiday recipes

by Megan Finley
Contributing writer (Recipes from www.allrecipes.com)
November 17, 2023
Photo by Oleksandr Berh/Shutterstock.com

Making the “perfect” turkey is essential: It’s the main course that your guests look forward to every year plus it needs to be up-to-par with leftover football-frenzy food standards. No pressure, right?

Keep it simple yet impressive this holiday season and create a traditional holiday meal with these recipes to impress your guests and have them going back up for seconds. Canned cranberry sauce and creamed corn?

No way — throw the canned goods out the window this year and see how easy and delicious it is to make your holiday meal from scratch.

Photo by Elena Shashkina/Shutterstock.com

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

  • Start to finish: 25 minutes
  • Servings: 11
  • 12 ounces of cranberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice. Stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop, about 10 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and place sauce in a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.
  • Serve with your perfect turkey.
Photo by Olga Nayashkova/Shutterstock.com

Perfect Turkey

  • Start to finish: Overnight prep time (about 4 hours cook time)
  • Servings: 24
  • One 18-pound turkey
  • 2 cups kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 large onions
  • 4 carrots
  • 4 stalks celery
  • 2 sprigs thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • Rub the turkey inside and out with the kosher salt. Place the bird in a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Place in the refrigerator, and allow the turkey to soak in the salt and water mixture for 12 hours.
  • Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse turkey, and throw away the brine mixture.
  • Brush the turkey with 1/2 the melted butter. Place breast side down on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Stuff the turkey cavity with 1 onion, 1/2 the carrots, 1/2 the celery, 1 sprig of thyme and the bay leaf. Scatter the remaining vegetables and thyme around the bottom of the roasting pan, and cover with the white wine.
  • Roast uncovered 3 1/2 to 4 hours in the oven, until the internal temperature in the thigh reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit (85 Celsius). Carefully turn the turkey breast side up about 2/3 through the roasting time and brush with the remaining butter. Allow the bird to rest about 30 minutes before carving.
Photos by Candice Bell, Ildi Papp/Shutterstock.com

Sweet Potato Casserole

  • Start to finish: 40 minutes
  • Servings: 8 to 12
  • 4 1/2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
    Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
  • In a large bowl, mix together mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup butter, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and eggs.
  • Spread sweet potato mixture into the prepared baking dish.
  • In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and flour. Cut in 1/3 cup butter until mixture is crumbly, then stir in pecans. Sprinkle pecan mixture over the sweet potatoes.
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Creamed Corn

  • Start to finish: 15 minutes
  • Servings: 8
  • 2 packages frozen corn, thawed
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • In a skillet over medium-heat, combine the corn, cream, salt, sugar, pepper and butter. Whisk together the milk and flour, and stir into the corn mixture.
  • Cook stirring over medium-heat until the mixture is thickened, and corn is cooked through.
  • Remove from heat, and stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted. Serve hot.

Pie Crust

  • Start to finish: 20 minutes prep time (at least 30 minutes hands-off time)
  • Servings: Makes 4 single or 2 double pie crusts
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups shortening
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup water
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, shortening, sugar and salt. Blend together with a pastry cutter until crumbly.
  • In a small bowl, mix egg with water. Blend into flour mixture. Form dough into 4 equal balls, wrap in plastic wrap or place in a zip-close bag.
  • Chill in refrigerator for about 30 minutes and up to 2 days, or until ready to use.
  • Make your favorite holiday pie.
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