SWEET POTATO PIE

SWEET POTATO PIE
Ingredients:
3 - Frozen Unbaked 8” Or 9” Single Crust Pie Shells
4 - Pounds Uncooked And Unpeeled Sweet Potatoes
1/2 - Cup (1 Stick) Butter
2 - Cups Sugar
3 - Large Eggs
2 - Cups *Evaporated Milk
1 - Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 - Teaspoon Salt
1/2 - Teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:
Boil the potatoes until tender. When you stick a
fork in them it should go in easy but you don't
want them to fall apart. Let the potatoes cool and then peel them.
Blend your sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl with a blender to**remove strings,
repeat this three our four until you have remove just about all the strings
Next cream the softened butter with sugars. Add to the blended sweet potatoes
and continue to mix while adding the eggs one at a time. Finally, add your milk,
vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt and mix thoroughly.
Finally, pour mixture evenly into your three frozen unbaked pie shells. Bake for
1 hour and 30 minutes at 350 degrees on your center oven rake.

I double the recipe and bake  two pies at time
Tip:
* DO NOT use sweet condensed 
**Beat the potatoes with an electric mixer on "medium" for one to two minutes remove the beater blades wash off all the string  with tap water, repeat this step five to ten times until  all the  strings are gone.

NANA'S COLLARD GREENS

Collard Greens

Ingredients
1 pound smoked turkey tails
5 bunches collard greens - rinsed, trimmed and chopped (4 bags of *pre-washed greens
2-3 cups water (just to cover the meat)
5 cups chicken stock or (low sodium chicken stock in the can or cartons)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 onion coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar (artificial sweeteners)
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste

Preparation:
In an extra large pot, bring smoked turkey tails and water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 30 hour.

Immerse greens in a sink full of water and wash well to remove sand and grit. Lift out, drain water, fill sink, and repeat the procedure approximately 3 or 4 times to ensure they are clean and free of sand, grit and insects. Cut out the thickest part of stems that runs down the center and coarsely chop the greens.

Increase the heat under the smoked turkey tails to medium-high; add about 1/3 of the greens to the pot. Cover, and cook for about 5 minutes, until wilted. Add remaining greens in two more batches, until all the greens fit into the pot.

Stir in the broth, garlic, vinegar, sugar, black pepper, and red pepper flakes; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally about 2 hour or until the greens are tender. When done taste and adjust **seasoning.
smoked turkey tails and cut meat from bones. Dice and add back to the greens. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a serving bowl. If desired, pass the juices (also known as pot liquor) for dipping cornbread.

*wash your pre-washed greens just one time, yes they need to be washed because no respectful soul sister would just dump a bag in the pot.
** If it need a little salt, this is the time to add the salt.

CORNBREAD GIBLET DRESSING

CORNBREAD GIBLET DRESSING
Directions
Saute onion, celery and bell pepper in the butter until done but not brown,
Crumble cornbread in a large bowl. Add celery,onions, bell pepper, giblets and
poultry seasoning. Add giblet juice gradually. In between adding giblet juice, add sage and salt and pepper to taste, continue adding juice until cornbread is very moist. Bake in a 9 x 13 pan at 375 degrees until top is golden brown. This recipe can be stuff into bird.

*Boil the Chicken giblet (gizzards) in a saucepan on high heat with about a quart of water, add one celery stalk cut up, one medium onion cut up, one teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 1 to 2 hours or until tender. Discard celery and onion, and coarsely chop giblets. Reserve 4 cups of liquid.

**If you use a corn bread mix, don'

CANDIED YAMS

Ingredients:
5 pounds yams peeled and cut to large bite-sized pieces
3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
*DO NOT ADD WATER

Directions
In a large pot over medium heat, place potatoes. Top with butter, cinnamon, vanilla,lemon juice and sugar, cover and simmer, for 35 to 45 minutes until tender. Gentle stir throughout cooking, until mixture is thick and syrupy. Mixture will thicken slightly as it cools. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Tip:
If sauce looks very liquid, removed the potatoes, as they are fully cooked, and simmered the remaining liquid with the cover removed until it caramelized and then poured it back over the potatoes.
*DO NOT ADD WATER- because Sweet Potatoes are full of water.

MACARONI AND CHEESE

Ingredients:
5 cups cooked elbow macaroni (approx 4 cups uncooked)
4 Tbsp butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups whole milk (low fat milk alters the texture!)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
paprika

Boil your macaroni according to package instructions. Do not overcook it. Drain macaroni in strainer.
Place macaroni, butter, salt, pepper, 1 cup sharp cheese, cheddar cheese in casserole dish.
Mix eggs and milk in a bowl and then gently stir into mixture. Sprinkle with paprika
Cover everything with aluminum foil and cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Uncover and add extra cup of sharp cheddar cheese across the top. Bake uncovered until it turn golden brown about 15 minutes.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Dash ground black pepper
4 cups cooked cut green beans*
1 1/3 cups French's French Fried Onions

1. Mix soup, milk, soy, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in 1 1/2-quart casserole.
2. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 25 minutes or until hot.
3. Stir. Sprinkle with remaining onions. Bake 5 minutes.

