A Very Argentine Thanksgiving

The goal was to cook an authentic Thanksgiving feast for my Argentine friends. Quite tricky with the 90+ degree heat. Of course, I don't eat turkey, and they're few and far between here anyway, so here's what I was able to whip up. The recipes are traditional, but altered to fit available ingredients and could be of use to other ex-pats.

The Menu:

• Green bean casserole
• Scalloped corn
• Stuffing
  
• Hashbrown casserole
• Dinner rolls (previous post)
  
• Deviled eggs
• Cranberry Sauce (I splurged on this - 11 pesos - found in the int'l foods aisle at Jumbo)
• Apple pie
• Baked chicken
  

Green Bean Casserole

• 2 cans (350 g. each) green beans
• 1 package Knorr mushroom sauce (for pasta) cooked according to package directions
• dried onions to cover top (found next to the spices)

Mix beans with sauce in baking dish, bake at 180C for 30 minutes. Add dried onions on top and bake another 10 minutes.

Scalloped Corn

• 2 cans (350 g. each) cream style corn
• 3/4 stack saltine crackers, crushed
  
• 48 g. butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cans (use the corn can) milk
• dash of salt

Mix all ingredients together. Bake in shallow baking dish at 180C for 1 hour.

Stuffing
inspired by SimplyRecipes

• 10-12 c. cubed day-old bread (I used french bread)
• 2 c. celery
• 2 c. onion
• 85 g. butter
• 2 green apples
• 2 c. veg stock
• 1/4 c. chopped parsely
• 1 t. dried sage (salvia)
  
• 1 T. fresh thyme (tomillo)
  
• 1 T. fresh rosemary (romero)
• 1 t. salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 T. apple cider vinegar

Melt half of the butter in a saute pan, stir in bread to coat and allow to toast. You may want to do this in a couple of batches if you don't have a super large pan. In a separate pot (dutch oven or non-stick pot would be ideal) saute onions and celery until translucent - about 10 minutes. Add vinegar, apples, herbs, s&p and bread. Stir in stock to moisten all of the bread. Cover and cook on low for approximately 30 minutes, adding stock as necessary. (Mine only took 30 min but it would take longer in a heavier pot.)

Hashbrown Casserole

• 4 c. shredded potatoes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 package Knorr mushroom sauce (for pasta) cooked according to package directions
• 20 g. butter, melted
• 2 c. shredded cheese (I used Sardo)
• 1 large package Casan cream
• Bread crumbs to cover top

Peel and shred approx. 4 potatoes. Squeeze out excess water using a dishcloth. Mix potatoes with onion, sauce, cream and half of the shredded cheese. Spead into a greased baking dish, top with cheese, bread crumbs and melted butter in that order. Bake at 180C for approx 45-50 minutes.

Apple Pie

• All butter crust, refrigerated
  
• 6 small apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 T. lemon juice
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 T. flour
• 3/4 t. nutmeg (nuez moscada)
  
• 3/4 t. cinnamon (canela)

Roll out half of the crust and place in pie pan. Mix sugar, flour, and spices together. In a large bowl, mix together water and lemon juice and add apples as you cut them. Drain apples and toss with sugar mixture. Add to pie pan.
Roll out other half of the dough and place on top. Pinch crusts together and cut slits in top. Brush milk on top and add sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 190C for 30 minutes.

Thanksgiving Part Two

After 10 guests on Thursday, we were running a little low on leftovers so we added the following dishes for family Thanksgiving on Friday.

Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

• 5 baking potatoes, cubed and boiled in salted water until tender
  
• 1/2 c. parmesan cheese
• 1/3 c. veggie stock
• 2 T. milk
• 1 T. butter

Drain potatoes and immediately add remaining ingredients. Mash with potato masher. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Green Beans with Almonds

• 3 cups fresh green beans, snapped
• 1 small onion, sliced thin
  
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1/3 c. almonds

Boil beans in salted water for 10-15 minutes. Slice and toast almonds (I toasted these in a pan over low heat, flipping often, for 5 minutes but a toaster oven works well too.) Saute onions in olive oil until translucent. Drain beans and add to onion. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes, until the beans reach your desired consistency. Toss with almonds and serve.