For weeks the announcements regarding sharing favorite recipes stated listeners had to go on Facebook or Twitter. I was sad and angry about this. Twitter and Facebook are commercial enterprises that not everyone wants to sign up with, and WNYC shouldn't be pushing them on listeners.

jen l

manhattan

In my new book "Just Because You're An American Doesn't Mean You Have To Eat Like One!" (www.northshire.com) I devote a chapter to healthfully revamping Thanksgiving, or any holiday meal! Did you know that fried turkey --the second most popular method of preparation in the U.S. -- is almost equal in nutritional content to roasted turkey? (See this weeks press release http://www.turkeyfrying.net/newsroom.html). Another fantastic idea is for Olive Oil-Garlic-Mashed Potatoes. Prepare potatoes as you normally would, with or without the addition of garlic cloves. At the point that you drain the water, retain approximately 2 inches in the pot and reserve some on the side for use if needed. Using a hand blender, add EVOO, salt and pepper, and blend. You will have extremely healthy and delicious mashed potatoes! Happy Thanksgiving!

Michele Jacobson

Marlboro, N.J.

I'm adding diced, carmelized bacon to my sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. I'm thinking to sprinkle the bacon on top before serving.

Pam Starobin

One of the great, healthy recipes I have in my new book "Just Because You're An American Doesn't Mean You Have To Eat Like One!" is Olive Oil-Garlic-Mashed Potatoes! The only other added ingredients are salt and pepper! Boil the potatoes as usual, with garlic cloves. Drain off most of the water, reserving some in a cup. Use EVOO instead of butter or cream and whip with a hand blender. Healthy and delicious!
Book info at http://www.northshire.com/siteinfo/bookinfo/9781605711270/0/

Michele Jacobson

Marlboro, N.J.

I'm making green bean casserole to take to a friend's house tomorrow. Fresh green beans from the Amish market (I don't know where they get them this time of year and I'm not asking, it's just another Amish miracle, people!), portobello mushroom sauce, and Trader Joe's crispy fried onion bits. The portobello mushroom sauce has some butter, condensed pb mushroom stock, a tad of cream--not a lot of sauce, more a nod to sauce, a glaze of flavor.

there's going to be a boatload of these green beans and they better get eaten or there will be no pie, and that is a promise. :)

Jef Klein

Princeton

Set the table on the Sunday before. I have the kids do this--I keep Martha Stewart's picture of the correct place settingin the silverware box. As soon as the dinner's over I spot treat the table cloth and napkins and within a few days take them to the dry cleaners. Not having to iron the tablecloth is a big time saver for me. I"m kind of a crappy ironer and it takes forever and there's still something wrinkled when I'm don--My forehead! :)

Jef Klein

Princeton

We have several delicious & healthy Thanksgiving tips here in our video. We're also sharing our gluten-free Vegetarian (& Vegan) recipe for a Thanksgiving Quinoa Casserole presented in the same Thanksgiving link. This is a hearty meal that your palate and digestive system will truly enjoy!

http://www.lytnyc.com/category/blog/
(http://www.lytnyc.com/tag/vegetarian-thanksgiving/)

In addition, we highly recommend this simple recipe for a dairy-free dessert that will leave you smiling but won't interrupt your digestion like most refined & processed desserts tend to do!

Simple Cinnamon Plantains w/ Coconut Sprinkle!

Ingredients:
* 3 Ripe Plantains (Consider 1/2 plantain per person)
* 1 - 2 tsp Organic Ground Cinnamon (to taste)
* 1 Tbsp Organic Shredded Coconut
* Pinch of Sea Salt
* 1 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract
* 2 Tbsp Organic Coconut Oil

Preparation:

* Peel Plantains and cut off ends.

* Cut Plantains into thirds.

* Cover oven pan w/ aluminum foil.

* Drizzle 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil on foiled oven pan and place cut plantains on pan. Gently move plantains around oil to spread it evenly.

* Mix 1 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract into 1 Tbsp Organic Coconut Oil, mix gently w/ spoon, & drizzle over tops of Plantains.

* Bake at 350 deg for 20 min or until Plantains are thoroughly soft & start to caramelize.

*Remove from oven and sprinkle coconut first, then cinnamon & pinch of Sea Salt over the tops of Plantains... Serve & Enjoy! - From www.Lytnyc.com

Joyce Rockwood & Cyndie Suarez/Love Your Transformation (LYT pron: Light)

New York City

I love to make fresh cranberry relish every year. (Having the kind out of the can just isn't right in my book). I make a little fancier then usual sauce and it's always delicious.

