A Nice Collection of ADK Baker's Thanksgiving Recipes

Last night I was thinking that, rather than reinvent the wheel, I would did into past blog posts to bring you a few great recipes for Thanksgiving. And at the end, a glimpse into the Thansgivings we experienced growing up - such happy holidays for all nine O'Farrells!

Be sure to open each link for not only the recipe, but the memories which are just as delicious! 

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies!

1.  Fool-proof Make-Ahead Gravy, thanks to Jody Shepson! 

http://adirondackbaker.blogspot.com/2009/11/fool-proof-make-ahead-gravy-and-easier.html

2. Mashed Potato Casserole

http://adirondackbaker.blogspot.com/2009/11/mashed-potato-casserole.html

3. Cornbread Casserole

http://adirondackbaker.blogspot.com/2010/11/enter-holidays-and-kathryns-cornbread.html

4. Roasted Butternut Squash Mac 'N Cheese

http://adirondackbaker.blogspot.com/2013/11/roasted-butternut-squash-mac-n-cheese.html

5. Campbell's Green Bean Casserole

http://adirondackbaker.blogspot.com/2012/11/campbells-green-bean-casserole.html

6. Pumpkin Whoopie Pies!

http://adirondackbaker.blogspot.com/2009/11/whoopie-pies-pumpkin-style.html

7. Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

http://adirondackbaker.blogspot.com/2009/11/pumpkin-swirl-cheesecake-with-ginger.html

8. Pumpkin Walnut Fudge

http://adirondackbaker.blogspot.com/2013/11/pumpkin-walnut-fudge-for-thanksgiving.html

9. The Morning After - Stuffing Cakes

http://adirondackbaker.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-morning-after-stuffing-cakes.html

10. Memory of my childhood Thanksgivings!

http://adirondackbaker.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgivings-past.html

I would LOVE to hear comments, so please add your thoughts below! And be sure to use that search bar on the left for any recipes you don't see here. There are a lot of them!

George Bailey is My Kind of Man

It's the eve of Christmas Eve, and I'm not ready. This morning before work I baked 36 muffins and a pumpkin swirl cheesecake. While those were baking I emptied the dishwasher, folded two loads of towels, and organized my closet. I had intended to bake last night but Katie put Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" in the DVD player and I had to watch it. Even after seeing it countless times, I couldn't walk away. I must admit that know every dialogue, every physical nuance, every dramatic musical accompaniment. If I were to start playing that movie in my head, I could run through pretty much the whole thing.

George Bailey is the kind of person I want to be when the going gets rough. He is someone who sees no clear answer when every part of his life seems out of control. Only after wishing he'd never been born, saying that the world might be better off without him, does he realize that his life has had real impact and meaning. On that bridge, he has two revelations. The first is dire and desperate. The second is elated and joyful. Even facing jail time and a ruined reputation, the newly-aware George (through divine intervention in the form of Clarence) is deliriously happy in the reunion embrace of his wife and children, and at that moment, nothing else matters. It is then that he is additionally rewarded with an abundance of love and friendship from his friends and family, which he values much more than the money they've collected to solve his financial problems. He's always been there for them, and he never asked for or expected it, but they're there for him, too. Just love it.

Poster: Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" from http://www.impawards.com/1946/posters/its_a_wonderful_life.jpg

Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake (and it's lowfat!)

My soon-to-retire friend Sue gave me this recipe. She served it to her family on Thanksgiving. Sue is very health-conscious. She exercises with commitment. She only eats one slice of Pope's pizza when I have to have two. She looks for healthier versions of favorite recipes, and this one for Chocolate Amaretto cheesecake is one of them. The fact that it is low-fat is just a bonus!

Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake

6 chocolate wafers, finely crushed (I did use more than 6)

1 1/2 cups light cream chesse

1 cup sugar

1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese

1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup amaretto

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate mini morsels

Sprinkle wafers in bottom of 7 inch spring form pan. Process cottage cheese in food processer until smooth. Blend cream cheese, cottage cheese, cocoa, flour, sugar, amaretto, vanilla and salt until well blended and smooth. Add egg and blend well. Fold in mini chips.

Pour mixture over crumbs in pan. Bake at 300 for 65 to 70 minutes or until cheesecake is set. Let cool on wire rack. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Remove sides of pan. Garnish with chocolate curls, if desired.

If you prefer, this can be baked in an 8 inch pan, just bake for less time.

Also, for chocolate mint cake, use 1/4 cup creame de menthe in place of amaretto

Photo credit: http://img.timeinc.net/recipes/i/recipes/ck/clce/chocolate-cheesecake-ck-226324-l.jpg

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake with Ginger Snap Crust

I hesitate to share this recipe because it is one of my favorites, and like other favorite things, sometimes it's nice to keep them to yourself. But it's Thanksgiving, and you may be wanting just one fabulous dessert, something that brings the best of cheesecake and pumpkin pie to the table. This big, moist cheesecake is cradled by a gingered graham cracker crust. It mixes up easily with fairly simple ingredients. There's nothing simple about its presentation or taste - both are spectacular and real show stoppers. This is not any one person's recipe. It's my adaptation of many cheesecake recipes, made to be my own. It was served at my daughter's wedding, one of the many items on the dessert table, playing second fiddle only to the wedding cake.

There's a formula to cheesecakes. For each half pound of cream cheese, it's one-quarter cup of sugar and one egg. So if this is too big for your cheesecake pan, change it by using three of everything: 3 packages of cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, 3 eggs... It's pretty simple, and you can always refer to your favorite cookbook since most include a variety of cheesecakes. This one is very good, and I hope you like it.

Oven 350 degrees F

Place top rack in middle of oven. On bottom rack below, place a cake pan filled with hot water to act as an indirect water bath. (This will minimize cracking after baking.)

Makes one 10-inch cheesecake

Crust:

• 1.5 sleeves graham crackers to make 2-2 1/2 cups crumbs (in blender or food processor)
• 1 bar butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. dry ginger
  

Mix all ingredients. Pour into base of spring form pan. Using the bottom of a metal measuring cup, press crumbs on bottom and half-way up sides of pan. Make sure the crumbs are tightly packed. Place pan in freezer while you prepare the batter.

Cheesecake batter:

• 2 lbs. cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  

Beat cream cheese with sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Add cornstarch and sour cream and beat until very smooth, scraping sides of bowl to incorporate all ingredients well.

Pour three cups of batter into separate bowl. Pour remaining batter in to pie crust. To the remaining batter in the bowl, beat in pumpkin and cinnamon, mixing very well. Drop pumpkin batter in dollops over the plain batter in pan. Using a large soup spoon, very loosely turn the batter over in large swirls. Take a butter knife and marble in one direction. Rotate the pan a half turn and marble the batter in the opposite direction.

Place cheesecake on cookie sheet on top rack in middle of oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Turn heat down to 320 degrees and bake for another 45 minutes. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in oven, door propped open an inch, for an hour. Remove from oven. Let cool completely. Run thin knife around outside edge of cheesecake. Release spring form.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Photo credit: http//:farm4static.flickr.com