"Thanksgiving recipes" news and stories

We'll always have Grandma's sweet potato casserole. It's a classic. But when you want to break out and use the orange spuds for something a little less grandmotherly (like these roasted sweet potatoes with red pepper aioli), check out Kitchen Daily contributor Ian Knauer's eight recipes, among them a sweet potato gratin that's creamy and rich, and smashed spiced sweet potatoes that are as simple as they are flavorful. And if it's a casserole you want, Ian's made that, too.

The Haymans variety of sweet potato is one you should try this year. It's ugly as sin, but it's rich and creamy and prized along the East Coast. Read more about it in the Washington Post.

Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Casserole and More Sweet Potato Recipes

Every Thanksgiving I bake a pecan pie for our family dinner, and every year I get the same comments, "How did you do it? It's so rich and delicious." (Either my family is incredibly forgetful, or they're just plain nice.) The secret, which is really no secret at all, is that the pecan pie is one of the easiest desserts to make, its luscious taste far outweighing the effort you have to put into it. Bascially, it's nuts, eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla (plus a crust that, if you're a lazy baker like I am, you can buy frozen, or, if you're like my mom and sister, you can make from scratch). In this recipe for Southern Pecan Pie, the added bonus is, ta-da, bourbon. And if that doesn't sell you, I don't know what will.

For more pie recipes, and a whole lot more dessert ideas for Thanksgiving, head over to Kitchen Daily.

The editors over at our sister site, KitchenDaily, have been busy getting ready for Thanksgiving, and we've rounded up some of their best offerings to get you ready for the feast to end all feasts.

• Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes
• Thanksgiving Dessert Recipe Round-up
• Stuffing Recipes from Around the U.S.
• Thanksgiving Table Decorating Ideas
• Top 10 Thanksgiving Turkey Mistakes
• Green Bean Casserole Recipes

For more recipes, tips and party ideas for Thanksgiving, visit KitchenDaily.com.

Straight from the bogs of New England, the magical, medicinal powers of the cranberry are getting a new boost from science. NPR reports that food chemists are finding compounds within the little red berries that were unknown even 20 years ago. Jim Harnly, research leader of the USDA's Food Composition and Methods Development Lab, told NPR that the lab is using new high-tech methods to decipher the exact composition of cranberries, which are loaded with polyphenols, and known to have an antioxidant, or "anti-aging" effect. In Allison Aubrey's latest entry in her NPR video series, Tiny Desk Kitchen, she explores it all in "Are Berries All That Or Just Hype?".

After getting inspired by the video, you may be inspired to cook up some special cranberry sauces (or a Cranberry-Pecan or Gingered Cranberry-Raspberry relish) in this gallery of Kitchen daily recipes. Or get right to dessert with a Cranberry Cheesecake.

Stuffing seems to be sort of the dark horse of the Thanksgiving feast -- it's hardly the prettiest dish on the table, so it sits there, steaming and unassuming, until someone takes a bite. If it's really good -- zing! It has the potential to steal the show. And if it's bad, well, there's always next year.

If you're looking to shake things up around the Thanksgiving table this year, but want a little more guarantee for your Hail Mary efforts, then we've got the resource for you: the NFL. Yes, as in football, or more specifically, Taste of the NFL, which is the league's charitable arm devoted to raising money for food banks. They've teamed up with Swanson for "The Great Stuffing Debate," which has been going on online since November 1.

Six world-class chefs were chosen to represent the six NFL teams that are scheduled to play Thanksgiving day, and they've provided a range of mouth-watering stuffing recipes, many with a sort of regional flair. They range from New Yorker Michael Stewart's "Tavern on Jane Sausage and Apple Stuffing" (representing the New York Jets) to the Southern-style cornbread stuffing from Allison Vines-Rushing, co-chef at New Orleans's MiLa (representing the Saints).

The online contest may be winding down, but you can still check out all the recipes and download them at TheGreatStuffingDebate.com. Just in time for Game (and Turkey) Day.