thanksgiving Archives - My Latina Table

The Best Creamy Cranberry Dip Recipe – A Holiday Appetizer

Charbel Barker — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:53:10 +0000

Inside: If you are looking for an amazing and unique appetizer to take your next holiday party, look no further – this creamy cranberry dip is easy to make and sure to be a hit.

We are at the time of year where holiday gatherings are starting and everyone is rushing to think of what foods to take to share with friends and family. It can be hard to think of something unique that people will like, but this festive dip that I am going to share today fits the bill.

When most people think of cranberries during the holidays, they think of fresh cranberry sauce. Even though it is a common food to share at Thanksgiving, a lot of times there is a lot of leftovers since it isn’t always the most popular dish. Today, I am going to share a recipe for another recipe that uses fresh cranberries, but that is combined with delicious brie and gouda cheeses which makes for a creamy dip that everyone will love.

What is Cranberry Dip?

Cranberry dip is one of many cranberry recipes that you can make for holiday parties. This particular easy dip recipe combines fresh ingredients, like tart cranberries, coconut sugar, cinnamon, orange juice and orange zest, with brie and gouda cheeses. It is then baked in the oven and served with crackers. This is a perfect appetizer, because it is easy to make and easy to share. People can scoop it up onto their plate and enjoy it with their favorite crackers or even just with a spoon.

A common variation is to use cream cheese if you prefer that over brie and gouda, but I find that these decadent cheeses make a huge difference and everyone seems to love it! If you have all the ingredients, you can even make it at the last minute, because it doesn’t take long at all to through together.

How do you make this Cranberry Dip?

To make this perfect holiday party appetizer, you will gather the following simple ingredients:

1 bag of fresh cranberries (you can use frozen cranberries if that is what you have)
4 Tbsp of coconut sugar
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Juice from one orange
1/2 tbsp of orange zest
Brie cheese
Smoked Gouda, cut into cubes (optional)
Fresh rosemary

You will start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a small bowl combine the coconut sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

Next, in a 9×13 inch baking dish combine cranberries, coconut sugar and cinnamon mixture, and the fresh orange juice and zest, and stir well.

Finally, add the round of brie cheese to the middle of the dish and add the cubes of smoked gouda and the rosemary. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Once cooked, remove from the oven, give it a quick stir, and serve with and assortment of crackers, tortilla chips, pretzel crisps, or pita chips.

If you don’t have brie cheese, you can replace it with a block of cream cheese and it will still have a similar creamy texture and taste.

This recipe is great right out of the oven, but you can also save any leftover dip for the next day. Just keep it in an airtight container, or in the same serving dish with plastic wrap over the top and it will be ready to continue enjoying later.

The delicious seasonal flavors of this dip make it a perfect option for family gatherings any time of year, and it is my new favorite way to use cranberries.

Check out these other holiday favorite recipes

The Best Creamy Cranberry Dip

If you are looking for an amazing and unique appetizer to take your next holiday party, look no further - this creamy cranberry dip is easy to make and sure to be a hit

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword christmas, cranberries, dip, Thanksgiving

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Total Time 35

Servings servings

Calories 112kcal

Author Charbel Barker

Ingredients

1 bag cranberries
4 tbsp coconut sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 orange juice
1/2 tbsp orange zest
1 round brie cheese
2 oz smoked gouda in cubes
fresh rosemary

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F
Combine the cinnamon and coconut sugar in a small bowl, set aside.
Combine the cranberries, cinnamon and coconut sugar mixture, orange juice and orange zest in a 9x13 baking dish.
Add the round of brie in the middle and top with the cubes of smoked gouda and fresh rosemary
Bake for 30 minutes and serve with crackers.

Nutrition

The post The Best Creamy Cranberry Dip Recipe – A Holiday Appetizer appeared first on My Latina Table.

Crockpot Mashed Potatoes – Easy, delicious, and convenient recipe

Charbel Barker — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 22:44:27 +0000

Inside: Learn how to make the most delicious and easy crockpot mashed potatoes that are perfect for serving a small or large group.

