All the Fisher Thanksgiving dinner recipes

Thanksgiving food!

The first thing you need to know about Thanksgiving food is: the frozen is just as good as the real! Believe me! So don’t drive yourself crazy. 

For us, cooking days are happy days, so we’re planning at least a medium-sized feast, whether we have guests this year or not. 

I’ve gathered up all our tried and true Fisher family Thanksgiving dishes. We don’t make everything every year, but this is what’s included in this post:

APPETIZERS:
MULLED CIDER
SPANAKOPITA
CRANBERRY BRIE TARTS

BREADS:
HOBBIT BREAD
MORON BISCUITS
PARKERHOUSE ROLLS
BANANA BREAD
ORANGE CRANBERRY BREAD

VEGETABLES:
SWEET POTATOES WITH NUTS AND CHEESE
GLAZED HASSELBACK SQUASH
ROAST VEG WITH BACON
GARLIC PARMESAN MASHED POTATOES

THE TURKEY:
TEQUILA TURKEY WITH GIBLET GRAVY
OYSTER SAUSAGE STUFFING
(I also make a pan of normal stuffing with onions, celery, and mushrooms, per the directions on the package.)

DESSERT:
PIE CITY (apple, pecan, pumpkin) with ice cream or whipped cream

I didn’t include a recipe for cranberry sauce because there is no way to improve on opening a can, sliding a butter knife around in there, and letting it schlorpp out onto a plate. (One year I made Susan Stamberg’s bright pink cranberry relish, and my family has mercifully forgotten it, but I haven’t.)

***

MULLED CIDER, with or without wine

I always start Thanksgiving day by starting the cider, to give it plenty of time to mull and to get the house smelling great asap. It’s very handy to have a slow cooker or two, so you can keep the stove top free. When we have lots of guests, I set up the slow cookers (one with wine, one without) in the dining room or living room for convenience.

Slow cooker mulled cider

You can easily make this on the stovetop. Bring the ingredients to a boil and then turn it down to simmer for half an hour; then keep it warm for several hours.

You can also add whole cloves and star anise, but you will want to contain them in a knot of cheesecloth or a tea ball.

Ingredients

  • 1 gallon apple cider
  • 1 orange, sliced
  • 2-3 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 hunk fresh ginger, peeled
  • 1 cup red wine

Instructions

  1. Put all ingredients into slow cooker. Cook on low for at least four hours before serving.

APPETIZERS:

SPANAKOPITA

You can make these the night before and pop them in the oven ten minutes before guests arrive to have them warm and ready to serve.

Spanakopita triangles

Ingredients

  • 1 lbs spinach
  • 1 stick butter, plus 1 Tbsp for sautéing spinach
  • 1-1/2 to 2 cups crumbled feta
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 roll phyllo dough, thawed

Instructions

To make the filling:

  1. In a big pan, melt the 1 Tbsp butter and sauté the spinach until it's soft. It will be a giant heap of greens at first, but it cooks way down and will fit in the pan when you're done!

  2. Let the spinach cool and then squeeze out as much water as you can.

  3. In a bowl, mix together the cooked spinach with the salt, pepper and nutmeg, and stir in the feta until it's combined. Set aside.

  4. Preheat the oven to 375

  5. Melt the stick of butter and set it aside. You'll need it handy for assembling the triangles.

  6. Unroll the phyllo dough and cover it with a slightly damp cloth to keep it from getting brittle. Take what you need and keep the rest of the stack covered.

To assemble the triangles:

  1. Carefully lay a phyllo dough square on your workspace, long side horizontal. Brush it with melted butter. Lay another sheet on top of it and brush that with butter.

  2. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into three strips.

  3. Put a scoop of spinach mixture at the bottom of each strip. Then fold that section of dough up diagonally, enclosing the spinach, so it forms a triangle. Continue folding up to make triangles, like you'd fold a flag, until you reach the top of the dough. If you're having trouble figuring out how to fold it, here is a helpful video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVwA3i_tmKc&t=2s

  4. If there's a bit of leftover dough on the triangle, fold it under. Lay the finished triangle on a baking sheet, seam side down. Brush with butter again.

  5. Continue until the phyllo dough is gone. I made 18 pockets, two sheets thick, with one roll of phyllo dough, but you can change the proportions and make lots of smaller triangles if you like.

  6. Bake about 25 minutes until golden brown. Let them sit in the pan for a moment before removing. Serve hot or cold.

CRANBERRY BRIE TARTS

So cheery and tasty. Also fine to make ahead and then throw in the oven just before the guests arrive. 

