{TWD} Sour Cream Pumpkin Tart

I love pumpkin pie. More specifically, I love a particular pumpkin pie. In fact, at my daughter's recent wedding, she had pie rather than wedding cake, and requested that the caterer make our Molasses Spice Pumpkin Pie recipe as one of the flavors. The caterer, a wonderful restaurant in central New York called Circa, was happy to oblige. Additionally, Circa put the pie on their own menu the day before the wedding. Apparently it sold out quickly.

I will eat just about any pumpkin pie, even though they typically fall short of pumpkin pie perfection of our family recipe, and I'm always happy to try a new pumpkin pie recipe (but I usually sneak in extra spices!)

This week the assigned recipe for the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group is Sour Cream Pumpkin Tart (Pie) which was a perfect choice because we could all bake this as our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie last week and post it today. And you can bake it now, just in case you're like me and didn't get enough pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving day.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- Judy of the blog Judy's Gross Eats is hosting this week's pumpkin selection. Head over to her blog for the recipe.

- Dorie Greenspan gives two alternate ways to present this pumpkin dessert: as a traditional pie or baked into a tart shell. I'd never baked a pumpkin tart, so this is the route I chose.

- I made 1/4 recipe, which yielded enough filling for one little tart and two ramekins.

- Instead of light brown sugar, I used dark brown, and a spiced dark rum rather than plain rum.

- Because I'm all about the autumn spices, I generously heaped the measure of the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and added a bit of black pepper.

the verdict:

I served one of the ramekins to JDE, and this was our conversation:

JDE: "this stuff is really good."
me: " I added some extra spices. Do you think it's too spicy?"
JDE: "Is that even possible?"

Later, I got to taste the tart myself. The recipe makes a very good pumpkin filling and I was glad I'd experimented with tart dough (rather than the more common pie crust). The added spices gave it a little kick, which was beautifully mellowed by the sour cream in the recipe and some additional softly whipped heavy cream on top.

While I can't say that this recipe reaches the pinnacle of perfection of my usual favorite pumpkin pie, it was a lovely tart, and I'd gladly eat it again. Most of all, I'm grateful for the technique of adding pumpkin filling to a tart shell, which I will definitely keep in my repertory.

Today's other TWD recipe was Normandy Apple Tart, which I posted here.

Carrot Souffle

Thanksgiving just wouldn't be complete without a fluffy orange side dish, right? This slot is usually filled by a sweet potato casserole, prepared with sugar and spices, and topped with nuts or marshmallows (or both!) Well, move over sweet potatoes: there's a new orange dish in town and it wants a place on your Thanksgiving table. The newcomer is a Carrot Souffle, and the flavors are most decidedly savory rather than sweet.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- The recipe from Sam Beall's "The Blackberry Farm Cookbook." If you want to make this dish (and you definitely should), scroll down to the bottom of this post for the recipe.

- I was very low on carrots when I made this recipe, so I regretfully had to make one third of the recipe.

- I prepared this dish gluten-free, so I eliminated the cracker crumbs. I intended to add a bit of almond flour and maybe some coconut flour, but totally forgot. The souffle turned out with a lovely texture even without the crumbs.

- The recipe is easier than most souffles, and is more relaxed to make. It doesn't puff up a great deal in the oven, and doesn't collapse when it's served.

the verdict:

We absolutely loved this dish, and were very sad that it only lasted for one meal. I'll be making this recipe again and again. The savory flavors from the cheese, onion and peppers match beautifully with the souffle's soft texture. This dish is versatile enough to serve with a weekday dinner, and it would be a wonderful addition to the Thanksgiving table. If you already are planning another fluffy orange side dish make them both!

Phyl, of the blog Of Cabbages and King Cakes, is hosting a special Thanksgiving-themed roundup, and I'm contributing this side dish post to his virtual Thanksgiving dinner. Check his blog later this week for a gracious plenty of fabulous holiday food, posted in plenty of time for your Thanksgiving menu-making.

the recipe:

Carrot Souffle
adapted from Blackberry Farm

Ingredients

• 2 lbs carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup Saltine cracker crumbs (I omitted these)
• 3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup minced onion
• 1 Tbsp room temperature unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 large eggs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
2. Place carrots in a saucepan and cover with an inch of water. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt to the water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Strain the carrots and purée in a food processor or with an immersion blender.
3. Place carrot purée in a large bowl. Slowly add in the milk, a little at a time, whisking after each addition so that the mixture stays smooth, not lumpy. Mix in the saltine cracker crumbs, if using, the grated cheese, onion, butter, Kosher salt, cayenne, and black pepper.
4. In a separate bowl, whip up the eggs with an electric mixer until frothy. Then whisk them into the carrot purée mixture.
5. Transfer the carrot mixture into the prepared soufflé dish and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until puffed and light golden brown on top. Serve warm.

Overnight Oven Stock and Turkey Leek Soup

It has always been m habit to make stock with the remains of my Thanksgiving turkey (I previously posted my stock recipe here). I freeze most of it, and usually give some away. A couple of days after Thanksgiving last year Michael Ruhlman posted two recipes. The first was his Turkey Stock: Oven Method and the other was a Turkey Leek Soup that could be made with the stock. I prepared both recipes, and address them separately, below.

n.o.e.'s notes, overnight turkey stock:

- You can find the stock and soup recipes here.

- There are several advantages to using this method for cooking stock. First, it is cooked on very low heat for a very long slow cooking time. Ruhlman says 8 to 16 hours in the oven. That gives a lot of flexibility and does not keep you tied to the stove, to wakefulness, or, indeed even to your house while the stock cooks. The temperature is low enough that you can sleep or run errands without the fear that the house will burn down in your absence.

- Perhaps my favorite part of this recipe is that it begins with bones plus water, that is all. Eventually, after the pot has a long stint in a slow oven, at your convenience you add some aromatic vegetables and seasonings. Then you can return the stove to the oven for several more hours, or you can finish it more quickly in the conventional manner on top of the stove. This suits me because for some reason I'm always very pressed for time when I'm trying to make stock, and find it difficult to find the time to chop and peel the vegetables at the beginning of the process of stock-cooking.

