Rolls, Potatoes, & Pie: Thanksgiving Recipes

On Thanksgiving Thursday, we will bow our heads and give thanks to our Almighty Creator and humbly ask that we remember to be grateful for all we have. We will also feast!

Thanksgiving has become one of my favorite holidays. A day to give thanks to God and a day to remember the blessings we enjoy. Its just about as Patriotic as the Fourth, but more about God.

I also look forward to cooking special foods for this celebration-foods we only have a few times a year. Let’s face it, its all about the food we don’t normally eat because we would all keel over if we did.

My two very very very favorites are Christy Jordan’s rolls from her website Southern Plate and Martha Stewart’s Mother’s mashed potatoes. These dishes are absolutely so delightful they are dangerous. They might be the only foods on my plate this year!

I am also quite fond of desserts but don’t have any special recipes for those. We just follow the Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe and used canned fruits. I will include my pie crust recipe (I think it’s pretty much universal). But enough of the intro, on to the recipes!

Big Martha’s Mashed Potatoes

Decadent, rich, and guaranteed to be the best mashed potatoes you’ve ever had.

3/4 bag of Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 stick butter
1/2 -1 cup cream (depending on how moist you like them)
8oz. block cream cheese (can sub in nuefchatel for lower fat)
Salt and pepper to taste

Scrub and chop potatoes. Bring to a boil in a big pot. Turn heat down and simmer until pieces are fork tender. Drain and transfer to a big bowl. Cut up the butter and the cream cheese and fold it underneath so it all melts before the potatoes cool off. Once it gets all happy and melty start mixing with a hand mixer. Add in the cream until you get the consistency you like. We typically do the 1/2 cup. Then add salt and pepper to taste. We typically go through lots of spoons doing the tasting as everybody wants to try them! You might need to fend people off just so you can get the dish to the table! Thankfully, this recipe makes a big bowl!

Jordan Rolls

1/2 Cup vegetable shortening
1/2 Cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 packages fast acting yeast (or 4 & 1/2 teaspoons)
5 Cups flour
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 1/2 Cup warm water

Place the sugar, salt, 2 (of the 5) cups flour, and yeast in a big bowl (like as big as you used for the mashed potatoes). Mix these ingredients and then cut in the shirtening. Beat in the eggs, melted butter, and water, then mix in the other 3 cups of flour. Stir together. Cover and let sit in a warm location for 20 minutes.

Turn out on a floured surface and knead a few times till it comes together.

At this point you can make any kind of roll shapes you want. Make a giant rectangle with the dough and cut it into squares, make a circle, cut into wedges and roll them up like crescent rolls, or just make traditional rolls. Any way you shape these they come out great- soft and so smooth. Just go ahead and make 2 batches so at least one batch gets to the Thanksgiving table!

Spray the pan they will bake in arrange them and let rise another 20 minutes. Bake in a 350F pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes until done. You can brush the rolls with butter if you want to!

9 Inch Two Crust Pie

2 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 Cup shortening
6-7 Tablespoons cold water

Mix the flour and salt, then cut in the shortening. Add the water and mix until it just forms a dough. Don’t fuss with it, or work it very much. Use to make pies according to your recipes. It is light and fluffy!

Have lots of fun this Thanksgiving and don’t take things too seriously! Remember to dance in the kitchen while you’re cooking and cleaning up!

God bless you,

-Jaime