Mashed potatoes is not a recipe that I grew up cooking or eating much in Mexico. We do eat lots of potatoes in Mexico, and we even mash them, but we prepared them in a different manner and with different types of recipes. For example, in Mexico you can often find flautas, or taquitos, that consist of corn tortillas, filled with mashed potatoes and then fried. You can also find potatoes mixed with chorizo and served as tacos!

Here in the United States, however, I have learned to love mashed potatoes with gravy, served with a delicious pork or beef roast. This has become one of our favorite Sunday dinners and I want to share with you all today one of my favorite ways to make mashed potatoes in a crockpot.

What is the best way to make crockpot mashed potatoes?

There are many recipes online for making mashed potatoes in your crockpot. I think this is because everyone knows that when it comes to dinner, convenience is very important. In my case, we have 4 boys under 12 so our house is always crazy! On Sundays, I like to get this meal going in th morning, so that it is ready for us in the early afternoon when we get home from church.

This recipe can be adapted to your personal tastes and how you like for it to be seasoned, but the base recipe will include potatoes, sour cream, butter, and heavy whipping cream. In addition, I like to add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to make sure it has great flavors.

After you add all of the ingredients to the crockpot, you will set it on low for about 4-6 hours. At that point, the potatoes will be perfectly tender and ready to mash and serve with your favorite gravy. I always add an extra dollop of butter to the serving dish so that it starts to melt – everyone seems to love it!

What can you serve with mashed potatoes?

Mashed potatoes are a side dish that can go alongside many types of main dishes. Some of my favorites are below:

I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Let me know in the comments below how it turns out!

Crockpot Mashed Potatoes

I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Let me know in the comments below how it turns out!

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword crockpot, mashed potatoes, slow cooker

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 4

Total Time 4 10

Servings people

Calories 223kcal

Author Charbel Barker

Ingredients

4 to 5 Russet potatoes peeled, rinsed and cut it on cubes
3/4 cup chicken or beef stock
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream add more if you desire a more creamy consistency
1/4 big white onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 stick butter
Salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to a crockpot and let it cook for 4 hours on high.
Mash the potatoes a little bit by hand and add more stock or whipping cream if you want a more creamy texture.

Nutrition

The post Crockpot Mashed Potatoes – Easy, delicious, and convenient recipe appeared first on My Latina Table.

How To Make Delicious Smoked Turkey on a Traeger

Charbel Barker — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 15:53:01 +0000

Inside: Keep reading to find out the best and easiest way to make a smoked turkey that everyone will love on Thanksgiving and beyond. Just want to smoke the breast? Check out this recipe from Slowpoke Cooking.

One of my favorite holidays here in the United States is Thanksgiving. Not only is it awesome to be able to dedicate a whole day to being thankful, but it is a great opportunity to eat some delicious food as well!

I remember being so surprised at how much food there was at my first Thanksgiving. It was so much to take in, but so good too! I was a bit disappointed with the turkey the first time though, to be honest. In Mexico, when we make turkey it usually is made with a delicious and spicy salsa and stuffed with an amazing filling. Here is a recipe for a Mexican style turkey so you can see for yourself.

For me, the turkey at Thanksgiving was a little bit simple for my tastes, but I know a lot of people like it that way too. A couple of years ago, I got my husband a Traeger wood pellet smoker and we have been using it ever since to make some delicious recipes like this brisket, these ribs, this pulled pork, and these nachos!

Last year for Thanksgiving, we decided have smoked turkey, and it was great! This year, we are going to do it again, but we want to share the recipe with all of you as well.

Which Traeger Should You Get to make this Smoked Turkey?

We have owned two different Traeger Wood Pellet Smokers. The first one was the Traeger Texas Elite 34. It had a ton of space and was great for cooking for a lot of people.