Cranberry brie tarts

This recipe looks complicated, but you can simplify or alter it however you like. Basically you want some kind of pastry, brie, cranberries with sugar, and honey, and an herb on top. A delicious and beautiful little appetizer, great for Thanksgiving or Christmas parties.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 roll phyllo dough
  • 6-8 oz brie
  • small bunch fresh sage or thyme, coarsely chopped

cranberries:

  • 2 cups fresh cranberries
  • cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • dash salt
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter for cranberries

honey mixture:

  • 2 Tbsp butter for honey mixture
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425

  2. In a little pot, combine the honey, the butter, and the extract. Heat through and set aside.

  3. In a bowl, mix the cranberries with melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of salt. Set aside.

  4. Cut brie into 24 equal pieces and set aside.

  5. Prepare a 24-hole mini cupcake pan with butter or spray. You can also use a full-size cupcake pan, but the tarts will be a little unwieldy and won't hold together as well.

  6. Unroll the phyllo dough and cut it into twelve equal stacks. Cover the dough with a damp cloth while you're working so the dough doesn't get brittle.

  7. Pull out one stack of phyllo dough squares and use half the squares to line a cupcake tin, fanning them out to make a little cup. Make sure the bottom of the tin has several layers of dough, so it won't fall apart when you take it out of the pan.

  8. When you have arranged all the pastry cups, drizzle them with half the honey-butter mixture.

  9. Lay a piece of brie in the bottom of each cup, then put a scoop of sugared cranberries on top of that. Drizzle with the rest of the honey-butter mixture.

  10. Bake for 15 minutes or so until the pastry is just golden brown.

  11. Top each cup with a bit of chopped herbs.

  12. Let the tarts sit in the pan for five minutes before serving. Serve hot.

SWEET POTATOES WITH NUTS AND CHEESE

Don’t tell anyone I said this, but you can bake the potatoes ahead of time, and then slice them open, mash in the toppings, and reheat them in the microwave before dinner. This is a fancy dish that requires very little skill, and can be prepped ahead of time. Terrible picture, tasty taters. 

Sweet potatoes with nuts and cheese

Ingredients

  • medium sweet potato
  • soft, pungent cheese such as gorgonzola or blue cheese
  • chopped walnuts or pecans
  • chopped dates (optional)
  • parsley

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400. Poke each sweet potato with a fork several times.

  2. Bake the potatoes until soft, about 45 minutes.

  3. Mix together your cheese, nuts, and dates if you're using them.

  4. Let the potatoes cool for several minutes, then slice each one open, not quite to the ends. Add a scoop of nut and cheese mixture to each one and lightly mash in into the potato.

  5. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and garnish with parsley.

GARLIC PARMESAN MASHED POTATOES

Mashed potatoes elevated. 

Garlic parmesan mashed potatoes

Ingredients

  • 5-6 lbs potatoes
  • 8-10 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 8 Tbsp butter
  • 1-1/2 cups milk
  • 8 oz grated parmesan
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Peel the potatoes and put them in a pot. Cover the with water. Add a bit of salt and the smashed garlic cloves.

  2. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer with lid loosely on until the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.

  3. Drain the water out of the pot. Add the butter and milk and mash well.

  4. Add the parmesan and salt and pepper to taste and stir until combined.

HOBBIT BREAD

The official recipe, including the bread part, is from An Unexpected Cookbook: The Unofficial Book of Hobbit Cookery. We often use store-bought dough to speed things up, but the original recipe calls for a sweet dough with basil, rosemary, and garlic baked in. 

I didn’t make up a recipe card because I’m a little vague on the details, but I’ve seen Clara make it often enough. Essentially you cook up a big mess of diced onions and garlic, rosemary, and basil in butter with salt and pepper, and add a big mess of sliced mushrooms and continue cooking, then let the mixture cool.

You take your dough and roll it into a large rectangle, and mentally divide it into three long rectangles. The middle third is where you sprinkle some shredded mozzarella, then the mushrooms and onions mixture, and then more cheese. Make diagonal cuts along the other two thirds, so you come up with a fringed effect. Take these fringes and tug them over the stuffed center and braid them and pinch the dough into place so it makes a pretty loaf. Let the  loaf rise for an hour on a buttered pan. Brush with an egg wash and then bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. If it’s browning too quickly, you can wrap it in tinfoil. 

