| Thanksgiving traditions | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 26 2008, 08:11 AM (709 Views) | |
| Yhitzak | Nov 26 2008, 08:11 AM Post #1 |
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So this is America, the Melting Pot of the world, and I'm pretty sure that most of us have at least some kind of ethnicity or familial tradition that extends beyond the usual turkey and dressing and football of Thanksgiving day. So what's yours? My family usually makes raviolis in addition to the usuals. Here's my recipe (which is kind of made up since I don't think anyone in my family has ever used a measuring utensil in this capacity; do it to taste is my best advice): Noodles (G, not sure how this works at sea-level or in places that have a humidity level higher than 2%; I only know how to cook at altitudes of 8000ft+ in the dry, dry mountains): 3-4 cups flour 4-5 eggs (at sea-level, the rule is usually 1:1 eggs:flour) 1-2 teaspoons salt 2-4 tablespoons olive oil Place the dry ingredients in a bowl with a well in the center. Add the eggs one at a time, alternating with the oil. You can always add more liquid and/or more flour; you can't over-knead or over-work noodle dough; it's not like pastry. Filling: 2 lbs ricotta cheese (whole milk tastes the best, IMO) 1 lb mozzerella or provolone (go with a mild provolone; it has a better taste, but is significantly sharper than the mutz) about 1/2 lb or 2 cups grated (NOT shredded) parmesan or romano cheese (NOT asiago! it tastes very bitter and almost chalky when cooked in this recipe. Don't make my mistake and wind up throwing away a whole batch of food) 1-2 eggs to hold it all together (you may want to omit the eggs at sea-level if your mixture is too wet) parsley, salt, and pepper to taste Mix it all together. Your mixture should be wet but not sticky; if it's too dry, it will cook up kind of lumpy. Variation: add 1 cup cooked spinach to the noodle dough (in a blender with the eggs) and 1 cup cooked spinach to the filling. Pay attention to the moisture of your mixtures if you do this! Flour is your friend :) The end result is delectable, though. Roll out your dough to the desired thickness, but keep in mind that you will be doubling it over. I like it about 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch or so. Your noodle should be about 4-5 inches wide. Place the filling along the dough, rolled into balls slightly smaller than golf balls. Fold the noodle dough over, sealing the edges and squeezing out the air as you go. The less air you can get inside these, the better. Use a fork to press the edges together. Cut apart, allow to dry or freeze (these freeze REALLY well and will keep for up to 4 months in a well-packed freezer bag), or boil right away. They're done when they float on the surface and the noodle is slightly transluscent. Serve with favorite sauce. This sounds easy, and I've made enough of them in my life, I could do it in my sleep, but it's a pain in the ass the first few times you do it. Practice makes perfect and that adage is proof positive in this capacity. |
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| dumblonde | Nov 26 2008, 08:53 AM Post #2 |
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My mothers family is from the south so our traditions are a gravy to die for (in the south gravy is it's own food group) and a real pecan pie. Very standard stuff. My dads family likes the whole green bean casserole and sweet potatoes with marshmallows thing. Yuck. Keep it simple- that's my philosophy. Ever since I've had my kids I've started cooking something native American too. The kids favorite is a Three Sisters dish that mixes corn, squash and beans. |
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| Gringa | Nov 26 2008, 05:45 PM Post #3 |
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I don't have any Thanksgiving traditions. The cult I grew up in didn't recognize this holiday. I made my own "traditions" when I had kids - but just the traditional turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie kinda thing. Thanks for the recipe, Y. I have never made pasta and it kinda scares me...LOL. I might try it, I am not sure. |
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| Gringa | Nov 26 2008, 05:46 PM Post #4 |
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Tell me about this 3 Sister's dish. Sounds like something that would go over good here. |
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| dumblonde | Nov 26 2008, 06:17 PM Post #5 |
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It's yummy- You start with about a cup of broad beans- any variety. I tend to use frozen baby lima beans. 1 roasted poblano chile 2 tomatoes (roast them too if you like that flavor, I do) Sweat an onion in a heavy skillet with about 1 tbsp of oil or fat Cut up a medium sized soft squash (like zucchini or yellow squash. Baby patty pans are good too) add all the above ingredients in with the onions add a big handful of fresh green beans if you have them, corn (about 2 ears worth they can be frozen or canned too, but fresh is best) Toss in cilantro to taste 1/4 cup each of both red and green salsa 2 cups of stock salt & pepper Feel free to play around with ingredients- almost anything works. I like to serve them with a side of steamed corn tortillas. |
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| Gringa | Nov 26 2008, 11:00 PM Post #6 |
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Thanks. And truly I mean thanks. But, did you go to some high class cooking school or what? I mean seriously, you are so over my head, i don't think I can do this,,,,,,, |
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| DaisyLover | Nov 27 2008, 10:32 AM Post #7 |
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When we lived in London, many of the restaurants would have a Thanksgiving Roast on OUR traditional Thanksgiving day. It was pretty good - not EXACTLY as we have it here but it was close. |
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| Mtnman | Nov 27 2008, 10:47 AM Post #8 |
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE
Edited by Mtnman, Nov 27 2008, 10:48 AM.
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| dumblonde | Nov 27 2008, 11:15 AM Post #9 |
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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! LOL Gringa- it's truly not hard. (Otherwise I couldn't do it) It's a lot of ingredients is all. Any of them can be eliminated or substituted. The three sisters are squash, corn and beans as they were traditionally planted together. Everything else is a matter of taste. You could probably just toss squash, corn and beans into your green chile and get the same effect. |
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| Gringa | Nov 27 2008, 11:50 AM Post #10 |
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LOL - thanks, I am guessing on sweating an onion, don't know what a patty pan is and not sure what broad beans are - but, since you mentioned Lima beans I can guess on that one.... Some of the restaurants/hotels do Thanksgiving here, too. I have only ate at one (and it was the day after leftover special) that was fabulous but the owner is American. LOL I never like to go out on Thanksgiving. HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE |
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