Post your tried and true Thanksgiving recipes here!  A few years ago I started brining my turkey, it makes the turkey meat very moist while adding some flavor. 

Here is a very easy brine recipe for a first timer.

It's not a good idea to make gravy from the pan juices of a brined turkey; the gravy will be much too salty. Use a gravy mix or make it with canned stock.

Turkey Brine

• 2 gallons water

•2 cups kosher salt or 1 cup table salt

•1 cup sugar • 1/4 cup dried tarragon

•2 teaspoons black pepper

•15-20 pound fresh turkey

Boil water and then add all other ingredients. Mix thoroughly and let cool completely. Place 15- to 20-pound turkey in pot and cover with mixture. Let sit in refrigerator for 24 hours or overnight. Remove turkey from brine, rinse and pat dry. Coat with olive oil before roasting or smoking. Note: If using a frozen or self-basting turkey, reduce salt by half. Those turkeys are injected with a moistening solution that contains salt.

 All-purpose gravy    Makes about 2 cups Prep time: 10 minutes Total time: 55 minutes (includes 20 minutes simmering time)

You don't need pan drippings to make great gravy. This version relies on vegetables and chicken and beef broths for a rich, full-bodied gravy that can be served with almost any type of meat or poultry or simply over mashed potatoes. If you would like to double the recipe, use a Dutch oven to give the vegetables ample room for browning and increase the cooking times by roughly 50%. To prevent lumps from forming, be sure to whisk constantly when adding the broths.

•3 tablespoons unsalted butter

•1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine

•1 rib celery, chopped fine

•1 onion, minced

•1/4 cup all-purpose flour

•2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

•2 cups low-sodium beef broth

•1 bay leaf

•1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried

•5 whole black peppercorns

•Salt and pepper

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and cook until softened and well browned, about 9 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly browned, about 5 minutes.

2. Gradually whisk in the broths and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface.

3. Pour the gravy through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste.

Test Kitchen tip: The color and flavor of this gravy come from cooking the vegetables and flour until they are well-browned. It may seem as though they are turning too dark, but trust us, it is a step necessary to producing richly flavored and colored gravy.

 Crockpot Stuffing

1 c. butter or margarine

2 c. chopped onion

2 c. chopped celery

¼ c. parsley, minced

12-13 c. slightly dry bread cubes 

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

1½ tsp. sage

1 tsp. dried thyme

½ tsp. each salt and pepper

½ tsp. marjoram

2-2½ c. chicken or turkey broth

2 eggs, beaten

Melt butter in skillet and sauté onion, celery, and parsley. Pour over bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl. Add all seasonings and toss well. Pour in enough broth to moisten; add beaten eggs and mix well. Grease crock pot with butter. Pack lightly into crock pot. Cover; cook on high 45 minutes; then reduce to low 4 to 8 hours. Makes 6 servings.

RECIPE NOTE:Two 7-ounce packages seasoned stuffing mix may be substituted for bread cubes. Use 3 to 3½ cups chicken broth; omit herbs and salt.

Savory Green Beans

 2 pounds fresh green beans

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp Creole Seasoning

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dill

Wash beans; trim ends, and remove strings. Steam green beans until just tender. Plunge into ice water to stop cooking process. Drain beans and set aside. Melt butter in large sauce pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until onions are crisp-tender. Add beans, and cook until bans are heated through. 8-servings

Boursin Mashed Potatoes

Recipe from www.butterball.com Mashed potatoes pair up with Boursin, a rich-and-creamy French cheese laced with garlic and herbs Makes: 8 1/2-cup servings

Ingredients:

3-1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch chunks

1/2 cup whole milk or half-and-half

2 packages (5.2 ounce each) Boursin cheese with garlic and herbs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place potatoes in large saucepan; add enough cold, salted water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain. Return to saucepan.

Add milk; mash with hand masher or electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Mix in cheese, salt and pepper until well blended. Taste for seasoning. Spoon into shallow 2-quart baking dish. Bake 20 minutes, or until hot.

Maple-Orange Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray

1 16-ounce package peeled baby carrots

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces

1 cup snipped dried apricots

1/2 cup pure maple syrup or maple-flavored syrup

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions 1. Lightly coat a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In the cooker layer carrots, sweet potatoes, and dried apricots.

