Thanksgiving — what a great time! If I began to give thanks, it would take more words than this column could contain in several weeks.
I will just say thanks to you for having “stuck around” for as many years as you have as a reader and supporter of this column. I am thankful for having the health and energy to continue “life in the fast lane” as a mature person (aka, senior citizen).
We have had recipes for Thanksgiving breakfast ideas and vegetables, so let’s get to the good stuff — the salads and desserts.
A beautiful kind of salad, and something really pretty on a plate, is this stuffed apple recipe that Harriet Lesikar gave me years (and I mean about 25) ago. Mary Hall and I once had a catering for which we made about 250 of these. They really are not so hard if you keep the quantity to a sane number.
Harriet’s Stuffed Apples
8-10 small apples, peeled and cored
Syrup for apples:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 small packages Red Hots cinnamon candy (about 3/4 cup)
Red food coloring
Bring the syrup ingredients to boil in a large pan. Cook apples in boiling syrup for about 10 minutes, until apples are tender. If possible, let apples stay in syrup overnight. Chill apples and stuff with a mixture of:
3 oz. cream cheese
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Sprinkle with chopped nuts.
There will be a lot of syrup left over. You can freeze it for use another time. (If you want to make more of this dish, just add more apples and use more of the cream cheese/mayonnaise mixture.) They can be prepared several days ahead of serving.
I know the traditional desserts for Thanksgiving are pumpkin and/or mincemeat pie. Though I like them both (there is no bad dessert), very few of our family members really like either. I am going to make this easy peachy/lemon pie. It was given to me by a neighbor in Pasadena in the early ’60s. It is quick and easy and could be made with a store-bought crust but, of course, a homemade one is better.
Juanita Parmer’s Peachy Lemon Pie
1 unbaked pie shell
1 (16 oz.) can of sliced peaches, drained (I get the kind packed in juice)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon (be sure to use only the thin yellow part of the rind, called the zest)
Place drained peach slices in pie shell. Beat eggs and add remaining ingredients. Pour over peaches. Bake for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees until custard is set. Makes 6-8 servings.
Mary Ann Palmer gave me a recipe (several good ones over the years) for a cranberry salad that is one of the best. It can be made weeks ahead of the serving time (of course, it’s too late for that now) and then brought from the freezer to the fridge about an hour before serving.
Pink Cranberry Freeze
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Beat the above ingredients with a mixer and stir in by hand the following:
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, with juice
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping
Mix gently and pour into a 7-by-11-inch dish or about 10 individual muffin cups or molds. Freeze until very firm. This can also be made in a 7-by-11-inch loaf pan. Makes about 10 servings.