Search Results for: blog kicked up thanksgiving pies

Last-Minute Thanksgiving Desserts

Turkey. Check. Mashed potatoes. Check. Green bean casserole. Check. Gravy. Check. Dessert… hmmmm… You’ve got a traditional pumpkin pie, but you want to add something a little more to your Thanksgiving buffet this year, but time is not on your side. What do you do? Check out these simple yet fabulous Turkey Day desserts that can be whipped up in jiffy: SIMPLE APPLE DUMPLINGS Ingredients: 2 Granny Smith apples 2 cans crescent rolls 2 sticks butter 1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Cinnamon 1 mini can of Sprite Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel … Continue reading →

Cool Thanksgiving Pies

Growing up in a small town on the Big Island of Hawaii, Thanksgiving dessert consisted of traditional fruit pies and little more. Which is not to say that I don’t love fresh fruit pies, but when I moved to the “mainland” in the late 1980s to attend college I was introduced to a whole new Thanksgiving dessert option: Ice cream pie. To this day I make sure that at least one frozen (or refrigerated) pie is featured on our Thanksgiving buffet. Decadent chilled pies are much cheaper to make than to buy. What’s more, they offer guests a chocolaty option … Continue reading →

Mini Desserts For Your Thanksgiving Buffet

There was a time when pumpkin pie was the only dessert served on Thanksgiving. Not anymore. These days Turkey Day diners expect a variety of sweet treats to cap off their mega-meal. My family goes all out on Thanksgiving with a huge dessert buffet featuring a variety of pies, cakes, cookies and other goodies. However, the most popular treats are the mini desserts. They may be small (which enables everyone to sample without guilt), but they’re big on taste and are simple to make. Take a look: APPLE TARTS Ingredients: 1 sheet puff pastry 6 ounces almond paste 2 tablespoons … Continue reading →

Simple Thanksgiving Pies

Thanksgiving is just two weeks away, and while this year might not be your turn to cook the bird, there’s a good chance that you will be responsible for contributing at least one dish to the Turkey Day feast. If that’s the case, consider one (or all) of the following dessert recipes. They are easy as pie to make, but so incredibly delicious that your family and friends will never know that you didn’t slave away in the kitchen preparing them. PUMPKIN SUPREME PIE Ingredients for the Crust: 1/2 cup butter, melted 2 cups graham crackers (crushed) 1/4 cup sugar … Continue reading →

Last-Minute Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes

You may have finished your Thanksgiving grocery shopping days ago, but there are many home cooks who are still scrambling to piece together their Turkey Day feast. I know because I just drove past a parking lot full of them outside our local market. (Hard-core shoppers and it’s not even Black Friday yet.) Regardless, it just goes to show that there are some people out there who have yet to finalize their Thanksgiving menu yet. If you are still searching for the perfect dessert to share on this day of giving thanks, then consider the simple pumpkin creations listed below: … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Menu: Then and Now

Leave it to domestic diva Martha Stewart to school her own cooking guest about the dishes served up at the very first Thanksgiving dinner… on national TV. Did you see Stewart doling out her on-air corrections last week? Whereas I felt bad for the visiting chef, I did learn a lot about what was really on that first Thanksgiving menu. Did you know that the Thanksgiving holiday as we know it is only about 150 years old? Back in 1863, following a stalwart campaign by Sarah Josepha Hale (a writer best known for penning “Mary Had a Little Lamb”), then … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Recipes: Vegetables

As much as your children would rather you forget them all together, vegetables are a vital part of a traditional Thanksgiving spread. While my brother’s tot will happily munch on carrots sticks (drowned in Ranch dressing) as though he were part rabbit, my preschooler needs to be bribed to take even a nibble of the crunchy orange vegetable. This is why our family meals such as Thanksgiving must include a variety of veggie dishes. The first one I’m sharing with you is the only carrot recipe my daughter will eat. Once you scan the ingredients you’ll see why. The second … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Recipes: Gourmet Appetizers

What time do you eat Thanksgiving dinner? Some families dine as early as 2 p.m. while others wait to break bread at the traditional dinner hour. If your family waits until after the Turkey Day football games are over before digging into your Thanksgiving spread, you aren’t alone. I’ve spent many Thanksgivings with families who wait until late evening to eat their holiday feasts. In most cases it’s planned that way because it takes that long for guests to get their appetites back after chowing down on tasty appetizers. The following recipes are not your average chip and dip, mini-meatball … Continue reading →

Not Your Mama’s Thanksgiving Recipes

Back in my previous life as a TV journalist, I had the opportunity to cook with local “celebrity” chefs when they appeared on our morning show. I actually did more eating than cooking, but I learned some culinary tricks just the same. The holidays always included a steady stream of cooking segments featuring proud pro chefs whipping up unique dishes. The following is a sample of some of the recipes I saved from those segments. They’re nothing like my mom served us on Turkey Day, but boy were they popular with our studio crew. THANKSGIVING GRAVY Ingredients: 1 can cream … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Recipes: Super Stuffing and Sensational Sweet Potatoes

There’s one in every family–the one must-have dish that makes a Thanksgiving meal complete. For some it’s Aunt Kay’s Pumpkin Pecan Pie, for others it’s grandma’s Extra Creamy Mashed Potatoes or mom’s to-die-for Turkey Gravy. In our family it’s my dad’s Cornbread Stuffing and my great aunt’s Orange Sweet Potatoes with Cookie Crumble Topping. If you are looking to add to your family favorites this year, consider trying the following recipes: ORANGE SWEET POTATOES WITH COOKIE CRUMBLE TOPPING Ingredients: 6 large sweet potatoes 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar Fresh orange juice 1 cup sweet … Continue reading →