2. In a small bowl combine maple syrup, orange juice concentrate, water, melted butter, salt, white pepper, and cinnamon. Pour over mixture in cooker.

3. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 9 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 4-1/2 hours. Use a slotted spoon to serve. Makes 10 side-dish servings.     

Maple Pumpkin Pie

1- 16 ounce can solid pack pumpkin (or mashed fresh pumpkin)

1 cup whipping cream

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1/2 tsp natural maple flavor

*1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

*1/4 tsp ginger

*1/4 tsp nutmeg

pinch of salt

maple whipped cream :

1 cup chilled whipped cream

3 tblsp maple syrup

whip until soft peaks form

Preheat to 400 deg. F. Put pie on lowest third rack in oven.

Bake a 9" pie crust for 15 minutes. Make sure crust is not too thin or the edges will burn.

Reduce oven to 350. Whisk all ingredients in bowl. Pour mixture into crust and bake 55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

*or 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning, in place of the ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Mrs. Hoggle's Stuffed Cranberries

  Just a comment.....I'm also looking for T'giving recipes, but just for some that involve whole, or crunchy, green veggies!

It seems like most sides are mashed or soft: casseroles, mashed potatos, corn pudding, dressing, you get the idea. That's fine, I love those dishes. It would not be T'giving without them! (it also seems that most are beige/white/yellow in color....)

But  for the sake of variety, I wanted some that are not, besides green beans sprinkled with whatever seasoning. We eat broccoli all the time anyway, and DH hates Brussel sprouts. You would not believe how hard it is to find....

Betty I'll look some up in my file...I have a Brussel Sprouts recipe that everyone here loves, who all used to hate Brussel Sprouts...I also have a sauteed corn recipe by Ina Garten somewhere, and carrots, I remember a carrot recipe.  brb

I posted some recipe below. Carrots are also great just roasted,  I toss them lightly with a bit of olive oil or melted butter. Than I add a generous amount of dried chives and throw them in the oven for about an hour at 350, or less if at a higher temperature. Always delicious! They caramelize a bit and don't need any added sweetening

Shredded Brussels Sprouts Recipe courtesy of Gourmet Magazine, Sara Moulton:

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons water

Juice of 1/2 lime

Soak whole sprouts in a large bowl of cold, salted water to clean. Then trim and discard ends and any bitter outer leaves. Cut each in half lengthwise, then slice thinly across width.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute sprouts with salt and pepper until they start to brown. Add water and cook until barely limp, about 4 minutes. (The water changes the action from sauteing to steaming.) Stir in lime juice and serve immediately.

To make this a bit more healthy I use 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 butter.

Here's some scalloped potatoes, okay it's a casserole but they're not mashed.

Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

2 pounds potatoes (about 6 medium)

3 tbls butter

3 tbls flour

Salt and Pepper

2 ½ cups milk

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1 tbls butter

Heat oven to 350° F. Wash potatoes; pare thinly. Cut potatoes into thin slices to measure about 4 cups. Melt 3 tbls butter in saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour and seasonings. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.

Boil and stir 1 minute. In greased 2-quart casserole, arrange potatoes in 2 layers, topping each with half the onion and 1/3 of the white sauce. Top with remaining potatoes and sauce. Dot with 1 tbls butter. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 60 to 70 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Sauteed Fresh Corn

 Honey-Glazed Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

Recipe courtesy Bon Appetit December 2005 8 servings

2 pounds carrots (1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter) peeled, halved lengthwise (I then cut them crosswise once)

2 pounds parsnips (1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter) peeled, halved lengthwise

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 2 rimed baking sheets with foil. Divide carrots and parsnips between sheets. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, then drizzle 3 tablespoons oil over vegetables on each sheet; toss to coat.

  Roast vegetables 10 minutes; stir. Roast vegetables 10 minutes longer, stir, and reverse sheets. Continue roasting until vegetables are tender and slightly charred, about 15 minutes longer.

Melt butter and stir in honey and vinegar. Drizzle honey glaze over vegetables and serve.

• 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup melted butter
•  
• Topping:
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Combine first 6 ingredients. Pour into a buttered 1 1/2 to 2-quart casserole dish. Mix remaining ingredients together and sprinkle over top. Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes, until hot and browned. Serves 6 to 8.

This is the best Mac n cheese ever!

Sherry; col. rec. to here. c