- I always add all of the optional flavoring ingredients to the stock.

- One tip: your oven might decide to turn itself off after a certain number of hours, so if you are heading out the door or going to sleep, I'd advise turning the oven off and re-starting it.

the verdict, stock:

Although I love my usual stock recipe once I made Ruhlman's stock with last Thanksgiving's turkey carcass I have not used any other method to make chicken or turkey stock in the intervening year. It is a far easier and more flexible way to cook stock, and the end result is as tasty as my previous recipe.

n.o.e.'s notes, turkey leek soup:

- As long as you have some leeks on hand, you can make this soup easily with leftover turkey meat and your wonderful fresh stock. You can also make it with stock you've stashed in your freezer, and an poultry scraps you might save, and leeks, of course.

- This soup was a snap to make, which was quite welcome after all of the cooking involved in Thanksgiving dinner.

the verdict, soup:

Leeks, the well-mannered, refined members of the onion family, lend a subtle note to this soup. It made a lovely light dinner served on Thanksgiving weekend with bread and salad on the side (and a little leftover pie to finish it off!)

Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating today!

Perfect Green Beans with Walnut Vinaigrette

Considering how many hours of my childhood were spent sitting in front of a plate of cold green beans that I refused to eat, it's pretty ironic that I'm posting a recipe for green beans. Luckily, time passes, tastes change, and I'm thrilled to share this recipe with you in time for Thanksgiving. It's elegant enough to serve to company but simple enough that it won't stress you to do so. Really, it's a perfect recipe for any ordinary day as well.

The recipe for the green beans is Ellie Krieger's, and she calls it Green Bean Salad. I call it "perfect" though, because it is. For the past two months I have not made green beans any other way.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- You can find the recipe here.

- I begin this dish by steaming the beans and toasting the walnuts at the same time, each for 4 minutes. In that time the rest of the recipe - chopping red onions and flat leaf parsley, whisking a simple vinaigrette, can be made in the 4 minutes that it takes to steam the green beans.

- Walnut oil is delicious in the vinaigrette, but I also have used olive oil and it is quite tasty.

- The walnuts and onions are so good with the beans that I usually measure them generously.

- The beans can be enjoyed warm, cold, or at room temperature. I've served them at all three ways with equal success.

the verdict:

These beans are quite simple to make, and have a subtle, sophisticated fall flavor from the toasted walnuts and walnut oil. I plan to serve these with my holiday turkey and hope you will also!

Other green bean recipes that I've known, loved, and posted on the blog:

Dramtically Seared Green Beans With Garlic and Chile from Mollie Katzen
Green Beans with Shallots and Clementine Zest from Cottage Living Magazine

Cranberry Sauce with Apricots and Meeting Dorie Greenspan

All of the stars aligned this week, and I was able to combine a trip to Massachusetts with a drive on Thursday over to Madison, Connecticut to attend an event at the fabulous bookstore R.J. Julia: Dorie Greenspan spoke of her life in Paris and read from her new cookbook Around My French Table.

Even though I sat in the very back of the house, Dorie's personal warmth filled the room and her engaging stories kept us all captivated. As she signed books afterward, Dorie left us feeling that each of us was the most special one in the room!

Dorie baked us sable cookies - they were fantastic! Thanks to Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures for taking this picture of Dorie and me.

An added bonus of the evening was meeting Dorie's charming husband Michael, and also fellow Tuesdays With Dorie and French Fridays With Dorie bloggers Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures, Audrey of Food From Books, Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet, and Rebecca of Cooking Lucia Cara.

And now for a recipe from Dorie for Cranberry Sauce With Apricots that will be a great addition to your Thanksgiving menu (and one that you can throw together in under 15 minutes to boot!)


n.o.e.'s notes:

- [update November 2023: the original links in this post are broken.  You can find the recipe on the Parade website.]   Dorie featured the cranberry sauce on this 2009 entry on her blog and you can find the recipe, along with tempting Thanksgiving recipes from other chefs, in this article from Parade Magazine.

- The basic process is to cook fresh cranberries with orange juice, jam, sugar, powdered ginger, and chopped dried apricots on top of the stove until it becomes a thick sauce.

- 1 pound of cranberries makes 2/3 recipe of this cranberry sauce.

- For the jam, I used Stonewall Kitchen's Peach Amaretto jam. Stonewall's jams always sound wonderful, but once I open a jar I find that they tend to be too sweet and oddly low on flavor. To compensate I halved the sugar in the recipe and added a generous squeeze of lime juice. The level of sweetness/tartness can be adjusted as needed while the sauce is simmering.

the verdict:

This cranberry sauce was as delectable as it was easy to make. I loved that it was tart, but not too tart, and that the flavors of the different fruits came through. This is a definite addition to my Thanksgiving table this year, and beyond that, it's a good one to have on hand to garnish roasted meat or a sandwich, or even stir into yogurt.

Support your local independent bookseller!

Apple Tart Cake

There's a good chance, if you will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner at your house, that you are struggling with menus right about now. Allow me to make a suggestion, or two. In an effort to be a helpful, seasonally-appropriate blogger, over the next several days I will share some wonderful Thanksgiving-appropriate recipes.

First up is an apple dessert that I tried for the first time just last week. Not only did the members of my book group love it, the general consensus was that this would be a perfect addition to the Thanksgiving table, better even than apple pie!


n.o.e.'s notes:

- This wonderful apple dish is from Orangette; you can find the recipe is here. The directions are precise and quite easy to follow. There are some additional helpful notes in this blog post.

- This tart/cake consists of a crust/cake layer that is quickly made in the food processor, layered with apple slices and baked. Then a [edited to add: very thin layer of] custard-y topping is added and the pan is returned to the oven until the custard is set.

