What Local Foodies & Chefs Are Bringing to Thanksgiving
Nov 27, 2024 02:44PM ● By Lauren Pope
Mom's Cranberries
For Briana Bramelette-Sikes of Parish Crawfish, the perfect side of cranberries starts with taking a can of cranberries and throwing it straight into the trash. Not really, but I hope I've made my feelings clear; I, too, am a cranberry sauce purist. It's the easiest side to make! Here's Briana's recipe:
Funeral Potatoes is a side dish that Aji City's Amanda & Rodrigo have made every Thanksgiving since they met in Salt Lake City, Utah. This casserole is a comfort food classic, consisting of shredded or cubed potatoes, onions, cheese, cream of chicken soup, and sour cream. It's topped with crushed corn flakes and baked until it's browned, creamy, cheesy, and crunchy—a dish that feels like a warm hug on a plate.
What’s Cooking This Thanksgiving?
Not everyone sticks to tradition when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. For Joel Frosh at South Plains Food Co., it's time to ditch the turkey altogether:
"I am going to make a steak with grilled shrimp. After cooking 100 Thanksgiving meals, I don’t want to look at a turkey!!"
Meanwhile, Laura Kate from Sweet Stirrings swears by a tried-and-true sweet potato casserole recipe: "Sweet potato casserole. The Ruth’s Chris recipe…it’s sooooo yummy!"
Decadent Mac & Cheese from Chef Tai
Chef Tai of Tai'Lynn’s Taste of Elegance delivered a game-changer: Malachi’s Mac & Cheese. This indulgent holiday side takes mac and cheese to a whole new level, featuring a luxurious blend of Velveeta, smoked Gouda, queso, and cheddar cheeses. Chef Tai uses locally sourced Feliciana cream-line milk and a perfectly executed roux to transform simple elbow noodles into a creamy masterpiece. The final touch? A golden cheddar crust with fresh parsley for garnish.
You're going to want to add this decadent dish to your holiday rotation—it’s guaranteed to impress even the pickiest of eaters!
Malachi’s Mac & Cheese: Serves 8
Prep time 20min
Cook time 15 min
Total time 35 min
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add dry pasta when return to boil let boil for 12 min or Al dente. Once cooked remove pasta from pot let drain, once your pasta has drained add oil of your choice to keep pasta from sticking together. Set it aside, wash pot to use to make sauce.
Heat your pot on high heat , add your butter let it melt . Once your butter has melted add your flour, with a whisk continuously stir until butter and flour are completely combined.
Once flour and butter are combined gradually pour in your whole milk as you continue to stir. Stir until smooth and let your mixture come to a boil.
Once your mixture has come to a boil , turn heat down to medium. Once heat is turned to medium gradually stir in your velveta, queso cheese,and smoked Gouda , continue to stir until mixture is smooth and all cheese is melted.
Once cheese sauce is complete , pour in your pasta and mix very well all noodles should be coated by the sauce. Salt & pepper to taste.
Once Mac&Cheese are mixed well transfer the mixture to your baking dish. Smooth out evenly and sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese and parsley on top.Let it bake for 25-35 min. or until bubbly and hot.
For Briana Bramelette-Sikes of Parish Crawfish, the perfect side of cranberries starts with taking a can of cranberries and throwing it straight into the trash. Not really, but I hope I've made my feelings clear; I, too, am a cranberry sauce purist. It's the easiest side to make! Here's Briana's recipe:
- 1 12-oz. bag cranberries (fresh)
- ¾ cup sugar (brown & white)
- 1 cup Orange Juice
- 1 Tbsp. orange zest
- Kosher salt
- 1–2 Tbsp. liqueur (such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier; optional)
- Also good to add chopped apples, oranges, & pecans!
- Combine one 12-oz. bag fresh cranberries, ¾ cup sugar (you can replace some or all of the white sugar with brown sugar for a deeper, more caramelly flavor), 1 Tbsp. orange zest, a pinch of kosher salt, and 1 cup orange juice in a medium saucepan. Optional add 1–2 Tbsp. orange liqueur, such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the cranberries start to pop and get soft and jammy—they should easily coat the back of the spoon—stirring frequently so nothing sticks and burns at the bottom. This takes about 10 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and let the cranberry sauce cool to room temperature (or refrigerate if you like it cold). Delicious the next day with leftovers!
Funeral Potatoes is a side dish that Aji City's Amanda & Rodrigo have made every Thanksgiving since they met in Salt Lake City, Utah. This casserole is a comfort food classic, consisting of shredded or cubed potatoes, onions, cheese, cream of chicken soup, and sour cream. It's topped with crushed corn flakes and baked until it's browned, creamy, cheesy, and crunchy—a dish that feels like a warm hug on a plate.
What’s Cooking This Thanksgiving?
Not everyone sticks to tradition when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. For Joel Frosh at South Plains Food Co., it's time to ditch the turkey altogether:
"I am going to make a steak with grilled shrimp. After cooking 100 Thanksgiving meals, I don’t want to look at a turkey!!"
Meanwhile, Laura Kate from Sweet Stirrings swears by a tried-and-true sweet potato casserole recipe: "Sweet potato casserole. The Ruth’s Chris recipe…it’s sooooo yummy!"
Decadent Mac & Cheese from Chef Tai
Chef Tai of Tai'Lynn’s Taste of Elegance delivered a game-changer: Malachi’s Mac & Cheese. This indulgent holiday side takes mac and cheese to a whole new level, featuring a luxurious blend of Velveeta, smoked Gouda, queso, and cheddar cheeses. Chef Tai uses locally sourced Feliciana cream-line milk and a perfectly executed roux to transform simple elbow noodles into a creamy masterpiece. The final touch? A golden cheddar crust with fresh parsley for garnish.
You're going to want to add this decadent dish to your holiday rotation—it’s guaranteed to impress even the pickiest of eaters!
Malachi’s Mac & Cheese: Serves 8
Prep time 20min
Cook time 15 min
Total time 35 min
- 1lb elbow noodles (dry)
- 1/2c salted butter
- 1/2 c all purpose flour
- 4c whole milk( Feliciana best cream line)
- 2c velveta shredded or small diced.
- 2c smoked Gouda shredded or small diced.
- 2 c queso shredded cheese.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Parsley (garnish)
- 1c cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 3 qt baking dish and set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add dry pasta when return to boil let boil for 12 min or Al dente. Once cooked remove pasta from pot let drain, once your pasta has drained add oil of your choice to keep pasta from sticking together. Set it aside, wash pot to use to make sauce.
Heat your pot on high heat , add your butter let it melt . Once your butter has melted add your flour, with a whisk continuously stir until butter and flour are completely combined.
Once flour and butter are combined gradually pour in your whole milk as you continue to stir. Stir until smooth and let your mixture come to a boil.
Once your mixture has come to a boil , turn heat down to medium. Once heat is turned to medium gradually stir in your velveta, queso cheese,and smoked Gouda , continue to stir until mixture is smooth and all cheese is melted.
Once cheese sauce is complete , pour in your pasta and mix very well all noodles should be coated by the sauce. Salt & pepper to taste.
Once Mac&Cheese are mixed well transfer the mixture to your baking dish. Smooth out evenly and sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese and parsley on top.Let it bake for 25-35 min. or until bubbly and hot.