Whole-Wheat Pumpkin Bread...

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup yellow or white cornmeal
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 cups masked cooked pumpkin
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two medium loaf pans.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until blended; a hand-held mixer is useful for this step. Beat in the pumpkin, eggs, and water. Add the combined dry ingredients and beat just until blended. Stir in the raisins and walnuts.

Pour into the two prepared pans and bake until a thin wooden skewer inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Sweet and Creamy Pumpkin Dip...

1 8oz. pkg. softened cream cheese
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 15oz. can pumpkin
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. orange extract
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

In a food processor, blend cream cheese and confectioners sugar until smooth. Remove cover, add pumpkin and remaming ingredients. Blend thoroughly. Chill 30 minutes or until ready to serve. Serve with gingersnap cookies. May also substitute cookies with apples or pears, cored and cut into 1/2-inch slices, leaving skin on for color. Toss fruit with a little lemon juice mixed with water to prevent browning.

Hint: Use this to use as a dip with Pfeffernusse! See links for the recipe...yum!

Country Sausage and Corn Bread Dressing...

1 pound pork sausage
4 tbsp. butter
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
3/4 cup water
1 14oz. pkg. corn bread stuffing mix
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat, until browned, about 10 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl. Discard all but 2 tablespoons sausage drippings.

Add butter, celery, onion and red pepper to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden brown and tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, black pepper and water. Heat to boiling, stirring until browned bits are loosened from bottom of skillet.

Add vegetable mixture, corn bread stuffing mix, and parsley to sausage in bowl; stir to combine well. Spoon stuffing into greased 13X9-inch baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Giblet Gravy...

Gizzard, heart and neck of turkey
4 cups water
Turkey liver
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

In a large saucepan, combine gizzard, heart, neck and water; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add liver and cook 15 minutes longer. Strain giblet broth through sieve into large bowl. Pull meat from neck; discard bones. Chop giblets. Cover and refrigerate meat and broth separately.

To make gravy, remove rack from roasting pan after roasting turkey. Strain pan drippings through sieve into a 4-cup glass measuring cup or medium bowl. Add 1 cup giblet broth to hot roasting pan and heat to boiling, stirring until browned bits are loosened from bottom of pan; add to drippings in measuring cup. Let stand until fat separates from meat juice, about 1 minute. Spoon 2 tablespoons fat from drippings into 2-quart saucepan; skim and discard any remaining fat. Add remaining giblet broth and enough water to drippings in cup to equal 3 cups.

Heat fat in saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour and salt. Cook, stirring, until flour turns golden brown. With wire whisk, gradually whisk in meat-juice mixture and cook, whisking, until gravy has thickened slightly and boils; boil 1 minute. Stir in reserved giblets and neck meat; heat through. Makes about 3 1/2 cups gravy.

Old Time Turkey...

1 turkey, about 14 pounds
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove giblets and neck from turkey; reserve for making Giblet Gravy. Rinse turkey inside and out with cold running water and drain well; pat dry with paper towels.

Tie legs and tail together with string; push drumsticks under band of skin, or use stuffing clamp. Secure wings to body with strings, if desired.

Place turkey, breast side up, on rack in large roasting pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper on outside of turkey. Cover with loose tent of foil.

Roast about 3 hours and 45 minutes. Start checking for doneness during last hour of roasting. Place stuffing (in a casserole dish!) in oven after turkey has roasted 3 hours. Bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.

To brown turkey, remove foil during last hour of roasting; baste occasionally with pan drippings. Turkey is done when temperature on meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh, next to body, reaches 180 degrees and juices run clear with thickest part of thigh is pierced with tip of knife. The breast temperature should be 170 degrees.

Transfer turkey to large platter; keep warm. Let stand at least 15 minutes to set juices for easier carving.

Thanksgiving Guest Bathroom...

These are a few pictures of how my guest bathroom looked for Thanksgiving 2004...







These are a few pictures of the countertop in the guest bathroom. I bought most of that stuff at JoAnn's Fabrics. The soap and lotion are from Bath and Body Works, and they smell GREAT. Everyone who has washed their hands in there come out commenting about how good the soap smells. And that includes guys.















