Thanksgiving Recipe Contest...and the winners are...

Well, after going through all the wonderful recipes submitted for our fun contest we realized that with so little time, everyone who submitted a recipe won!  So our congratulations to each of you!  We will be in touch to arrange delivery of your prizes.

Our prize winners are:

Sarah's Cherry Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
8-10 sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp cherry juice concentrate
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp melted butter
1/8 tsp ground ginger
Green onions, sliced, to taste
Directions:
Cut cleaned sweet potatoes in half (but don't peel them).  Spray a cookie sheet with Pam, place the sweet potatoes with the cut-side down on the sheet.  Bake 30-40 mins. at 400 degrees.  Stir cherry juice concentrate, brown sugar, melted butter, and ginger together.  Flip the sweet potatoes over, and brush with the cherry  mixture.  Bake at 400 degrees until tender (an additional 5-10 minutes).  Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

Kitchen Dweller's Refrigerator Rolls
YUMMYYY!  This is a recipe that lots of people use on Big Daddy's side of the family.  They are so light and fluffy, and practically melt in your mouth.  The batch makes 32 and they usually don't last two days.  We may like them a little too much, if that is possible.
Ingredients:
2 pkgs dry yeast (1 1/2 Tbsp)
1/2 c warm water
1 Tbsp sugar

2 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 c warm water
1/2 c melted butter
4 3/4 c flour
melted or softened butter (additional)
Directions:
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c warm water with one Tbsp sugar and set aside for at least 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs.  Add the sugar and mix.  Mix in the salt and warm water, then add the melted butter and dissolved yeast mixture.  (Make sure the better is not super hot, we do not want to make scrambled eggs!:) ).  Stir in the flour (the dough should be a tiny bit sticky, I also just usually mix in the flour with my hands).  Cover the dough and refrigerate for two hours or over night.  Grease two large cookie sheets.  Split dough into two balls and roll out into big circles.  Spread on the melted or softened butter (this is where I like to melt it and use my pastry brush).  Using a pizza slicer cut each circle into 16 pieces.  Roll up into crescent shapes and place onto greased cookie sheet.  Cover rolls with a towel and let rise for about 1 1/2 hours.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cook one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.  If you are feeling crazy right when you take the rolls out of the oven spread some butter on the top!

Kaelee's Sweet Potato Casserole
This is my favorite Sweet Potato Casserole recipe we have every Thanksgiving!
Ingredients
2 cans sweet potatoes-mashed
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs beaten
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c sugar
canned milk
(topping)
1/4 c butter
3/4 c brown sugar
3 Tbsp flour
Directions
Blend all ingredients together.  Add canned milk until smooth.  Pour into casserole dish, and crumble topping on the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Stacie's Cranberry Sauce Extraordinaire
Ingredients
1 c water
1 c white sugar
1 (12 oz.) package fresh cranberries
1 orange, peeled and pureed
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 pear, peeled, cored, and diced
1 c chopped dried mixed fruit (can be anything you want it to be)
1 c chopped pecans (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
Directions
In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar until the sugar dissolves.  Reduce the heat to simmer and stir in cranberries, pureed orange, apple, pear, dried fruit, pecans, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst.  Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Thanks so much for joining with us for this contest, and especially all you who shared your favorite recipes with us!  We'll be posting the next recipe contest shortly, so stay tuned!  Congratulations again to each of you!

Garlic and Chives Mashed Potatoes

Whenever we sit down to a turkey dinner, we just have to include this creamy, flavorful dish.  I know, mashed potatoes are incredibly common and one of the most consumed forms of potatoes.  Yet, I have had so many people ask for how to make our potatoes I thought we would just include the recipe and tips here.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Garlic and Chives Mashed Potatoes

4-5 large baking potatoes, washed with any 'spoil spots' trimmed off
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2+ tsp kosher salt
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 c cream (or evaporated milk)
2-3 Tbsp sour cream (to taste)
2 Tbsp freshly chopped chives (or to taste)

Cut potatoes into 1/2 in cubes (do not peel!), then put into a 3 qt. pot.  Fill with water until potatoes are covered, then pour in salt and whole garlic cloves.  Boil until potatoes are soft, then drain.  Put hot potatoes into a mixing bowl and beat on low, all the while adding butter, cream, sour cream, and finally 1/2 the chives until it reaches your favorite consistency.  Place into serving bowl and sprinkle the remaining chives over the top.  Add a small pat of butter (for decoration to really help those salivary glands kick in!).

