The Unexpected Dish Ree Drummond Thinks You Should Serve For Thanksgiving - Exclusive
When you think Thanksgiving, you probably don't think of quick, easy dishes that you can throw together in just a few steps. As such, you might think that Ree Drummond's new cookbook, which focuses on making flavorful comfort food favorites quick and easy, isn't going to be a huge help to you this holiday season. But that's where you might be wrong. Tasting Table spoke with Drummond in a recent exclusive interview to learn more about "The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner's Ready!" and Drummond's recommendations for busy home cooks (as well as empty nesters), and she pointed to a few recipes in particular that might make the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving feast.
The first is a blast from the past, a nostalgic take that's going to have any diner from a certain generation swooning: Drummond's take on SpaghettiOs. She offers up two versions in her cookbook — a classic, tomato-based recipe that she calls One-Pot Homemade O's and a cheesy version simply called Cheesy O's. The latter, she said, "is a truly delicious version of mac and cheese and would be really nice as a Thanksgiving side." The recipe comes together much like a traditional macaroni and cheese recipe, but with ring-shaped pasta and three types of cheese: Velveeta, Havarti, and Monterey Jack.
Don't forget the biscuits
Still deciding what bread you'll serve at your Thanksgiving meal? Ree Drummond has a recipe recommendation there, too. She told us the butter bath biscuits from her new cookbook are "absolutely incredible and very easy. [They] would be a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner roll." The recipe is one that comes together very quickly, with no kneading required and all in a baking dish.
There's one holiday favorite recipe that you won't find in Drummond's new cookbook, though, and it's a recipe for her mother's cinnamon rolls. She told us, "My mom and I used to make them when I was growing up and deliver them to friends and neighbors. Years later, when my mom moved to another state, her friends mourned that they no longer got a pan of cinnamon rolls at Christmastime. While I don't make this claim very often, it definitely applies here: They are the best cinnamon rolls in the universe." For that recipe, you'll have to hunt it down on Drummond's website, but don't worry — when you find it, you'll be able to make plenty of cinnamon rolls to go around; Drummond's recipe makes 50 servings.
"The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner's Ready!" is now available wherever books are sold.