- One thing that makes this an easy apple dessert is that it only calls for 2 apples (rather than the 6 cups of peeled and chopped apples that are required by most apple pies.

- I cut the amount of sugar to 3/4 cup, and use even less next time - unless I were to use very tart apples.

- I added 1/2 tsp of almond extract to the custard layer.

- Whipped cream would make a nice companion to this cake/dessert.

the verdict:

This is a perfect apple dessert for serving to guests. Not only is it pretty as can be, it has great structure and wonderful flavor. True to its name, it is a cross between a tart and a cake. The crust becomes nicely browned at the tart/cake cooks, and the apples and custard are beautifully tender.

You can make it ahead; in fact, it is better made a day or two in advance. I would probably use a tarter variety of apple next time, but, honestly, my tasters were not complaining!

{TWD} Caramel Pumpkin Pie

As much as I enjoy baking with apples - and pears - to me the real star of the autumnal ingredient lineup is pumpkin! Last year, the shortage of canned pumpkin in the US cast a distressing shadow over the baking landscape, and my local grocery store is still feeling the effects of the limited pumpkin production. Canned pumpkin is kept behind closed doors in the customer service department, where it is doled out two cans per customer. Obviously, pumpkin is not a thing to be squandered on subpar recipes! This week's Tuesdays With Dorie selection, Caramel Pumpkin Pie, carried an added burden. Not only did I have to decide if it was worthy from a taste perspective but also whether it merited a can of my precious pumpkin hoard. But with homemade caramel stirred into the usual pumpkin pie ingredients, this recipe certainly sounded like it would be worthwhile.

I got a little carried away with the whipped cream, but it was delicious
with this pie

n.o.e.'s notes:

- This fall dessert was chosen for the group this week by Janell of the blog Mortensen Family Memoirs and you can find the recipe on her informative post.

- Pumpkin pie might be my very favorite desset. The standard recipe for pumpkin pie at our house calls for molasses and tons of spice.

- I made a full sized pie and followed the recipe exactly.

- In making the caramel, Dorie gives the option of stirring in rum or cider. I used some of my King Arthur boiled cider but reduced the quantity because the flavor is so strong.

- I also baked a gluten-free version of the pie, with a nut crust and I caramelized palm sugar for the filling. The palm sugar was much more difficult to caramelize this time around, but it finally turned a very dark brown. This strong caramel carried through with an almost burnt taste in the filling of the finished pie.

the verdict:

I served this pie to my book group and it was a huge, huge, huge success. Three of my tasters don't like pumpkin pie but each liked this enough to eat a generous slice. One is planning to bake this recipe for her Thanksgiving dinner.

I found the pie to be an unusual, lightly spiced, sweet, and quite enjoyable take on the classic pumpkin pie. It is not likely to unseat our molasses-and-spice family favorite pumpkin pie, but it was definitely worth using a can of pumpkin.


gluten free version of pie. The deeply caramelized palm sugar made the
filling darker and more intense.

{TWD} Cranberry Upside-Downer Cake

This week the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group got a jump-start on cool-weather baking with the Cranberry Upside Downer, a fairly simple butter cake festively topped with bright red cranberries and chopped nuts (or alternatively with cut peaches). As pictured in Dorie Greenspan's wonderful book Baking From My Home to Yours the cake looks like the perfect addition to a holiday menu, so I was thrilled to get to preview this recipe now, at the very beginning of the Fall (even if the temperatures around here are still decidedly summer-ish).

n.o.e.'s notes:

- Sabrina of the blog Superfluous chose the recipe this week. If you'd like to bake this cake, you can find the recipe on her post.

- There was no special occasion on my calendar for me to serve this cake, so I baked just half a recipe in a 6" cake pan and we enjoyed it as a weeknight dessert.

- I replaced the white sugar with blond palm sugar. It has a wonderful caramel-y flavor and a lower glycemic load than regular sugar.

- Rather than cinnamon, I added freshly ground nutmeg and allspice to my dry ingredients. I chose the almond extract option rather than vanilla.


- My nut drawer had a bag of very tiny pecans, which is what I used in the topping. I lightly toasted them in the oven before placing the in the baking pan with the cranberries.

- The local Fresh Market carries a line of frozen berries all year long, including cranberries, so that's what I used. I cut them in half while they were still frozen because I love the "wagon wheel" effect from the cut berries.


- I wanted plenty of topping, so I used a heaping measure of pecans and cranberries but it still made rather a thin layer of topping. The next time I'd probably double the amount of topping.

- My 6" cake baked for 25 minutes.

- I was excited to use my new little 1-cup copper saucier twice - first for cooking the melted butter and sugar and the next time for warming the jelly that glazes the cake at the end. I used a mixture of black cherry and apple jelly because I still don't have the versatile and useful red currant jelly.


the verdict:

We enjoyed the cake for dinner on Monday and breakfast this morning! As far as cakes-with-fruit go, this one doesn't unseat the Dimply Plum Cake (which I posted here and followed up here), but it was a great weekday sweet to have on hand. It would also be a good addition to the holiday table, served with some vanilla ice cream.

The crumb was surprisingly soft and quite moist and provided a lovely sweet base for the topping's tart/sweet/crunchy combination of flavors. As an alternative to cranberries, in addition to the peaches that Dorie mentions this cake could be paired with any number of different fresh fruits (the tarter the better).

{TWD} Dorie's Favorite Pecan Pie

The Tuesdays with Dorie recipe chosen for this week is Dorie Greenspan's My Favorite Pecan Pie. It is a classic pecan pie, with a twist: Dorie adds chopped chocolate to the pie filling. The December recipe assignments were announced before Thanksgiving, which was great because that holiday is all about the pies. (Well, and turkey too, of course.)