MORON BISCUITS

This is the first 100% reliable biscuit recipe I have ever found. 

moron biscuits

Because I've been trying all my life to make nice biscuits and I was too much of a moron, until I discovered this recipe. It has egg and cream of tartar, which is weird, but they come out great every time. Flaky little crust, lovely, lofty insides, rich, buttery taste.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups flour
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 8 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, chilled
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450.

  2. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cream of tartar.

  3. Grate the chilled butter with a box grater into the dry ingredients.

  4. Stir in the milk and egg and mix until just combined. Don't overwork it. It's fine to see little bits of butter.

  5. On a floured surface, knead the dough 10-15 times. If it's very sticky, add a little flour.

  6. With your hands, press the dough out until it's about an inch thick. Cut biscuits. Depending on the size, you can probably get 20 medium-sized biscuits with this recipe.

  7. Grease a pan and bake for 10-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

FANNY FARMER’S PARKER HOUSE ROLLS

Parker House rolls are actually supposed to be made by folding a wedge over on itself and baking it that way, but I like these cute little mushroom rolls made in muffin tins. Sorry about the terrible picture. They’re light and airy and a little sweet. 

Fannie Farmer's Parkerhouse Rolls

Good old Fannie Farmer. You can form the dough in many different ways. My favorite is to butter a muffin tin and drop three golf ball-sized dough balls into each hole. This makes cheery, pull-apart rolls.

Remember, with yeast, it's better to err on the side of water that's too cold, rather than too hot. It will take longer to proof, but you won't kill the yeast.

Ingredients

  • 1 envelope yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 3-1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle the yeast over the water in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve and let stand five minutes or longer, until it's slightly foamy.

  2. In a small saucepan, heat milk until just warm.

  3. In a large bowl, combine the shortening, sugar, and salt. Add warm milk to the mix and whisk to blend until shortening is in small pieces.

  4. Whisk in the yeast mixture and the egg.

  5. Add flour and stir until dough forms.

  6. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 4-5 minutes until smooth.

  7. Oil a bowl and put the dough in it. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let stand in a warm spot for about 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

  8. Preheat oven to 350.

  9. Punch down the dough and cut it into 36 pieces. Roll them into balls. Butter a muffin tin and drop three balls into each hole. Brush dough with melted butter.

  10. Loosely cover with plastic wrap again and chill for 30 minutes. You may chill them up to six hours.

  11. Bake 25 minutes or so, until they are puffed and golden brown.

  12. Brush with butter again and sprinkle with sea salt if you like.

ROAST BALSAMIC VEGETABLES, WITH OR WITHOUT BACON 

You do not strictly need to add bacon to this dish! But you should. Use any combination of vegetables you like.

Honey Balsamic Roast Vegetables (With Bacon)

You can skip the bacon and still have a very flavorful and colorful side dish that's so easy, and can be prepped ahead of time. Use whatever combination of vegetables you like.

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 2 lbs brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
  • 3 lbs red potatoes, skin on, cut into cubes
  • 1 lb baby cut carrots or carrots cut into thick discs
  • (you can also include broccoli, but add it 20 minutes before cooking is done, as it cooks faster than the other veg)
  • 2 lbs bacon, cut into one-inch pieces

the sauce:

  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp honey
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 head garlic, crushed
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • optional: chili powder or red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400. Grease two large oven sheets. 

  2. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

  3. Mix vegetables and bacon together, spread evenly in pans, and pour sauce all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with hot pepper flakes or chili powder if you like.

  4. Cook, stirring up once or twice, until bacon is cooked through and vegetables are slightly charred, about 20 minutes. Finish with broiler if necessary.

Note: To cut a butternut squash into cubes, cut the ends off, poke it with a fork several times, and microwave it for three minutes. When it’s cool enough to handle, it should be soft enough to peel, scoop, and cut without killing yourself. 

TEQUILA ROAST TURKEY

We have tried ever so many methods for cooking turkeys. We mainly want moist, flavorful meat, a crisp skin, and a turkey that is still turkey-shaped, so we can stuff it. We have not found that the hassle of brining a turkey pays off in any discernible way, and this method works and is fairly brainless. If we have a big crowd, we will make two medium-sized turkeys rather than one huge one.

Easy tequila roast turkey

Ingredients

  • 1 big old turkey
  • tequila
  • salted butter
  • salt and pepper
  • garlic powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350. In a pot on the stove, melt the butter and add the tequila. You will need at least a pound of butter and a cup and a half of tequila, and you can add to it as needed.

