With a staff about as diverse as our roster of designers, we’re bringing you Thanksgiving the Opening Ceremony way, with new recipes coming from different members of our staff each day. From Maine to Hawaii to everywhere in between and beyond, look for our favorite traditional and not-so traditional Thanksgiving standbys leading up to T Day.

Needhams

From Michael:
Needhams are a traditional potato candy from my home state Maine. The base for the filling is actually mashed potatoes! They taste kind of like a rustic Almond Joy minus the almonds.


Filling:
3/4 cup warm unseasoned mashed potatoes
1 stick butter
2 Ibs confectioners sugar
1/2 Ib flaked coconut
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt

Coating:
18 oz dark chocolate of your choice


Mix unseasoned warm mashed potatoes with butter, confectioners sugar, and coconut
Add vanilla and sea salt, mix again
Once ingredients are thoroughly blended, spread into a buttered 9x13 jelly roll pan
Refrigerate until firm (usually 12 hours)
Cut into small squares
Temper chocolate
Dunk squares into melted chocolate and place on waxed paper to harden

Sweet Potato Casserole

From Meghan:
I think everyone in the Farrell family looks forward to this sweet and salty sweet potato side.  The majority of us scrape the crispy carmelized walnut brown sugar crust off of the top... Enjoy!
 
3 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes ( do not peel potatoes, cut in half and boil until soft, remove skin and mash)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs well beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
 
Topping:
 
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 teaspoons melted butter
1/2 cup chopped walnut

Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and milk; mix well.  Spoon into a 2 quart casserole.
 
Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over potatoes.  Casserole can be refrigerated for up to two days at this point.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through. Makes 8 servings. 

This recipe can be doubled but amount of sugar should be reduced to taste. 






FILED UNDER: thanksgiving , recipes , Michael Muehlhausen , Meghan Farrell