However, it was a slightly older model, so it didn’t have all of the cool features that the newer models have. Earlier this year we got the new Traeger Pro 575 model which includes Traeger’s WiFire feature, which allows you to set and change the temperature and monitor the probe temperature all from your phone! The version we got is the smaller version, so it doesn’t fit as much as some of the bigger ones, but it is perfect for our family. You can pick up the Pro 575 or 780 here.

You can also upgrade and get the larger pro version as well if you need the extra space.

How to Prepare the Turkey For the Smoker.

We purchased our turkey about 4 days before we planned on cooking it and put it straight in the refrigerator to defrost. It can take awhile, so plan accordingly. If you already have your turkey, plan on taking it out and starting to defrost at least 3-4 days early so that it isn’t frozen on Thanksgiving morning.

About 24 hours before we started smoking it, we removed the neck and giblets from the bag inside the turkey. We then added the turkey to a 5 gallon bucket with brine to get it ready for the next day. Brining the turkey is required for this process and will ensure that you have a flavorful and juicy bird to serve to your family.

Traeger sells a variety of wood pellets that is specifically made for smoked turkey. The great thing is that it also comes with a brine packet that you can use for the brining step. You can buy the pellets with the brine here.

After the turkey has been in the brine for about 24 hours, you will want to remove it and pat it dry with paper towels. After tying the legs together, we cut a small pocket under the skin covering the breast meat and coated the breasts with butter. In addition, we rub the turkey down with the butter before adding the Traeger rub that comes with the pellets and bring all over it. We also added some of the Traeger Pork & Poultry rub because we found the packet didn’t come with enough.

How to Smoke the Turkey

The process for making a smoked turkey is not very complicated. You will want to follow the steps below to get it just right:

Preheat the wood pellet smoker to 225 degrees fahrenheit;
Place the turkey in an aluminum roasting pan and and place on the smoker. Insert the built-in temperature probe (or you can use a standalone one) into the deepest part of the breast.
Let the turkey smoke at that temperature until it reaches an internal temperature of approximately 110 degrees fahrenheit. This took about 1.5 hours for us.
Increase the temperature to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Continue to cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees fahrenheit.
At that point, remove the turkey from the smoker and let rest for about 15-20 minutes before carving. It should have continued cooking after being removed from the grill to a final temperature of 165 degrees)

If you follow the steps above, you will a perfectly juicy and flavorful turkey. I always chop up the leftovers and put them in plastic bags to eat on sandwiches or nachos and more for the next few days.

We couldn’t wait until Thanksgiving, so we made this a few days ago and it was amazing. I hope you enjoy it just as much this year and that your family loves it too!

Let us know in the comments below how it turns out.

Other Thanksgiving Recipes

Smoked Turkey Recipe

Keep reading to find out the best and easiest way to make a smoked turkey that everyone will love this Thanksgiving.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Turkey

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 4

Resting Time 20

Total Time 1 4 50

Servings people

Calories 262.66kcal

Author Charbel Barker

Ingredients

1 12-15 pound Turkey
1 packet Traeger Orange Brine
1 packet Traeger Turkey Rub
1/4 cup Traeger Pork and Poultry Rub
3-4 gallons Water
1 stick Butter

Instructions

Brine the turkey in a 5 gallon bucket per included instructions
After 24 hours, remove the turkey and pat dry
Insert knife under skin covering the breat meat and cover the breasts with butter. Use remaining butter to coat the rest of the turkey
Add the rubs generously on the outside and the inner cavity of the turkey
Preheat smoker to 225 degrees fahrenheit
Add turkey to an aluminum roasting pan, and place on smoker.
Insert a temperature probe.
Continue cooking until internal temperature reaches about 110 degrees fahrenheit
Increase temperature to 350 and continue cooking until internal termperature reaches 160 degrees fahrenheit. Remove from the smoker and let rest for 20-30 minutes. Final temperature should be 165 degrees fahrenheit.
Carve and serve!

Nutrition

The post How To Make Delicious Smoked Turkey on a Traeger appeared first on My Latina Table.