The Miami Hurricane staff searched the family cupboards and dusted off old recipes passed down from generation to generation. Below is a collection of recipes from our families. We hope you enjoy these dishes with your own friends and families.
Curried green beans from Alysha Khan, online editor
Khan’s parents were born and raised in India. This recipe was passed down from her grandmother to her mother.
“Every year, we make it to add some Indian flair to our Thanksgiving meal,” Khan said.
Ingredients (serves six to eight):
1lb. of green beans
½ of a jalapeno pepper
4 to 5 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons cumin
1 medium-sized onion
Salt
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
Grated coconut (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
Procedure:
- Chop the jalapeno pepper and garlic finely.
- Chop the onion into large pieces.
- Cut the green beans into half-inch pieces.
- Mix everything together.
- Add salt to taste.
- Add two tablespoons of cooking oil.
- Put it in a pot and steam until the greens beans are tender but not mushy.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and grated coconut if desired.
Mashed sweet potatoes from Monica Herndon, photo editor
Herndon says she’s been eating sweet potatoes during Thanksgiving for most of her life.
“This is my favorite dish on the Thanksgiving table and we literally do not have it any other times of the year,” she said.
Ingredients (serves six to eight):
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter
Plus some orange juice, nutmeg and cinnamon
1 bag of mini marshmallows
- Combine first seven ingredients.
- Pour into a buttered 1.5- to 2-quart casserole dish.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Add marshmallows and cook for another 10 minutes until browned.
Spinach pie from Lyssa Goldberg, opinion editor
Goldberg’s grandmother taught her mother, who taught Goldberg and her sister how to make it. Over time, it’s been adapted and Americanized.
Ingredients:
Frozen bag of chopped spinach leaves
Half container of cottage cheese
2 eggs
American cheese
Parmesan cheese
1 pie dough
- Defrost, rinse and drain spinach – be sure to drain it well. Crack and whisk eggs.
- Blend spinach, eggs and cottage cheese in bowl. Add Parmesan cheese if you’d like to mix it in.
- Roll out dough onto glass rectangular container. Top with the spinach blend and spread out evenly.
- Fold crusts over the edges. Sprinkle dough with Parmesan. Garlic powder tastes good too. You can even add egg wash to make it brown better.
- Cook in oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
- Add American cheese at the end for the last five minutes or so, so it melts and hopefully kind of re-hardens and browns a little. You can even just add it on when it’s out of the oven, and it’ll melt on its own.
Note: The thinner you make the pie, the better it will taste. It’s better to be long and thin than, say, a circular and thick pie. It’ll be less watery and more condensed and flavorful.
This recipe has been in the Lopez family for the last eight to 10 years, but it’s a delicious and simple recent addition to our Thanksgiving menu.
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 teaspoons curry powder
6 cups (1.5 quarts) chicken broth
4 cups (32 ounces) canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
Salt, white pepper and nutmeg to taste
2 cups heavy cream
Chopped fresh chives or parsley for garnish
- In a 6- or 8-quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and saute until translucent.
- Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, for two minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the chicken broth, pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the heavy cream and cook for an additional five minutes.
- Cook 10 minutes longer for a thick soup, or add more broth if you prefer it thinner. Adjust the seasoning.
- Pour the soup into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth and creamy. Garnish with chives or parsley.
Herrera’s grandmother began making the dessert over 30 years ago.
1 box of chocolate cake mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 eggs
1 large box of pudding mix
3 cups of milk
2 containers of Cool Whip
2 Heath Bars or Butterfingers, crushed into small pieces or powder
- Follow the recipes for both the chocolate cake and the chocolate pudding.
- When both are ready, begin to layer the ingredients in a large bowl or serving dish, beginning with a bottom layer of chocolate cake. Next, chocolate pudding, then Cool Whip, then candy. Repeat for three layers, until the top of the bowl.
This fruit salad, passed over from a close family friend and named after the chef (Zenaida) is a fruit salad with a sweet twist. The recipe joined the Parra family in 2004, and has been a staple at the Thanksgiving table since.
2 8-oz. cream cheese
1 can of condensed milk
1 20-oz. can of crushed pineapple
1 large can of fruit cocktail
1 8-oz. tub of Cool Whip
- Drain syrup from fruit cocktail only.
- Blend cream cheese and condensed milk. Use a mixer so that the cream cheese becomes somewhat smooth.
- Pour pineapple, Cool Whip and fruit cocktail into a bowl.
- Add cream cheese mixture and mix.
- Refrigerate salad. The longer it’s in the refrigerator, the better (preferably overnight).