Jonathan Friedman
Fun and food
This Thanksgiving, I will be doing something I did for more than 20 years, but haven’t done in seven years-spending Turkey Day in South Florida. I write this, of course, just a few hours before I’m supposed to head to LAX to make the cross-country flight. With that airport’s recent record, I’m not making any guarantees I’ll acutally be spending my time in the land of mosquitoes and 100 percent humidity. But assuming I make it there, it’ll be fun to return to my hometown. With my parents no longer living there, and most of my friends having left, every visit I make to South Florida, I declare it will be my last. But this will mark my second visit this year, so that goes to show what my declarations are worth. Besides, it’s always fun to see the few friends and family who have decided to remain. And the ocean water is warmer.
Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. Any day dedicated to eating, and you don’t have to say a bunch of prayers before getting to the feast, is my kind of celebration. Plus, there’s football all day long (although I’d recommend a full card of horse racing at Hollywood Park. The advertisement tells people to bring the whole family to a special brunch at the track. How much of a degenerate gambler do you have to be that even on Thanksgiving Day you’ve got to play the ponies?)
The holiday is also a chance to catch up with family and friends you haven’t seen in a while. Who doesn’t love that? Even the people you don’t like, it’s fun to hear how they are doing (as you chuckle if their life is in the toilet or have fits of inner-jealous rage if you hear about their success). And, of course, if the family and friends are too much, there’s always the other Thanksgiving tradition-booze. But I don’t recommend spiking the gravy bowl with Jack, no matter how hilarious of an idea it might seem at first.
Anyhow, I am a terrible cook who still can’t master Ramen, so I have no recipes of my own to offer. But here are a couple from my loving mother, Kimber Friedman. If you have great success with either of them, feel free to contact her at hfried1100@aol.com. She likes to hear from fans.
Happy Thanksgiving Malibu!
Seriously Scrumptious Stuffing
This recipe will stuff a 20- to 22-pound turkey with an additional pan baked outside of the turkey.
Ingredients:
4-6 loaves of white bread (depending on the size of the loaf) broken into small bite-size pieces
1 bunch of celery trimmed and cut into small pieces
2 large sweet onions cut into small pieces
1 pound of fresh mushrooms, cut into pieces
1 stick of margarine for each loaf of bread
salt, pepper & garlic to taste
1 to 2 cups of milk
Directions:
Sauté the celery, onions, garlic and mushrooms in the margarine. Add the bread and seasonings. Season with salt and pepper. Add the milk half a cup at a time to make a fairly damp, but not soggy, consistency. Stuff the turkey immediately before placing in the oven. Put the remaining stuffing into a baking dish and bake until brown on top.
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
6 29-ounce cans of cut sweet potatoes
6 cups of sugar
2 cups of water
cinnamon
2 sticks of margarine
Directions:
In a large saucepan mix water and sugar. Cook until a syrup is made, stirring constantly. When a thread is formed from the bottom of the spoon as the syrup drips off, the candy stage has been reached.
Spray a large, deep baking dish with a cooking spray. Layer the cut potatoes with cut pieces of the margarine and cinnamon. Pour the syrup over the layered potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees until the syrup thickens and the potatoes are candied. This will take several hours.