  2. Remember to take out any giblets or whatnot inside! Rinse the bird and pat it dry. Stuff it.

  3. Season it heavily with salt, pepper, and garlic powder all over. Put it on a rack in a pan, breast up.

  4. Put the turkey in the oven. Baste it every 30 minutes with the melted butter and tequila. Plan to cook it 20 minutes per pound, and plan to let it rest at least 20 minutes before carving.

SAUSAGE OYSTER STUFFING

This is probably my favorite part of Thanksgiving. I could skip the turkey and just have the stuffing. It’s stupidly rich and has enough sodium to fell a strong man.

Sausage oyster stuffing for turkey

Ingredients

  • 1 lb mild sausage, loose or squeezed out of casings
  • 1 lb hot sausage, as above
  • 16 oz unseasoned stuffing, preferably crumb-style
  • 16 oz whole canned oysters, drained (save the liquid)
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups celery, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1-2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup melted butter

Instructions

  1. If you're cooking the stuffing separately, preheat the oven to 325 and butter a casserole dish.

  2. In a pan, brown the sausage, breaking it into small pieces, until fully cooked. Drain the sausage and put it in a large bowl.

  3. Add the stuffing, drained oysters, celery, beaten eggs, and onion, and mix until thoroughly combined. Mix in the croutons, oysters, celery, eggs, and onion until thoroughly combined.

  4. In a bowl, mix together the reserved oyster liquid, chicken broth, and melted butter to make about two cups and pour over the dry ingredients, and carefully stir until combined.

  5. If you're stuffing a bird, carefully spoon the stuffing into the cavity and proceed with cooking the bird. If you're cooking the stuffing separately, dump it into a buttered dish and cook for about 25 minutes until brown on top.

GLAZED HASSELBACK BUTTERNUT SQUASH

A hassle indeed, but very festive and flavorful. A little spicy, nice with cranberry sauce. If you hate basting, skip this one. You can make it ahead of time and then heat it up with the meal. 

Glazed hasselback butternut squash

A bit of a pain in the neck, but very pretty, and impressive enough for a main dish if you're hosting a vegetarian. You can cook it early in the day and keep it at room temperature, and reheat when you're ready to serve it.

Ingredients

  • 1 large butternut squash
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • kosher salt, pepper
  • 1 fresno chili or a few jalapeños, seeded and sliced in thin rings
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 8 bay leaves, dry or fresh

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425.

  2. Prepare the squash. To make it easier to cut and peel, pierce all over with a fork and then microwave for three minutes. Let it cool a bit and the cut it in half lengthwise, peel it with a paring knife or vegetable peeler and scoop the seeds out.

  3. Rub the squash all over with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast it in a baking dish until it's slightly soft, about 15 minutes.

  4. While it is cooking, make the glaze: simmer the maple syrup, butter, vinegar, and chili or jalapeno in a small pot until it's slightly thickened, about ten minutes. Turn the heat down and keep it warm.

  5. ove the squash to a cutting board, flip it over (scooped side down) and let it cool a bit. Score it side to side, cutting as deep as you can without breaking through. Carefully put it back into the baking dish and tuck bay leaves into the cuts, and season with salt and pepper.

  6. Cook it again, basting with the glaze very ten minutes until it has a dark, shiny coat, about an hour.

  7. Top with the peppers from the glaze and serve hot.

GIBLET GRAVY

Nuttin’ fancy, just a reliable, rich gravy, made without milk or cream. I made the giblet broth first thing in the morning and keep it simmering until I’m ready to make the gravy. 

Turkey giblet gravy

You can make this ahead of time, but be prepared to thin it with broth when you're ready to serve it.

Ingredients

  • neck and other giblets from inside the turkey; keep liver separate
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 stalk of celery in large pieces
  • 1 carrot, peeled and cut in large pieces
  • butter
  • flour
  • salt and pepper
  • pan drippings and scrapings from roast turkey

Instructions

  1. Fill a large pot with a few quarts of water and set the neck and other giblets (not liver), the halved onion, celery, and carrot to simmering. Let it simmer several hours to make broth. I start this in the morning, before the turkey goes in the oven.

  2. Fry up the diced onion and turkey liver in a little oil or butter. Chop it into little bits. It should be crisp. Set aside.

  3. When you're ready to make the gravy, in a heavy pot, melt plenty of butter, and add flour a little at a time, stirring to make a medium-thick paste. Add salt and pepper. Add the giblet broth a little at a time, stirring constantly over a low heat, until it's as thin as you like it. Keep this at a very low heat until it's time to carve the turkey.

