We asked the question this year, what dishes can you not live without on Thanksgiving?
Once a year, we indulge in a lavish spread featuring roast turkey, jellied cranberries, and marshmallow-adorned sweet potato casserole—culinary delights that are inseparable from the essence of Thanksgiving, earning them the revered title of Thanksgiving classics.
Planning and executing a grand feast is no small feat, especially when considering the time-consuming task of searching the internet for the ideal Thanksgiving recipes. That’s where we step in.
While we can’t personally roast your turkey, we’ve asked the Rio Linda Online readers to lend us their family favorites while we take on the responsibility of curating everything essential to help you compose the ultimate traditional Rio Linda Thanksgiving dinner menu.
Karrie Anderson’s Stuffing from Scratch
According to Karrie, this is the beginning of a real labor of love.
- Freshly baked white, rye, sourdough, wheat, and beer bread. Chunked and drizzled with olive oil and then tossed with poultry seasoning and sage and salt.
- Put on sheet pans and dry most of the day in a warm oven til hard and crispy.
- Sauté 4 onions and a package of celery (thinly sliced and chopped) in 3 cubes of butter.
- Mix in with croutons
- Add a bit of chicken stock to present a semi-dry texture (not too wet as it will absorb Turkey juices) and stuff the brined bird the night before.
- Bake as directed for a stuffed bird. Delicious. Can be made the same with cornbread stuffing. Shorter process and less broth.
Grannie’s Cranberry Refrigerator Dessert from Jaime Scobee
Jaime says that this recipe is from her granny’s cookbook, and that she made this every year for as long as she can remember.
- 2 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 lg. banana
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cup vanilla wafers
- 6 tbsp. butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1 cup whipping cream
- Grind cranberries with banana, diced. Add 1/2 cup sugar, and set aside.
- Combine 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs and 6 tablespoons melted butter.
- Press half of the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 9 x 2-inch pan.
- Cream 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar until light.
- Add 2 eggs and beat until fluffy.
- Fold in 1/2 cup of nuts, and spread over the crumb layer.
- Top with cranberry mixture.
- Whip 1 cup of cream. Spread over all.
- Sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Chill 6 hours.
Karrie Anderson’s Cranberry Sauce from Scratch
1 c sugar
3/4 c water
1/4 c brandy
Dash of cinnamon
Dash of apple pie spice
Stir and bring to a boil. While popping begins, lower to simmer for 10-12 min until slightly thickened. Mash berries slightly to the side of the saucepan to express juices. Pour into glass container cover and cool to serve.
Koert Spears’ Broccoli Cassarole
- 2 packages of chopped broccoli (or 3-4 fresh heads)
- 1 Cup Mayonnaise
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 2 eggs (beaten)
Step 1: Cook broccoli per package instructions
Step 2: Combine all ingredients into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes
TIP: Due to cooking variances, it is not recommended to double the recipe, simply make two separate batches in separate dishes.
Koert Spears’ Grammie’s Sweet Potatoes
- 2 cans sweet potatoes
- 2-3 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 bag of marshmallows (regular size or mini)
Step 1: Drain sweet potatoes, leaving a little liquid
Step 2: Mash your sweet potatoes
Step 3: Mix brown sugar with melted butter, then mix into mashed sweet potatoes
Step 4: Put sweet potato mixture into baking dish and bake at 350° for 30 minutes
Step 5: Remove from oven, top with marshmallows and return to oven under broiler until marshmallows are toasted
PD Collins’ Sausage Stuffing
- Bag of seasoned croutons
- A pound of pork breakfast sausage (cooked)
- Onions
- Celery
- (Optional mushrooms)
- Chicken broth
- Sage
- Salt
- Pepper
Mix and bake for 45 minutes @325 in a casserole dish. Easy Peasy!
Troy Golden’s Pumpkin Layered Cheesecake
CRUST
- 2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 40 cookies)
- ¼ CUP butter or margarine, melted
FILLING
- 4 packages (8 ounce each) cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Grease 9 inch springform pan with shortening or cooking spray. Wrap foil around pan to catch drips. In small bowl, mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press crumb mixture in bottom and 1 inch up side of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 5 minutes.
2. In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed just until smooth and creamy, do not overbeat. On low speed, gradually beat in sugar. On low speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Spoon 3 cups of the cream cheese mixture into pan, spread evenly.
3. Stir pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg into remaining cream cheese mixture, mix with wire whisk until smooth. Spoon over mixture in pan.
4. Bake 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until edges are set but center of cheesecake still jiggles slightly when moved.
5. Turn oven off, open oven door at least 4 inches. Leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven, place on cooling rack. Without releasing side of pan, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake. Cool in pan on cooling rack 30 minutes. Cover loosely, refrigerate at least 6 hours but no longer then 24 hours.
6. Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake again, carefully remove side of pan. Place cheesecake on serving plate. Store cheesecake covered in refrigerator.