Makes 6 servings

*TIP: Use 1 (16 to 20-ounce) bag frozen green beans, 2 (9-ounce) packages frozen green beans, 2 (about 16-ounce) cans green beans or about 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans for this recipe.

THE BAKE HAM

Almost all hams have either been partially or fully cooked before they are packaged.
A partially cooked ham has been brought to an internal temperature of 137 degrees F, which kills any bacteria. This ham still need to be cooked more before serving in order to make it more tender and delicious.
A fully cooked ham is one that has been brought to an internal temperature of 148 degrees F and needs no further cooking. You can eat it directly out of the package, but heating will enhance the flavor.

Baking Your Ham

The most traditional way to prepare a whole ham is to bake it.
For a ham that has only been partially cooked, you will need to allow about 20 minutes per pound in a moderate (350 degrees F/175 degrees C) oven.
A fully cooked ham will require about 10 minutes per pound in order to be heated all the way through.
Although ham is perfectly delicious all by itself, you can make it extra-special by using a glaze. The most popular glaze recipes contain combinations of fruit juice, wine or whiskey, honey, mustard, brown sugar, fruit preserves and spices. Brush some of the glaze over the surface of the ham before placing it in the oven.
To help keep your ham moist and juicy:
Place the ham cut-side down in a baking pan. If it's going to be in the oven for more than an hour, you also may want to place a foil "tent" over your ham in order to keep it from drying out.
Continue to brush the ham with glaze and baste it with the pan juices every 20 minutes or so, until it is heated through.
To finish the ham and give it a deliciously caramelized coating, remove the foil tent, brush it with glaze and pan juices one more time, and then turns your oven to the broiler setting. Allow the outside of the ham to get nice and browned-this should only take about 5 minutes, but watch it closely so it doesn't get too dark.
When the internal tem

THE TURKEY

Let’s get cookin’ starting with the Turkey and Ham, and finishing off with all the sides and deserts. Sense we all are trying to eat heath; I’m going to update my recipes and try to take a little fat out without losing that good old fashion taste

ROAST TURKEY
Ingredients

1 (12 to 14 pound) turkey
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onions
2 celery stalks
Several sprigs of fresh herbs, such as thyme, parsley, rosemary, or sage
1 bay leaves

Special equipment: large roasting pan, pastry brush or bulb baster, instant-read thermometer

The brine (see November 14,2011 post)

Directions

Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and remove the other racks. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

1.Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
2. Pat turkey dry from all moisture. Place the bird on a v-shaped roasting rack salt and pepper
the cavity.
3. Slice the onions, and chop celery, Stuff all inside the turkey along with some of the herbs and 1 bay leaf. Pin the wings behind the turkey.
4.Turn the turkey breast side down, and season with salt and pepper. Tie the legs with butcher twine, and place in *roasting pan.
Take 1/2 of the softened butter and liberally massage turkey, being sure to cover the entire birds, breast and thighs.
5.Tent turkey with aluminum foil place turkey in preheated oven, after 2 hours, remove the foil from the turkey and use a pastry brush or bulb baster to baste turkey with the reserved butter and some of the pan drippings, cover loosely with the foil tent. Bake until the skin is a light golden color, **roast for 3 ½ to 4 hours. During the last 45 minutes of baking, remove the foil tent to brown the skin. Basting is not necessary, but will promote even browning.
6.Allow turkey to rest for at l5 minutes before carving (or removing stuffing if stuffed)

*Use a shallow roasting pan
** Bake 20 minutes for each pound

10-13 lb. 350° F 1 ½ to 2 ¼ hr.
14-23 lb. 325° 2 to 3 hr.
24-27 lb. 325° 3 to 3 ¾ hr.
28-30 lb. 325° 3 ½ to 4 ½ hr.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

Let’s get cookin’ starting with the Turkey and finishing off with all the sides and deserts. Sense we all are trying to eat heath; I’m going to update my recipes and try to take a little fat out without losing that good old fashion.



ULTIMATE BRINE FOR TURKEY
This is the brine recipe my sister makes every year for her holiday turkey, give it a try.

1 1/2 cups, Kosher salt*
1 1/4 cups, brown sugar
10 whole cloves
3 teaspoons, black peppercorns
1 1/2 gallons (6 quarts) apple juice or cider (non-alcoholic)
the peel from one orange or one tangerine (colored part only - not white pith)
[optional: 3 teaspoons, dried thyme and/or 3 teaspoons, dried sage]

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive pot, bring mixture to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes (partly covered). Allow brine to cool completely.

Rinse turkey under cool running water, inside and out (remove giblets from body cavity). Pat turkey dry with paper towels, then immerse turkey in cooled brine.** Turkey should be completely submerged in liquid (place a plate on top of the bird if necessary to keep it covered with the liquid).

Cover the pot and refrigerate for 8-10 hours or up to 24 hours. Remove turkey, rinse, pat dry, and roast as usual. [See note under “basic technique” for extra step to get crispiest skin.]

* Kosher salt is the ONLY type of salt to be used in making brine (it is sweeter and more pure than ordinary table salt).

**Be sure the container used for brining turkey is non-reactive: use enamel, glass or crockery or stainless steel - never cast iron or aluminum. The pot should be just large enough to contain the turkey (so the brine will be sufficient to cover the bird).