Thanksgiving Recipes for the Holidays

I feel like we blinked and the holiday season is upon us.  This is my favorite time of year but I am still left asking myself how we are already a week away from Thanksgiving and there is SNOW on the ground . . crazy right.  As foodies, J and I love this time of year.  We get to try out new holiday recipes and of course bring out our old favorites as well.  In our house it has become a tradition to make a pumpkin roll, something my mother-in-law passed down to me and buttery yeast rolls from our time living in the midwest.  But this year, we have a few new favorites including a whiskey sour recipe from my friend Claire.

Whiskey Sour

In our house we love a good whiskey drink, either neat or mixed in as a classic cocktail

Football Dip

This is the proverbial guilty pleasure for the football game on Thanksgiving Day.  Just don’t tell your guests what’s in it because . . calories don’t count during the holidays . . am I right!

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup grated swiss cheese

.5 cup of ritz crackers

.5 cup of mayo

8 slices of cooked bacon

Mix softened cream cheese, swiss cheese, and mayo well.  Place in an 8×8 pan. Top with crumbled bacon and crackers.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Serve with frito or tortilla chips.  I would recommend if you have a large party, make extra.

Thanksgiving Roll Recipe

Lastly no Thanksgiving or holiday meal is complete without a good homemade roll . . and according to J . . they are for making sandwiches as leftovers.  For real, that man could make a sandwich out of anything, probably even a flip flop.

1 cup of very warm water

2 packages active dry yeast

.5 cup of melted butter

.5 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp salt

4 -5 cups flour

Additional melted butter

Combine the warm water and yeast in a large bowl.  Let stand until yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes.  Stir in butter, sugar, eggs, and salt.  Beat in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough is too stiff to mix (some flour may not be needed).  Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or up to 4 days.  To bake, grease a 9×13 pan.  Turn the chilled dough onto a lightly floured board.  Divide dough into 24 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into smooth round ball:  place balls in even rows in the prepared pan.  Cover and let rise until doubled in volume, about an hour.  Preheat the oven to 375.  Bake 15 – 20 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.  Brush with melted butter and break apart to serve.