Even though pecan pie is traditional at our Thanksgiving table, I dragged my feet about making this recipe. It used to be that I was philosophically opposed to adding chocolate to my pecan pie. I mean, a good pecan pie is perfection all by itself, I had a wonderful recipe with maple syrup rather than light corn syrup, and I saw no need to add chocolate. But then last year I baked a Texas Chocolate and Pecan Pie (from Bon Appetit) for my brother's Thanksgiving dinner (posted here), and it was absolutely delicious. So, grudgingly, I'm no longer hostile to the idea of chocolate in pecan pie. But still I debated whether to bake this one or not because it is nearly identical to the Texas pie, which I'd baked and posted a year ago. I was in the mood for my regular pecan pie. Or this Virginia Willis pecan pie recipe. Or the Pecan Maple Pie from the Tartine baking book. Although in theory I could bake a pecan pie any old time, the reality is that I will only bake one for Thanksgiving.

Enough whining. In the end I settled myself down and baked Dorie's Favorite pecan pie. I've never missed baking the weekly recipe for TWD since I joined the group in July 2008, and I wasn't willing to make an exception, even for a pie that was nearly the same as one I've already baked. We loved it last year, so I figured we'd love it this year!


n.o.e.'s notes:

- The major difference is that the chopped chocolate melted in the that recipe, but is stirred into the pie filling unmelted in Dorie's recipe.

- I followed the recipe nearly exactly, except for substituting golden syrup for the corn syrup. Inspired by Virginia Willis recipe (linked above), I increased the pecans by 50%.

- For a crust I used the Cook's Illustrated Vodka Crust (which I posted here). When I blind baked the crust, it sagged, so I decided to make just 2/3 recipe of the filling. I didn't think a full recipe would fit, especially with the extra pecans.

- I might have overbaked the pie. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I did. There was a lot going on in my kitchen on Thanksgiving.

- Because I was transporting three pies (and about 7 other dishes) to my brother's house for Thanksgiving dinner, and the capacity on my pie carrier is one pie, I was very excited to read a tip about carrying pies in the compartments of a 10" bamboo steamer. What a brilliant idea, I thought, and grabbed a steamer at the store. Fortunately I tested out my pie pans in the steamer in advance of the pie-baking session. It turns out that a standard pyrex glass pie plate is too wide to fit in the steamer. My favorite pie plates are smallish-but-deepish metal ones from a pie shop in Connecticut (you could keep the pie plate when you bought a pie, or you could get some money back if you returned the pan to the store). These pans just barely fit in the steamer, and only if the crust wouldn't overhang the edge of the pan at all. A double crusted pie wouldn't have fit, even in that smaller pan.

pecan pie on top, apple custard pie with streusel topping, on bottom

- If you use a bamboo steamer for a pie carrier, I'd recommend folding a dish towel and placing it in the steamer underneath the pan, which will make the pie much easier to remove from the steamer. Too thick a towel, however, and the pie will be too tall for the steamer lid to fit over it.

the verdict:

I'll be honest here. I had a sliver of this pie on Thanksgiving, and, while it went down easy, and seemed tasty enough, I couldn't give it full evaluative attention at the end of a wonderful meal of all new recipes, so I can't render a fair verdict. Luckily I have a report from another taster. My sister-in-law loves chocolate pecan pie, and thought this pie was absolutely delicious. I gave her the entire leftover pie to keep. The next day, I had a bit of donor's remorse - I really wished I could have tasted it then on refreshed taste buds for a fresher impression - but ultimately I'm glad that it all went to someone who would really appreciate it!



Thanks, Beth of Someone’s in the Kitchen with Brina for choosing this seasonally-appropriate and delicious My Favorite Pecan Pie, You can find the recipe is on Beth's blog (here) or on page page 327 of Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Leek Bread Pudding

Once I received my copy of Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home, I couldn't resist dipping in and trying a recipe. And then a couple more. I was dying to taste the Leek Bread Pudding so much that I actually prepared it for Thanksgiving dinner in place of dressing! Luckily nobody left the table in protest. In fact, it was so popular, I wanted to make sure to post it in time for you to plan to make it yourself over the holidays.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- You can find the recipe for the Leek Bread Pudding at several online souces, including here.

- The recipe calls for brioche or pullman loaf bread. I baked up some Dan Lepard Milk Loaf in the original - all white flour - version for just the second time in all the many many times I've baked the bread.

- Keller gives instructions for emulsifying the butter while sauteeing the leeks. My butter "broke" repeatedly and I had to re-emulsify it about 6 times

- One of Keller's favorite techniques is to make a parchment cover for saute pan - basically a circle with a hole cut in the middle. It allows a simmering dish to vent but not dry out.

- The chives and thyme were from my herb garden.

- When it came time to bake the bread pudding, I used a "convect" setting on my oven, and the custard was set in half the time specified.

- This recipe can be served hot, room temperature, or anywhere in between.

- I was very tempted to add some sauteed wild mushrooms, and think that they would be a great addition.


the verdict:

This dish was a big hit with just about everyone at Thanksgiving dinner. I think people mostly forgave the lack of dressing/stuffing. The pudding is tender and delectable and has a lovely flavor from the leeks and herbs. It's quite rich, as would be expected with so much butter, cream, and cheese. I might reduce the cream and increase the milk next time around; I don't think it would be missed.

My husband was not the biggest fan of the bread pudding, though, because it reminded him too much of quiche (not his favorite). And being that it is a custard with cheese, he has a point. Oh well, that meant that I had to finish it by myself! Although the edges of the bread cubes weren't as crisp, the pudding was very good re-warmed.

The leek bread pudding would be a great dish at Christmas dinner, to accompany any type of roast meat or fowl. With the significant quantities of eggs and cheese, however, it's also substantial enough to stand on its own.

I'm submitting this post to Yeastspotting, a superb weekly compendium of yeasted baked goods and dishes made with bread.

Split Personality Sweet Potato Casserole

In any large group of people gathered to share Thanksgiving dinner there are those who like their sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows and those who prefer nuts and brown sugar. Last November I found a recipe that provides the perfect solution to the sweet potato divide: a casserole with a half-and-half topping, one side marshmallow, the other nuts. I prepared a different sweet potato dish last year for our very small Thanksgiving meal, but this year our Thanksgiving dinner included people from three different families, so I gave the recipe a test drive and everyone was happy with one side or the other of this side dish.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- You can find the recipe on Saveur's site, by clicking here.