  4. Add in the liver and onion bits, and after the turkey is removed from the pan, scrape the bottom of the pan for the wonderful savory gristle, rich little burned bits, and some of the turkey fat. Stir briskly to combine.

  5. Add more broth if it's too thick.

BANANA NUT BREAD

Old reliable. A nice knobbly surface and a moist, rich interior. You can make loaves or muffins. If you have bananas getting too brown, put them in the freezer whole, and when they are thawed, they will be nice and soft and ready to mash. 

Banana muffins (or bread)

Makes two loaves or 24 muffins. Quick, easy, and pleasant. 

Ingredients

  • 6-7 medium ripe bananas
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1.5 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1.5 cups chopped nuts (optional)
  • 2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter loaf pans or muffin tins, or use cupcake papers.

  2. Mash the bananas in a bowl. Beat the eggs and blend the into the bananas. 

  3. In another bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Add the dry mixture to the banana mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in nuts if desired. 

  4. Pour batter into pans or tins. Bake about 28 minutes for muffins, about 1 hour for loaves. 

CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD 

Cheery and pleasanty sweet and tangy. Make loaves or muffins. 

 

Cranberry muffins or bread

A pretty, sweet loaf or 12 muffins.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 stick butter, chilled and grated into shreds
  • zest of one orange
  • juice of two oranges
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup cranberries, chopped
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare muffin tins; butter and flour loaf pan.

  2. In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients and lightly incorporate the shredded butter.

  3. In another bowl, mix together the egg, orange juice, and orange zest.

  4. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are incorporated. Lightly mix in the cranberries and walnuts. Pour batter into tins or loaf pan.

  5. Bake muffins for about half an hour, loaf for an hour or more.

PIES!

PECAN PIE

I’m not a huge pecan pie fan. It’s usually far too sweet for me. This recipe is a little toned down, and is more creamy, less screamy. 

Salted bourbon pecan pie filling

This pecan pie is somewhat more mellow and less screamingly sweet than some. A one-crust pie, but it's nice if you have some extra pie dough to make leaf or other shapes to arrange over the top.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 Tbsp bourbon
  • 1-2 cups raw pecans (whole)
  • sea salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350.

  2. In a standing mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until well combined.

  3. Add eggs one at a time until well combined. Then add the maple syrup, salt, vanilla, and bourbon. Continue mixing until well combined.

  4. Add half of the pecans and stir in with a fork. Pour the filling into an unbaked pie shell.

  5. Carefully arrange the rest of the pecans over the top of the filling.

  6. Bake pie for 45-55 minutes. Center will still be slightly jiggly when it comes out of the oven, but it will firm up.

  7. Cool completely. Sprinkle with sea salt before serving.

APPLE PIE

I don’t really have a recipe for apple pie, except I recommend using a combination of various kinds of apples, and then coating them with sugar, flour, cinnamon, and a little nutmeg before pouring in into the bottom crust, and then dotting it with blobs of butter before you put the top crust on. Don’t forget to cut vents into your crust! 

PIE CRUST

This is the crust I use for every pie except pumpkin pie. For pumpkin pie, I use store bought graham cracker crust because it tastes exactly the same as homemade. I use canned pumpkin, too. You can process your own pureed pumpkin with whole pumpkins, but it’s a lot of work and smells like ass, so don’t do that. 

It honestly took me about 25 years before I was able to make a reliable pie crust, so if pies make you cry, just buy store bought crust. It’s just pie; it’s fine. 

You can also brush the top crust with egg white and sprinkle it with sugar to make shiny and pretty. Use less sugar for the filling if you’re going to add sugar to the crust.

A pie crust tip: If your pie crust is too crumbly, it may be too cold, rather than too dry. Rather than adding more water, let it sit for a half an hour and then try handling it again. 

Basic pie crust

Ingredients

  • 2-1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1-1/2 sticks butter, FROZEN
  • 1/4 cup water, with an ice cube

Instructions

  1. Freeze the butter for at least 20 minutes, then shred it on a box grater. Set aside.

  2. Put the water in a cup and throw an ice cube in it. Set aside.

  3. In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Then add the shredded butter and combine with a butter knife or your fingers until there are no piles of loose, dry flour. Try not to work it too hard. It's fine if there are still visible nuggets of butter.

  4. Sprinkle the dough ball with a little iced water at a time until the dough starts to become pliable but not sticky. Use the water to incorporate any remaining dry flour.

  5. If you're ready to roll out the dough, flour a surface, place the dough in the middle, flour a rolling pin, and roll it out from the center.

