Recipes To Be Thankful For

Photos: Chris Emeott

Our Editorial Advisory Board and contributors share their favorite holiday dishes.

Edina Magazine is fortunate to be supported by a skilled and devoted team of individuals, who generously contribute their time and expertise by sharing story concepts and connecting us with other community members. Our Editorial Advisory Board is comprised of Edina residents and business owners. This diverse network across various neighborhoods adds an invaluable dimension to our insight into the community.

We asked our board members and our columnists to reveal their cherished holiday recipes. Who knows, you might just find yourself invited to a festive gathering this season, tasked with crafting a delightful cocktail. Alternatively, if you’re seeking to break free from the monotony of a regular potluck dinner, these recipes could be your ticket to culinary creativity.

Holiday Pomegranate Salad

While holiday dinners are, in my opinion, all about the side dishes, I feel like green salads are oftentimes overlooked. This salad is definitely a showstopper. —Taylor Ellingson, Noteworthy Taste columnist

Candied Walnuts

• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (can substitute pecans and almonds)
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

Salad

• 12 oz. mixed greens
• 1 apple, sliced
• ½ cup pomegranate arils
• ¼ small red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 oz. crumbled blue cheese (can substitute goat cheese)

Orange Vinaigrette

• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
• ½ tsp. salt

For the Candied Walnuts

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add brown sugar, water, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Cook for one minute or until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is slightly bubbling. Add the walnuts; stir to coat with the sugar mixture. Cook for three minutes, stirring frequently. Spread the walnuts onto a sheet of parchment paper; cool completely. Break apart, and use in the salad.

For the Dressing

Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl or Mason jar; shake to combine. If using a bowl, whisk well to combine.

Assembly

In a large bowl, add the mixed greens, sliced apples, pomegranate arils, red onion slices, blue cheese and walnuts. Drizzle with half of the dressing; toss to combine. Add more dressing as desired. Serve immediately.

Southern Black Eyed Peas with Pork (Smoked Ham Hocks)

My favorite holiday meal is a New Year’s dinner rooted in Black culture and Southern tradition. The dinner consists of black eyed peas, a green leafy vegetable, pork and cornbread, with each component of the meal having significance.

The black eyed peas symbolize wealth. The green leafy vegetable, which I alternate between cabbage and collard greens, is meant to ensure our new year is filled with good fortune, and the pork used as seasoning for the cabbage or collard represents prosperity. Finally, the delicious fluffy cornbread that rounds off the meal symbolizes gold because the corn kernels represent coins. So good and tasty, my tastebuds are puckering up just writing about this delicious meal. —Jasmine Brett Stringer, Editorial Advisory Board member and Noteworthy Travel columnist

• 1 lb. dry black eyed peas
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (32 oz.) cartons chicken broth
• 8 cups water
• 1 lb. smoked ham hocks
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• ¼ tsp. ground thyme
• salt and pepper, to taste

Place black eyed peas in a large container; cover with several inches of cool water. Let soak at room temperature, eight hours to overnight. Drain, rinse and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, and stir until onion becomes translucent, about five minutes. Pour in broth and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Stir in black eyed peas, ham hocks, bay leaf, garlic powder, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover; simmer until peas are tender, ham meat is falling off the bones and broth is thickened, about three hours.

Apple Cider Mimosas

It is the perfect twist on a classic and gives you another reason to celebrate the season. I especially love the cinnamon-sugar rim!—Erin Zosel, Editorial Advisory Board member

• 2 oz. brandy or dark rum
• 4 oz. apple cider
• 8 oz. chilled Champagne, prosecco or other sparkling wine
• apple slices for garnish, optional

To Rim the Glasses

• 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

In a shallow bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. In a separate shallow bowl, pour a few tablespoons of apple cider. Wet the edges of the glasses in the apple cider, then tap the wet edges in the cinnamon and sugar mixture to rim. Pour 1 oz. of brandy or rum and 2 oz. apple cider in each glass. Top with 4 oz. of Champagne. Enjoy immediately, garnished with apple slices as desired.

Turducken

The turducken is the epitome of holiday cooking and decadence. It’s a chicken inside of a duck, which is inside of a turkey. All three birds are separated by a layer of stuffing or dressing. Word of advice, do not debone the poultry yourself. Most butchers will gladly do this for a small fee. I ordered all three birds from Clancey’s Meats several weeks in advance. My best friend and I consulted several recipes for our turducken, and it’s a mix of Martha Stewart, New York Times and Paul Prudhomme’s recipes.

Feroza and Jennifer’s Turducken

• 1 3 ½ –4 lbs. chicken, deboned
• 1 4 ½ –5 lbs. duck, deboned
• 1 10–13 lbs. turkey, carcass deboned with legs and wings intact
• 14 cups of Martha Stewart’s Cornbread Dressing recipe (marthastewart.com/337822/cornbread-dressing), divided. Can use any stuffing recipe you prefer, or even a combination of 3 stuffings.
• 3 Tbsp.  Kosher salt
• 6 Tbsp. onion powder
• 4 Tbsp. paprika
• 5 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 5 feet of Butcher’s twine
• Butcher’s paper
• 1 Large needle

Preheat oven to 190 degrees F.* Mix salt and all ground spices in a bowl to create your seasoning mixture. Line the counter or any large flat surface with butcher’s paper. Spread the deboned turkey on the countertop, skin side down. Sprinkle 4 Tbsps. seasoning mixture across the surface of the bird and gently rub into the meat. Stuff corn dressing into the leg, thigh and wing areas. Spread an even layer of dressing over the rest of the turkey, about 6–7 cups. But this can vary depending on the size of the turkey. You will need about a ¼ inch to ½ inch thick of dressing sitting on top of the turkey. Place the duck skin side down on top of the turkey and make sure it is centered. Similar to what was done with the turkey, sprinkle 3 Tbsps. seasoning mixture onto the bird and add 4 cups of the dressing in an even layer. Arrange the chicken, skin side down, on top of the duck. As with the turkey and duck layers, season chicken and apply a layer of dressing, about 3 cups.

We made the mistake of not sewing up the bird inside of a roasting pan. We had to call in my husband to sew up the whole bird because he used to be a surgeon. For those of us who are not as gifted, have two people lift your turducken into the roasting pan. Sew up the bird using stitches that are about 1 inch apart. Tie legs together with twine. Season the surface of the turducken with the remaining seasoning mixture. Bake in the oven for about 12 hours, or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees. Do not baste the turducken. Empty drippings every few hours or the bottom of the turducken with fry in the hot oil. When done, remove the turducken from the oven and let cool in the pan for one hour. Drippings can be used to make gravy. To serve, carefully remove the turducken from the pan and onto a platter. To carve, place on a flat surface and cut crosswise so guests can get a slice that has all three meats and stuffing. 

*I first encountered turducken while visiting a friend in Cardiff, Wales for Thanksgiving. He followed the recipe with loving precision, yet he didn’t realize his oven was in Celsius. He cooked the bird at 190 Celsius, which is 375 degrees F. He also didn’t remove the drippings from the pan. The turducken ended up exploding in the oven with a loud bang in the middle of the night. I thought it was an engine backfiring and went back to sleep. I woke up in the morning to our host sitting in an easy chair mulling over his loss with a glass of brandy, his friend standing next to him with a hand on his shoulder, consoling him. We ate pizza that night.