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Thanksgiving |
 I
love to prepare the Thanksgiving meal, but there's always too much to do on
the day of the event. Whatever I can make in advance, I do so because it
always helps. |
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QUESTION: Is it a Sweet Potato or a Yam?
ANSWER |
If there's one holiday where
food takes the stage front and center, it's Thanksgiving. This year, more than
ever, we want to gather our loved ones about and give thanks for our many
blessings.
Here are lots of information
and tips, plus some tried-and-true recipes to help you through the day:
While you cook:
Start the day with a hot cup of coffee and tea with a moist and
flavorful Sour Cream Pumpkin
Streusel Coffeecake! It's perfect to serve if you have house guests.
Nibble while you cook. YUMMY !!
Hors d'oeuvres:
Baked Brie Wrapped in Puff Pastry
makes a great hors d'oeuvre -- plus, it's
easy to make by using frozen puff pastry from the grocery store.
Bread & Rolls: The
Make Ahead
Rolls are my favorite way to prepare freshly baked dinner rolls
for my family and guests. I can make the dough, then shape and freeze them a
week in advance. On the day of the big feast, I bake them and serve them
warm--YUM!! My
Favorite Buttermilk Dinner Rolls
are a great recipe, too.
 Throughout
the Thanksgiving meal, the theme can be
PUMPKIN:
With the meal:
How about serving my
Pumpkin-Orange Cornbread, a new twist on the classic ? It can be
made in advance, plus it's low-fat and delicious. It's one of my
signature recipes -- I hope you make it yours, too !! (If you prefer a plain
one, The Southern Cornbread
Recipe is a winner.)
One year, I made
Cranberry
Pumpkin Mini Muffins and served them with the
meal. Bake the recipe at the same temperature and watch the time for
doneness since it will be shorter.
Pumpkin Pie never
goes out of style: You can't forget
the traditional Thanksgiving
Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie Recipe, included here, just for you.
 If
your Pumpkin Pie tends to crack, remember not to overbake it -- Pumpkin
Pies are really delicate
custard pies
! |
Instead of canned, made your own
Homemade Pumpkin or Sweet Potato
Puree for the
Sweet Potato
Tart Recipe. Each can be used interchangeably in a recipe. Just make
sure the puree is thick and not watery before baking. Instructions are
included with the recipe.
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To make your own pumpkin pie spice: Combine 4 teaspoons
ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice,
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Store tightly
covered. |
My Pumpkin-Pecan
Pie Recipe is not as rich as a traditional pecan pie, but it has
just enough of a nice buttery pecan crunch top paired with a delicate
custard-like pumpkin filling. Simply SINFUL!!
How about my
Reduced-fat Pumpkin Pie
Recipe served with Whipped Cream? You won't be able to tell that
they have both (including the crust) been reduced in fat!!
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One 15-ounce
can of solid pack pumpkin puree equals 1-3/4 cups. |
More Pumpkin Desserts:
For a different kind of dessert, there's nothing like
Pumpkin Crème Brulee!!
One year I made a sensational
Pumpkin
Coconut Meringue Flan. It was
a big hit.
Have you ever heard of a
Pumpkin Pomegranate Cheesecake? Well now you have! Or, a rich and
creamy
Pumpkin Cheesecake to serve to your family and friends? Can you
stand it ?!?
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 QUESTION:
The Pumpkin Pie from the grocery store was not refrigerated. Is it safe
to eat?
ANSWER: You may see pumpkin pies displayed at room temperature in the
store.
These are safe if you find a label on them which lets you know they are
made from a recipe that keeps germs from growing for five days.
Refrigerate the pie as soon as you get it home. |
The
Pumpkin-Walnut Roulade with Spiked Cream can
be made ahead. Bake and fill the roulade
up to 2 days ahead (no more), covered tightly in plastic wrap and then
refrigerated. Garnish with the spiked cream just before serving.
When I want a spicy cake to bring to a party,
make the moist
Pumpkin Currant Bundt Cake
or the
Sweet Potato Layer Cake with
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting.
Other desserts can include the
Pumpkin or Butternut Squash Strudel,
Pumpkin Pistachio Cake Roll,
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Ring
or the
Pumpkin Pecan Quick-Bread Loaf |
SWEET
TREATS MAKE A PERFECT THANKSGIVING
ENDING.
Pies always seem to
take top billing on Thanksgiving because they are the traditional dessert of
choice.
(A one or two pie and tart crust recipe is always a
click away: the
Basic & Flaky
Crust Dough
Recipe
or
the
Sweet Crust
Dough Recipe.)
For
Apple
Pies:
Granny Smith,
Pippin, Mutsu, and Gravenstein are all good choices. Avoid Red Delicious,
Jonathon, and McIntosh (which cook up mealy or break down into a mushy
applesauce). |
Nothing beats the
Ultimate Apple Pie Recipe.