Cranberry Relish with Blood Orange Juice and Dried Cherries
12 ounces fresh cranberries, rinsed
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup fresh blood orange juice or regular orange juice works fine
1/2 cup plus 2 TBS dried cherries
2 TBS Grand Marnier

1. In a heavy saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, water, and orange juice and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the cranberries begin to pop.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the dried cherries and Grand Marnier. Cool, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 week. Serve chilled.
Makes approx. 4 cups

Gina Plaitakis

New Jersey

Lisa’s Thai Inspired Vegetable Sauce

Ingredients:
4 T Olive Oil
1 Cinnamon Stick
4 Green Cardamom Pods
3 Cloves
1 t Mustard Seeds
6 Bay Leaves
2 T Tumeric
3 Shallots Sliced
½ T Ginger minced
4 Garlic Cloves minced
2 cups Vegetable Stock
10 oz Coconut Water
8 T Almond Flour
2 t lime juice
1 t Kosher Salt
LOTS OF PEANUTS CRUSHED

Heat olive oil with cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and cloves on medium heat until fragrant. Remove cinnamon, cardamom and cloves from olive oil and place in spice satchel and put to the side. Add mustard seeds and bay leaves to olive oil. Simmer for a couple of minutes. Add tumeric, shallots, ginger, garlic and stir for another couple minutes. Add vegetable stock ,coconut water and spice satchel and simmer for 10 minutes uncovered. Add almond flour, lime juice and salt. Stir for another minute, then shut off heat.

You can put this sauce on lots of vegetables. I’ve tried these in various combinations: chic peas, peas, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cabbage. Just don’t forget to ADD LOTS OF CRUSHED PEANUTS ON TOP BEFORE EATING!!!!

Enjoy!

Lisa

Forest Hills, NY

Rrecipe: Cranberry Kicker Sauce-- that actually gets eaten:
Prepare raspberry jello boiling the water & stirring- instead of cold water, add proportional amount of cold wine ( we use Lambrusco ). Add frozen cranberries, chopped pecans, mandarin oranges and tiny marshmallows- amounts can be adjusted ip or down according to how big of a batch or number of people you wish to serve.... Place into the fridge as usual until Jello firms up. Cranberry Kicker Sauce can be served cold or room temp... It really is terrific!

Linda Davis

Lancaster, PA

John’s Pumpkin Soup with Rastons

Pumpkin Soup
1 medium onion, minced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 stick (1/4 lb) butter
1 Large Can ( 29oz) Libby’s 100% pumpkin
1 Large Can ( 48oz) chicken broth
1 Cup heavy cream
Salt and ground White Pepper to taste

Saute’ onion and garlic in melted butter until translucent.
Add pumpkin, heat through until bubbling.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add chicken broth, heat until simmering. Simmer for ½ hour, keep warm in a crock pot.
Add heavy cream ½ hour before serving.

Rastons
1 Large Round Loaf White Bread
¼ lb Butter (1 stick)
2 Tbsps minced garlic

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut off top of loaf remove insides. Cut scooped out bread into small cubes.
Melt butter in large sauté pan, sauté garlic until just turning color.
Add bread cubes, toss to coat in butter and garlic mixture.
Fry until cubes turn golden brown, turning cubes regularly.
Fill empty bread shell with browned cubes, replace top of loaf.
Place in oven until bread shell is warm.

Serve soup with rastons. Have your guests use the cubes as croutons, they’ll be tearing apart the bread shell and using that to dip in the soup as well.

John Capobianco

Farmingdale, ny

I roast my turkey upside down for the first 2 hours, then, with a clean kitchen towel or oven mitts, I invert the turkey breast side up and finish cooking in the oven. It makes for Very moist breast meat.

Vevette

Yonkers, NY

Oyster stuffing...a great way to feed those who do not like the traditional in the bird variety ... It is a tradition in my wife's family who come from the south of France... When I took over the Thanksgiving cooking I had to learn how to make it... Quite simple... Bread cubes, one egg, fresh oysters, cream, the juice of a lemon, fresh thyme, salt, pepper ... Bake in porcelain souffle dish for 40 minutes at 350

John Hessler

wash dc

Invite friends, not family, for a totally stress-free celebration. Oh, you didn't mean that kind of suggestion...

