As the Thanksgiving break draws nearer, San Luis Obispo High School students will be preparing themselves to see their families and spend an entire week around the people they are related to; for better or for worse. These are some cherished Thanksgiving and holiday recipes from SLOHS that will grant everyone at the table a delightfully social disposition.

 Tortellini en Brodo is a light bone broth based soup with small parmesan filled dumplings. It is usually served as a first course and is a great dish to warm up in the winter time.

 Tortellini en Brodo:

Ingredients:

• Either store bought or freshly made tortellini (about 5-6 per person based on size; recipe will be on Expressions website)
• Chicken or turkey carcass
• 2-3 carrots   
• 1-2 onions
• 2-3 stalks of celery
• Parsley
• A few cloves of garlic
• Peppercorns
• Bay leaves
• About 6 quarts of cold water

Instructions:

1. Place all but the tortellini in a large pot and bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat after boiling to medium/ medium-low and cover with a lid
3. Let this cook for at least 2 hours (the longer it cooks the more robust the flavor will be)
4. Once the broth is cooked, strain out the solids and move the broth into another pot
5. Bring it once more to a boil and add the tortellini
6. Serve once the tortellini are cooked

Yummy Yams:

A great side dish and courtesy of Latin teacher Tom Weinschenk.

Ingredients:

• 6 yams
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tbsp. Butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp. almond extract

Instructions:

1. Scrub yams and split into halves
2. Bake yams at 400˚ F for 75 minutes
3. Scoop out the insides and discard the skins
4. Place the yams in a food processor
5. Mix all ingredients together and beat until fluffy
6. Place into a casserole dish and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350

 For some sweet treats after dinner, we have two recipes; one is a Romanian chocolate cookie called “Chocolate Salami”, courtesy of freshman Alex Caprau.

 “It is commonly made around Thanksgiving and Christmas and makes the perfect heartfelt gift for family and friends you haven’t seen in a long time,” said Caprau.

The other is from freshman Nina Ramezani, known as persimmon chocolate chip cookies.

 “Every time my mom makes these, I just die inside and am brought back to life by the heavenly scent that is omitted from the oven. The smell is like all of Autumn summed up in a single breath of orange and gold bliss. The joy these cookies bring me are described only in feeling” said Ramezani.

Chocolate Salami:

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons milk
• 7 ounces/200g Turkish delight (chopped)
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 14 ounces/400g butter biscuits
• 10.5 ounces/300g walnuts (toasted and chopped when cool)
• 2 teaspoons rum extract (or 1 shot of dark rum)
• 5.29 ounces/150g butter (softened)
• 6 tablespoons sugar (powdered)
• 2 large eggs (pasteurized, separated)
• 7 ounces/200g sour cherries (drained and coarsely chopped)

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, heat milk with Turkish delight until candy starts to melt and reduce in size. Remove from the heat.
2. Into the saucepan, add 1/2 of the cocoa, 1/2 of the biscuits, 1/2 of the walnuts, and half of the rum. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the softened butter with 5 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar and 2 egg yolks. Add this to the ingredients in the saucepan and mix thoroughly. Add in the rest of the rum, cocoa, biscuits, walnuts, and the coarsely chopped sour cherries. Whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks and blend into the mixture.
4. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar and shredded coconut on a large piece of plastic wrap. Put the dough in the middle and roll it up in the plastic wrap, forming it into the shape of a salami.
5. Wrap tightly and refrigerate 6 to 7 hours. Remove plastic wrap and cut into 1/2″ slices when ready to serve.

Persimmon Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of fresh persimmon pulp (cut off the stems and peel the skins off)
• ½  cup of butter at room temperature
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 cups of all purpose flour (or a substitute like gluten-free flour, whole wheat flour, etc.)
• 1 tsp.  cinnamon
• ½  tsp.  nutmeg
• ½  tsp. ground cloves
• ½  cup granulated sugar
• ½  cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. Baking soda
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚ F.
2. Add the baking soda to the persimmon pulp in a small bowl
3. Add the beaten egg to the bowl with the persimmon pulp
4. Cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar
5. Combine and mix the wet ingredients
6. Mix the dry ingredients
7. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix
8. Add the chocolate chips once a consistent dough is formed
9. Place small spheres of dough onto buttered or lined baking sheets
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown