Thanksgiving traditions seem to center around the table, and the traditions and special memories of the New Falcon Herald staff members are no exception. Following are some of the customs and recipes that make the holiday special for our newspaper family.Angie Morlan, writerOne of my family’s Thanksgiving (and Christmas) traditions when I was living at home was to eat our Thanksgiving dinner on our fine china. The 12-place setting, complete with an entire tea setting, was a gift to my mother from my father, before they were engaged. My father was serving in the Army and was stationed over in Germany in the mid-60s. He was able to go off base and buy the set of Rosenthal china from a little jewelry shop owner who was happy to wrap it up and mail it overseas. It arrived on my mother’s doorstep in Minnesota in one piece. The tradition is one I look forward to sharing with my own family some day.I look forward to the leftovers. Each year, my mom takes our leftover turkey and makes my favorite meal – creamed turkey on toast. Here’s the recipe.Creamed turkey on toastBy Nancy Lueck (Angie Morlan’s mother)Saute onions in lots of butter (generally 1/2 to 3/4 of a stick)Add flour – enough for thickeningAdd milkAdd turkey – cut into small piecesGarlic salt and powder to tasteServe on toast
Deb Stumpf – Account RepresentativeWe spend the day at my brother-in-law’s house in Castle Rock and eat ourselves silly. Simple, but we look forward to it every year!I’m happy to share my recipe for Sweet Potato Crisp. I’m not sure where I got this recipe, but I’ve made a few tweaks and have been fixing it for many, many years. I prefer to use fresh sweet potatoes and I adjust the recipe as I go, as far as number of servings and added ingredients. You really can’t mess this up!Sweet Potato Crisp2 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened (light or regular)1 (40 oz) can cut sweet potatoes drained, OR 4 cooked and peeled fresh sweet potatoes1/4 cup packed brown sugar1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon1 cup chopped apples (any kind – pick your favorite)2/3 cup chopped fresh cranberries1/2 cup flour1/2 cup oats (old fashioned or quick), uncooked1/2 cup packed brown sugar1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)Preheat oven to 350.Beat cream cheese, potatoes, 1/4 cup brown sugar and cinnamon in large mixing bowl at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended.Spoon into 1 1/2 quart casserole or 10 x 6 baking dish. (Again, adjust this according to how many sweet potatoes you need to use.) Top with chopped applies and then cranberries.Stir together flour, oats and 1/2 cup brown sugar in medium bowl; cut in butter or margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle over the fruit.Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated and bubbly.8 servings.Make ahead hints: You can make this up a day or 2 ahead of time and refrigerate. Be sure to make enough of the crumble topping to completely cover the fruit so that it forms a seal and the fruit doesn’t brown. If baking after refrigeration, plan on up to an hour in the oven depending on the amount of potatoes you have cooked and the depth of the casserole dish.
Michelle Barrette – co-publisher/sales managerWhen our daughters, Megan, Jill and Laura, were younger, they would make a personalized napkin ring for each person at our holiday table. Several days before Thanksgiving, the girls would gather the supplies for their one-of-a-kind creations and spend an entire afternoon fashioning a ring for each guest. Some rings were made of paper, some from wire, and nearly all were adorned with stickers and glitter (lots and lots of glitter!). Before leaving at the end of the Thanksgiving celebration, our friends and relatives would always make sure they had their napkin ring as a “souvenir” of the day.
Erica Whitcombe – writerWhen we moved to Colorado from the East Coast, I brought all my traditional East Coast (mostly northeastern) Thanksgiving traditions with me: turkey, onion stuffing, green beans or peas, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy. My husband and daughter started to rebel after we’d been here a few years, especially after we were introduced to “southwestern” cooking (Mexican and Native American). Since I’m the cook, I still insist on the turkey, but I’ve modified almost all my recipes somewhat (for instance, I add green chilies to the onion stuffing!), and this soup is a great opening number!Southwestern Butternut Squash Soup1 c. chopped onion1/4 c. chopped leeks, white sections only21/2 c. peeled and diced raw butternut squash (or use pumpkin or acorn squash)1/4 c. sherry1/4 t. freshly grated or ground nutmeg1/4 t. ground cuminpinch of cinnamon1/8 t. grated fresh ginger root3/4 t. salt1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper1/8 t. cayenne pepper, or to taste4 c. chicken or vegetable stocknon-stick cooking spraySpray the bottom of a stockpot with cooking spray. Saute the onions and leeks over medium heat until they wilt. If they begin to brown, add 3 T. of water or chicken broth to the pan.Once the onions and leeks begin to soften, add the remaining ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 20 min., until the squash begins to fall apart.Remove the pot from the heat. In a food processor or blender, puree the mixture in 3 or 4 batches until very smooth. Return the soup to the pot to reheat before serving, or let the soup cool and refrigerate it for up to 5 days.From Rocky Mountain Gourmet Cookbook, by Leslie M. DeDominic
Kathy Hare – writerIn the early 1970s, my husband and I moved to Maynard, Mass. The town offered great employment opportunities in the computer business, so four of my siblings moved there also. While none of us had much time for baking, Thanksgiving Day became the exception, and a sort of baking competition began among my siblings. Our meals became more elaborate each year until one Thanksgiving meal included oysters Rockefeller, a goose, a ham, plus many of those side dishes my grandmother used to make.That year Arlo Guthrie’s song “Alice’s Restaurant” was popular. As we sat down to eat with an absurd amount of food spread out before us on the table, the song came on the radio and we all sang along. “You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant.” Somehow, it fit the meal and the mood. While my siblings now live all over the country, my husband and I play the song every Thanksgiving, and it always makes us laugh. Family, food and Alice’s Restaurant, equals Thanksgiving in my house.Best ever Olive RollsIngredients:4 cups white flour2 1/2 teaspoons salt2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast (or 1 pkg.)2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil1 1/4 cups lukewarm water (115 degrees)4 oz. black or Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely choppedKosher or Sea SaltSift flour and salt together, in large mixing bowl. Add yeast and mix thoroughly. Using dough hook, slowly add water, oil and olives. Mix until dough forms a smooth ball, adding more flour if necessary. (Takes about 5 minutes with a Kitchenaid mixer, 15 minutes by hand)Place dough in a large bowl greased with olive oil. Cover, place in a warm location, and allow dough to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down. Cut dough into 4 equal-sized pieces. Further divide each piece into 5 round balls. Place on oiled cookie sheet. Cover; allow to rise for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush rolls with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse kosher or sea salt. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until brown.
Stefani Wiest – writerA Thanksgiving and Christmas culinary tradition that dates back several generations in my family is lefse, a Scandinavian flatbread made from mashed potatoes. My mother’s side of the family is Norwegian, and my great-grandparents brought this recipe from Norway. Each generation has passed on the lefse legacy.LefseMakes approx. 245# potatoes1 T. salt1/2 cup butter1/2 cup creamFlour (approx. 3 cups)Instructions:Boil potatoes. Mash with salt, butter and cream. Chill overnight. Add flour to desired consistency (too much flour makes the lefse tough). Apply flour to pin and pastry cloth. Roll very thin with lefse pin and fry at 365 degrees until lefse starts to bubble and turn brown. Turn over and fry the other side. When lefse is done place it between two cloth towels to cool. This prevents the lefse from drying out.Lefse is served with butter, sugar or other ingredients rolled up inside.
Cathy Griffen – writerI was in my mid-30’s before Thanksgiving happened at my house. Before that, it was always so easy to enjoy the good cooking of my mother or my parents-in-law. But I decided then that when the Thanksgiving meal is around my table, we would go around the table and have each person tell something that they’ve been especially thankful for that year. But at my house or wherever, it’s just not Thanksgiving without my mom’s cornbread dressing.Isobelle Neal’s Cornbread dressing(Cathy Griffen’s mom)Bake cornbread from a traditional recipe, leaving out the sugar. Cool and crumble. Saute plenty of chopped celery and onion in butter or margarine. Mix the crumbled cornbread and sautéed vegetables, add enough turkey or chicken broth for the mixture to be very moist. Chop up the gizzard and liver of the turkey and toss those in as well. Add salt, pepper, and sage to taste. Wait for the first critic to come through the kitchen and find out what they think it needs. Continue doing this until someone says, “Hey, that’s just right.” Bake at 350 degrees until crispy around the edges and thoroughly hot.
Marylou Doehrman – co-publisher and editorHere is my recipe this year for a great Thanksgiving: no deadlines and a bottle of wine!Open bottle and pour in glass – don’t drive.
