As Jon Stewart's character in Half Baked reminded us, there's the notion that everything is seemingly better when weed is involved. Whereas the celebration of marijuana culture is usually reserved for 4/20, there's ample proof that the day before Thanksgiving — appropriately titled "Green Wednesday — sees a surge in cannabis sales across the board. Although one can interpret this spike as a way to lessen the anxiety of family gatherings, it also illustrates that more and more amateur chefs are infusing their celebrations with marijuana.

To help you add a touch of green to your Thanksgiving meal, we touched base with Lesley Nickus, Senior Content Manager of Weedmaps, to learn how to make cannabutter, the base of many weed-infused goodies, in addition to three other mouth-watering edible recipes. Happy Thanksgiving!

Cannabutter

Ingredients: 1 cup (2 sticks), or 226 grams of unsalted butter 3.5 grams of flower (15% THC)

To note: To decarboxylate (or decarb) simply means to heat the marijuana flower to turn it into THC. This step is required when cannabis is ingested rather than smoked.

Materials: Scale Grinder (optional) Baking sheet Parchment paper Double boiler Metal mesh strainer Cheesecloth Spatula/other utensils Candy thermometer Mason jar

Instructions:

1. Grind up the flower. Put parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread the herb evenly across the surface.

2. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees F and place the baking sheet in the oven to heat for 30 minutes.

3. While the weed is decarbing, set up the double boiler and warm butter to 220 degrees F. This will finish decarbing any weed that wasn’t completely converted.

4. Once the weed comes out of the oven, pour it into the melted butter and stir well.

5. Keep the butter at the same temperature for 45 minutes.

6. Remove the butter from the stove. Filter it through a metal mesh strainer lined with two layers of cheesecloth.

7. Gently squeeze the plant matter to get the majority of the butter out. Do not squeeze to excess, as you don’t want plant matter or unnecessary compounds entering the mix.

8. Refrigerate the butter while preparing the rest of the ingredients so that it’s still soft, but a little more firm for smooth and even mixing.

9. Your cannabutter is ready to eat. It will keep up to two months in the fridge and six months in the freezer.

It's wiser to remember that cannabutter serves as 1:1 equivalent to regular butter, so it’s fair game to swap cannabutter wherever a recipe calls for butter.

Getty Images / Krug Studios

Infused garlic mashed potatoes

Ingredients: 4 pounds russet potatoes 4 tablespoons cannabutter 2 cups milk 4 cloves crushed garlic 2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives (optional) Salt and pepper to taste

Materials: Large pot Slotted spoon Large mixing bowl Small bowl Measuring cups Measuring spoons Potato masher or hand mixer

Instructions:

1. Add water to the large pot and bring to a boil.

2. Peel and cut the potatoes into large cubes, add them to the boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, set your timer for 15 minutes. Stab a piece of potato with a fork to check for doneness. When done, the fork should easily pierce the potato.

3. Using your slotted spoon, move the potatoes into a large mixing bowl and add the butter before mashing the potatoes with a masher or using a hand mixer to blend them a little.

4. Add the garlic then milk a little at a time and smash (or blend) until you reach your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Infused gravy

Ingredients: 4 tablespoons cannabutter 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup turkey pan drippings 3 cups chicken stock Fresh thyme Fresh rosemary Salt and pepper to taste

Materials: Small saucepan Wooden spoon Whisk Kitchen twine

Instructions:

1. Tie the thyme and rosemary with kitchen twine to create an herb bundle. Set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan on low heat. Gradually add the flour and heat until browned.

3. Slowly whisk in the turkey drippings, add the herb bundle and bring the mixture to a boil until thickened.

4. Reduce the heat to a simmer and slowly add the chicken stock half a cup at a time until the gravy has reached your desired thickness. If the gravy becomes too thick as it cools, heat slightly and whisk in more broth.

Getty Images / LauriPatterson

Infused pumpkin brownies

Ingredients: 1 cup cannabutter 2 cups sugar 1 cup pumpkin puree 1 cup cocoa powder 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 4 eggs 1 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt

Materials: 8” x 8” aluminum square baking pan Large mixing bowl Measuring cup Stand or hand mixer

Instructions:

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease an aluminum 8” x 8” baking pan. A glass dish or dark metal pan will work as well, but you will need to reduce the temperature by 25 degrees F and knock off about 3-5 minutes for baking time.

2. Melt the butter and add to the large mixing bowl. Now add the vanilla, pumpkin and sugar. Beat with a stand mixer or hand mixer.

3. Add in the eggs and beat again.

4. Add in all of the brownie dry ingredients and blend until fully incorporated.

5. Pour and scrape batter into an aluminum pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

6. After baking, remove from oven and let completely cool before serving.