Ampadbury

I’ve recently gained an appreciation for cooking, recipes, and especially spices.  I never considered myself a big cooker, and I thought I was doomed if I ever had a family.  Before long, however, I found some dishes that sparked my interest in cooking.  It took just the right book for me to start enjoying reading when I was younger; similarly, it took just the right recipes for me to start enjoying cooking.  As I ventured past the traditional macaroni and cheese and Raman noodle meals during college, I slowly discovered new recipes and dishes. 

These new “discoveries” I cooked up not only delighted my own cravings, but they quickly became hits among family and friends who now often ask me to make such-and-such recipe.  Each of the recipes below is a guaranteed hit with more than one person at your Thanksgiving dinner.

I clearly remember the recipe with which this new entertainment started.  At one of our holiday family dinners a couple of years ago, I tasted Peanut Butter Pie for the first time.  Though I am a glutton for chocolate, this peanut butter pie tasted like Heaven in my mouth!  Negative side to Peanut Butter Pie:  it can be rather difficult to take clean-cut slices out of the pie tin, but it’s worth the trouble!  Your guests are certain to think so too!

RECIPE for Peanut Butter Pie Perfection

Preparation Time:  approximately 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup of sugar
4 ounces of cream cheese (half of an 8-oz block)
¾ cup of peanut butter
½ cup of milk
9 ounces of cool whip (in a 12 oz tub; ¾ of container)
** Buy a ready-made gram-cracker crust pie tin (but Oreo crust pie tins are better!!!)

Preparation:
•    (Optional) Microwave cream cheese 15-20 seconds
•    Mix sugar, cream cheese, and peanut butter until it is a sugar-coated ball of mix (looks like cookie dough)
•    Add milk and cool whip and mix again until looks creamy and lumps are gone
•    Take top off of pie tin
•    Pour mix into pie tin (the mix will flatten itself out)
•    Put top onto pie tin and put the tin into the freezer and leave it for 4-6 hours
•    Any leftover mix goes into another container and into the freezer to be eaten without a pie crust

We all know that Desserts come first!  Now I will rewind the dinner back to the beginning: appetizers.  You will surely want to offer your family and friends some of those I-just-can’t-stop-eating, I’m-going-to-be-too-full-for-dinner appetizers!  For Italian food lovers and non, I must share one of my absolute favorite appetizers:  bruschetta!  Some of you are asking, what the heck is that?  Others of you, like me, have probably tried different bruschetta recipes from dozens of restaurants. 

I think one of my favorite bruschetta recipes is the one made by the Olive Garden, though I doubt they would share any specifics with me.  Because there are so many recipes for bruschetta, I have not yet decided which I like best.  With the few ingredients I had on hand, I frequently made my own mediocre bruschetta while I lived away from home during the summer.  With just the right ingredients, you can create a decorative and delicious appetizer!  Below is a suggested recipe for bruschetta, but feel free to alter the ingredients or preparation as you see fit.

RECIPE for Bruschetta

Preparation Time:  approximately 20 minutes

Ingredients:
3-4 diced tomatoes
Optional:  1 small onion
6 cloves minced Garlic
½ cup chopped fresh Basil
3/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
Sprinkled Parmesan
Shredded or chopped Mozzarella
Pinch of salt and pepper
Chopped parsley (amount is up to your discretion)
1 loaf French Baguette Bread, cut into ¾” thick slices (or you could use Texas Garlic Toast)

Preparation:
** Note:  Depending on your taste, you may add the Mozzarella with the beginning mixture, or sprinkle it on after you put the tomato mixture on each slice of bread.

