Favorite Holiday Recipes

Happy Thanksgiving! Since I'm in the holiday spirit I thought I'd share a few of my favorite holiday recipes with you. While your Thanksgiving dinner will most likely be long over by the time you read this, there's always Christmas dinner to look forward to and plan for! So here are some more of my tried and true, delicious holiday recipes! We'll start with dessert first. :)

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Serves 8

8 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp allspice

1 ¾ cups cranberries

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350, with rack in center. Rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with 2 tbsp butter. In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup sugar with the cinnamon and allspice. Sprinkle mixture evenly over bottom of pan; arrange cranberries in a single layer on top.

2. With an electric mixer, cream remaining 6 tablespoons butter and ½ cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, until well combined.

3. Spoon batter over cranberries in pan, and smooth top. Place pan on a baking sheet; bake cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake; invert onto a rimmed platter.

Aunt Joanie's Crescent Rolls

1/2 cup warm water
2 TBS yeast
Mix the yeast and warm water until yeast dissolves
Scald 1 1/2 cups milk and cool to lukewarm
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup soft butter (tip - melt butter in milk while the milk is cooling)
7-7 1/2 cups flour

Mix the above ingredients together and let the dough raise until it's double in size. Then roll it out in a circle, brush melted butter on top of the dough, and cut into crescent rolls (easily done with a pizza cutter). Bake rolls at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

8-10 medium-size russet baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup sour cream
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water to cover, until tender, and drain.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rub a 13x9-inch baking dish with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the Parmesan into the dish and tip the dish so the cheese is evenly distributed and adheres to the butter.
3. Place the hot cooked potatoes in a large bowl and add the sour cream, cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of the remaining butter, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, ad the chives, if using. Using an electric mixer, beat the potatoes until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add with salt and pepper as desired.
4. Transfer to the prepared dish, dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
Diva Do-Ahead Tip: At this point, you can cover and refrigerate for 2-3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. bring to room temperature before continuing. Bake the potatoes until golden, about 25 minutes. Serve hot.

(This recipe was taken from Happy Holidays by Diane Phillips)