Lisa Fischer

Like the rest of the planet, this Thanksgiving is not like the others. I have made mention that we typically have nearly 30 people, many of whom who have no place to go for the holiday. This year it's only our family. And we are so missing our usual guests.

But the show must go on. So the smoked turkey breast and ham have been ordered from Corkys Ribs & BBQ; my catering folks at Crave Catering are doing the collard greens and cornbread dressing; Aunt Kim is bringing green bean bundles; daughter Anna Margaret is making dairy-free mashed potatoes; daughter Sidney is bringing a couple of desserts. We also have a salad and gluten-free Brazilian bread coming our way.

I'm doing the cranberry sauce, corn casserole, coquitos (hooch at Thanksgiving is perfectly acceptable) and apricot pie. I have listed those recipes here.

This first recipe I stole from Bon Apetit in 2003. I adore it. My family adores it. You'll never open up a can of cranberry sauce after eating this.

Cranberry Sauce with Marmalade and Cinnamon

Makes 3 cups

Ingredients

• • 1 1/2 cups orange marmalade
  • 2/3 cup orange juice
  • 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
  • 1 12-ounce bag cranberries
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in medium saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until mixture comes to boil. Mix in cranberries; return to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until berries burst and sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer sauce to medium bowl; cool completely. Mix in parsley and season with pepper. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.)

LISA'S CORN CASSEROLE

• 6 slices bacon
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 TB. butter
• 2 TB. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cans (12 to 16 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 TB. minced fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a large skillet, fry bacon; drain, crumble and set aside.
2. Pour off bacon grease; melt butter over medium low heat.
3. Add onion and green bell pepper; saute 2 minutes.
4. Stir in flour and salt.
5. Gradually add the sour cream. Heat until it just begins to bubble; stir constantly; add corn and heat through.
6. Stir in half the crumbled bacon.
7. Transfer corn and sour cream mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish.
8. Top corn with remaining crumbled bacon and chopped parsley.
9. Keep it warm in the oven at 190-200 degrees until your other dishes are ready.

Serves 6

Happy Boozy Thanksgiving, everybody! This next number is straight from a Puerto Rican immigrant who came to our house for Thanksgiving a few years ago. She brought this as her potluck contribution. We think of Maritza every year at Thanksgiving because of this goodness.

COQUITOS!
Ingredients

• 1 (15-ounce) can cream of coconut
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 6 ounces coconut rum or plain rum (use less if you like)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract (or vanilla extract)
• Garnish: ground nutmeg or cinnamon or cinnamon stick

Directions
Mix cream of coconut, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, rum, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and coconut or vanilla extract in a blender
Process them until they are well-mixed and then pour into a glass pitcher or bottle and cover it (or refrigerate the blender bowl).
Refrigerate for about 1 hour before serving. This drink tastes best very cold.
Shake to mix well right before serving.
Pour into a small glass and sprinkle the top with nutmeg or cinnamon or garnish with a cinnamon stick. You can serve it on the rocks if you prefer.
You can adjust the amount of rum to suit your taste, or even leave it out for a virgin coquito. But I don’t recommend it. You’ll like the hint of hooch in it.

And finally, for dessert, I will make the Fischer family favorite: apricot pie. This is an easy recipe. Cook down a couple of cups of chopped dried apricots. Cover them with water. They will need maybe 45 minutes to cook down to the point where they are soft. They will burn. I know this all too well. The high sugar content makes them ripe for burning easily. Then add maybe a cup of sugar. I'm sorry but this is how Kris Fischer's MeMaw told me how to make it. She never used a recipe and just dictated to me how to do it. Then put this deliciousness in an uncooked pie crust. Top it with another pie crust. Make the fancy edges and all but cover them with foil when you cook the pie. That, too, can burn. Again, I know this all too well. I put slits in the top and bake it at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and then another 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Let it rest about 15 minutes and serve with vanilla ice cream. This is such a good tart dessertt.