•    Mix diced tomatoes, (optional) chopped onion, chopped garlic, basil, ½ cup olive oil, salt and pepper (match to taste your liking), and sprinkled Parmesan
•    Let the mix marinate
•    Preheat oven to 350
•    Lightly spread the remaining olive oil onto each slice of bread (you may or may not want to do this step if you are using the Texas Garlic Toast)
•    Place bread onto a baking sheet and toast for approximately 7 minutes
•    Spread the tomato/garlic/basil mixture onto the oiled side of each slice of bread
•    Sprinkle chopped parsley on top of the mixture

My stomach is rumbling already!  Better shift into side dishes next.  I’ve been told that I perfected the following two recipes on my first try!  The first is a recipe for corn pudding, a must-have on any Thanksgiving dinner table.  The second is a recipe for juicy baked tomatoes, which I first tasted on the Virginia Tech campus and from which I created my own delicious recipe.  Both the corn pudding and baked tomatoes would each be flavorful additions to the Thanksgiving dinner table, sitting alongside turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans. See the recipes below.

RECIPE for Mama’s Corn Puddin’

Preparation Time:  approximately 20 minutes

Ingredients:
5-8 eggs (depending on how much you want to make)
½ cup evaporated milk
1 stick of margarine or butter (melted)
¾ cup of granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cans of cream style corn
(Optional) salt and pepper

Preparation:
•    Using a whisk, mix eggs, milk, melted margarine, sugar, and vanilla extract until the eggs are frothy.
•    Add cans of corn and mix well.  (Optional)  Mix in salt and pepper (recommended amount of salt:  no more than a pinch)
•    Thoroughly butter or grease a rectangular baking dish
•    Pour corn mixture into well-greased baking dish
•    Bake uncovered at 350 for approximately 30-45 minutes (To test if finished:  very light brown on top; stick a knife into the pudding and if it comes out mostly clean, then it is just right)

RECIPE for Baskin’ Baked Tomatoes

Preparation Time:  approximately 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:
** Note:  You can substitute spices however you choose; I have simply listed my favorites for this recipe

4-5 tomatoes (buy half as many tomatoes as the amount you want to serve)
Garlic salt or powder
Rosemary
Oregano (or alternatively, Italian Spices)
Parmesan Cheese
1-2 bags of Shredded Cheeses (my favorite combination is Monterray Jack and Mozzerella)

Preparation:
•    Preheat oven to 350
•    Core the tomatoes and then cut them in half (or vice versa, if that’s easier for you)
•    Place the tomatoes in a baking pan or dish after you cut them in halves, round side resting on the tray/dish
•    Sprinkle a generous amount of Garlic and Oregano (or Italian Spices) on top of the halved tomatoes
•    Gently sprinkle rosemary on top, and then Parmesan Cheese
•    Carefully add the shredded cheeses so that it covers the top of the tomato halves
•    Sprinkle a little more Oregano and/or Rosemary
•    Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, or until they look done (the cheese will be melted, of course, and possibly a very faint brown “baked” appearance)

Your friends and family will certainly relish those side dishes!  Be sure to warn them against the inevitable squirting juiciness of the baked tomatoes!  Last, but not least, is by no means an entrée to beat all entrees.  It certainly won’t replace the ham or the turkey, but it will make an appetizing extra entrée, especially for the younger mouths.  I learned the recipe from a friend and her mom a few months ago, but they didn’t have a name for it!  So, I created a name!  It is one you won’t want to forget!  Enjoy the recipe below.

RECIPE for Cheesy Macmato Casserole

Preparation Time:  approximately 30-35 minutes

Ingredients:
16 oz Elbow Macaroni Noodles (or 2 8-oz boxes)
2 16 oz Canned (petite/diced) Tomatoes, chopped and undrained
16 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

Preparation:
•    Preheat oven to 375 degrees
•    Cook/boil noodles until softened
•    Rinse and Drain Noodles
•    Mix noodles with the cubed cheese (reserve some for the top) and tomatoes (tomato liquid included)
•    Put mixture into a greased casserole
•    Top it with leftover cubed cheese and sprinkle with paprika
•    Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and casserole bubbles.

Amazing!  Yes, if you're wondering, I do love cheese, spices, and tomatoes.  Now that we’ve reached the end of the meal, you can go back and cut into that tasty dessert:  peanut butter pie!  The above recipes are guaranteed no-fail dishes for your Thanksgiving dinner table, provided that you don’t burn or poison them.  Oops!  Did I say that?  Truthfully, though, I would be surprised if each of these dishes wasn’t a huge hit among your family and friends.  Don’t forget the spices of life!  Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

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