Thanksgiving with the Catholic Star Herald

It’s the beginning of the festive holiday season and we invited most of the Catholic Star Herald staff to join us to talk Thanksgiving, what it means to us, our family connections to it, and, perhaps most importantly, our favorite recipes! 

On this week’s show, Jen Mauro and Mike Walsh are joined by colleagues, Neal Cullen, Paul Worthington, Pete Sanchez, Maria D’Antonio, Cindy Soper, and Rich Hundley. 

The recipes we discussed on today’s show can be found below. 

Listen to Talking Catholic below on Soundcloud, and everywhere podcasts can be found, at https://talking.catholicstarherald.org/show/talking-catholic, or catch us on Domestic Church Media radio Sundays at 11 AM or Mondays at 4 PM domesticchurchmedia.org.

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Recipes

Mike’s favorite turkey brine…

…courtesy of Food Network host Alton Brown: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe-1950271

And the electric turkey fryer Mike was talking about: https://smile.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-MB20012420-Electric-Boiler-Steamer/dp/B088PKVBDM/?th=1

Paul’s Whiskey Sour

• One part frozen lemonade concentrate mix. Don’t discard concentrate container, but use it to measure the other two ((bourbon & triple sec), and water) liquid ingredients.
• One part – 7/8 Jim Beam Bourbon, 1/8 Triple Sec – in same empty container of frozen lemonade concentrate
• One part water
• Pour in ice-filled highball or pint glasses
• Garnish with maraschino cherry & juice orange wedge

Make at least a half gallon.

Maria’s Italian Wedding Soup

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/italian-wedding-soup-recipe-1915916

Cindy’s Spinach Balls

• 10 oz Frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained (I squeeze out the extra water)
• 1 cup Pepperidge Farm Herbed Stuffing mix
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan
• 2 eggs, slightly beater
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp dried minced onion
• Dash of nutmeg

Mix all ingredients.  Roll into small balls.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until lightly browned

Dip

• ¼ cup sour cream
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp Dijon
• Dash of hot sauce

For a large crowd, you definitely need to multiply the recipe.  As I said, my family hasn’t found the “too many” number yet!

I usually make mine ahead of time and either refrigerate or freeze depending on how early I make them.  It’s an easy recipe but time consuming to roll them out when there are so many other things to get done.

Neal’s Sweet Potato Souffle

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes, cubed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups softened butter
• 6 large eggs
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.      Boil the potatoes in water with 1 teaspoon of salt until tender. Drain the potatoes and cool to room temperature. Process the potatoes with remaining ingredients in a blender and pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole pan.

3.      Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until set and lightly browned.

Rich’s mom’s sweet potato casserole

• 8-10 Large Sweet Potatoes           
• 1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
• 3/4lb. Butter                                 
• 2  Tbsp. Cinnamon
• 1 Large Bag of Marshmallows       
• 1/2 Cup Sour Cream

Serves 8-10 people

Boil sweet potatoes until a fork can pierce the skins easily.  Depending on sizes around 15-20 minutes.

Plunge into a cold water bath & remove skins while hot.  Place in large pot & mash till smooth.

Add 1/4 lb. butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar & 1/2 cup sour cream & mix thoroughly.  Divide mashed sweet potatoes in half & layer 1/2 in a deep 9″x 13″ aluminum tin or casserole dish.  Take 1/2 the bag of marshmallows & place into the sweet potatoes then top with 1/4 lb of butter cut into about 16 pats that are place on top of the marshmallows, now sprinkle with 1/8 cup brown sugar & 1 Tbsp. cinnamon.  Add another layer over completed layer & repeat with the rest of marshmallows, another 1/4 lb of butter cut into pats & the rest of the brown sugar & cinnamon over the top.

Bake in a 350 degrees oven for about 30-40 minutes till top/sides start to bubble.

Remove from oven & let set for 5 minutes, then serve.

Jen’s Seafoam Lime Salad

• 1 3 oz. package of lime Jell-O
• 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cup cold water
• 1 Tblsp. lemon juice
• 1 8 oz. package of Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1 ½ cup miniature marshmallows
• 2 2/3 cup of crushed pineapple, drained

Dissolve Jell-O in boiling water. Add cold water and lemon juice

Gradually add to softened cream cheese, mixing until well-blended

Chill until almost firm. Fold in marshmallows and pineapple. Pour into a 1 quart mold, big bowl or a trifle bowl. Chill until firm.

Pete’s pecan pie

• 1 cup Light OR Dark Corn Syrup
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons bourbon (I like Wild Turkey)
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans (I use Georgia pecans)
• 1 (9-inch) unbaked OR frozen deep-dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cookie sheet on the center rack in oven while preheating.

Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla and bourbon using a spoon. Stir in pecans.

Pour filling into unbaked pie crust or frozen pie crust.

Carefully place pie on the preheated cookie sheet on the center rack of oven and bake for 60 to 70 minutes.  Cool for 2 hours on wire rack before serving.

RECIPE TIPS: Pie is done when center reaches 200°F. Tap center surface of pie lightly – it should spring back when done.  To prevent overbrowning, cover pie edges with foil.

Serves 8.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.