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all those^^^sound so yummy.
when i do thanksgiving here, our meal is so traditional i doubt there is anyone who doesn't know the recipies. turkey (of course) but i do brine it if i can, makes it *very* moist, greenbean casserole-the kind with the durkee onion crisps (one of my favorite dishes), stuffing, mashed taters, buttermilk biscuts, gravy, cranberry sauce (the only kind bigbad likes is the jellied stuff in a can, me? don't care much for any of it). desert is usually just an ice-box cake (the kind you make with the chocolate wafers and whipped cream...everyone loves it) or cherry pie.
but....if we go somewhere and i bring an appetizer, this is what i make...it's kinda heavy so be warned...but it goes over very well.
crab dip
1 can of all white crab meat (splurge on the good stuff if you can)
1 6oz package creamcheese
1 small container of sour cream
1 large handful shredded sharp white cheddar
1 large can of artichoke hearts, chopped
3 medium garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed (if you have roasted, use it)
s&p to taste
try to have the ingredients at room temp.
in a small oven-proof casserole dish cream the cream cheese and sour cream together. add everything else, stir till combined well and then bake at about 375 till bubbly and ever-so-slightly browning on top. serve hot if possible (it's good at room temp., too) with whatever... flatbread, triscuts, any cracker or bread you like.
and now for my:
homemade fudge
fudge is pretty difficult to make. the chemestry of sugar is such that one single f-up or even so much as a speck of dust or the humidity of the air will ruin your batch. pick a dry day to try this and make sure you'll have the time to stick around til it's complete. you can't start a batch of fudge and then go shoe shopping, lol. it's also a good idea to test your thermometer before hand. bring some water to a boil and stick the thermometer in, if it reads 100 degrees you're good to go. if not, adjust for any discrepancies, adding or subtracting degrees as neseccary.
3oz unsweetened chocolate (the kind that comes in bar form, not powder. look for something that has a higher cocoa content, 70% or so, it'll give you a more complex chocolate flavor)
3 cups sugar
1 cup half and half
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons un-salted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
a small bowl of room temp water and a pastry brush.
a candy thermometer
mix the chocolate, sugar, half n half, corn syrup and salt in a heavy medium-sized sauce pan. stir over a medium-low heat, melting the ingredients together, til boiling. STOP STIRRING! *carefully* clip a candy thermometer (so that the tip is about 1/4 inch above the bottom of the pan) to the side of the pan. cook UNDISTURBED til the thermometer reads 235-240 degrees. if you find some of the mixture is begining to dry on the sides you must wash them down, only the sides mind you, don't go dippin your brush into the mixture itself, with a *damp* (shake or blot off the excess water) pastry brush dipped in room temp water. this is important because once the sugar has disolved into the fat (half n half) and has been liquified any granular sugar that finds its way into the mixture will begin a chain reaction that will give you a very gritty final result. remove from the heat and cool to 110 degrees. drop in the vanilla and butter and beat gently with a wooden spoon til set. this can take a while, 15 minutes at least. you will see the mixture just begin to lose its' sheen, this is when the fudge has set and it can be pressed into a waxpaper-lined pan.
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