recipe: spinach & artichoke dip, or stuffed mushrooms (T-day 5 of 5)

my last recipe & appetizer from Thanksgiving... which is only timely that i'm finally able post it up on Xmas. i was looking for quick & easy but delish artichoke dip as a filling for stuffed mushrooms. the Hot Artichoke & Spinach Dip II recipe from allrecipes.com was well-reviewed and fit the bill, and actually turned out surprisingly good. spinach dip oftentimes is kinda blah when you get it as an app at restaurants, or it's served at random parties... good, but kind of... eeeeh. this one actually had a TON of flavor... it make the mushrooms pop, and the leftover dip i had as  post-t-day appetizer was fantastic. 

photo from allrecipes.com

ingredients list: 
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 & 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
- 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

recipe: pecan pie blondies (T-day 4 of 5)

this was one of the better Thanksgiving desserts i've ever made. they

photo courtesy of Bakerita

were insanely unhealthy, but worth it. there really isn't anything better than brown butter... especially when it's mixed up with brown sugar and other fatty, sugary goodnesses. i used the recipe from Bakerita, following it to a T. 

ingredients list - blondie layer:

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter

- 1 cup dark brown sugar

- 1 large egg

- 1 tbsp vanilla 

- 1 cup all-purpose flour

- 1/4 tsp kosher salt

ingredients list - pecan layer:

- 1/4 (4 tbsp) unsalted butter

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

- 1/4 cup heavy cream

- 1 & 1/2 cups roughly chopped pecans

recipe: crab dip (T-day 3 of 5)

made this as an app for T-day, in the hopes it would taste even remotely as close to the crap dip from Tasty n Alder. while it wasn't quite the TnA dip, it was actually really damn good. i ate way more of it than i should and was barely all that hungry by the time T-day din came around. worth it though! 

*picture from allrecipes.com 

i used the Spicy Maryland Crab Dip recipe from allrecipes.com as a base recipe, adjusting things a bit to our own taste. 

ingredients list: 

- 1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

- 1/2 cup sour cream

- 1/2 cup mayonnaise

- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 1 & 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 tsp dry mustard

- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

- 3/4 lb fresh crab meat

- 3 dashes hot sauce

- Old Bay seasoning to taste

- bread, pita chips, blue corn tortilla chips for dippin

to make: 

preheat oven to 325 degrees F. lightly grease an 8x8" baking dish, and set aside.

in a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, Parmesan cheese, majo, lemon juice, Worcestershire, garlic, mustard, and about half of the cheddar cheese. fold in crab meat, hot sauce, and Old Bay.

transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish, and top with remaining cheddar cheese. bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. 

recipe: green bean casserole (T-day 2 of 5)

photo from Serious Eats

although i HATE green beans, i have no problem cooking them for everyone else on Thanksgiving. this recipe from Serious Eats provided a perfect from-scratch way to make the traditional GB casserole, without having to mess with the old cream of mushroom stuff. i can't vouch for how it was personally, but the homemade soup i tasted while it was prepping tasted pretty damn good. everyone else gave it the old thumbs up, so it sounds like a keeper if i ever make traditional GB casserole again.

i scaled the recipe down a bit, but followed it verbatim otherwise (besides a lil extra garlic). 

ingredients list: (serves 4-6)
- 1 cup fried onions (French's would work, i used an off-brand from the Asian market)
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 3/4 lbs white button mushrooms, rinsed 
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup low sodium chicken stock
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1/8 cup flour
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1 lbs green beans, ends trimmed, and cut into 2" pieces
- 1 tsp kosher salt

recipe: thanksgiving stuffing (T-day 1 of 5)

stuffing this year, adapted (and scaled down) from The Pioneer Women's recipe. it is a fairly traditional recipe - not too sweet, nothing crazy in it, and i loved it. since i've only been eating stuffing for the last few years, there still isn't many that i really like (i hate mushy gloppy stuff), but this one is holds it's own. everyone really enjoyed it... unless i get a request for a non-traditional stuffing, this is probably going to be the go-to.

*photo from Pioneer Woman Cooks (T-day = too distracted to take pics. must eat. mmmmm!)

ingredients list: (this scaled down version makes about 9 servings)
- 1/2 loaf cornbread (i used Jiffy)
- 1/2 loaf italian bread
- 1/2 loaf sourdough bread
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1/4 bunch parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3-4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp ground thyme
- 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely minced
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- additional salt & pepper to taste