In the United States, certain kinds of food are traditionally served at Thanksgiving meals. Firstly, baked or roasted turkey is usually the featured item on any Thanksgiving feast table. Stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, various fall vegetables, and pumpkin and sweet potato pie are commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner. Here are four items that were always served at our house when I was growing up. The recipes are as close as i can get them.

How to make Roast Duck

1 (5lb) Duckling at room temperature

2 tbsp of soy sauce

1 clove of minced garlic

1 tbsp of honey

1 1/2 tbsp of Thyme

1 tbsp of powdered ginger

1 tsp of sea salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

wash and dry duck or ducks

add ingredients and brush the inside and outside of the duck or ducks and let stand for one hour.

then place in a deep baking dish on a rack and place in the oven for about 2-1/2  hours and basting is the key here use the drippings from the roasting pan baste every 30 mins. Internal temp on the thigh and breast should be at least 150 degrees

Remove from oven and let it sit for 15 minutes, covered lightly,  then serve.

Candied Yams

Small amount of margarine and orange juice give these yams lots of flavor but little fat.

3 medium  yams (1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup Gran Meniere (orange liquour, optional)

1/2 cup  brown sugar, packed

1 tsp flour, sifted

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp  ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp  ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp  orange peel

1 tsp soft tub margarine

1 tsp lemon juice

Cut yams in half and boil until tender but firm (about 20 minutes).

When cool enough to handle, peel and into slices or into 1/4-inch thick cubes

Combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and grated orange peel.

Place half of the sliced yams in a medium-sized casserole dish.

Sprinkle with spiced sugar mixture.

Dot with half the amount of butter.

Add a second layer of yams, using the rest of the ingredients in the same order as above.

Bake uncovered in oven preheated to 350° F for 20 minutes.

Deep Dish Dutch Apple Pie

 Thanksgiving would not be complete without a recipe for traditional Dutch Apple Pie. This is the one dessert you’ll come across again and again in cafes and at homely birthday parties and holidays all over the country.  The Dutch are right to be proud of their pie.  After all, they’ve been perfecting it for centuries.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp brandy (or cognac or rum)
• 1 1/3 cup cubed ice cold butter (300 g)
• 1 cup brown sugar (175 g)
• A pinch of salt
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• 4 lb tart apples (1.85 kg)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar (75 g)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp corn starch (corn flour)
• 1 9 or 10 inch deep dish pie pan

Topping:

Ingredients

•2 cups all-purpose flour

•1 cup packed brown sugar

•1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

•3/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

•In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, oats and butter; set for topping.

Preparation:

 Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F.

Meanwhile, peel and core the apples, cut them into bite-sized pieces and mix with the, lemon juice, the remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar, and spices. Sprinkle the corn starch (corn flour) over and mix well.

Grease the pie tin and use the dough to cover the bottom and sides of the dish. Add the apple mixture to the pie dish and firmly press down.  Cover the pie with the topping.

Brush the pastry edges with the egg wash and place in the oven on a baking sheet to bake for approximately 1 hour. Allow the pie to cool. Serve Dutch Apple Pie with whipped cream, or vanilla ice-cream.

Sweet Potato Buscuits

Sweet potatoes add a little natural sugar to biscuit dough. These are great right out of the oven, split in two, and stuffed with Virginia ham for a scrumptious sandwich.

To make tender, fluffy biscuits, less handling, not more, is the golden rule. Use the same minimal touch you would reserve for pie pastry, kneading the dough just long enough for the ingredients to combine (about 30 seconds), then pat or roll it out as lightly as you to 3/4 inch, before cutting.

Feel free to cut them any size you like if you are making them as a side dish, I prefer a standard biscuit size.  Larger for a sandwith buscuit.  This will make about a dozen and the recipe doubles nicely.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup whole milk

1 cup baked, mashed sweet potato (about 1 medium potato)

8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), frozen

Heavy cream for brushing the tops

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside. In a separate large bowl, mix together milk and mashed sweet potato until evenly combined.

Grate frozen butter through the large holes of a box grater and toss with dry ingredients until butter is coated. Add milk mixture and mix lightly until dough forms a shaggy mass.

Turn out mixture onto a floured surface and knead just until it comes together. (The dough will not be smooth.)

Pat into a circle and use a floured rolling pin to roll dough to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or glass, cut the dough into rounds. Gather leftover dough into a circle, reroll, and cut until you have as many as you can get on the cookie sheet.

Place biscuits on a baking sheet sides gently touching, brush tops with heavy cream, and bake until the bottoms are golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.