Nancey Silvers Family Thanksgiving Recipes from My Mother and Her Mother, Namaw

NAMAW'S COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

(as best I remember)

TUESDAY: PICK UP TURKEY

HINT: If you pick up turkey on Tuesday afternoon and refrigerate, (it will be in your house, not at the store) when you begin cooking on Wednesday. Although you cannot cook the turkey until Thanksgiving Day, I recommend preparing the day before for two reasons. You will be rested when the family arrives on Thursday and the various dishes almost always taste better the second day.

WEDNESDAY (PREPARATION DAY)

Remove turkey from sack, wash with cool water, then half two lemons and rub lemons inside and outside the turkey. The lemons are not our family tradition, it is the suggestion.

Before placing clean turkey back in refrigerator :

• Place one stick of butter inside breast cavity

• Rub butter mixture inside and outside turkey

BUTTER MIXTURE

• Two sticks butter in small sauce pan

• Generous amount of salt and pepper

• Add to butter: 1/8 teaspoon mixture: (I say 1/8th because I have to say something. Truth is, it's a dash of this and a sprinkle of that).

• Warm and mix butter and spices together in pan, don't burn. If you burn, start again.

• Rub breast, legs, wings, turn over, rub, then turn once more, breast up.

1/8 or less:

• Oregano

• Tarragon

• All Italian Spices

• Parsley

• Paprika

• Poultry Seasoning

STUFFING

LIQUID DRESSING MIXTURE

LARGE POT of WATER:

Boil three or four hours, add water as necessary. You need half to two thirds pot of liquid

• Turkey neck

• Turkey giblets

• Six cut up stalks of celery

• Green leaf tops of celery

• One large or two small onions in quarters

• Salt and pepper

• Poultry seasoning

• One Bay leaf

HINT: Strain before placing into cornbread bowl

TURKEY DRY DRESSING

• PLACE (dry) IN VERY LARGE BOWL:

• Two packages of Mrs Culbertsons spice cornbread

• One package of spice Pepperidge Farm cubes (it's toasted bread)

TURKEY SAUSAGE DRESSING

IN EXTRA LARGE IRON SKILLET:

• Cook (WELL DONE) two packages of regular Jimmy Dean pork sausage mixed with 1/2 package of hot Jimmy Dean pork sausage. Put unused 1/2 in freezer.

• Chop three medium (two large or four small) onions into small pieces.

• When sausage is done add onions to mixture

• Chop eight celery stalks into small pieces; add to sausage and onions

• Salt and pepper

• Cook on low for two hours

When sausage mixture is done; add to dry cornbread; then add liquid mixture as needed. Moist but firm is the idea. (Like a mud pie)

Important: (don't forget to strain liquid mixture) Mix ingredients

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

• FIRST: Protect your oven by placing three large pieces of tin foil on

• oven middle shelf.

• Preheat to 400 degrees

• Wash and dry eight to ten RED, (not yellow) sweet potatoes. Cook for an hour and a half. Must be well done

• Remove, let cool, take meat from skin place in large bowl

CANDIED PECANS

• Melt two sticks of butter in large skillet

• Place 1/2 box of C&H dark brown sugar in melted butter

• When sugar is melted place medium sized bag of chopped pecans and cook slowly for twenty minutes

• Put candied pecans into sweet potatoes

Add:

• Vanilla Extract 1/2 teaspoon

• Shaved nutmeg 1/2 whole nutmeg

• Two or three dashes of Cinnamon

• 1/4 cup half and half or milk (if you use this much butter and sugar you might as well use cream)

• STIR AND STIR AND STIR

  
  

Half oranges: remove orange meat from shells; stuff shells with potato mixture

Place tin foil on top, place in refrigerator, wait until following day to place marshmallows on top

(Marshmallows are for newest babies. MUST take pictures)