Here is a odd little side dish recipe, originally from my husband's grandmother, who kept a kosher kitchen, that is far more delicious than its few and simple ingredients would lead you to think:

2 10 oz. packages frozen butternut squash, defrosted
4 tbsp. margarine (this makes it kosher -- feel free to use butter)
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark was never specified -- I use dark)
1 small grated onion (it doesn't have to be grated, just minced fine)
6 ozs. fresh cranberries
salt & pepper to taste

1. Mix everything together.

2. Put mixture into a covered casserole and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Sam Maser

Manhattan

An appetizer : Wild Mushroom Sage Pierogi

My wife generally prepares the bulk of the T-Day meal but I prepare the appetizers. For 20 years now, I make these Pierogi to have with wine and drinks. A couple of years ago, I made a different appetizer and our gathering of kids and friends revolted. Although they liked the rustic tart, they missed the pierogi. Can be made ahead of time and frozen.
The dough is from an old Molly Goldberg cookbook; the filling is my own invention.

Steve Greenfield

Baldwin, NY

From the Chicago Tribune, circa 1990:
Cranberry-Apple Relish
12 oz. frozen cranberries
3 unpeeled, cored, roughly chopped
Granny Smith apples
2/3 C. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
Combine in food processor in batches and coarsely chop. Transfer each batch to a bowl, stir and refrigerate for a few hours. Keeps well, freezes well, and after T'giving, is delicious as salsa with meat, on sandwiches, or heated briefly, a topping for dessert.

Jane van S

Manhattan

Saute portobello slices with chopped onion and celery, add favorite meat substitute (straight out tofu might not stand up to this) and saute till browned. Our family's favorite is sliced "Naked Cutlets" by Quorn, but that's not vegan. Line a saucepan with rolled out puff pastry (buy the sheets, not the cups)add sauted mixture and layer on a favorite stuffing/dressing -- my family likes a pecan/apple dressing, pour a little veg stock or favorite gravy to moisten and cover with another sheet of rolled puff pastry. If you're not vegan, brush the pastry with beaten egg and bake in 375 until crust is brown. All the meat eaters are intrigued and often appreciative.

Michele

Brooklyn

For perfect mashed potatoes -- wrap a head of garlic in tin foil and roast it for about an hour with the turkey.

Don't use a mixer on your potatoes ... press them through a ricer instead. Stir with butter and milk or cream, a dash of stock, and press pureed roasted garlic out of the skin and mix in, yum!

Gillian

New York

Three tips: (1) make a strong reduced turkey stock, really a turkey brown sauce, a couple of days ahead of time. This serves as the base for gravy (so the brined bird's juices aren't used) and to moisten the stuffing so it doesn't have to go into the bird. Next day it's the starter for the turkey and noodle soup.

(2) Cut the sweetness of the pecan pie by making it in a tart form and adding a layer of bittersweet chocolate.

(3) Bring the turkey to room temperature for an hour before roasting, but keep a cold pack on the breast until it goes in. Whole turkey is done at the same time!

SKV

NYC

Normally I like my brussels sprouts with bacon and my spinach with stir fried with some sesame oil, but for Thanksgiving I seem to go opposite with these two vegetables. When I first hosted an orphans thanksgiving I made a brussels spouts has with lemon zest recipe I saw in the NYTs. Thinly slice 2 pounds of spouts and then toss in 2 T of fresh lemon juice and lemon zest (set some aside) and then sit for a couple of hours. Before you're ready to serve, chop up a 3-4 cloves of garlic. Heat an equal amt of olive oil and butter in a skillet. Toss in the spouts, garlic, 2 T of poppy seeds (or mustard seeds - I have poppy on hand usually) and stir until just wilted, add some salt and pepper (and a splash of white wine if you'd like), stir for another minute or two. Transfer it to a bowl and sprinkle rest of the lemons zest and serve. It's light, bright and refreshing compared to the heavier items on the table, like my next fave thanksgiving recipe.

The spinach recipe comes from Ruth Reichel's Comfort me With Apples. take 1 - 1.5 pound of spinach (fresh), clean and drain. Boil spinach in water, until just wilted and drain. While you're waiting for the spinach to cool, chop one medium onion and 4-6 cloves garlic. Grace 6 oz of cheddar cheese.

Drain the spinach and chop. Melt butter 3-4 T in a large skillet. cook onion until it becomes translucent. Add salt and pepper and add 1 t of Cayenne pepper (you can go less, but I like it more) and garlic. Add in spinach and cheese, stir until cheese is melted.
Transfer the mixture into a shallow baking dish and cover it with bread crumbs. Cook at 350 for 20 mins and serve.

lynn