What do the folks who really know food in Edmonds cook for Thanksgiving? We asked an Edmonds food writer, a personal chef and a restaurant owner/caterer to provide a few of their favorite recipes to share with readers of My Edmonds News. We hope you enjoy them.

Nancy Leson, food writer, The Seattle Times. In an article she wrote for the Times in 2003, Leson described Thanksgiving as “the perfect holiday: a daylong extravaganza of cooking, eating and entertaining, with no presents to buy, no expectations left unmet and lots of great leftovers.” Her Thanksgiving favorites below includes cloverleaf rolls, which she adapted from a buttermilk-biscuit recipe; homemade cranberry sauce with dried cherries and rum that a friend found in a Pasta & Co. cookbook and a Cornbread-Sausage Stuffing with Apples adapted from “The Silver Palate Cookbook.”

Heavenly Flour-Bread Rolls

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen

– 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

– 2 tablespoons warm water

– 5 cups sifted all-purpose flour

– 1/4 cup sugar

– 2 teaspoons baking powder

– 1 teaspoon salt

– 1 cup shortening

– 2 cups buttermilk

1. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles very coarse cornmeal.

3. Add buttermilk to yeast mixture, stir briefly, and add to flour mixture. Stir until mixture is just moistened. The dough, which will be very soft, may be covered and refrigerated overnight at this point.

4. Lightly grease muffin tins. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator and let rise an hour or so. Then punch down and knead it briefly, about 2 minutes, on a lightly floured surface. Pinch off quarter-sized pieces, roll them into rounds between the palms of your hands and put 3 small balls into each muffin tin. Let rise for 30 minutes and bake in a preheated 400-degree oven about 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden.

Adapted from “Dori Sanders’ Country Cooking” by Dori Sanders.

Cornbread-Sausage Stuffing with Apples

12 to 14 servings

– 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) sweet butter

– 2 1/2 cups finely chopped yellow onions

– 3 tart apples (Jonathan, Winesap, Granny Smith), cored and cut into chunks

– 1 pound lightly seasoned bulk sausage

– 3 cups cornbread stuffing mix

– 3 cups toasted and coarsely crumbled rye bread

– 3 cups toasted and coarsely crumbled white bread (such as French)

– 2 teaspoons dried thyme

– 1 teaspoon dried sage

– Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

– 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley

– 1 1/2 cups pecan halves

1. Melt half of butter in a skillet. Add chopped onions and cook over medium heat, partially covered, until tender and lightly colored, about 25 minutes. Transfer onions and butter to a large mixing bowl.

2. Melt remaining butter in the same skillet. Add apple chunks and cook over high heat until lightly colored but not mushy. Transfer apples and butter to mixing bowl.

3. Crumble sausage into the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, until lightly browned and cooked through. With a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to mixing bowl and reserve rendered fat. (Refrigerate fat.) Add remaining ingredients to the sausage mixture and combine gently. Spoon stuffing into a casserole dish.

4. Put covered casserole into a large pan. Pour hot water around casserole to come halfway up sides. Bake about 30 to 45 minutes at 325 degrees, basting occasionally with cooking juices if roasting a turkey, or with reserved sausage fat.

Adapted from “The Silver Palate Cookbook” by Julee Rosso & Shelia Lukins.

Pasta & Co Cranberry Sauce with Sour Cherries and Rum

Makes 3 1/2 cups

– 1 bag (12 ounces) raw cranberries, washed and picked over

– 3/4 cup dry sour cherries

– 1/3 cup sugar

– 2/3 cup currant jelly

– 2/3 cup water

– 1/4 cup dark rum

1. In a large saucepan, combine cranberries, sour cherries, sugar, jelly and water. Over low heat, bring to a low simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes, or until cranberries begin to pop.

2. Remove sauce from heat. Stir in rum. Refrigerate overnight to thicken sauce. Return to room temperature to serve.

Note: The cooked cranberries should be tender, but not mushy. You may cook the sauce to your taste, from firm, whole cranberries to softer ones that give off more pectin and make a thicker sauce.

From Pasta & Co

Karen Rosenzweig, founder of The Incredible Chef personal chef service. Rosenzweig has been cooking for family and friends since she was 10, but her recipe-creating experiments started at age 14 with her “Savory Celery Stuffing,” which she developed for a Campbell’s Soup recipe contest. (She didn’t win, but a chef was born!)

“It’s actually a pretty basic, maybe even ‘clumsy’ recipe,” Rosenzweig said, “but remember it was created by a novice 14-year-old! I love bacon, so that had to be included, and the celery and walnuts were there for the crunch! And red pepper is perfect to give it a bit of color – otherwise it looks a bit ‘beige.’

“It is still the only recipe I use for Turkey Day stuffing, and everyone in my family is loyal to the recipe too.”

Karen’s Savory Celery Stuffing

Servings:  8

2  packages unseasoned bread cubes (8-10 cups)

1  pound bacon, cut into squares

1  onion, diced

1/2  cup red bell pepper, diced

1  cup walnuts, chunks

1  tablespoon sage

2  14 1⁄2 oz cans cream of celery soup

1  14 1⁄2 oz can cream of mushroom soup

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a skillet, fry bacon until medium well-done (still soft) and remove from pan.  Add diced onion to bacon grease and fry 2-3 minutes until soft. Dump bread cubes into large bowl. Add all ingredients to bread cubes and toss well.

Bake in greased 11×14 pan uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Or cook stuffing in turkey, although it won’t get nice and crusty on the top!

Julie Malcolm, owner, the Here and There Grill. We recently profiled the Here and There Grill, Malcolm’s gourmet mobile lunch and dinner service that occupies a parking spot at Fourth Avenue and Dayton Streets every Wednesday. Malcolm provided two recipes with ingredients not usually found on a Thanksgiving menu: Brussels sprouts shredded with hazelnuts and a cheesecake dessert made with Gorgonzola

“I like to serve the Brussels sprouts as a side dish on Thanksgiving,” Malcolm said. “Even the Brussels sprouts haters will love them.” The Gorgonzola Cheesecake Squares, meanwhile, “are a great hors d’oeuvres before Thanksgiving dinner or at a holiday cocktail party,” she added. “Tiny bite, but rich and delicious.”

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Hazelnuts

8 slices bacon, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

2 lbs Brussels sprouts, shredded in food processor

1 cup chicken broth

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Cook bacon in a large pot until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, add onion to drippings, sauté until soft and lightly browned. Add chicken stock, bring almost to a boil, add Brussels sprouts. Lower heat and simmer 4 or 5 minutes till tender, but still slightly crisp. Add salt and pepper, toss, top with bacon and nuts. Serve immediately.

Gorgonzola Cheesecake Squares

½ cup dry bread crumbs

1 T butter

2 cups walnuts, toasted and finely chopped

20 oz cream cheese

3 oz gorgonzola

4 large eggs

2 large shallots, finely chopped

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

2 T flour

Preheat oven to 350.

Brown bread crumbs in butter, add toasted walnuts and sauté another 2 minutes. Cool this mixture, then press into the bottom of a 9×13” baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Blend cheeses in processor till smooth. Add eggs, shallots, cream and flour, blend untll all is incorporated. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in water bath for 30 minutes. Cool completely, cover with Saran and refrigerate overnight.

Lift cheesecake on parchment from pan. Cut into small 1” squares, using a sharp, clean knife and wiping blade between cuts. Arrange on platter with toothpicks.