- This is a great make-ahead dish - the sweet potato mixture can be prepared a few days in advance. The nut topping can also be made early and refrigerated until time to assemble and bake the casserole.

- I used mostly fresh sweet potatoes which I braised in a covered pan with a bit of water and butter on the stove top until tender. I didn't have quite enough sweet potatoes so I supplemented with a can of mashed sweet potatoes (the most convenient thing ever!)

- After I mixed the sweet potatoes with the other ingredients, I gave a little taste. The filling was not very sweet at all, so, very unusual for me, I actually added sugar (3 T brown sugar)

- I've never seen cashews as a sweet potato topping - pecans are much more common in these parts - but I decided to give them a try.

- At first the amount of marshmallows seemed meager compared to piled-up nut topping on the other side of the baking dish, so I added more. I later realized that the marshmallows puff up in the oven. My brother's family doesn't eat red meat, so I used the natural fish-gelatin marshmallows from Whole Foods. They got a little dry and hard in the oven, but softened up once I covered the casserole with foil to keep it warm.

the verdict:

This casserole was absolutely adorable on the Thanksgiving buffet, and proved to be quite a hit. I can report that the marshmallow side disappeared faster than the nut one (all of the children present opted for the marshmallow part, in fact some of them opted for only the marshmallows and no sweet potatoes at all!)

I loved that this recipe is far less rich than others I've made - the relatively low amounts of butter and sugar in the sweet potatoes was balance nicely by the sweetness of both toppings. In fact, I really didn't need to have added the extra bit of brown sugar.

I'm sure that this split personality sweet potato dish will become a regular offering on my Thanksgiving table.

Green Peppercorn Sage Gravy

I don't know about you, but every Thanksgiving, as I tuck into my favorite meal of the entire year, I find myself wondering why I cook turkey + gravy only in November (and sometimes at Christmas). "This year," I always say to myself, "I will make turkey more often." And although I usually fail pretty miserably in that resolution, this year I actually followed through. Which is pretty cool in many ways, but it means that I'm writing a post featuring turkey gravy after Easter!

Back in January, my farm box had some turkeys available for order - local, organic, free-pastured birds. I'd cooked one of these birds for Thanksgiving dinner, using Tyler Florence's recipe. It was the best turkey I've ever eaten, so I jumped on the chance for a repeat performance. The turkey that I picked up in January was 24 pounds! I again used Tyler's method to cook the turkey, and it was delicious, although it was a little comical to prepare such a huge turkey when there are just 2 of us in the house. We enjoyed a few turkey dinners that week, and then froze an entire turkey breast, 3 quarts of stock, turkey drippings (measured in 1/4 cup packets), and a passel of Ziploc bags filled with turkey meat, ranging from full slices down to little scraps.

Gotta love all that food in the freezer! I recently stumbled across Tyler Florence's recipe for Sage Green Peppercorn Gravy and decided to cook it, even though I didn't have some of the ingredients: turkey giblets or smoked turkey wings. So I improvised, using an assortment of turkey items from my freezer instead!

n.o.e.'s notes:

-I prepared a half recipe, making several changes to Tyler's recipe. My adapted version is at the end of this post.

- To compensate for the fact that I didn't have smoked turkey wings available, I added a smoky note in two ways:
1. I used some reserved bacon grease from fabulously-smoky Benton's bacon.
2. I also stirred some smoked salt into the nearly-finished gravy. I order the smoked salt (and the equally wonderful hot salt) from a little spice purveyor in central New York State.

- Since I had no giblets to chop and add to the gravy, I used small scraps of cooked turkey and some turkey drippings, both from the freezer.

the verdict:

I served the gravy with some of the leftover Tyler Florence turkey slices (yup, in my freezer.) The resulting dish was totally delicious! The gravy's flavor was complex and subtle; the smoky touches and the cognac added an understated sophistication. Luckily we had some Sister Schubert's rolls to catch all of the gravy goodness on our plates!

Now, tuck this recipe away for Thanksgiving - that's what I'm going to do!

the recipe:

Green Peppercorn Sage Gravy

adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence.

1 T smoky bacon grease
1/2 T butter
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed
3 small carrots, cut in chunks
1.5 celery stalks, cut in chunks
4 sprigs Italian parsley, divided and half roughly chopped
4 sprigs thyme, divided and half roughly chopped
2 bay leaves, divided and half roughly chopped
3 T cognac
1 T flour
2 c. chicken stock
1/4 cup defatted turkey drippings
1/4 c. water
1/4 tsp. smoked salt
salt and pepper
1/3 - 1/2 cup small or shredded cooked turkey scraps
1/2 T green peppercorns

Melt butter and bacon grease in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery with 2 sprigs each parsley and thyme, 2 sage leaves, and 1 bay leaf until fragrant (about 5 minutes). Deglaze the pan with 2 T. cognac and cook for 2 minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Sprinkle in flour to tighten up the mixture and stir in the chicken broth a little at a time to avoid lumping. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until slightly thickened. With a slotted spoon or strainer, remove the pieces of vegetable from the broth.

In another pan, heat the turkey drippings. Add the remaining herbs. Season with salt and pepper and heat over medium heat. Add 1 T cognac and continue to cook until ingredients are hot and well combined and the cognac has evaporated.

Add the seasoned drippings and the turkey scraps to the broth mixture. Deglaze the dripping pan with 1/4 cup water, and add to the gravy. Simmer until the gravy is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in peppercorns and serve with turkey.

I'm sending this post to Tyler Florence Fridays, a weekly blog event featuring the recipes of Tyler Florence. Check out the roundup to see what the Tyler-istas are cooking up!

Grandma's Apple Pie

A.L.E.'s take on Grandma's Apple Pie. Really, doesn't everyone make a moose-themed apple pie?

