From our holiday tables to yours, Team Tapper gathered up our most beloved recipes to share with you this season. If you’re looking for some side-dish and sweet-treat inspiration, browse no further. The below are recipes our families and friends have been enjoying for decades; taste-tested and overwhelmingly approved!
Sourdough Dressing
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more
1 1/2 pounds, loaf sourdough bread, sliced 1 inch thick, torn into 1/2-3/4 inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound mild italian sausage, casings removed if needed
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped sage
1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme
3 large eggs
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
Preparation
Step 1
Place racks in middle and top of oven; preheat to 300°. Butter a 3-qt. baking dish. Divide bread between 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake on middle rack, tossing occasionally, until dried out (do not let brown more than just a bit around the edges), 25–35 minutes. Let cool.
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Arrange sausage in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until browned underneath, about 3 minutes. Break up into bite-size pieces with 2 spatulas or spoons and continue to cook, tossing occasionally, until cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer sausage to a plate.
Step 3
Reduce heat to medium and melt 1 cup butter in same skillet. Add onion and celery; season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender but not browned, 12–15 minutes. Add wine and scrape bottom of skillet to release any browned bits. Bring to a boil and cook until wine is evaporated, about 3 minutes. Toss in parsley, sage, and thyme and let mixture cool in skillet.
Step 4
Increase oven temperature to 350°. Whisk eggs and 2 cups stock in a very large bowl. Add bread, sausage, and onion mixture and toss well to combine. Add 2 tsp. or 1¼ tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Drizzle remaining 2 cups stock over and toss again to combine. Let sit, tossing occasionally, until bread absorbs all of the liquid, about 10 minutes.
Step 5
Transfer stuffing to prepared dish; butter a sheet of foil and cover dish, butter side down. Bake on middle rack until very hot throughout (it should feel too hot to comfortably touch in the center; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should register 160°), 35–40 minutes.
Step 6
Increase oven temperature to 425°. Remove foil and transfer baking dish to top rack. Continue to bake stuffing until golden brown, 25–30 minutes longer.
Note: Dressing can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
[Adapted from Bon Appétit’s If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It Stuffing]
Michelle’s Homemade Creamed Corn
Ingredients
64oz of frozen sweet corn (yellow)
2 cups of whole milk
2 cups of heavy cream
4 tablespoons of granulated sugar (plus more to taste)
White pepper
Flour
Butter
Preparation
Step 1
Put corn in a large pot, over medium heat, and pour in milk, cream and sugar. The liquids should cover the corn, but add a bit more if needed, so it’s covered.
Step 2
In a separate bowl melt one stick of butter, then add flour to make a roux. Once combined, pour into the corn mixture on the stovetop.
Step 3
If the corn mixture is still too thin, make another batch of roux and add to the mixture.
Step 4
Once corn mixture is thick enough for your liking, season with salt and pepper to taste– you can even add a dash of garlic salt, too– if not quite sweet enough, mix some more in!
Jose’s Favorite Roast Beef
Note from Jose: My family is not big on Turkey, so for the holidays we rotate this roast in every other year. It’s extra special because my Pops built an outdoor oven to prepare it in and his Mom puts her twist on the preparation with dicing the garlic, rather than leaving it whole.
Ingredients
2-3 lb roast or eye round, all fat trimmed off
3-4 cloves garlic, cut into thin slivers
olive oil spray, I used my misto
kosher salt, to taste
fresh cracked pepper, to taste
2 tsp dried chopped rosemary
meat thermometer
Preparation
Step 1
Remove the roast from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking to reach room temperature. Trim all the fat off the meat. Using a sharp knife, pierce meat about 1/2-inch deep and insert slivers of garlic in each hole, pushing all the way in. Lightly spray the meat with olive oil and season generously with salt, pepper and rosemary. Place the thermometer all the way into the center of the meat.
Step2
Preheat oven to 350F. When the oven reaches 350F, place the roast in a roasting pan and put in the oven.
Step 3
Roast until the thermometer reads 130° for rare, 140° for medium rare, 150° for medium, and 155-160° for well done. Remove the roast from the oven and let it rest 10-20 minutes before you cut it so that the juices distributed evenly. I personally remove my roast beef from the oven when it is 135° for medium rare. The temperature will rise an additional 5 degrees as it sits.
