Fort Worth Employee Recipes
For every turkey on the table during your Thanksgiving feast (usually one), there's likely another dish that will insight some curiosity and cause traditionalists — those who prefer sticking to green beans and mashed potatoes — to grimace. Many of these eccentric holiday items have become time-honored family customs that annually make their way into the Thanksgiving spread.
This year, we asked Fort Worth Magazine staff members to provide recipes of their families' unconventional Thanksgiving dishes. From drunken turkey noodles to a gelatin raspberry salad, after trying your hand at one of these dishes, you just might get inspired to forego the sweet potatoes for a tradition of your own.
Great Aunt Opal's Squash Casserole
From Spray Gleaves, senior art director
Ingredients:
- 4 medium potatoes pared and thinly sliced
- 2 medium onions, peeled, thinly sliced and ringed
- 4 small yellow straight neck squash, unpared and thinly sliced
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup commercial sour cream
- Butter a shallow baking dish that holds 2 ½ quarts and can go under the broiler.
Instructions:
- In it layer half of the potatoes, sprinkling with salt and pepper, and dot with generous pats of butter.
- In the same way layer the onion then squash.
- Repeat layering ending with squash and butter.
- Cover tightly and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
- Stir together Parmesan and sour cream — the mix will be thick.
- Spread over the top of the vegys.
- Broil watching carefully 6-8 inches from the heat, until topping is browned.
- Serve immediately.
Handmade Drunken Turkey Noodles
From Corinn Crippin, marketing manager
Noodles:
Ingredients:
- 12 large eggs
- 10 to 12 cups all-purpose flour (start with 10; add more as needed)
- 4 to 6 teaspoons salt (approximately ½ tsp per cup of flour)
- Optional: A few tablespoons of water if the dough is too dry. (If too dry add water to your hands when creating the ball of dough. If too wet, sprinkle in flower as needed)
Instructions:
- Combine dry ingredients: In a very large bowl or on a clean, floured work surface, whisk together 10 cups of the flour and the salt (your hand will hurt …).
- Add eggs: Create a large "well" (a hole) in the center of the flour mixture, and crack the 12 eggs into the well.
- Mix the dough: Use a fork to beat the eggs gently, then gradually start incorporating the flour from the inner walls of the well into the egg mixture. Continue mixing until the dough becomes stiff and difficult to work with a fork. Use your hands to bring the dough together into a rough ball.
- Roll and Cut: Divide the dough into smaller, manageable portions (around 4 to 6 pieces). On a floured surface, roll out each portion with a rolling pin until it is very thin, less than 1/8-inch thick (they puff up when cooked). Cut the dough into strips of your desired width and length using a sharp knife or pizza cutter.
- Dry and Store: Toss the cut noodles lightly with a bit more flour to prevent sticking. Spread them on a clean surface, such as a wire rack or clean bed sheets, to air dry over night. Once completely dry, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze for up to several months.
Broth:
Ingredients:
- Turkey neck
- Giblets (heart + gizzard+liver)
- Saved turkey drippin’s from last year
- Salt and pepper
- Water
- Little scraps of skin or fat if you have them
Instructions:
1. Morning broth: Put neck + giblets in a pot. Cover with water 1–2 inches over. Add pinch of salt and a few shakes of pepper and let simmer 2 to 3 hours.
2. Add last year’s drippin’s: Drop in the frozen turkey drippin’s (fat, jelly, browned bits). Let ’em melt right in.
3. Simmer all day: Add a little water if needed, and let it go low and slow for hours. Salt to taste at the end.
4. Cook the noodles: Bring broth to a soft boil and add homemade noodles a few at a time. Cook 3 to 6 minutes and let simmer 10 to 20 minutes more ’til broth is thick-ish, but not gravy.
Gelatin Raspberry Salad
From Brian Kendall, executive editor
Ingredients:
- 2 packages thawed frozen raspberries
- 1 small can crushed pineapple
- 2 packages (3 ounces) raspberry Jell-O (or one 6-ounce package)
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions:
- Drain the juice of the thawed raspberries and pineapple and add enough water to thawed fruit to make 3 cups
- Boil the Jell-O until dissolved and let cool
- Mash the cream cheese, add fruit, and mix by hand
- Add mixture to cooled Jell-O with nuts
- Refrigerate overnight
Thanksgiving Clam Dip
From Kaitlyn Lisenby, operations manager
Ingredients:
- 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 can chopped clams (roughly 7 ounces)
- 1/2 onion, chopped fine
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Heavy dash of Tabasco
- Heavy dash of Worcestershire
Instructions:
Soften the cream cheese and add to the other ingredients. Sour cream amount can be varied on preference to make the dip more/less thick.
