Food on Fridays: 3 Thanksgiving Tips

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Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can simply tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish or post and link to a picture of your pies.

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Please note: I return when possible during the day and update this post by hand to include a list of the links provided via Mr. Linky. If I can’t get to the computer to do so, you may access them all by clicking on the Mister Linky logo.

Food on Fridays Participants

Food on Fridays with Ann

Thanksgiving is over and our fridge is packed with leftovers.

So I decided to share some leftovers here, as well, adapting an old Thanksgiving post from the archives:

I learned a handy potato tip from a Belgian cook named Jacqueline.

My mother-in-law asked Jacqueline how she prepared for big gatherings. What did she do in advance?

Jacqueline lifted the cover of a clean white bucket to reveal a mound of peeled potatoes covered in water.

“What’s this?” I asked my mother-in-law in English. The meal wasn’t until the next day, but the potatoes were already peeled.

“The potatoes,” my mother-in-law replied.

“I see that, but…” I hesitated, not wanting to seem like I was doubting her friend’s kitchen know-how, “I thought potatoes go brown if you don’t cook them right after peeling.”

“I thought so, too,” my mother-in-law admitted, “but Jacqueline says that as long as they’re completely covered with water, they’re fine!”

Tip #1

Get Some Dirty Work Out of the Way: Submerge Peeled Potatoes

Instead of peeling potatoes at the last minute while the turkey is being carved, I follow Jacqueline’s example and peel them as early as the day before, though this year I peeled them in the morning. Then I just cover them in water and top with a lid, all ready to go.

Tip #2

Don’t Mash the Potatoes–Blend!

Instead of mashing by hand, smashing for several wrist-wrenching minutes, simply plug in the hand mixer and whirr away. So fast. So simple. Such smooth, lump-free potatoes.

And if you really feel crazy and daring (maybe not on Thanksgiving, but some other time), you can also cook sweet potatoes or carrots and blend them together with the potatoes.

Tip #3

Ann’s All-Time Favorite Pumpkin Pie

My mom made the pumpkin pies this year, but when it’s my turn, I have a favorite pumpkin pie recipe.

I’ve experimented with several recipes. Most of them have been, well, “meh.”

My all-time favorite?

Stokely’s:

PUMPKIN PIE (STOKELY’S BACK-OF-CAN)

1 can (16 oz) pumpkin

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

3/4 C brown sugar

1 T flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/4 t ground ginger

1/4 t ground nutmeg

1/4 t ground cloves

1 9-inch unbaked homemade pie crust.

Preheat oven to 450. Blend all ingredients and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake 20 mins.

Reduce temperature to 350. Bake 35 minutes more or until knife inserted comes out clean. Cool completely on rack.

I cover the crust-edges with strips of aluminum foil formed into curves and balanced along the rim of the pie pan. They stay there almost the entire baking time. For the last 10-15 minutes I take off the foil and let the crust get a little brown. Otherwise it almost burns.

p.s. For those who saw my Thanksgiving Preview, I chose not to use the white tablecloth. Instead, I opted for two very long coordinating cloths on our two long tables. They’re golden. I thought you should know, as I felt sort of hypocritical folding up the white one and tucking it back into the storage cabinet.

My mom assures me that we will, however, have pea salad; and for that, I’m truly grateful.

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