Thanksgiving Pot Luck for Boyfriend's Work Next Week. MUST impress!! Any ideas??

Question

Next wednesday is the Thanksgiving Potluck at my boyfriend's work. I really need a recipe that will knock their socks off.

Answer 1

I give this as gifts every Christmas and people love it - I have never had a batch turn out bad and I have made hundreds of pounds of it. You can substituted 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract for the Irish Creme - any other flavor of liquer can be used instead of the Irish Creme such as Amaretto, brandy, bourbon, etc.

Irish Crème Fudge

3 sticks of butter (3/4 pound)
3 cups sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 7-ounce jar Kraft marshmallow crème
12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 bottle (airline size or nip) Irish Crème
2 cups walnuts or pecans - optional
2 8-inch square pans sprayed with non-stick spray

In a 3 quart sauce pan - preferably enameled cast iron - melt butter, sugar and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil, turn down heat to a low boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Turn off heat and mix in marshmallow crème. Once that is incorporated, mix in the chocolate chips until mixture is an even chocolate color then add the Irish crème and nuts, mixing thoroughly.

Pour mixture into pans and cool thoroughly before cutting into squares and serving.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Chips and salsa.

MANGO SALSA

12 roma tomatoes, seeded, diced
1 red onion, diced
5 jalapenos, diced(add 1/4 habenero pepper for extreme heat)
2 mangos, diced
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp tobasco or other pepper sauce

MIx all of the ingredients together. Refridgerate for 1 hour and then serve. Keep in mind that the salt will draw out the juices from the ingredients and so the mixture may have to be drained from time to time. Save the juice for Bloody Mary's or Caesar.

**************************************...

PAPAYA SALSA

4 c. peeled, diced papaya (or mangoes)
1/2 c. finely diced Bermuda onions
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & chopped
1/4 c. coarsely chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp. Kosher salt
1/4 c. fresh lime juice

Combine all ingredients in glass bowl. Let sit in refrigerator at least 2 hours.

**************************************...

PEACH SALSA

3 firm peaches (about 1 lb.) - 1 pound of canned peaches can be substituted
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 ripe tomatoes (about 1/2 lb.)
6 large green onions
1 tbsp. canned jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 tbsp. cilantro, coarsely chopped (fresh coriander) - (optional)
12 tbsp. good quality olive oil
6 tbsp. sherry vinegar
2 tbsp. honey

Dip peaches into boiling water and then peel the skins. Cut peaches into thin strips, discarding pits. Toss with lemon juice. Dip tomatoes into boiling water, then peel and seed them. Cut into medium julienne strips. Combine peaches and tomatoes. Add onions, peppers and cilantro, if using. Mix. Whisk together oil, vinegar and honey. Pour over other ingredients. If using within several hours, no need to refrigerate; otherwise cover and refrigerate.

**************************************...

SALSA GUACAMOLE

Guests will rave about this combination of fire roasted salsa and guacamole -- you'll make it again and again!

Salsa:

1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen® organic fire roasted or plain diced tomatoes, well drained
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small fresh jalapeño chile, seeded, finely chopped

Guacamole:

3 ripe large avocados (about 1 1/2 lb) pitted, peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

In medium bowl, stir together salsa ingredients.
In another medium bowl, place avocados; coarsely mash. Stir in remaining guacamole ingredients. Spoon guacamole into shallow serving bowl; top with salsa.

Serve with tortilla chips as desired.

Makes 12 servings (1/4 cup each).

Tip: Look for avocados that are firm, but yield to gentle pressure. If they are not quite ripe, place avocados in a paper bag, and let ripen at room temperature.

**************************************...

GUACAMOLE

1 ripe tomato, peeled
2 avocados
1/2 onion, minced
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 chopped green chile, or to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Mash together the tomato and avocados. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Serve with warm tortillas.

Optional: Mix in pomegranate seeds for added color and a unique but authentic variation.

Answer 2

this will be a big hit. serves 15

Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
10 large onions, thinly sliced
1-1/4 cups light brown sugar
1-1/4 cups butter
15 large Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and sliced with peel
2-1/2 cups heavy cream
5 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

DIRECTIONS
Place onion, butter and brown sugar into a large skillet over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have caramelized, about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Place a single layer of potato slices in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Cover with a thin layer of onions. Drizzle some of the cream, and sprinkle some of the rosemary over the layer. Repeat layers four times ending with onions, cream and rosemary.
Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until top potatoes are golden brown and sauce is bubbling.

Answer 3

I have a simple salad that our family has always made that I have never seen anywhere else and looks awesome in a clear glass bowl.

To begin you need a box of Graham crackers, a bag of brown sugar about four cans of cranberry sauce, not the gelled kind and two tubs of whipped cream.

Begin by crushing about half the box of graham crackers to powder, mix in a cup of brown sugar or slightly more, Spread about a half inch of this mixture in the bottom of the bowl. Next spoon out a half inch layer of the cranberries, then a 1 inch layer of whipped cream. Continue repeating until you reach the top of the bowl with whipped cream then sprinkle about a 4 inch circle of the graham cracker mix in the center and top with a spoon of the cranberry sauce. It looks and tastes incredible. The tartness and sweet and creaminess all mixed together is great.

Makes a great left over too.

Answer 4

fresh asparagus cut into bite size pieces
sliced portobello mushrooms
cauliflower broken into bit size chunks
sliced leeks
Saute together and put into a bowl. Toss with crumbled cooked bacon and crumbled bleu cheese. Yum! Something different, yet has elegant ingredients.

Answer 5

Calico Beans

1/2 cup bacon, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (15 ounce) can pork and beans
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can butter beans
1 (15 ounce) can lima beans, drained
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 cup chopped celery


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).
Place bacon and ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside.
In a four quart casserole dish, mix together the bacon, ground beef, pork and beans, kidney beans, butter beans, lima beans, ketchup, onion, vinegar, dry mustard and celery.
Cover and bake for 1 hour.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strawberry salad

1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
4 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (6 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 (16 ounce) package frozen strawberries




DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together the pretzels, 4 1/2 tablespoons sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.
In a medium bowl, beat the sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
In a medium bowl, stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Mix in frozen strawberries, and stir until thawed. Pour over cream cheese mixture in pan. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour.

Answer 6

sweet potatoes peas