I know that traditionally everyone peels the potatoes before boiling them.  I'll give you a little tip from a childhood spent playing in potato fields in Idaho: you don't have to do it!  Most of the nutritional value found in potatoes are in their peels, including several nutrients that help with weight loss.  When you add that to the wonderful textures that your tongue loves to play with while you are eating your mashed potatoes, you can see why we recommend leaving them in the dishes!

Welcome one and all!

With the holidays literally knocking on our doors, it is time to pull out our aprons and oven mits, and get ready to play in the kitchen!

So to really kick things off with a bang, we are going to get to know everyone and as many Thanksgiving traditions as we can all at once with a recipe contest.  With Thanksgiving just 2 weeks away, what better chance could we have to send out an all call to everyone for your favorite Thanksgiving recipes and what makes them special to you!

The idea of the contest is this:

We will be opening for your competing pleasure 8 categories (to be explained in detail in a moment).  Each submission must include a clear recipe, with an optional explanation of what makes that item a favorite for you or your family (the explanation will not factor into the judging).  The deadline for submissions is November 22nd, with the winners being announced each day of the following week.  Simply email your submission to handmadeheritage@gmail.com by the deadline, or leave a comment at the end of this post.

The prizes are being hosted by The Handmade Heritage.  Each winner will receive a prize package including a handmade Magnetic Recipe Board and an array of handmade gourmet candies worth over $30.  The prize posted is for the winners of each category, though each complete recipe will be posted.  With winners will start being posted each day starting the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, that could make for a lot of recipes to choose from!  The categories and pertinent details are as follows:

Turkey: nothing is as traditionally important for Thanksgiving dinner as the turkey.  Due to time constraints, we are asking this year that all turkey recipes submitted be for a roasted turkey (no deep fried, barbequed, or smoked).

Potatoes: the fun starch found partnered next to turkey each season is an american staple throughout the year.  But there is so much more that can be done with it than to simply boil, mash, and serve!  So bring on your creativity, lets see what you can really do! 

Cranberry Relish or Sauce: one of only two items that can be said to actually enhance the flavor of a perfectly roasted turkey is the relish...yet it has been relegated to a back seat so severely that most have forgotten that it is meant to be a key for "the perfect bite".  So no canned cranberry sauce.  Let's see what will really make that turkey sing!

Gravy: I know it seems to be the simplest, easiest thing placed next to the tukey and potatoes, but there is no better way to spread the delicious taste of the turkey all around the plate.  Yet there are so many different ways to make each gravy or sauce distinctly different, so let's bring them on and explore everyone's own favorite!

Bread: Nothing makes you think of a fine cooked meal more than the aroma of freshly baked bread!  But every region of the world has their own traditional flavors, so we wanted to find out just what you do to make this tradition special for your Thanksgiving table!

Stuffing: Tradition has said that stuffing was a dish made and served along with a turkey.  But this time we wanted to make sure that it could take it's own place in the spotlight!  And for safety's sake, please don't submit this cooked inside the turkey.  I know that there are many fantastic cooks out there who do, but we want to make these available to everyone...of any ability or experience.

Side Dishes: These can include everything from a fruity waldorf, to a traditional green bean casserole to a stuffed mushroom or squash, or even simple buttered carrots.  With the wealth of options, it shouldn't be difficult to find at least one traditional favorite to submit!

Pie: Sweet, soft, crunchy, fruity, or nutty, nothing signifies the end of all the feasting like a Thanksgiving pie!  Make sure that each pie recipe submitted is a fresh pastry shell (rather than refrigerated or frozen), and please no commercially prepared fillings.

With so many options, and so many traditional gems that are enjoyed each year, we can't wait to see what everyone sends in!  So tie that apron sash, and good luck to everyone!