Let's see...I got that floor mat at Wal-Mart last year. I'll use it until I find something better. I'm only partially fond of it. The handtowels are from JoAnn's Fabrics, as is the plate hanging up on the wall. The shower curtain, well, is a tablecloth. I fell in love with that fabric two years ago at Wal-Mart, when they had it as placemats and napkins. So, last year, I hit the fabric stores to see if I could find something similar. I just kept on striking out. So, I bought something I could just live with until I could find what I really wanted. Then I went back to Wal-Mart, and they had TONS of that fabric, in tablecloths!!! So I bought, like, ten of them, and had my mother-in-law make a shower curtain out of two of them. I'm hoarding the rest. I'm eventually going to make drapes from them. Oooh, I can't wait...

Pfeffernusse...

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1 /2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 large egg
Powdered sugar

Grease cookie sheets; set aside. Place flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, cloves, cardamom, and pepper in large bowl; stir to combine.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg. Gradually add flour mixture. Beat at low speed until dough forms. Form dough into a disc; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove cookies to wire racks; dust with sifted powdered sugar. Cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature or freeze up to 3 months.

People Chow...

9 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 6oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Measure cereal into large bowl; set aside. Heat chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in 1 quart saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal in bowl, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon food storage bag; add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Southern Cornbread Dressing...

One recipe cornbread, already baked and crumbled
3 cups soft breadcrumbs or biscuits (I use biscuits)
1/2 cup butter
2 medium onions, diced
1 large bunch celery, diced
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh sage (or 1 tbsp. dried sage, or poultry seasoning)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
6 10.5oz. cans condensed chicken broth, undiluted (I use those boxes of Swanson’s broth)
1 tbsp. pepper

Combine cornbread and breadcrumbs or biscuits in large bowl; set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add onions and celery, and saute until tender. Stir in sage and saute one minute more. Stir vegetables, eggs, chicken broth (enough to make mixture about the texture of mashed potatoes) and pepper into a lightly greased 13X9-inch baking dish and 1 lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish. (I use a large foil disposable dish. Easier cleanup.) Cover and chill eight hours.

Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Fall Living Room Pictures...

The couches are decorated with my fall throws I bought from Wal-Mart. On the side table, there is a fall-themed kleenex box, a candy dish of candy pumpkins, and a fall-scented candle from Pier One.



Each year, I make a fall arrangement from salvaged decorations from funeral arrangements. Everything is either dried or fake, so it lasts all season. It's never the same from year to year, and that's what makes it fun and interesting for me!







A few pictures of the mantle from last year. This will change significantly this year, since I got a new mantle a few weeks ago. The cheap old one fell off the wall. (Yea!) Now, there's a huge 6-inch by 8-inch chunk of rough ceder up there, serving as a mantle. I love it! It's going to look so great this year...









My husband knows that if it's in the house, it's game to be decorated! I've learned not to put anything breakable on the television or subwoofer, lest they rattle off and break when he's having fun listening to a movie.











This is an antique dental cabinet that we have. It is so fun to decorate for the holidays, and fall is my favorite time to decorate it. Since I took these pictures, the dental cabinet has moved (it's over behind the couch in one of the previous pictures) and I've gotten a hutch. Now THAT'S going to be fun to decorate! I'm so excited...

Praline Sweet Potato Casserole...

I tried this last year, and it's my new sweet potato casserole recipe. My old one is gone and forgotten.


Praline Sweet Potato Casserole

6 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

Praline Topping:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pierce each potato several times with a fork (??? No, I don't do this...) and place in a baking pan. Bake until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 90 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter until the butter has melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling. Cut the potatoes in half and scoop the flesh into a large bowl, discarding the skins. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes. Stir the milk mixture into the potatoes. Whisk in the eggs and continue whisking until well combined with the potato mixture. Add the whisking until well combined with the potato mixture. Add the brown sugar and stir until thoroughly blended. Butter a 9X13-inch baking pan. Spread the sweet potato mixture evenly in the casserole. Set aside while making the topping, Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

To make the praline topping, melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat. Stir in the brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cream, and pecans. Heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick, about five minutes. If the mixture begins to boil and splatter turn down the heat to maintain a simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the topping evenly over the sweet potatoes, spreading it with a rubber spatula.

Bake the casserole until the topping is slighly crusty and set, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.


From

The Thanksgiving Table

by Diane Morgan. EXCELLENT cookbook. I highly recommend it.

Fall Decorating For Next Year...

--At least eight fall leaf garlands

--A bunch of styrofoam pumpkins and gourds (Hobby Lobby?)

--A bunch of ceramic pumpkins and gourds (Jo Ann's Fabrics?)

--Fall candles and holders (Pier One?)