Our Family’s Southern Thanksgiving Recipes

We absolutely love Thanksgiving! How cool is it that we have a national holiday in order to remember all that we are thankful for? Appreciating our blessings, sharing a bountiful meal with our loved ones and kicking off the holiday season are a few reasons Thanksgiving is our favorite. We are getting super excited anticipating all the good smells in our kitchen, how full our bellies will be, a day filled with laughter, and that plate of late night leftovers. Our family usually gathers in the afternoon along with lots of friends. Some of our traditions include going around the table and having each person talk about something they are thankful for, an insane spread of food, an after-dinner game of bingo, and an evening Christmas movie. In honor of our favorite holiday, we thought we would share some of our family’s time-honored recipes with you. These are courtesy of our family cookbook, The Callie King Cockman Family Cookbook, which was compiled by our beloved Margaret Cockman Kitchel. We wish all of you the happiest of Thanksgivings. (And we are so grateful for each one of you!)

Cousin Ann’s Party Potatoes

 Serves about 10
 You can make these mashed taters two days ahead. A real lifesaver when you are cooking for a crew like ours.
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and chunked
Salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
8 ounces sour cream
 Freshly ground black pepper
Paprika
Peel and slice enough potatoes to fill a 2-quart pot. Boil potatoes until done.
Whip. Add cream cheese and sour cream. Whip until fluffy. Add butter and salt to taste.
Put into a greased 13 x 9 casserole dish. Put small pats of butter on top.
Refrigerate, covered tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days before baking.
Bake in a 350-degree oven until lightly brown for about 30-45 minutes.
You can add in green onions, chives, cheese, peppers, etc. to taste.

Jacqui’s Asparagus Delight

Serves about 6
The kids in our family love this dish. We’re sure yours will, too.
2 cans of asparagus spears
2 teaspoons butter
Parmesan Cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a layer of asparagus spears in a casserole dish. Put small pats of butter on this layer.
Liberally sprinkle Parmesan cheese over asparagus. Place another layer of asparagus on top of the cheese.
Repeat layers until you run out of asparagus. Bake until the top layer of cheese turns a light golden brown.

Elizabeth’s Sweet Potato Casserole

Serves about 10
3 cups sweet potatoes, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
Cream together the above ingredients. Pour into buttered casserole dish.
[Handy tip: use disposable foil pans from the Dollar Tree.]
Topping
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix together topping ingredients with two forks until crumbly.
Sprinkle on top of sweet potato mixture and bake for 30-45 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven.

Aunt Sarah’s Vidalia Onion Pie

Serves about 10
1 cup Ritz crackers, crumbled
1/2 stick margarine, melted
1 cup Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
 3/4 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
pepper
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
paprika
Mix together crackers and 1/2 stick of melted margarine in a pie dish.
Sautee onions in 2 tablespoons butter until clear.
Add eggs, milk, salt, and pepper to onions. Mix.
Pour onion mixture into crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with cheddar and paprika, put back in oven until cheese melts.

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