86-lancatter 'Farming, Sihirday, November 23,' 1996 ’
Thanksgiving Bounty
Although Thanksgiving is
strictly an American tradition, it
was not until 1863 that the day
became a special one for all
Americans. Up until this time, the
holiday was primarily celebrated
in New England and the West.
Through the lobbying efforts of
Sarah Josepha Hale, President
Abraham Lincoln in 1863 declared
the last Thursday of November as a
day of thanks.
Hale was an unusual woman for
her time in that she was well
educated, a sharp business woman,
a creative writer, an abolitionist, an
woman’s advocate, and most
notably the editor of Godey’s
Lady’s Book, the foremost
women’s magazine in America in
the 19th century.
It was through her editorials and
numerous letters to public officials
that she finally succeeded in hav
ing Thanksgiving declared a
national holiday.
Hale believed that the best time
for Thanksgiving was the last
Thursday in November since “the
agricultural labors of the year are
generally completed.”
In addition, she saw the holiday
as a time for charitable giving, gra
titude to God and advancement of
the cause of peace. She encour
aged her women readers to “Speak
to your spouses, and be not afraid
to let them know your feelings on
this matter. If they are just in then
judgment, they will most certainly
write to the men they have elected
to political power and persuade
them to allow this day of prayer
and thanksgiving.”
In 1863 she issued her final
appeal that convinced President
Lincoln to issue the proclamation
on Oct. 3, 1863:
“Would it not be a great advan
tage, socially, nationally, reli
giously. to have the day of our
American Thanksgiving positive
ly settled? Putting aside the sec
tional feelings and local incidents
that might be urged by an single
State or isolated Territory that
desired to choose its own time,
would it not be more noble, more
truly American, to become nation
al in unity when we offer to God
our tribute of job and gratitude for
the blessings of the year?”
With these blessings in mind
and the woman who put Thanks
giving on the national calendar, we
once again begin our dinner prepa
rations by perusing various cook
books for new menu ideas. Maybe
one of the Lancaster Farming
contributions will help with the
tradition.
Recipe Topics
If you have recipes for the topics listed below, please
share them with us. We welcome your recipes, but ask that
you include accurate measurements, a complete list of ingre
dients and clear instructions with each recipe you submit.
Send your recipes to Lou Ann Good, Lancaster Farming,
P.O. Box 609, Ephrata, PA 17522. Recipes should reach our
office one week before publishing date.
November-
30-
December-
7- Christmas Cookies
14- Holiday Entertaining
21- Christmas Dinner
ORANGE GLAZED SWEET
POTATOES WITH
CRUNCHY NUT TOPPING
4 medium sweet potatoes (about
2 to 2'A lbs.), peeled, cut into A ”
slices
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
14 cup orange juice
'A cup firmly packed light
brown sugar
'A cup maple syrup or honey
'A cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
14 teaspoon cinnamon
14 teaspoon nutmeg
Crunchy Nut Topping
14 cup uncooked rolled oats
14 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons cold, unsalted
butter, cut into small pieces
14 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted
water to boil. Add potatoes; return
to boil. Cook until potatoes are
almost tender but still keep their
shape, about 5 minutes. Drain
well. Arrange potatoes in overlap
ping pattern in buttered shallow
2-quart baking dish.
In medium saucepan, combine
butter, orange juice, brown sugar,
maple syrup, grated orange and
spices. Heat to boil, stirring until
smooth. Reduce heat and cook
over medium heat until slightly
thickenede, S minutes. Drizzle
sauce over sweet potatoes.
For topping, combine all ingre
dients in small bowl. Work butter
into mixture until crumbly.
Sprinkle over top of potatoes.
Bake uncovered until potatoes are
tender and topping is crispy, about
30 minutes. Makes 8 servings.
