I don’t even know

I think I turned into a professional eater over the holidays. At one point, I was so full of cheese ball that I couldn’t even think about dairy. There were several things I wanted to share with you, but I just didn’t have time. I was busy being a glutton, and now I’m trying to remember that other people in the world need food, so I shouldn’t be such a pig. Also, I was busy cooking, buying (locally!) and making presents, wrapping presents, doing extra work work since I had missed quite a bit from being sick, and, of course, attending parties. Now that life has gone back to normal (no holidays to prepare for, no work to make up, no illness to keep me in bed), I’d like to share some of the pictures and recipes with you.

First, the Thanksgiving feast: Tofurkey with homemade vegetarian gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry jam, steamed green beans with pine nuts and Greek oregano, and bourbon sweet potatoes with walnuts.

The cranberry jam is simple, and if you double or triple the recipe, you’ll have enough to can for gifts. Heidi Swanson shares the recipe on her blog, 101 Cookbooks, but, as she notes, it’s originally from Falling Cloudberries, a gorgeous, gorgeous cookbook by Tessa Kiros. It can also be made with lingonberries if you can find them.

I relied heavily on 101 Cookbooks this Thanksgiving. You really can’t go wrong with any of Heidi’s recipes. For dessert, I made two of her pies. The first is essentially chocolate cheesecake, which she found under the name “Heavenly Pie” in Country Wisdom and Know-How and tweaked to get it just right. You’d never know it’s full of tofu. Seriously. It was divine, especially with hand-whipped cream sweetened ever so slightly with vanilla and agave nectar.

The second is Spice-kissed Pumpkin Pie with a rich layer of toasted hazelnut paste that adds depth and a nice contrast to the spices. A photo of the finished pie sits atop this post. I really wish I had some now.

If that’s not enough for you, behold my dining-room table laden with cookies. Some friends and I got together and had a baking party. We licked spoons while arguing over Twilight (Team Edward, of course), laughed over burnt cookies and X-rated shortbread men, sipped mulled wine, and boxed up treats for gifts.

I made Pine Nut Rosemary Shortbread, from Heidi yet again.

And Balsamic Chocolate Drops from Fatfree Vegan. SusanV offers an adapted recipe from Habeas Brulee and a fat-free version. I tried the latter, which used prune puree as a fat replacement. These were good, but they don’t do well after the first day. Eat them at once, warm and cakey, or try to the first version.

The rest of these sweets were made by my friends, who went above and beyond to get that perfect foodie sugar high.

Rum balls

Caramel-filled chocolate cookies

Three kinds of gingerbread cookies: pear, crystallized ginger, and cranberry jam

Pecan balls

Cranberry pistachio shortbread

Not shown individually but included in the group picture are lavender honey-liquer sugar cookies, cranberry rosemary sugar cookies, peanut-butter fudge, macaroons, and some kind of cookie made from white-chocolate chips, candied fruit, and potato chips. Wooh, that’s a lot of baking. Hungry yet?

Phew! I finally have time to sit down and write to you guys! I know that it has been a while, and trust me I miss writing as much as I miss baking.

My Thanksgiving break only allowed a short fleeting moment for me to relax. I was basically in the kitchen baking like a mad woman. I had 1 apple pie, 4 pumpkin pies, 2 galettes, 1 apple strudel puff pastry, 1 large batch of FRESH dinner rolls and 1 batch of snickerdoodles to make. Our actual night-before Thanksgiving dinner only had 1 apple pie, 1 pumpkin pie, and one batch of fresh dinner rolls, but the rest for the family in Los Angeles. Mom and I decided to fly down and visit Lola (Filipino for “grandmother”). We hadn’t seen her in over a year! It was good to see her even though she was a bit sick.