Learn all of my tips and
tricks to making it.
Or, try the
Apple Berry Pie with Oat Streusel
Topping. It's easy to make especially
if you use an already made crust from the grocery store -- I won't tell !!
I have included a recipe for
Classic Pecan Pie -- with tips -- for die hard pecan pie lovers. I
make this year after year and it's simply delicious. How about another variation
on the same theme, a
Maple Pecan Pie?
The
Pecan Tart with a Chocolate Drizzle Topping
or the
Chocolate Pecan Tart
looks so spectacular and makes a wonderful dessert or a gift to give when going
to someone else's house. Phyllo dough bought from the grocery store can be made
into various shapes and is just right to use when making the
Pecan Phyllo Pie
Recipe.
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Q:
I would like to make Pumpkin pies in advance and freeze them. Is this
possible? Annette
A: Theoretically,
baked pumpkin pies can be frozen for 1 - 2 months and then thawed in
refrigerator. But, it's not a good idea;
the quality of a freshly baked homemade pumpkin pie is usually higher than a
frozen one -- it's easiest and better to freeze the crust. Add the filling
to the frozen crust (no need to thaw) just before baking and bake as usual.
When I have frozen a filled and baked pumpkin pie, I don't
like the results -- custard pies, such as a pumpkin pie, get watery after
thawing, ruining the filling and the crust. If you must freeze, do a trial
run with your pie BEFORE you need it for a special event. |
The
Deep Dish Pear Pie With a Rum Raisin
Sauce will get rave reviews.
Its thick and flaky clove-scented crust covers succulent
pears bathed in their own juices. A splendid dessert for fruit lovers.
Want something new ?
The Butternut Squash Pie with a Cornmeal Crust is a wonderful way to
make something different. You can always substitute pumpkin puree for the
squash.
Serving anything with cranberries is traditional for
Thanksgiving. A
Cranberry
Galette is a free-form version
while a
Nantucket Cranberry
Pie is a way to bake them in a pie.
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Whipped
cream goes
with any dessert. To learn more about which cream to use, go to the
Pantry,
where an entire listing and description of all of the baking ingredients
that I can think of can be found. |
Serving a freshly baked cake for dessert never
gets old. A bundt cake makes a great dessert especially if you have a large
amount of company -- it can sit out without fear of spoiling and everyone can
nibble on it as the evening progresses. What's delicious and well received is
the
Carrot-Pistachio Bundt Cake or the
Orange Soaked
Bundt Cake. Bundt cakes are also sturdy and are
travel well from one destination to the other.
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Some other great Thanksgiving recipes to try:
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Chiffon Cakes, another wonderful cake to serve, are moist and
airy and go well as an ending to a heavy Thanksgiving meal. You can't go wrong
with an
Orange Glow
Chiffon Cake or a zesty
Lemon
one.
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MEASURING
TIP: If you
have a recipe and it says: "Use 1 pound of confectioner's sugar", and yours
is in a storage jar, do you know how many cups that means ? (Answer: 4 cups)
Now you will --
The Approximate Measures
and Equivalents Chart will help. |
Angel food cakes, another member of this
light-as-a-feather sponge cake family, are especially welcomed. You may want to
try the
Basic Angel Food Cake
served with a fruit salad, or a flavored one such as
Double Chocolate
or
Lemon. Because
Angel Food Cakes are made without any fat, you'll be able to justify having more
than one piece without any guilt! If you do, just make sure you're wearing your
pants with the elastic waist!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Sarah Phillips
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A Bite From History:
 PUMPION
PIE
from : The Compleat Cook. London : printed for Nathaniel Brook, 1671.
from : Thanksgiving by the (Cook)Book.
Take about half
a pound of Pumpion and slice it, a handfull
of tyme, a little rosemary, parsley and sweet marjorum slipped off the
stalks, and chop them small, then take the cynamon, nutmeg, pepper and six
cloves, and beat them, take ten eggs and beat them, then mix them and beat
them all together and put in as much sugar as you think fit, then fry them
like a froize*, after it is fryed, let it stand till it be cold, then fill
your pye, take sliced apples thinne round wayes, and lay a rowe of the
froize, and layer the apples with currents betwixt the layer while your pye
is fitted, and put in a good deal of sweet Butter before you close it, when
pye is baked, take six yelks of eggs, some whitewine or vergis*, and make a
caudle* of this, but not too thick, cut up the lid and put it in, stir them
well together whilst the eggs and pumpions be not perceived and so serve it
up.
*froize = a
kind of pancake or omelet
*vergis = verjuice, juice from unripened grapes or from crab apples or other
sour fruit
*caudle = a warm spiced and sugared drink |
Feel free to share your favorite recipe with all of us !!
Or look up some more.
Just click here
to ask me any question about the big day.
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