Step 4
Slice thin and serve.
[Jose’s family adapted this recipe from the original HERE]
Classic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
3 pounds boiling potatoes, we like yukon gold
Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups of whole milk
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Step 1
Peel the potatoes, cut them into 1-inch cubes and place them in a large pot of boiling, salted, water. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, until the potatoes are tender (pierce with a fork). Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return them to the pot.
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan until the butter is melted.
Step 3
Using a potato ricer mash the potatoes through, keeping them in the pot. If you do not have a ricer, you can use a hand mixer instead, breaking them up. Slowly add the hot milk/butter mixture to the riced potatoes and mix them with a spatula or hand mixer until well combined and very creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
[classic Ina Garten recipe, HERE]
Creamy Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
5 pints button mushrooms
4 italian sausage links
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 yellow onions, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
5 ounces asiago cheese, shredded
7 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Wipe mushrooms clean with a damp cloth and pull out the stems and discard. Toss the cleaned de-stemmed mushrooms with 5 tablespoons of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Spread out on a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes. Set aside and cool.
Step 2
Slit the Italian sausage and remove casing. Crumble in a heated pan and sauté until golden brown. Break up into small pieces while it is cooking. Set aside and cool.
Step 3
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan and add the onions. Cook until dark and caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes. Then add in the garlic and cook for a minute.
Step 4
Now add the cooked sausage, onions and garlic, cream cheese, salt and pepper, and 3 oounces of shredded Asiago cheese to a bowl and mix well with your hands. Break apart any large pieces of sausage.
Step 5
Heat your oven to 375° F. Line up your mushrooms in a greased baking dish with the core side facing up. Stuff each mushroom with a generous portion of the creamy sausage mixture. Top the mushrooms with the remaining Asiago cheese.
Step 6
Bake your mushrooms for roughly 45 minutes or until the cheese on top is golden brown. (This dish can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and put in the cooler until you are ready to put it in the oven.)
[adapted from this recipe]
Bourbon Pecan Pie
Ingredients
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
½ cup dark corn syrup
⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
1¼ cups coarsely chopped pecans
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together eggs, sugar, corn syrups, butter, bourbon, vanilla and salt until well blended.
Step 2
Prick the sides and bottom of the pie shell with a fork at ½-inch intervals. Spread the pecans on the bottom and pour the mixture over them. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until just set around the edges but still slightly loose in the center. (It will continue to set as it cools.)
Step 3
Place on a rack to cool slightly.
[adapted from the BEST NY Times Recipe HERE]
Mini Pumpkin Pies
(perfect individual servings)
Ingredients
1 (9-inch) pie crust (125 grams)
½ cup pumpkin puree (125 grams)
¼ cup condensed milk
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice blend
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
whipped cream (optional, for topping)
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven at 375 F.
Step 2
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, condensed milk, brown sugar, pumpkin spice, and salt. Add in egg and whisk into smooth and even mixture. Set aside.
Step 3
Roll the pie dough into a large circle approximately ⅛-inch thick. Use a 3.5-inch round cookie cutter (or the rim of the pumpkin puree can) to cut out 9 circles. Use any scrap pieces of pie crust to cut out small pieces for garnish on top.
Step 4
Gently press each pie dough circle into each cavity of a standard 12-cup muffin pan and snuggly fit it in. It will cover up to half of the height of each cavity (it will not completely come up to the top). You will fill 9 cavities. Do not over stretch the pie crust to maintain even thickness. Then, use a fork to pleat the edges of the crust.
Step 5
Add about 1.5 tablespoons of pumpkin filling into each pie crust, filling it about ¾ of the way up to the top of the crust. Do not overfill as the filling will expand during baking. If you have small shapes that you cut out from the scraps, you can place them on top.
Step 6
Transfer the muffin pan into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes until the crust is lightly golden brown and the pumpkin filling is set. Remove the muffin pan from the oven and let it rest at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. The pumpkin filling might crack from the temperature drop. To avoid this, you can turn off the oven and leave the muffin pan inside for another 30 minutes to let the pies cool off slowly and avoid cracking.
Step 7
Serve the mini pumpkin pies warm or cold. Gently remove the mini pumpkin pies from the cavities and top with whipping cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin spice blend or cinnamon.
[adapted from this recipe]