Early Thanksgiving Desserts

Thanksgiving Math: Pie=Yuck. Tart=Yum.

Chocolate Pecan Tart (just made one big tart)

Apple Tart

Pastry Crust (very important - NOT yucky pie crust)

Also, this year we tried a Pumpkin Creme Brulee that was absolutely delicious. We simplified the recipe for us lazy/cheap folks.


½ c. plus 3 T. sugar
5 egg yolks
1½ c. heavy cream
1 t. vanilla
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 c. pumpkin purée

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl, whisk together ½ cup sugar and the egg yolks. Combine the cream, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepot, and bring to a simmer. Slowly whisk the hot cream into the yolk mixture through a fine-meshed sieve. Whisk in the pumpkin purée. Fill ramekin with enough pumpkin-cream mixture to reach ¼ inch from the top. Place in water bath to cook. Bake for 20 minutes. Check to see if the edges have set but the center is still wobbly; if the mixture is still liquid, return to oven for up to 20 minutes. Cool at room temperature. When ready to serve, sprinkle the tops evenly with a thin layer of the remaining sugar. Brûlée with a torch until the sugar is golden brown and crispy. (We used the broiler.)

Parkerhouse Rolls

6 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. salt
2 T. yeast
1 c. butter, softened
1 egg

In a large bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast; add 1/2 cup margarine or butter (1 stick). With mixer at low speed, gradually pour 2 cups hot tap water (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F.) into dry ingredients. Add egg; increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes, scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat in 3/4 cup flour or enough to make a thick batter; continue beating 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. With spoon, stir in enough additional flour (about 2 1/2 cups) to make a soft dough.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, working in more flour (about 1/2 cup) while kneading. Shape dough into a ball and place in greased large bowl, turning over so that top of dough is greased. Cover with towel; let rise in warm place (80 to 85 degrees F.) until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough is doubled when 2 fingers pressed into dough leave a dent.)

Punch down dough by pushing down the center or dough with fist, then pushing edges of dough into center. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead lightly to make smooth ball, cover with bowl for 15 minutes, and let dough rest.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In 17 1/4-inch by 11 1/2-inch roasting pan, over low heat, melt remaining 1/2 cup margarine or butter; tilt pan to grease bottom.

On lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/2 inch thick. With floured 2 3/4-inch round cutter, cut dough into circles. Holding dough circle by the edge, dip both sides into melted margarine or butter pan; fold in half. Arrange folded dough in rows in pans, each nearly touching the other. Cover pan with towel; let dough rise in warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Bake rolls for 15 to 18 minutes until browned.

Early Thanksgiving

Leonard is visiting and cooked us an Early Thanksgiving meal. The theme for the meal was Bacon: What could go wrong?

Brussel Sprouts
trim and cut in half
put in baking dish
add butter and salt
bake at 350 for 40 minutes
Green Beans
trim and cut in half
boil until a little bit crunchy
add a little butter, slivered almonds, garlic and salt
fry in butter

Mashed Potatoes
chop and boil potatoes
mash with butter, garlic, and buttermilk
add salt and pepper
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Leonard's recipe
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. cream
3 T. butter
4 sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds) peeled and sliced

Dump everything in a pot. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Mash and serve with pepper.

Cranberry Sauce
1 bag cranberries
1 c. water
1 c. sugar
Boil until cranberries pop

Turkey Breast wrapped in Bacon (bacon, bacon)
This was the tastiest, moistest turkey I've ever had in my life. Highly recommended.

rub turkey breast with vegetable oil and salt and pepper
bake at 400 for 15 minutes (for crispiness)
roast at 325 to turkey temp
45 minutes before turkey will be done, wrap with bacon, using colorful toothpicks to hold (this gives the turkey a beautiful measles look)

Stuffing
Alton Brown Recipe
Leonard substituted walnuts and apples for cranberries and pecans

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

This is our new favorite breakfast to make. I use Mom's pancake recipe, and just sprinkle some chocolate chips on the top of the batter after putting in the pan. Maggie loves to help with that part. We eat them with whipped cream, or whipped topping, and sometimes fresh, sliced strawberries.
Mom's Pancake Recipe
1 1/2 c. flour
2 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 3/4 t. baking powder
Sift together.

Beat:
2 eggs
3 T. melted butter
1 - 1 1/4 c. milk

Mix with dry ingredients.

Summer Garden Pasta (aka Zucchini Pasta)

This is about the closet thing I have to an original recipe. We used to make it almost entirely from ingredients in Mom's garden. It can also be served over rice, but it's better with pasta.


1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups of chopped tomatoes
handful of torn basil leaves
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt
freshly ground pepper
whole wheat pasta
grated parmesan cheese, optional

Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add zucchini, onion, and garlic and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, basil, vinegar salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until zucchini is tender. Serve over pasta and sprinkle with cheese.

Orzo Salad

Another great recipe from my sister-in-law Jamie. This delicious salad is easy, but somewhat expensive, to make. Jamie and I both left out the pine nuts and Jamie also leaves out the fresh basil. I happened to have some growing my garden so I used it.

Also, 1 pound of orzo makes a lot. I halved the recipe and it was plenty for us for dinner, and for lunch tomorrow, and probably more.
6 c. chicken broth
1 lb. orzo
Bring chicken broth to a boil. Stir in orzo and cook until tender. Drain.

Dressing:
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. honey
1/2 c. olive oil
Blend together and mix with orzo in bowl.

Stir in:
2 c. grape tomatoes, halved
1 7 oz. package of feta cheese
1 c. fresh basil, chopped
1 c. sliced green onions
1/2 c. pine nuts

Serve immediately, or chill for 2 hours.

Jake Cookies

This is one of two recipes we use regularly which are named after a former roommate. They are worth the extra effort. It makes a lot of cookies. I halved the recipe this morning and got over 5 dozen using a 2 oz cookie scoop. Blend the walnuts and the oatmeal in the blender after measuring. Also, grating the Hershey bar takes a very long time. This time I just threw in 1 T. of cocoa. Not as delicious, but definitely faster.

Blend together:
2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. blended walnuts
2 c. sugar
2 c. dark brown sugar

Mix in:
4 eggs
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 t. vanilla

Add:
5 c. blended oatmeal
4 c. flour
1 24 oz chocolate chips
1 8 oz Hershey bar, grated

Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes.