A starry Thanksgiving: Recipes beloved by Donna Kelce, Eric Stonestreet, Taylor Swift

By Lisa Gutierrez, The Kansas City Star (TNS)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Taylor Swift once raved about the sweet potato casserole served at a New York City restaurant and now that recipe pops up every now and again at Thanksgiving.

The holidays encourage many of us to try new recipes. Social media right now is flooded with recipes for appetizers, side dishes and desserts.

Anyone making that cornbread casserole from TikTok?

While we might not get to share a Thanksgiving feast with Swift — is your name Blake Lively? — or other celebrities beloved by Kansas City, we can eat like them.

So here’s the recipe for that casserole Swift loved so much, and favorite family side dish recipes from Donna Kelce and Eric Stonestreet.

Enjoy.

Donna Kelce’s dinner rolls

If we tried to guess how many holiday dinner rolls Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason Kelce, have scarfed over the years, would it be in the hundreds? Thousands?

Their mom has spoken often about the batches of holiday crescent rolls she has baked over the years. Based on the recipe that won the 1969 Pillsbury Bake-Off, Pillsbury’s Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs, they’re now known as Mama Kelce’s Dinner Rolls.

They blend the crescent roll pastry with marshmallows, cinnamon and sugar.

Dinner roll or dessert? We bet they didn’t last long enough in front of Travis and Jason for that debate.

In case you missed it, Mama Kelce hosted this year’s venerable Bake-Off, won by Julie McIntire, a home baker from Independence.

Ingredients

Rolls

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons Pillsbury Best all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 (8-ounce) cans refrigerated Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls (8 Count)
• 16 large marshmallows
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Glaze

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-3 teaspoons milk
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts

Directions

Make the rolls

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 16 medium muffin cups with nonstick baking spray.

2. In a small bowl, mix the granulated sugar, flour and cinnamon.

3. Separate the dough into 16 triangles. For each roll, dip 1 marshmallow into melted butter; roll in the sugar mixture. Place marshmallow on the shortest side of a triangle. Roll up, starting at shortest side and rolling to opposite point. Completely cover the marshmallow with the dough; firmly pinch edges to seal. Dip 1 end in remaining butter; place butter side down in muffin cup.

4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

5. When done, remove from the oven and let the puffs cool in the pan for 1 minute. Remove rolls from muffin cups; place on cooling racks set over waxed paper.

Make the glaze and assemble

In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Drizzle glaze over warm rolls. Sprinkle with nuts. Serve warm.

Eric Stonestreet’s Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Thanksgiving is one of the “Modern Family” star’s favorite holidays. Three years ago, as part of a campaign honoring hometown heroes, he shared one of his favorite recipe with McCormick Spices: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Butternut Squash.

This recipe serves eight.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite-size cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 5 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
• 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese, (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475°F. Spray large shallow baking pan with no stick cooking spray; set aside. Place Brussels sprouts and squash in large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder, thyme, salt and pepper; toss to coat evenly. Spread in single layer on prepared pan.

2. Roast 16 to 18 minutes or until tender and lightly browned, stirring halfway through cooking.

3. Meanwhile, cook bacon in medium skillet on medium heat about 6 minutes or until crispy. Remove using slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain. Add shallot to same skillet; cook and stir 2 minutes until softened and lightly browned. Stir in cranberries, vinegar and mustard until well blended. Transfer mixture to small bowl; set aside.

4. Arrange roasted Brussels sprouts and squash on serving platter. Drizzle with cranberry balsamic glaze and toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with cooked bacon, toasted pecans, and crumbled blue cheese, if desired. Serve immediately.

Taylor Swift’s favorite sweet potato casserole

Swift gushed about the sweet potato casserole served at Del Frisco’s Grille in New York City, a dish crowned with a crunchy candied pecan and oatmeal crumble.

“I’ve never enjoyed anything with the word casserole in it ever before, but it’s basically sweet potatoes with this brown sugary crust,” she told InStyle. ”Oh my God, it’s amazing.”

The media rushed to find the recipe, which Parade has published this Thanksgiving season.

“Similar to T. Swift herself, we think this recipe is a mastermind, especially if you’ve been asked to bring the sweet potato side dish to this year’s Thanksgiving feast. It seriously begs the question: who needs pumpkin pie?” the magazine writes.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs sweet potatoes
• ⅓ cup oats
• 12 oz unsalted butter, divided
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup toasted pecans
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

1. Scrub sweet potatoes. Pierce each several times with a fork and wrap tightly in foil. Place on a sheet pan. Bake 90 minutes or until tender. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

2. Meanwhile, place oats in a food processor; process 1 minute. Add 4 oz butter, brown sugar and pecans; pulse five times to combine. Spread mixture on a baking sheet; bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven, crumble. Bake 5 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Melt remaining 8 oz butter. Remove skin from cooled sweet potatoes. In a large bowl, whisk sweet potatoes, melted butter, granulated sugar and remaining ingredients until slightly lumpy. Transfer to a greased baking dish, smoothing surface evenly. Top with oat mixture. Bake 12 minutes or until heated through.

Make-ahead tips

Sweet potato filling can be made up to 2 days in advance. Prepare the sweet potato filling, cool, place in a casserole dish and keep refrigerated.

Oat-pecan crust can also be made up to 2 days ahead. Make the crust according to recipe directions, cool and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Sprinkle over the sweet potato filling just before baking.

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