This is the pie that my mother cooked every day while her 4 little angels were napping. We'd wake up from our nap to enjoy fresh cinnamon pinwheels that she made with the scraps of crust.

The pie is great any time of year, and is one of the staples of our Thanksgiving table. Usually, it's J.D.E. who makes the apple pie (and A.L.E. bakes the pumpkin one), but this year J.D.E. was several thousand miles away, so A.L.E. baked both, in addition to helping with the Twofer pie. I made a chocolate pecan pie. Whew, lotsa pies!

Here's the recipe:

Grandma’s Apple Pie

pie crust for 1 two-crust pie (we used the Cook's Illustrated crust for this)

6 cups sliced, cored pared tart apples (about 2 pounds)
¾ c. sugar
1+ T. flour
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
J.D.E. puts in a pinch of mace
¼ tsp salt
2 T butter – to dot the filling before putting the top crust on. I always forget this and have to stick it through the holes in the crust.

1. You mix up all the ingred.s and dump in bottom crust, dot with butter, and put on top crust.

2. Bake in 425° oven for 15 min, then turn oven down to 350 and cook for 40-45 min or so.

3. Grandma says the key is “lazy bubbles”

This time we pre-cooked the apple filling on the stovetop for about 5 minutes so it would already have compacted before we put the top crust on. For this, it's a good idea to throw some more apple in.

Unfortunately, I pulled the pie out of the oven too early. It looked great but hadn't thickened and the apples were a bit too firm for my taste. But my husband loved it, and since it's his favorite, it all worked out. I spent my pie time eating pumpkin!

{T-giving} Molasses Spice Pumpkin Pie

If you, like me, prefer your pumpkin pie to be dense, dark, and spicy, this is the recipe for you. I first made it several years ago, after finding it in The Spice Cookbook, a vintage cookbook from 1964. It is the single most important recipe of my Thanksgiving dinner.

The cookbook's title page

The book is packed with information, charts, tips, and delicious recipes made with spices from all over the world.

The cookbook's endpapers

Molasses-Pumpkin Pie

from The Spice Cookbook

¾ cup sugar
1 T. flour
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ cup unsulphured molasses
2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin
3 large eggs
1 cup undiluted evaporated milk
9 inch unbaked 1 crust pie shell (I used the Cook's Illustrated pie crust)

1. Mix together the first 6 ingredients.

2. Add the next 3 ingredients. Mix well.

3. Stir in milk.

4. Pour into unbaked pie shell

5. Bake in preheated 400°F oven for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy the pie with or without whipped cream. It's great either way. We always make to sure to have lots of this pumpkin pie, and in the days after Thanksgiving I enjoy it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

This pie is a specialty of my daughter A.L.E., who said this year: "I don't know why everyone doesn't use molasses in pumpkin pie." Honestly, as good as the pie tastes, I agree with her.

{T-giving} Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Maybe it's my Massachusetts roots, but I really love cranberries. Cranberry juice, cranberry bread, and cranberry sauce. My usual recipe is made with cranberries, apples, celery, and plenty of cinnamon. I've always preferred it to the standard cranberry-orange, but it can be a bit sweet. So when I saw Carol Peterman's recipe for Spiced Cranberry Sauce on her blog (which, btw, is filled with wonderful food and helpful information), I immediately put it on the Thanksgiving menu.

cook's notes:

- The recipe comes together very easily.

- I ground my own allspice and cloves (with an electric coffee grinder that has become a dedicated spice grinder)

- Juicing the ginger in a garlic press was very cool.


the verdict:

This is good, good, good! I love how the ginger and vinegar cut the sweetness. It was good and spicy and filled with cranberry flavor. Thanks, Carol, for the fabulous recipe!

{T-giving} Turkey, Dressing and Gravy: a Hit, a Miss and a Stalwart [also: TFF]

It may be the Christmas season everywhere else, but on this blog it's perennially Thanksgiving! Or at least it will be that way for a while longer.

This year, for the second year in a row, everything, from soup to nuts, came from my kitchen. The fact that just three of us were there to eat the feast simplified the menu only slightly - there are a good many things that are practically required for Thanksgiving, and others that are really nice to have. I was very thankful for the able assistance of my talented daughter A.L.E.!

In contrast to last year’s focus on our old favorites, this year we cooked almost everything from new recipes. After all was said and done, this was the best dinner I've ever put on our table, and now we have some new favorites! I’ve already posted the pumpkin soup, brown butter sage sweet potatoes, and two pies (chocolate pecan and Twofer). This post will be the centerpiece of the meal: turkey, stuffing, and gravy. Still to come: two more pies, green beans, cranberry sauce, and cider jelly.

Turkey

Most everyone would agree that Thanksgiving = Turkey. After all, the holiday's second name is "Turkey Day". (That doesn't mean that everyone likes or eats turkey. Vegetarians and vegans, for example can partake of a special tofu-rkey, which I'm told is a reasonably tasty alternative -and of course a million fabulous non-meat-based recipes. The cashier I spoke with in the supermarket on Thanksgiving Eve was going with a ham only. And we had friends who were cattle ranchers in Oklahoma who never ate "bird".)

I am nothing if I'm not traditional on this question. I really like turkey, and I have a list of Requirements For Thanksgiving Turkey. According to my standards, a turkey must:

1. Be large enough for lots of leftovers - slices for another dinner and/or turkey sandwiches, scraps for soups, casseroles, and tamales - and have sufficient bones for 2-3 quarts of stock. [This only applies if I cook the turkey, although most people will be happy to hand over the bones, I've found]

2. Be well-cooked, tender, and especially not dry (because that puts a pall over the meal).

3. Taste great covered in gravy

4. Be a good complement to dressing/stuffing
Essentially, turkey is a necessary vehicle for two of my three favorite Thanksgiving foods: gravy and dressing (the third is pumpkin pie.) And an ideal source of several future meals.

