Nope, you can never have too much sugar hidden in your food. When are you serving your dinner? I want to make sure I'm on time.

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Hope is no basis for a defense policy. ~ Margaret Thatcher

"In the land of Martha Stewart, I'm the kid with the pink helmet sitting in the back of the short bus." Ha ha ha ha ha!! I'm right there with you, happy to have a friend

That apricot preserves & nectar glaze concoction sounds FABULOUS!!
LOVE!!! SO gonna have to try that

"If the lion lies down with the lamb, the lamb must be replaced frequently." --Attributed to Martin Luther In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist violence of September 11, 2001.

Lain, you're way ahead of me...I didn't even know what brine meant. I just had to look it up.

Both of my kids--even the boy--occasionally watch the Food Channel.
When I got home from an errand yesterday, he had it on.
I suspect they may be compensating for my deficiencies.

JaN: Thank goodness for the internet! I think that's where I first found that glaze. Probably recipe.com or epicurious.com; maybe foodnetwork.com. It was easy enough for even me to attempt.

And Alton Brown is pretty entertaining, keep an eye out for him if you're unfamiliar. He actually gets into a bit of the food chemistry and stuff, but in "normal person" terms. The example in my original post, about turkey stuffing, for instance.
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The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money. -- Alexis de Tocqueville

One thing my family does, is bake the turkey in a plastic bag. The turkey comes out tender and juicy. Getting the turkey into the bag before you kill it is exceptionally difficult, but it's worth it.

We always have fried turkey (and my mom still roasts another one, for whatever reason because no one really eats it since the fried one is so )

This will be my first Thanksgiving away from home and immediate family. My aunt is making the turkey but I'll be making a cranberry pecan stuffing (ala Rachael Ray) and my grandma's super easy and super delicious sweet potato casserole (and, yes, it will have marshmallows on top!)

Two things - First, does anyone have a SUPER YUMMY sweet potato recipe? You know the kind with the marshmallows and cinnamon that makes your mouth water?

Second, for a tip I have the following...

We always make Ham AND Turkey, because my oldest and my Nephew do not like Turkey (I know, bizarre boys)! So, to make the ham SUPER tasty here is what I do.

Put some brown sugar in a bowl, about 3/4 cup. Pour in a little coca cola (It has to be coke, I've tried other colas and the outcome just isn't the same). What you are looking for is almost a paste. Now, take your ham and slice it up. Generously coat each slice, front and back, with this paste. Bake your ham as usual and you will have a DELICIOUSLY glazed, juicy and sure-to-be-a-hit "candied" ham. It is sooooooooooooooooo delicious!

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If you always do as you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.

I don't like turkey either!! My mom is making Cornish game hens this year.

We have a sweet potato recipe that's awesome, but there's no cinnamon. My dad thinks cinnamon is the devil.. HAHA

Mmmmm, sweet potatoes.
My family always made them with brown sugar, mini marshmallows and (IIRC) walnuts.
No cinnamon, though.
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The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money. -- Alexis de Tocqueville

Buy a can of yams. Mash them up with some butter and brown sugar, top with marshmallows, put in the oven till it's warm and the marshmallows are browned.

Here's an "official recipe"
3 cans (15 oz. each) YAMS, drained
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 cups Miniature Marshmallows

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat Bruce’s® yams, butter, cinnamon,
ginger and nutmeg in medium bowl with electric mixer on
medium speed until well blended.
SPOON into lightly greased 1-1/2-qt. casserole dish; top with
marshmallows.
BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until sweet potato mixture is heated
through and marshmallows are lightly browned.

(That will make 10 servings)

THANK YOU SY! That's the one I was looking for. My Mom usually makes them and was SUPPOSED to give me my Grandma's recipe before she left for China. But in all the rush to get them on the plane, we both forgot. LOL

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If you always do as you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.

The way I get super delicious sweet potatoes is to let my sister make them.

Well then, where is your sisters recipe? Hm? Hm? Hm?

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If you always do as you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.

I make the easiest side dish, adds a little ZIP and it only gets better as leftovers.

5-6 medium firm tomatoes.
1 bottle italian dressing (i use newmans own)
3 garlic cloves pressed. (or more if you like it garlicy)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
Pepper and salt to taste.
1/2 white onion minced

mix together and let "meld" for a few hours in the fridge. the liquid that is left? is amazing on anything!

Let me thumb through the family recipe book here....

Here's another sweet potato recipe from my Aunt Gina.

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (used 3 big yams for this one)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar (or 3/4)
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt

Topping:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup pecan pieces
1/3 cup butter (melted)

Mix the first 7 ingredients and pour into 9x13 pan. (8x8 works well too, if you want them thicker)

Mix topping ingredients together and crumble over the sweet potato mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

The key to a great turkey is basting. Every 20 minutes. It will help keep the moisture in. Not everyone likes the brining - makes it very salty. I can't do the sweet potatoes at my house cause the rest of the crew doesn't like their potatoes sweet. So we are having garlic mashed po instead.

We are doing a wine tasting with dinner this year, going to get 6-8 different wines and try and compare. Champagne and Prosecco, Chardonnay, Beaujolais, Cabernet Savignon. I can't wait. It is going to be hard, eat more or drink more...

I hate sweet potatoes.. I never eat them.. My Mom always makes sweet and mashed.

Preppy, Alton said brine it for 8-16 hours (in a blend of herbs, too, not just salt), then put it in the oven and don't touch it. Roast at 500 for the first (I think it was 1/2 hour), then 350 for the remainder. The "not basting" thing confused me, too, I thought that was absolute gospel.
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The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money. -- Alexis de Tocqueville