American Dairy Association
ROAST TURKEY SUPREME
12-pound turkey
butler or oil
2 teaspoons Season-All
A teaspoon poultry seasoning
'A teaspoon dry mustard
'A teaspoon ground nutmeg
Clean and rinse cavity and out
side of turkey; wipe dry. If desired,
lightly fill neck and body and body
cavities with stuffing. Place turkey
on rack ih shallow oven pan. Rub
butter or oil over entire surface of
bird. Combine seasonings and rub
inside and outside of turkey. Cover
with loose tent of heavy-duty alu
minum foil. Remove foil during
last 30 minutes ofcooking. Roast
325 degrees 4-S hours or until meat
thermometer registers 180
degrees. Let stand IS minutes
before carving.
Your Favorite Chili
The turkey is, without question, the main attraction to the holiday meal. In keeping
with tradition, bread stuffing, vegetables, cranberry salad, rolls, and cookies satisfy
the expectations of family and friends.
CHUCKWAGON CARROTS
3 cups sliced carrots
'A cup cooked crumbled bacon
3 tablespoons butler
1 tablespoon packed brown
sugar
2 tablespoons thinly sliced
green onion
V* teaspoon salt
pinch pepper
Cook carrots In 2 quart saucepan
until crisply tender. Drain and
return carrots to pan. Add all the
remaining ingredients and cook
over medium heat, stirring fre
quently until heated through, about
6 minutes.
Betty J. Light
Lebanon
SLIM PUMPKIN PIE
to 1 cup graham crackers
3 tablespoons reduced fat sof
tened or liquid margarine
Use an 8 or 9-inch non-stick pie
pan or spray and 8-inch round
springform pan. Blend crumbs and
margarine thoroughly with fork.
Press mixture firmly and evenly
into the pan and bake 5 minutes in
a preheat 400 degree oven. Cool
before filling.
16 ounce can solid pack
pumpkin
/i cup egg substitute (equals 2
whole eggs)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
VA cup evaporated skim milk
'/> -cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A teaspoon cloves
'A teaspoon ginger
A teaspoon nutmeg
A teaspoon salt (optional)
Beat together pumpkin, egg
substitute, cornstarch and spices,
salt. Add evaporated skim milk
and honey and blend. Pour into
prepared pie shell. Bake 350 60-65
minutes or until filling tests done
(table knife inserted just off-center
comes out clean). Cool on rack.
Makes 6 servings, 237 calories, 41
g carbohydrate, 5 g fat, 2 mg
cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 265 mg
sodium/serving.
MOM’S CRANBERRY RELISH
1 lb. fresh cranberries Grind cranberries, oranges,
2 oranges, 1 peeled and quar- apples into a dish that can be sea
tered, 1 quartered led. Stir in sugar. Cover dish and
2 Delicious apples, peeled and refrigerate overnight,
cored petty J. Light
2 cups sugar Lebanon
| Turkey Carving Tips [
j ,_j |
• (NAPS) —The secret to masterfully carving the holiday turkey is •
: knowing six tricks used by professional chefs. !
: 1. COOK: Roast the turkey until a meat thermometer inserted into |
• the thickest part of the thigh reads 180 degrees. *
» 2. COOL; Remove the turkey from the oven and let cool for 10 to •
I 15 minutes. This makes the meat firmer and easier to slice. I
I 3. SHARPEN; While the turkey is cooling sharpen your carving
| knife. Cutting beautiful slices depends most of all on using a good,
| sharp knife. Dull knives tend to tear tender meat, producing shreds
■ instead of whole slices. The easiest sharpeners to use have built-in
: angle guides that take the guesswork out of sharpening and 100-per
■ cent diamond abrasives which are safe for quality knives and sharpen
i more quickly and efficiently than conventional harsh abrasives (which
| can take off too much metal and detemper (overheat) quality knives)
J 4. CUT: Remove the drumsticks and thighs. Next remove only the
« tip and center sections of the wings. Leaving the last section of both
I wings provides a good, broad base to help prevent the bird from tilt
| mg when you slice the breast
1
5. SLICE
HORIZONTALLY:
When carving a turkey
breast, start by making a
deep horizontal (parallel
to the platter) “base cut’
into the breast, just
above the wing bone.
(Turn to Pago EM)
I 1
6. SLICE
VERTICALLY:
Release uniform, even
slices by cutting in a
vertical direction down
through the breast to
the base cut.