Food, glorious food! The season of excessive eating has officially begun. Read on for a few recipe ideas for your Thanksgiving feast.

THE Cranberries
Courtesy of Judi Chimits, assistant to the AVP, development

Servings: 5 cups of relish
Prep time: 15 minutes plus 1 – 3 days chilling time

Ingredients

  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1½ cups water
  • 6 cloves
  • 6 allspice berries
  • 4 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
  • 2 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
  • Grated zest of 2 oranges

Place the cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks on cheesecloth. Tie with twine.

Bring sugar, water, cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks to boil in an 4/6-quart saucepan. Cook, stirring, until syrup is clear, about 3 minutes.

Add cranberries and cook until they begin to pop and break down. You’ll know they’re ready when they drip slowly from the edge of the spoon. Don’t overcook – the mixture should be lumpy as you want the “bite” of the cranberries (you’re not making jam, you want it lumpy).

Cook for approximately 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, add grated orange zest and cool.

Refrigerate 3 days before serving; this gives the flavors time to settle. Remove cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks before serving.

To make holiday gifts, you can put the warm cranberry sauce in canning jars and refrigerate until you give them away. You should tell the recipients that they’re not canned and that they do require refrigeration.

Do Ahead Mashed Potatoes
Courtesy of Hallie Nicholson, manager of development communications

These SINFULLY decadent and rich mashed potatoes are from my aunt’s church’s cookbook (St. Dunstan’s Episcopal in Tulsa, Okla.). They’re a great dish to make ahead of time and save some stove-top space (and time) on Thanksgiving Day.

1 5-lb. bag of Yukon Gold potatoes (or potatoes of your choice)
1 cup sour cream
6 oz. cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for top
2 teaspoons onion salt
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper (I like white pepper in this recipe)

Peel and cube potatoes; boil until just tender. Drain well and beat with remaining ingredients. Spoon into a large buttered baking dish and dot with additional butter (I melt butter and spoon it over the top.)

Cover tightly and refrigerate. When ready to use, heat at 350 for 30 minutes, or until hot. (I usually take them out and allow them to come to room temperature before putting in the oven, to assure that they heat all the way through.)

They can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Serves 12.