Over the years we've prepared or consumed turkey in a variety of cooking methods. The bird is usually a fresh one, and we've had it: smoked, brined with Alton Brown's brine and smoked, brined with Alton Brown's brine and roasted, brined with a simple salt brine and smoked, brined with a simple salt brine and roasted, herbed and roasted, pre-basted. And, thankfully, the turkey has usually lived up to its obligations.

Since I've been on a sage kick lately, Tyler Florence's Oven Roasted Turkey with Sage Butter spoke to me. What did it say? "Cook me!" Who was I to argue with an insistent recipe?

cook's notes:

- Our turkey came from the farm box folks, who have a wonderful organic poultry supplier. The bird weighed in at 14.5 pounds; just enough for the three of us(!)

- I decided to make half the sage butter. I couldn't imagine putting 2 sticks' worth of butter under the skin of the turkey, especially since. . .

- . . . I wasn't sure exactly how to put the butter under the skin. I ended up buttering the turkey breast part only. (Was I supposed to put butter under the other skin? That would have been difficult.) I slid a sharp knife between the skin and the breast, and gently pulled skin loose with my fingers. Then I smooshed the butter all over the top of the turkey, under the skin. However, I think I should have left the skin attached at the breastbone, as the skin pulled back as the turkey cooked, and the breast meat was partly uncovered by any skin. After a while I figured that I could fashion a bard for that part of the turkey breast out of cheesecloth soaked in olive oil. It didn't hit me later that I could have barded the turkey breast with Benton's bacon!

the verdict:

I must say that this turkey stole the show, and relegated all of the side dishes to, well, the side. In fact, all three of us agreed that the turkey was the single best thing on the Thanksgiving menu (I've never even thought that was possible). The white meat was not dry and the dark meat was buttery soft. The simple flavors of butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, and sage combined magically.

No longer will I think of turkey as the necessary-but-not-exciting part of Thanksgiving. It has returned to front and center. This was, bar none, the best turkey I've ever eaten. I'm sure a huge part of it was that it was that fresh organic turkey straight from the farm. With due credit to Tyler Florence, for the perfect preparation.

The best part: Even the leftovers were tender and delicious.

This is my submission to a new group, Tyler Florence Fridays. Every Friday, you can go here to see a roundup of the Tyler Florence recipes that group members have individually chosen and cooked.

Dressing

I grew up calling it stuffing, and it was, indeed, stuffed in our bird every year. Now that I’ve lived in the South for over half my life, I’ve taken to calling it dressing, and cooking it outside the turkey, in casserole dishes. At any rate, I usually go with a bread cube type rather than a cornbread type.

I love my usual dressing, which is the Onion Dressing from the 1974 Joy of Cooking. But A.L.E. is not a fan of onions, so I thought I'd try something different. In addition to lots of onions, the Joy of Cooking dressing has a good dose of butter, stock, and eggs. I've lightened it up over the years, and it's always tasted great. But I was excited to try something new. I wanted a recipe that uses fresh sage, and bread cubes. I'd taken the cheater's way out and bought a bag of mixed dry bread cubes from the bakery department at Whole Foods. This dressing recipe from Saveur looked like it would fit the bill.

cook's notes:

- I neglected to read the part where the recipe specifies fresh bread crumbs.

- I like cubes of bread in my dressing, so I only made some into fine bread crumbs.

- There was not nearly enough stock, since my crumbs were dry not fresh. I just added stock until it was moist enough to put inside the turkey. For the leftover dressing, I added more stock and turned it into an oiled baking dish.

- I added some paprika and ground savory.

The verdict:

This was too dry and bland for me. It may have been completely different if I had used fresh bread crumbs rather than dried. I think it needed a few eggs, if not more butter and even more stock than I added.

I'll go back to my usual recipe or keep looking!

Gravy

This is my mother's gravy recipe, and I wouldn't think of messing with perfection! You can use this recipe with the drippings for any roast meat or poultry.

Drippings Gravy

3 T. drippings
2 c. stock or broth
3 T. flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp dry sage
1/4 c. water

1. Remove the roast from the pan and keep warm. Pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a measuring cup. Let the fat rise to the top, and spoon it off. (Depending on the quantity of drippings you have, you can double or even triple this recipe for turkey gravy. For a roast chicken, pork roast, or roast beef, a single recipe is usually appropriate.)

2. Deglaze the roasting pan with the stock.

3. In small glass jar (like a jelly jar or mustard jar) combine all dry ingredients. Add the water and shake vigorously until there are no lumps. Pour slowly into the pan, stirring with whisk.

4. Cook gravy, stirring, until thickened.

{TWD} Thanksgiving Twofer Pie goes Zero fer Two

Dorie Greenspan's Thanksgiving Twofer Pie went into Thursday's pie competition round against some proven champions and a new challenger, and despite turning in a solid performance, failed to score a win in either of the categories: Filling, or Crust.

This recipe combines the flavors of pumpkin pie with those of pecan pie, all in one rich, butter-crust-encased package. I've got to say right here that I love pumpkin pie, and I love it best when it's deep, dark, and heavily spiced. I'm not a fan of pumpkin chiffon pie or pumpkin cheesecake - I end up feeling cheated of that intense pumpkin jolt. On the pecan side of the aisle, I'm not as passionate, but I do have a pecan/maple pie that is really good, and feel no need to search out a better recipe (although the Chocolate Pecan Pie I made on Tuesday was also amazing). I was very interested in seeing how the Twofer pie would stack up against the Thanksgiving competition.

I was lucky to be joined in cooking by my oldest daughter, A.L.E., who flew in on Thanksgiving morning. We set right to work baking the Twofer.

A.L.E. eyed the new bottle of Myers Rum, purchased for the 2 tsp of dark rum in the recipe's ingredient list. "If we had any ginger ale, we could make Dark and Stormys."

"Hmm, I think there's some old flat ginger ale in the back of the downstairs fridge."


