General Jackson Pie

1 C. sugar
1/4 C. butter
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 C. light corn syrup
1/4 t. salt
2 T. Tennessee sipping whiskey
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 C. chopped pecans
1/2 C. semisweet chocolate chips
1 (9 inch) pie shell

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream sugar and butter together. Add eggs, syrup, salt, whiskey, and vanilla and mix together. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips in bottom of pie shell. Pour the filling into the shell. Bake for 40-50 minutes.

Thanksgiving Memories

What is everyone doing for Thanksgiving this year? Looks like it's
just going to be my husband Ed, me and my youngest son Eli this year, so I was actually planning to do the unthinkable and cancel Thanksgiving dinner. Then my emotions got the best of me, and I went out and bought a small turkey today. I guess I'll just scale things down a bit. I do miss those huge family dinners we used
to have at my mom's house, or at my in-laws' house, though.

One thing I'll always remember is my mom's dressing and gravy.
Everyone in the family thought she made the best dressing in the
world, and of course she never used a recipe. No one else has been
able to duplicate it exactly, but I think I've come pretty close.

When my mom was having health problems and wasn't able to fix a big
meal one year, my sister-in-law had the bright idea to buy a pre-
cooked turkey, dressing, and gravy from Kroger. I was thinking to
myself that this didn't sound like a very good idea, but being the
lady that I am, I remained silent. That dressing was probably one of
the worst things I have ever tasted, besides beets, which my brother
Neil correctly says tastes like "basement dirt".

When I was very, very young (and I can barely even remember this), my
dad went hunting right before Thanksgiving and he brought home some
kind of bird (maybe a pheasant?) and my mom cooked it and served it
to me, while everyone else ate turkey. In my mind, it seems like it
looked something like a Cornish game hen, but whatever it was, I just
know it was delicious. I doubt if I was over 3 years old at the time.

One Thanksgiving when I was in high school my Aunt Iva Lee,
who lived in one of those huge old antebellum homes near the town square in Marietta, GA, and was sort of "high society", gave us a Long Island
duckling. Mama baked it and I found a recipe for "savory wild rice
stuffing" in a cookbook, which I made for the duckling.

It looked so nice and fat with a big old breast, but when we cut into
the breast, we hit bone at what seemed like less than half an inch
into the breast. Dang, and we had lots of people to feed! Everybody
had just a small taste of the duckling because there just wasn't much
meat to be had. Mama said ducks apparently have a big hollow space so
they can float good on the water....lol...All I can say is, thank
goodness we also had a turkey as a backup, or we would have had some
very hungry folks on our hands.

Thanksgiving at the in-laws' house was always a little different. You
know not everyone cooks the same way. My mother-in-law, bless her
heart, has the following cooking method:

Turn it on high, walk away, and when you smell something burning,
she's says, "It's ready"!!

Actually she doesn't cook EVERYTHING on high. One time she was
cooking fried (frozen) okra, (she never coats it with cornmeal) and I
am not kidding you, she cooked it slowly for about 3 HOURS. (I was
keeping track) When she put it on the table it was a slimy, mushy
conglomeration of who knows what. Anyway, Ed was the first to put
some on his plate and he said, "What is this, turnip greens?" I had
to cover my face with my napkin to stifle the laughter...lol

These are the kind of memories that caused me to realize that no way could I
"cancel Thanksgiving" this year. Big crowd or small, Thanksgiving will still go on, and I realize more than ever that I have so much to be thankful for.

Early Times Mint Julep

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
Sprigs of fresh mint
Crushed ice
Early Times Kentucky Whisky


Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool and place in a covered container with six or eight sprigs of fresh mint, then refrigerate overnight. Make one julep at a time by filling a glass with crushed ice, adding one tablespoon mint syrup and two ounces of Early Times Kentucky Whisky. Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost the outside of the cup. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint

Robert E. Lee Cookies

This recipe came from Stratford Hall, Virginia. It is said to be a favorite cookie of the Lee family, especially young Robert E. Lee. The cookies are baked at the Lee Plantation and served to visitors, along with warm cider.

1½ Cups (3 sticks) butter or margarine
½ cup molasses
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 cups flour
4 t. soda
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
1 t. ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and add molasses, sugar and eggs. Beat well. Sift together the flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger and clove and add to the butter/molasses mixture. Refrigerate the dough for several hours. Break off pieces of the dough (heaping teaspoon sized) and roll into small balls. Roll the balls in sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 1½ inches apart. Bake until firm and brown, about 8-10 minutes. Makes about 10 dozen cookies.

Old Fashioned Lemon Cheese Cake

This is a very old recipe that my mother used to make and she always got rave revues from everyone who tried it. It was a favorite at family get-togethers and church gatherings. Despite the title, there is absolutely no cheese in this cake, and it is not a "cheesecake". The filling/frosting is something that used to be called "lemon cheese", but it's something similar to what we now call that expensive little delicacy, lemon curd.

Old Fashioned Lemon Cheese Cake

First, bake a cake with your favorite yellow cake mix. (or you can make one from scratch if you prefer) My mom used Duncan Hines Butter Recipe, and she always made 3 layers. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.

Filling:

Juice and rind of 2 large lemons

1 stick butter or margarine

2 large eggs, well beaten

1 cup sugar

Combine sugar, butter, and juice and rind of lemons in top of double boiler and cook over boiling water until sugar is melted.Remove from heat and stir in well beaten eggs. Return to heat and cook, stirring occasionally until mixture coats the back of a spoon. Spread between, on top, and sides of cooled cake.

Traditional Cornbread Dressing

Everyone from the South knows that the best part of Thanksgiving is the delicious homemade dressing and gravy. Most Southerners do not stuff their turkeys. They make what is commonly referred to as "pan dressing", because it's baked in a pan. It is always made with cornbread and usually some crackers, bread or even crumbled biscuits are added. The following recipe is typical of what you'll find on the Thanksgiving dinner table in the deep South:

Traditional Cornbread Dressing

First, make a pan of cornbread with the following ingredients. This can be done the day before:

Cornbread:

1 egg, beaten
1 1/3 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
2 c. self-rising buttermilk cornmeal mix

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine beaten egg, milk and oil and stir well. Add cornmeal mix and stir until blended. Heat 8 or 9 inch iron skillet on stove until hot. Spray with non-stick spray and pour mixture into skillet. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Dressing:

1 pan of cornbread, crumbled
4 slices of white bread, dried in the oven and crumbled
20 saltine crackers, crushed
1 stick butter
2 cups chopped celery
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. sage
6 cups chicken stock
4 large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together corn bread, white bread, and saltine crackers. In a large (12 in.) skillet, melt butter over low heat. Saute onion and celery in butter until soft, about 10-15 min. Add the onion and celery mixture to the cornbread mixture, then stir in salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and sage. Spray a 9 x 13 inch metal pan with cooking spray, and pour in dressing mixture. Add chicken stock to the cornbread mixture, then stir in the eggs. Bake approximately 45-55 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve with turkey or chicken gravy. Serves approximately 20 people.

Sweet Potato Souffle With Pecan Topping

3 c. baked, peeled, mashed sweet potatoes
1 c. sugar
1/2 t.. salt
2 eggs
1/3 stick butter
1/2 c. milk
1 t. vanilla extract

Mix above ingredients together and pour into greased baking dish. Then cover with topping, below:

1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. plain flour
1 c. chopped pecans
1/3 c. melted butter

Mix topping ingredients thoroughly and sprinkle over souffle. Bake approximately 35 minutes at 350 degrees.