AS050 Ask Sister – Special Edition: Thanksgiving

AS050 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on November 26, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Special Thanksgiving Edition. Topics include: festive meals, turkey sound effects, recipes, prayers, our favorite Thanksgiving stories, gratitude, and more!

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Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the recipes and stories mentioned in this special edition Ask Sister podcast:

Pumpkin Cheesecake from Suze

9″ or 10″ spring-form pan

Crust:
1 1/4 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 27 or so cookies crushed fine)
5-6 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup cool water
1 cup heavy cream
2 – 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 – 16 oz can pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

For crust combine the gingersnap cookie crumbs with melted butter and press into the bottom of the spring-form pan. Refrigerate for 15 or so minutes to set the crust.

For filling, in a one cup glass measuring cup, combine the unflavored gelatin with the cool water, let sit for 5 minutes to soften. Place the measuring cup into a small saucepan with an inch of boiling water, cook over medium heat until gelatin is dissolved (about a minute or so, don’t overcook). Remove the cup from pan and let cool.

Beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. In another bowl beat the softened cream cheese and the sugar for about 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree and spices to the cream cheese, beating just until combined (I use a wooden spoon for this step). With the wooden spoon, stir in the softened gelatin until combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream just until incorporated, mixture will look a bit streaky that is ok. Refrigerate at least 4-6 hours or overnight. Sometimes I make pie crust shapes (cut outs of numbers for birthdays, leaves in the fall, a turkey at Thanksgiving and a snowman for Christmas, etc) to decorate the top. If you do this, bake the crust pieces then put onto the cheesecake just before serving.

Sweet Potato Pie from Suze

Single layer pie crust, uncooked. Cover the edges with foil for the first 20 minutes of baking so edges don’t get too brown then remove foil for remainder of baking time

1 cup boiled sweet potatoes, smashed with a potato masher to smoothness or riced if you are a purist (like my mom was)
1 cup sugar (I use only 1/2 cup)
2 beaten eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or you can use 1/2 teaspoon, I like lots of cinnamon)
1/2 cup brown sugar (the dark brown sugar gives a nice color to the finished pie)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup broken pecan pieces

Mix the smashed sweet potatoes, sugar and eggs together. Add milk, flour and spices and blend all together. In a separate bowl, mix the brown sugar, melted butter and pecan pieces together and set aside. Pour sweet potato mixture into unbaked the pie shell. Bake at 325 about 20-25 minutes (TOTAL baking time is 45 minutes or so, until the custard is set). When you remove the foil from the crust edge, sprinkle the top of the pie with the brown sugar, butter and pecan mixture then continue baking.

Let cool completely before cutting into the pie as this recipe is based on a chess pie so the pie will be a bit puffy when first out of the oven but settles into a simply delicious consistency.

Colcannon from Julia

Here’s a recipe that I like, called Colcannon (don’t ask me how to pronounce it). It’s an old Celtic way to make mashed potatoes, traditionally made by the Irish on All Saints day to predict the future of the children. For the divination: after the dish is ready, stir in a thimble (spinster), a ring (marriage), a button (bachelor), coin (wealth), and a cross (priest or nun). I’ve never done that game, but if you do, I recommend you sterilize the game pieces, and warn everyone to eat carefully.

4 cups mashed potato’s
2 1/2 cups cabbage, cooked and chopped fine
1/2 cup butter (avoid corn oil margarine as they will not add the needed body and flavor)
1/2 cup cream or evaporated milk
3/4 cup onion, chopped very fine and sauteed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Saute onions (traditionalist’s saute in lard or grease, but butter is acceptable). Boil the potato’s and mash them (don’t use artificial potato flakes). Boil (or steam) the chopped cabbage

In a large pan place all the ingredients, except the cabbage, and cook over low heat while blending them together.

Turn the heat to medium and add the cabbage. The mixture will take on a pale green cast. Heat and serve.
(Serves eight.)

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