2 10 Ounce Packages Frozen Chopped Spinach – Defrosted and Drained
2 Cups Cougar Gold Cheese (or another aged white cheddar cheese) – Shredded
2 Cups Medium Cheddar Cheese – Shredded
2 Cups Milk
1 Cup Sour Cream
4 Large Eggs – Beaten Well
6 Tablespoons Butter
1 Tablespoon Garlic – Chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Salt
1/4 Cup Flour
Salt & Pepper to taste

RECIPE

Defrost and drain spinach.
NOTE #1: You might be tempted to use fresh spinach in this recipe, but we have found that the frozen variety works MUCH better.

Shred both the Cougar Gold (which you might just have to crumble instead) and the cheddar cheese.
NOTE #2: While you can use another type of aged white cheddar cheese, we highly recommend using Cougar Gold for this dish. It’s unique flavor adds the right amount of zing to the taste of this soufflé. Plus, you can use whatever you have leftover for Stuffed Pork Loin, fondue, cheese puffs, or just served with crackers and grapes … Mmmmm MMMMMMM!
Also, you might want to shred some extra cheese if your brood is anything like the ingredient-stealing, cheese-munching Caveclan.

Place spinach, shredded cheeses, and sour cream into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

In a medium sized sauce pan over a medium-low flame, melt the butter then whisk in the flour. Yes, this is a “roux”.

Now, slowly whisk in the milk. When the sauce becomes evenly smooth and creamy, whisk in the garlic.

Add the sauce to the large mixing bowl with the other ingredients and mix everything together well.

Stir the eggs into the mixture (It is at this point that we would suggest you stop your “taste-testing” of the raw but delicious mixture). Salt and pepper to taste.
HINT: It’s best to have your own beautiful and talented Cavewoman to put this dish together. Besides, it’s her recipe, so I had to give her some props!

Place the entire mixture into a large, well buttered, baking dish. Place it, uncovered, into an oven preheated to 400° for about 45 minutes … until the top is slightly caramelized and the soufflé hardly moves when the baking dish is jiggled. As actual oven temperatures my vary, so will cooking times … just make sure it is cooked all the way through!

When done, let the soufflé set up for 10 minutes before serving. Eat your heart out, Popeye!

NOTE #2: It is plainly obvious that this is not a healthy dish. So, we try to cut out some of the fat by using non-fat milk and light sour cream. It works great, and there is plenty of other fat in there to more than make up the difference!

Being a Caveman and all, I love to put meat on the grill or in the smoker. That said, I must challenge the purists who insist that good Pulled Pork has to be cooked via one of those methods. This recipe will prove that this dish doesn’t always have to be made in the great outdoors.

Once you have unlocked your turkey from it’s frozen state, you need to either cook it or brine it immediately. In the Cavehold, we would never do the former without first doing the latter. Years ago, when I was just a young Cavelad, the Cavemom developed a great brine that included wine and grapes. Since then, when the Cavewoman and I took over the duties of hosting this particular holiday, we took her brine and bumped it up a notch or two. This recipe was a closely held family secret until we spilled the beans two years ago with our post T-day Turkey Brine. If you want to ensure you serve a juicy, tender turkey full of great flavor, every time, I suggest you give this one a go. It’s easy, it’s foolproof, and as we say around here, “Once you brine, your turkey will be fine!”. By the way, I’ve been told by our Turkey Day faithful that I will be kicked to the curb if I ever try to deviate from this recipe on Thanksgiving … I think that says it all!

Of course, Caveman (or Cavewoman) does not live by turkey alone … even on Thanksgiving. So you might want to check out some of the side dishes and aperitifs we shared previously that have become holiday traditions in the Cavehold. For instance, no T-day meal is complete with out cranberry sauce. Many folks believe it’s just too hard to make their own and go with the canned versions available in the store. But, if you venture just a bit further down the aisle to the veggie and fruit section, and take an extra 20 minutes in your meal’s preparation, you will end up with a C-sauce that will forever have you shunning the pre-made type in the future. Our Cave’s Cranberry Sauce is really just the recipe on the package with some molasses and either wine, port, cognac or brandy added. Best of all, you can make it a day or two ahead of time and just refrigerate it until chow time – which actually also helps it to set up better, both flavor and consistency wise. The only problem with that, really, is keeping everyone away from it until the big meal … the Cavewoman is our biggest offender on that!

