Thanksgiving at the Coast: Recipes for a Southern feast

Enjoy this final installment of fabulous Thanksgiving recipies that have inpsired our Southern coastal feast. Happy Thanksgiving to all!  

Chestnut & Oyster Stuffing

1 (12-ounce) loaf French bread

4 tablespoons butter
2 onions, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 pint shucked oysters, drained
1 (7- to 8-ounce) container whole roasted chestnuts, chopped
2 cups turkey or chicken broth
Garnish: fresh parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 350°. Slice bread into 1/2-inch slices; cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Spread on a baking sheet, and bake 15 minutes or until lightly toasted. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until tender. Add sherry and next 5 ingredients. Cook 5 minutes or until sherry is almost evaporated. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in parsley and next 3 ingredients, tossing until well-blended. Transfer mixture to a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. (May be covered and refrigerated overnight. Let come to room temperature before baking.) Bake stuffing 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Garnish, if desired.

Julia Dowling Rutland, Coastal Living

NOVEMBER 2012

Sweet Potato Cups

6 small sweet potatoes (about 2 3/4 lb.)

4 large navel oranges

1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons orange zest

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup miniature marshmallows
Preheat oven to 425º. Place sweet potatoes on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender. Let stand 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350º. Meanwhile, cut oranges in half crosswise. Scoop out pulp using a spoon, leaving peel intact. Reserve orange pulp for another use. Peel sweet potatoes, and place potato pulp in a large bowl. Add sweetened condensed milk and next 8 ingredients. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth, stopping occasionally to remove any tough fibers, if necessary. Spoon about 1/2 cup mixture into each orange cup. Place orange cups in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and top with pecans and then with marshmallows, pressing lightly to adhere. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until marshmallows are melted and golden brown. Note: Orange cups and sweet potatoes can be made 1 day ahead. Chill scooped orange cups and baked sweet potatoes in separate zip-top plastic bags until ready to assemble.


Elizabeth Heiskell, Cleveland, Tennessee, Southern Living

NOVEMBER 2008


Oven-Roasted Asparagus
3 pounds fresh asparagus
2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted


Snap off and discard tough ends of asparagus; place asparagus on a lightly greased baking sheet. Drizzle evenly with olive oil; sprinkle evenly with garlic, salt, and pepper. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or to desired degree of tenderness. Transfer asparagus to a serving dish; sprinkle with almonds.


Melanie Reid, Pensacola, Florida, Southern Living
MARCH 2005



Roast Turkey with Sage and Thyme
(14-pound) frozen whole turkey, thawed*
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened and divided

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
fresh thyme sprigs
1 pear or apple, halved
2 celery ribs, halved
1 large onion, halved
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Garnishes: flat-leaf parsley, pecans, Seckel pears, muscadines, fresh sage leaves, fresh thyme sprigs


Remove giblets and neck from turkey; discard. Rinse turkey with cold water; pat dry. Loosen skin from turkey breast without totally detaching skin. Stir together 2 tablespoons butter, salt, and pepper. Rub butter mixture evenly over turkey breast under skin. Carefully place sage leaves and thyme sprigs evenly on each side of breast under skin. Replace skin. Place pear halves, celery ribs, onion halves, and garlic cloves inside cavity. Place turkey, breast side up, on a lightly greased wire rack in an aluminum foil-lined shallow roasting pan. Rub entire turkey evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Bake at 325° for 2 hours and 45 minutes to 3 hours and 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thigh registers 180°, basting turkey every 30 minutes with pan drippings. (Prevent overcooking turkey by checking for doneness after 2 hours.) Remove turkey from roasting pan, and let stand 20 minutes before slicing. Garnish, if desired. *1 (14-pound) whole fresh turkey may be substituted.


Southern Living
NOVEMBER 2004


Key Lime Pie

3 large egg yolks

1/2 cup Key lime juice
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 (9-inch) graham cracker crust
Garnishes: whipped cream, lime slices

Whisk egg yolks until blended; whisk in Key lime juice. Add condensed milk, vanilla, and salt, whisking until blended. Pour mixture into crust. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Remove from oven; cool completely on a wire rack. Chill until ready to serve. Garnish, if desired. Note: For pies with more filling, triple the filling ingredients, and divide evenly between 2 graham cracker crusts.

Stephen Kizlik, Delray Beach, Florida, Southern Living

NOVEMBER 2004



Pecan Squares
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons whipping cream

3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Sift together 2 cups flour and 2/3 cup powdered sugar. Cut in 3/4 cup softened butter using a pastry blender or fork just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture on bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool.Bring brown sugar, honey, 2/3 cup butter, and whipping cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in pecans, and pour hot filling into prepared crust. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Cool completely before cutting into 2-inch squares.

Judy Russell, Birmingham, Alabama, Southern Living
NOVEMBER 2004

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