  6. If you're going to use it later, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. You can keep it in the fridge for several days or in the freezer for several months, if you wrap it with enough layers. Let it return to room temperature before attempting to roll it out!

  7. If the crust is too crumbly, you can add extra water, but make sure it's at room temp. Sometimes perfect dough is crumbly just because it's too cold, so give it time to warm up.

  8. You can easily patch cracked dough by rolling out a patch and attaching it to the cracked part with a little water. Pinch it together.

And that’s it! I think that’s it! Did I forget anything? Tell me if I forgot anything. 

 

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11 thoughts on “All the Fisher Thanksgiving dinner recipes”

  1. I don’t live in the US, so I won’t feel compelled to wait until Thanksgiving to try some of these recipes!

    May I suggest you try making your pie crust in the food processor? My recipe has a little less butter, but it’s similar:
    Combine 200 gr flour and 100 gr cold butter in cubes in the food processor, pulse a few times until it looks like fine crumbs and then add 60 ml* of water in a slow stream. You will quickly have a ball of dough that would rather have a little rest in the fridge (but I usually stretch it first in the pie tin and then pop it in the fridge. You can even stretch it inside the pie tin with your knuckles.

    You could add an egg and some sugar for a sweet pie

    *I find when the flour has a lot of protein (say, 10 g for every 100g) I need about 80 ml.

    Sorry about the metric measurements! I’m good going from imperial to metric but not the other way around…

  2. This is my mom’s cranberry conserve and I love it so much!!!
    Thanks for your recipes, too!!

    INGREDIENTS:

    2 Cups Canned crushed pineapple drained (save the liquid)

    2 Cups Liquid (use the juice from pineapple and add enough water to make 2 Cups)

    2 Cups Granulated Sugar

    1 Pound (4 Cups) fresh cranberries (washed)

    ½ Cup currants (these are like small raisins)

    2 Navel Oranges: Wash well, dry, use a fine grater on both oranges and save their zest. Then peel/cut off the thick skin and remove all white pith. With Navel oranges there are tough areas on 1 end. Remove those areas. Slice the orange into rings, remove the center pith. Cut the rings into small chunks.

    ½ Cup of sliced almonds

    INSTRUCTIONS:

    Prepare 5 (one pint -16 ounce) canning jars or if using ½ pint you will need 10 of those. I washed the jars and then placed them in a large canning pot, covered them with water and brought the water to a boil. I place the lids and bands in a smaller pot and do the same thing. Once the jars and tops have boiled for 5 minutes, I shut them off and let them sit in the hot water.

    In an 8 qt pot

    Combine sugar and liquid. Cook over low heat and stir until sugar is completely dissolved.

    Add the cranberries, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. The berries will start popping open.

    Add 1 tsp butter to keep sugar and berries from foaming over.

    Add the pineapples, oranges, currants and cook for another 7 minutes.

    Add the nuts and zest. Mix well.

    Drain the jars upside down and lids on a kitchen towel. Bring the canning pot water to a boil.

    Fill each jar, be sure that the edge of the jar is clean, and then put on lids/bands.

    Do not overtighten

    Place the jars in the hot water bath and process (keep jars be in the boiling water) for 10-15 Minutes

    Carefully remove with canning tongs, place the jars upright on the kitchen towel to cool.

    You will hear the lids ‘pop’ as the jars seal. You can check that they are properly ‘canned’ if the center of the lid does not ‘spring’ when you press on it.

    Best color and texture if the conserve is enjoyed within 6 weeks

  3. Not sure we’re even having any guests this year 🙁 but how about a tofurkey recipe? I normally have at least one vegetarian guest over the holidays and sometimes I have many more. My go to entree for them has historically been either an appropriately shaped (via cookie cutter) bean burger or whatever obscenely overpriced ready made tofurkey product WholeFoods is hawking, but I’d love a good tofurkey recipe that I could make my own.

    1. I don’t know nothin’ about no tofurkey. I remember Bob and Ray used to do a bit where someone from the Oatmeal Council tried to promote the practice of serving oatmeal in the shape of a turkey, but they didn’t include a recipe.

  4. Yum! Thank you for your service! It looks like you may have left eggs out of the list of ingredients for the biscuits?

  5. About every 3 years, I read Cranberry Thanksgiving with my children and they excitedly help me make the “famous cranberry bread” recipe in the back. And about every 3 years, everyone but me refuses to actually eat it. Sigh.

      1. I love it all too! I also made cranberry white chocolate chip cookies which have proved more popular, though more than one family member expressed hopefully that maybe next time I could leave out the cranberries.

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