Thanksgiving is a time for family, good food and traditions. But a traditional Thanksgiving dinner can be a bit formulaic: the turkey’s delicious, Mom makes the mashed potatoes and nobody knows what’s in Uncle Rob’s casserole. It helps to spice the dinner up with some new recipes, so from my family cookbook to yours, here are some of our favorites.

Carrots with Ginger:

Ingredients:

2 pounds carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

Place carrots, orange juice, butter, sugar and ginger in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Bring to boil; cover and cook 3 minutes. Uncover and simmer until liquid glazes carrots, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

From “Bon Appetit,” November 1999

Craig Claiborne’s Fruited Conserve:

Now I know this one seems a bit weird at first glance, but take it from a rather picky fifteen-year-old: it’s just plain old good. 

Ingredients:

4 cups cranberries
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups seedless raisins
1 cup shredded pineapple (crushed)
1 cup pecans
1 whole orange with rind grated and pulp minced
4oz. Brandy

Preparation:

Cover cranberries with water and cook until berries pop. Add other ingredients, except brandy, and cook until thick. Pour brandy over the conserve and serve warm or room temperature.

Sweet Potato Soufflé:

I don’t like sweet potatoes but I love this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes
1/2 c sugar (I use about 1/3 cup)
1/2 t salt
1/3 stick butter or margarine, melted
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 c flour
1/2 c nuts (I used pecans)
2 T butter or margarine

Preparation:

Peel and chop sweet potatoes. Place in a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Cook until tender. Meanwhile, grease a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. When potatoes are cooked, drain and mash.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine potatoes with sugar, salt, melted butter, eggs, milk and vanilla. Transfer to a prepared baking dish. In a small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour and nuts; cut in butter. Sprinkle over soufflé. Bake for 25 minutes.

From “No Jacket Required Neiman Marcus,” c 1995

Connie’s Baked Apples:

This was my grandmother’s handwritten recipe, and it’s tried and true in our family. This one is good for families of any size, as you can use as many apples as you like, or as few.

Ingredients:

Apples, preferably Stayman, Macintosh, or York. Delicious apples are better for salads and hand eating but can be baked.
Granulated sugar
Cinnamon
Optional: Raisins and unsalted butter

Preparation:

First, wash the apples. Then remove about one inch of skin around the top. Next, carefully remove the stem and core with a paring knife, and make sure all the core is out. Then stand up in a baking dish (Not you, the apples!) and pour about one inch of hot water around them. Put about one teaspoon of sugar in each apple and sprinkle with cinnamon in the cavity. Optional: add a few raisin and a dab of butter. Finally, Bake at 350 or 375 degrees for a half hour to about forty-five minutes. Be sure to turn the apples over (carefully) halfway through.

The Ultimate Pumpkin Pie

This one is unusual because I don’t actually think we’ve made it! The recipe is from a newspaper clipping in one of my Grandparent’s recipe binders, I came across it while looking for cookie recipes, and have every intention of trying it for myself this holiday season.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups pureed cooked or canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ cup sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
3 eggs, separated
½ cups milk cup
½ cup heavy or whipping cream
1 10-inch pie shell
Sweetened whipped cream

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine pumpkin, butter, sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, egg yolks, milk and cream. Thoroughly mix. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold them into the pie mixture. Pour mixture into pie shell, and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.  According to Greene, the following recipe for pumpkin rolls appeared in a Methodist Church bulletin.

There is no indication as to who Greene is, but we thank the Methodist Church bulletin creator for including it.