So, fortified with a delicious taste of the islands (1 shot of dark rum in a glass of ginger ale; technically this drink should be made with Gosling's Black Seal Rum and Jamaican Ginger Beer), we carried on with the recipe. Dorie's crust and both fillings came together pretty well. We made crusts at the same time for the two other pies that we were baking at the same time: Apple and spicy Pumpkin. We used the Cook's Illustrated recipe for these other crusts; scroll down to the end of this post for a comparison of the two pie crust recipes.

The dogs really do eat the crumbs when A.L.E. is cooking!

It got a little confusing following all the different recipes (while enjoying our cocktails), and A.L.E. spooned pumpkin out of the can and into the pecan filling (she was able to fish it out). This prompted her to dispense this piece of sage advice: "Don't cook wasted, man!" Which, I assure you, we were not doing. But it was a bit surreal to have the little girl who began cooking with me at age 2 standing on a stool at the counter, now mixing me a cocktail as she deftly whisked and processed ingredients for a complicated pie recipe.

Our biggest dilemma was which pan(s) to use for the pie. We finally settled on dividing the recipe into two small-ish pies, since the P&Q contained reports of trouble with overflowing pie crusts with 9" single pies.

We chose a 7" foil pie pan and a 7.5" tart pan with deep sides, and aimed for a 1/3 - 2/3 split of the ingredients. It turned out that neither pie shell was completely filled. I probably should have stopped to do some volume calculations before I filled the pans, but I was too lazy.

I was surprised at how little of the pecan filling there was. Also, I didn't split the nuts very well, so I had a higher percentage of them in the shallow pan.

Based on the experiences of those posting on the P&Q, we did not blind-bake the crust. I adjusted the temperatures a bit and baked the pies at 425 for around 10 min, and then 325 until done - fairly quick for the small shallow pie, and somewhat under 45 minutes for the deep tart.

There was just too much going on - apple pie, pumpkin pie, cocktail hour - for me to make specific notes of the exact baking times. I'm just lucky I didn't forget them in the oven and burn them to a crisp.

the verdict:

Thanksgiving day tasting --

- We ate the shallow pie on Thanksgiving. It was OK. Pretty good, but didn't knock either one of us over. The filling was kind of bland, we thought.

- The pecans were distressingly soft for some reason. I'm blaming the nuts not the pie recipe, however. They were very fresh, and I attribute the softness to that (?). I did toast them in the oven before starting the recipe, and they seemed nice and crunchy.

- It is just as much work as making the two separate pies, and personally, I prefer my favorite pumpkin recipe and my favorite pecan recipe to this recipe.

- A.L.E. observed: "It wasn't worth the heartache."

second day tasting --

- We cut into the deeper tart. We thought the flavors were better the second day, and we preferred the deep pie to the shallow one.

- A.L.E.'s comment: "Now I understand the pie."

- I still prefer my pumpkin pie's spicy deliciousness, but I can see how Dorie's pie could be appealing to those less obsessed with pumpkin. So, while this was a good recipe, I preferred the fillings of the other three pies I baked for Thanksgiving, and the crust from the Cook's Illustrated recipe (comparison below, and see my Chocolate Pecan Pie post).


crust comparisons --

I grew up eating pie with an all-shortening crust, and I'm used to its sturdy flakiness. At this point, however, shortening gives me the willies. Actually, I have issues with using any large blocks of fat in cooking. But working with butter is (slightly) more appealing to me than shortening.

Here's where I admit that I've been using the Pillsbury All Ready pie crusts for years. It is easy. I haven't owned a food processor until this summer, and making pie crust has always seemed like a big hassle to me. And I don't mind the taste of the ready-made, especially given that my main interest in eating pie is what's inside the crust. In fact, most of the time I'd be perfectly happy with ramekins of cooked pie filling. And yes, when I pull the magic dough out of the box I'm not forced to confront the crazy amount of fat that pie crust entails.

Owning a food processor has made a huge difference for me, especially in the pie crust department. My first homemade crust in a long time was for the Summer Fruit Gallette - my first official TWD week, back in July. I loved that crust in that recipe. I made minis and froze some of them unbaked. We just finished the last one about a month ago, and it was delicious.

I knew that I wanted to make the Twofer Pie with Dorie's crust recipe, but I also was intrigued by the premise of the vodka-added Cook's Illustrated crust. Thanksgiving provided a perfect set up for a side by side comparison!

- Both recipes employ mostly butter + some shortening. Dorie's has a higher percentage of butter and just 1/3 c of shortening for 2 crusts, and Cook's Illustrated has 1/2 c. shortening for a double crust.

- Cook's Illustrated uses an extra bowl for hand stirring the ice water and vodka into the dough.

- When it came time for rolling, the Cook's Illustrated handled like a dream; it makes a silky smooth dough.

- Neither recipe holds an edge like an all-shortening pie crust - or the Pillsbury pie crust.

- Dorie's is softer, more delicate. A.L.E.'s reaction: "too buttery." It's amazing to see how much difference an additional few tablespoons of butter and a few fewer of shortening can make. We thought the buttery flavor distracted from the pie filling.

- The Cook's Illustrated crust was flakier, crisper, and more neutral in flavor. It didn't compete with the filling, but played its supporting role beautifully.

- Because of superior handling, and perfect blend of taste and flakiness, the Cook's Illustrated crust will become my new standard crust. I think that from now on I'll continue making pie crust from scratch (but there is a box of Pillsbury's in the freezer for crust emergencies!)

Vibi of La Casserole Carrée selected this week's recipe, and you can see her stunning Twofer Tart pictured on her post, and find the recipe - in French and English, no less - there too. Or you can pick up your very own copy of Dorie Greenspan's book Baking From My Home to Yours, where this recipe is on page 321. For further baking fun, check out the Tuesdays With Dorie blogroll and click on the blogs of 359 other bakers to see how they fared with the pie.

{Note: I'm celebrating my first 100 blog posts with a cookbook giveaway - to enter, go here and leave a comment before December 3}