Yams or sweet potatoes are another must for this Fall harvest feast. While they take many forms in each family, I really have never tasted anything better than the Cavemom’s Orange Yam Turkeys. This unique, colorful, and tasty dish has become a real favorite of the Cavekids … not just to eat, but to make as well. They really look forward to working in the kitchen on these with their Cavenana, and this year is no different! They’ve already been asking us if their grandmother was “bringing all the stuff to make Yam Turkeys”. Put one of these on your guest’s plate, and I guarantee they will be ooing and cooing about how cute they are. That is, until they taste it and start oohing and awing about how delicious they are! Yams, orange, pineapple, nuts, marshmallows, butter … I mean, what could be bad about that, right?!?!

Another regular player on the Thanksgiving plate is the mashed potato. You’ve got to have something to to put the gravy on – besides turkey and stuffing, of course. You know that in the Cavehold we can’t simply serve a boiled tater mashed up with some butter and salt. We’ve got to give the spud a serious kick in the pants! (GRRRREAT! Visions of kicking Mr. Potato Head are now swirling around in my Neanderthal noggin!!). Which is why our Garlic Mashed Taters always make an appearance on our holiday menu. If you’re going to squish a potato beyond all recognition, why not take it to the next level with butter, milk, sour cream, cream cheese, green onion chives, and roasted “gah-lick”. True, it’s not the healthiest of dishes. But, oh my, is it goooooooooood! Best of all, this is also one of those recipes that you don’t need to save just for Turkey Day … we use this one just about every time we have a hankerin’ to do some mashin’. In fact, they are pictured here with Korean Pork Chops (Daeji Galbi) and Sauteed Asian Veggies.

Before getting to the real meal, we try to tempt our guests’ palates with some basic, yet delicious appetizers. And, shrimp cocktail is about as basic as it gets. However, a chilled shrimp is only as good as the sauce that accompanies it. You could make your own sauce from scratch. But, that is time consuming and, as you know, we like to make things as easy as possible around here. Thus, with necessity being the mother of invention, came the recipe for Cave’s Quick Cocktail Sauce. As the name suggests, it’s quick, it’s easy, and man is it goooooood! If there is any doubt about how good it really is, on a holiday known for leftovers, there are never any leftover shrimp!

As good as those little crustaceans bathed in that sauce are, we still have to make sure that the non-carnivorous crowd is well accounted for. So, we also whip up an incredible, veggie friendly, Baked Brie with Peach Sauce. When coupled with the dried cherries and pecans, this gooey plate of yum becomes a huge hit. Serve it up with some quality Lavosh or water crackers and let the feasting begin!
NOTE: Even though you will want to dig right in, be sure to let the baked brie cool for about 10 minutes after pulling it from the oven as the melted cheese inside the brie casing can get quite hot. Nothing worse than burning your tongue on that first bite and not be able to taste the full flavor of the rest of the meal. Yes, this is the voice of experience talking!

Lastly, while both apple pie and pumpkin pie are expected desserts amongst the Caveclan come Thanksgiving day, a new addition to the post-meal eats has made it’s way into our hearts and stomachs. The Cavewoman’s Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are a unique and welcome change to the usual T-day sweet treats. Give these a try and I promise you will be smiling with delight as they melt in your mouth. Besides, these Whoopie Pies also garnered a Food Blogs “Post Of The Day” honor! So … what are you waiting for? Hit the link!!

Yes, we’ve given you a lot to contemplate here. However, this is the one holiday that truly centers around the food that is served. So, consider giving some, if not all, of these recipes a try and let us know how it goes. But, if you haven’t gotten that big bird out of the freezer yet, stop reading this and get a move on! The entire Caveclan wishes you and yours a safe, happy, and delicious Thanksgiving.

Just picked from the Cave garden:  Heirloom Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, and Red Bell Pepper (picked early).  Is there anything better than the flavor of fresh home-grown veggies?