Anyhow, the dessert that got rave reviews was my apple pie. My dad, who – if you knew him would know that – doesn’t eat more than one slice of any dessert let alone have his slice with ice cream, had 1 slice of pumpkin pie, tried a small piece of the apple pie, and actually went back for a large slice of apple pie and topped it with a huge chunk of vanilla ice cream! It was absolutely amazing! What was probably more amazing was that our tiny, tiny kitchen apartment and oven (the miniature kind) was able to accommodate all that food. I now deem my oven “the little oven that could”. It was working from 8 am to 6 pm.

Since I think my dad’s dessert miracle moment was astounding, I’ve decided to post up my all-American apple pie recipe that I got from my Caucasian friend’s grandmother who grew up in Idaho. This is about the most American thanksgiving I’ve ever had: homemade pies, mashed potatoes, FRESH dinner rolls, and stuffing! And since my friend, Michelle, decided that the rolls were her favorite, I’ll post the recipe up too. They turned out soft, fluffy, and tasty! I suggest that you use them for your Christmas dinner/party. They are sure to be a hit!

Grandmother’s All-American Apple Pie

Thanks to my friend’s grandmother and her ancient family cookbook

Ingredients

For one 9-inch Pie

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in apples, coating each piece.
3. Turn into pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with margarine/butter. If you have sweet Fuji apples, then you don’t need the butter.
4. Cover with top crust that has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Cover edges with 3-inch strips of aluminum foil so that the edges of the crust won’t burn.
5. Bake pie for about 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake pie for another 15 minutes until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through the slits in crust.
6. *For a Dutch Apple Pie: Make extra large slits, take 5 minutes out of baking time; and before end of baking, pour 1/2 cup whipping cream through slits in top crust.
7. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream! Enjoy!

Dinner Roll

Okay, so here’s the dinner roll recipe that I promised. This was my first time making them, but I was not disappointed! These turned out so soft and fluffy that I was so proud of myself. Just as a note, they spread out a lot when in the oven especially when they’ve risen well in a warm room.

Grandmother’s Parker House Rolls

By: Linda Larsen, About.com Guide

“This recipe works best if you have a large stand mixer. If you don’t, go ahead and make it anyway. Just beat and beat the dough really well as you add the flour. Nobody will ever make these as light and fluffy as my Grandmother Matha did, but every year I try!”

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 24 rolls

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 pkg. active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup butter, melted plus more for topping rolls
• 1/4 tsp – 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4.5 – 5 cups all-purpose flour

Procedure

1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Make sure the milk is not too hot or else this will kill the yeast. Mix 1/3 of the milk with the dry yeast in a small bowl and let sit until bubbly, about 15 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine remaining milk, melted butter, salt and sugar and beat until the sugar is dissolved. Then add the beaten eggs and bubbly yeast.
3. Add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, beating on high speed of stand mixer. This step should take at least 5 minutes. When the dough gets too stiff to beat, stir in rest of flour by hand, if necessary, to make a soft dough.
4. Turn out onto floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, until smooth and satiny. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place until light and doubled in size, about 1 hour. (I have also covered the dough well and placed it in the refrigerator overnight. This works really well. Let the dough stand at room temperature for 1 hour before proceeding with recipe.)
5. Punch down the dough and roll out on floured surface to 1/2″ thickness. Cut with 3″ round cookie cutter. Brush each roll with melted butter. Place in 2 greased 13×9″ pans, cover, and let rise again until double, about 45 minutes. (If you refrigerated the dough, this will take longer, about 60-75 minutes.)
6. Bake rolls at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan immediately and brush with more melted butter. Don’t use the same butter you used when forming the rolls – melt some fresh just for this step.

Mmkay, so now you’ve got both recipes. Both are very versatile: apple pie recipe can be used to make mini open-faced tartlets and dinner rolls can be shaped into knots and even put in brioche molds.

Apple Pie Filing with Cranberries

Mini Apple Tarlets

Up-Close and Beautiful!

Bon Appetite!

Dr. Wayne Andersen, Co-Founder and Medical Director of Take Shape For Life wrote his book Dr A’s Habits of Health the book when used with the companion workbook is designed to help you know how to life your life in the state of optimal health. So many people say that they want to get healthier but do not take the time to define what that is for them. Some just don’t know were to start. The book has an in depth assessment for you to take so that you know where your starting point is and then you can decide were you want to go and the book will help guide you down your path.

Buy DR A’s Book

I most certainly love my green veggies, but doesn’t a healthy helping of cheese (almost) always sweeten the deal?

I made today’s recipe – Broccoli and Gruyère Gratin from the November 2009 issue of Real Simple – for the first time over Thanksgiving.  Since it serves a crowd, can be made up to a day ahead, and is absolutely delicious, though, it’s perfect for entertaining in any situation.

To make a full recipe, I started by roughly chopping 12 cups of broccoli.  (The recipe suggests this is two large bunches, but I ended up getting just over 2 cups from each smallish bunch I was able to buy at my grocery store.  I chose to use just the tops since I didn’t feel like peeling the stems, but feel free to use the stems if you like.)  I have a pasta pot with a steamer basket, so I put an inch of water in the pot, brought it to a simmer, put the steamer basket of broccoli in the pot, and then covered the pot with its lid.  (A regular steamer basket that sits inside a pot will do just fine, too; if you use this method, go with 1/2 inch of water instead of a full inch.)  I steamed the broccoli until it was just tender (4 minutes) and then transferred it to a large bowl.

Next, I made the cheese sauce.  In a medium saucepan, I melted 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of butter over medium heat.  I added 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour and cooked it, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.  Switching from a spoon to a whisk, I whisked in 2 cups of whole milk and simmered the mixture until it was slightly thickened (4 minutes for a full recipe; about 2 minutes and 30 seconds for a half recipe).  Although the recipe didn’t specifically say to do this, I whisked my sauce constantly to prevent the bottom from burning and a skin from forming on the top.  Once the sauce had thickened, I removed it from the heat and stirred in 1 cup of grated Gruyère cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper.

I tossed the cheese sauce with the broccoli and transferred the mixture to a shallow 3-quart baking dish.  I sprinkled the broccoli with another cup of grated Gruyère and baked it at 375F until it was bubbling and golden brown (40 minutes).  I let the dish stand 10 minutes before serving.

As a child who loved broccoli drizzled with Cheez Whiz (the things my parents would do to get us to eat vegetables!), I’m seriously digging this grown-up, sophisticated version of broccoli with cheese.  The broccoli becomes tender but not the least bit mushy, and I love the cheesy crust on top.  The dish is fairly saucy if you eat it after the 10 minutes of standing time; I think it sat for almost 30 minutes before we ate it on Thanksgiving and the sauce thickened considerably.  I liked it both ways.

This time, I served the gratin with panko-crusted chicken cutlets and Chardonnay (perfect winter meal!) for just the two of us, but I’ll definitely use this recipe for Christmas entertaining or fall/winter dinner parties.  Anything that can be made ahead with results this delicious gets filed as a “keeper.”

TIPS:  I would strongly suggest having all the cheese sauce ingredients measured and ready to go before you start cooking.  That way, you can just toss and pour them in without having to stop stirring or whisking.

Also, if you haven’t worked with Gruyère yet, you may be interested to know (1) it’s a bit pricey, and (2) it’s pungent.  In other words, you’ll pay a bit more than you’re used to in order to bring home a pretty stinky cheese.  It mellows considerably when baked, though, and it really is delicious.  If you don’t like Gruyère, try substituting Swiss or cheddar cheese.

Recipe link: Broccoli and Gruyère Gratin

Thanskgiving has came and went and now it’s almost Christmas! I can’t believe it. Time is flying!  I just wanted to post quick about a recipe that I found and made for our Thanksgiving feast that my husband just loved! I’m thinking I will probably make it again come Christmas.  It’s a healthier version of a sweet potato casserole that I found on www.eatingwell.com.

Check it out- it’s fabulous!!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/sweet_potato_casserole.html

This was supposed to post on Thanksgiving day, but sadly I was far behind in my blogging duties.  But here it is at last, in all its pumpkin pie glory.

I’ve made this recipe a thousand times and it’s a great pumpkin pie recipe.  Something went a bit awry this year, however, and the look of the pumpkin filling was off.  The only thing I did differently was to use a different kind of canned pumpkin and I am pretty sure that is what resulted in the off-color pie that was more yellow than orange.  I also didn’t have enough of the pumpkin filling to fully fill the pie crust, which made it end up looking a bit wonky.  But it tasted good.

The pie crust.  In the MSBH, the pâte brisée crust is adorned with little triangle cutouts around the rim.  I do not have a triangle-shaped cookie cutter, so I used a small maple leaf cutter.  I loved doing this part.  It’s not so much extra work, really.

The leaves are “glued” to the rim of the crust with just some water.

Once the pie crust is done, it’s chilled and then blind baked.

The leaves puff up a bit and brown around the edges when baked.  It’s so pretty and delightful.

Then the pumkin custard is poured in.  All I can say is you can use a bit more canned pumpkin than what the recipe calls for and be fine.  I did not do this and my pie is a little skimpy as a result.  Just image how great this would have looked had the pie been full, coming right up to meet the leaves.  Just imagine it.

Usually I don’t get that nasty off-color stuff in the middle of the pie.  I don’t know what was going on, exactly, but I can only conclude it had to do with the new organic pumpkin I used.  It was weird stuff.

Family annoyances aside, I am late posting this… but I took some random pics of Thanksgiving food and recipes that I made lol.  My goal is to one day make some kind of photo cookbook but I’ll admit, it is not high on my priority list.  I failed though in taking pics of all the finished dishes and worst of all, failed to take a pic of the finished crepe cake!!!!!!!  But I am gonna make it again so I’ll get a pic of it then.

First up my cranberry sauce, which simply consisted of boiling the juice of 2 oranges, their zest and about a cup and a half of sugar.

Then adding some cranberries… I love how pretty fresh cranberries look.

Let them boil until they burst open.

And then I add pecans.  Done.  It sets up into a nice jellied sauce as it cools.

Pink Stuff is next.

Pink Stuff consists to cool whip, a can of crushed drained pineapple, a can of cherry pie filling, and a can of sweetened condensed milk.  And chopped nuts, if you wish.  You simply combine it all together and then eat it.

Here is the stuffing recipe.  Sometime was off about it this year.  I think it was b/c I made it the night before and then rewarmed up in the oven the next morning.  Usually it is the best thing ever.

• 12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 2 cups finely-chopped onions
• 3 tart apples, cored and chunked,but not peeled (Jonathan, Winesap or Granny Smith)
• 1 lb bulk breakfast sausage with sage (like Jimmy Dean)
• 3 cups coarsely crumbled cornbread
• 3 cups coarsely crumbled whole-wheat bread or multi-grain bread
• 3 cups coarsely crumbled French bread or Italian bread
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 1/2 cups shelled pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Melt half the butter in a large skillet.
Add onions and cook over medium-low to medium heat until tender and lightly browned, about 25 minutes.
Remove onion and butter from pan and put in a very large bowl to be mixed later.
In same skilled, melt rest of the butter, add apple, and cook quickly over high heat until lightly browned, but not mushy.
Remove apples and butter from pan and put in the bowl with the onions.
With the pan back on the burner, add sausage, crumbling as you cook it over medium heat, and cook until lightly browned.
When done, remove with a slotted spoon and add it to the mixing bowl.
Reserve drippings for basting later.
Add remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl and combine gently.
If you’re going to stuff a turkey, cool completely in the refrigerator first.
To cook it as a separate dressing, spoon the mixture into a large casserole (13 x 9 or slightly larger), cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30- 45 minutes at 325, basting occasionally with cooking juices from the turkey or with reserved sausage fat, if needed.
Uncover the pan for the last 10 minutes of cooking to brown.
Serve hot or warm.
Note: You may need to use additional broth as necessary to adjust the moistness of the stuffing to your taste, or if there are insufficient drippings from your poultry. I usually keep a couple of extra cans on hand just in case

*** Instead of reserving any dripping from the sausage I just tossed it all right in there and added some broth as the stuffing was in the oven…I don’t even think I needed to use a whole can and it was very moist and delicious.

My wild rice with peppers turned out okay.  I got a little pepper happy which really didn’t turn out to be my thing after all.

Next up was three cheese garlic potatoes.  I made 2 pans, one for Thanksgiving and one for dinner that night.  Sooo good, but hello potatoes swimming in a sea of fat lol

• 1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp butter, divided
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 4-6 slices Provolone cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesean or ramono cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 1 1/2 qt backing dish with butter or nonstick spray. Layer half of the potato slices on bottom of pan. Dot with 1/2 the butter pinched into small pieces. Arrange 1/2 of garlic over that, and then pour 1/2 of the heavy cream over top. Sprinkle layer with 1 cup cheddar cheese and repeat, finally topping with Provolone cheese slices. Season layers and top with salt & pepper. Bake for 1-2 hour in oven, then sprinkle parmesean or ramono cheese on top to create cheese crust. Continue baking for another 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

And then there was the crepe cake.

This is the recipe for the crepe cake:

For the crêpes batter:

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups milk
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 7 tbsp. sugar
• Pinch salt
• vegetable oil

The day before serving the cake, make the crepe batter and the pastry cream. For the batter, cook the butter in a small pan until brown like hazelnuts. Set aside. In another small pan, heat the milk until steaming; allow to cool for 10 minutes. In a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the eggs, flour, sugar and salt. Slowly add the hot milk and browned butter. Pour into a container with a spout, cover and refrigerate overnight.
To make the crepes, bring the batter to room temperature. Place a nonstick or seasoned 9-inch crepe pan over medium heat. Swab the surface with the oil, then add about 3 tablespoons batter and swirl to cover the surface. Cook until the bottom just begins to brown, about 1 minute, then carefully lift an edge and flip the crepe with your fingers. Cook on the other side for no longer than 5 seconds. Flip the crepe onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Repeat until you have 20 perfect crepes.
For the vanilla pastry cream:

• 2 cups milk
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
• 3 1/2 tbsp. butter

Bring the milk to a boil. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract then set aside for 10 minutes. Fill a large bowl with ice and set aside a small bowl that can hold the finished pastry cream and be placed in this ice bath.
In a medium heavy-bottomed pan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch. Gradually whisk in the hot milk, then place pan over high heat and bring to a boil, whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes. Press the pastry cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the small bowl. Set the bowl in the ice bath and stir until the temperature reaches 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Stir in the butter. When completely cool, cover and refrigerate.
To assemble the cake:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons Kirsch
• icing sugar (optional)

Whip the heavy cream with the tablespoon sugar and the Kirsch. It won’t hold stiff peaks but that’s okay. Fold it into the pastry cream.
Lay 1 crepe on a cake plate. Using an icing spatula, completely cover with a thin layer of pastry cream (about 1/4 cup). Cover with a crepe and repeat to make a stack of 20, with the best-looking crepe on top. Chill for at least 2 hours. Set out for 30 minutes before serving. If you have a blowtorch for creme brulee, sprinkle the top crepe with 2 tablespoons sugar and caramelize with the torch; otherwise, dust with confectioners’ sugar. Slice like a cake.

*******

Okay so it looks a little labor intensive or at least complicated, but not really.  I admit that when making crepes before I’ve never chilled the batter or let it chill over night but this time I did.  I don’t really notice any difference TBH.  The crepe batter here is probably one of the best crepe batter recipes I have ever had in my life.  I ate the crepes I destroyed lol  They are sweet and vanilla-y.

And I did destroy a lot of crepes.  Next time I make this, a new pan for making crepes comes first.  I have never had a problem making crepes before.  I don’t know if was the batter or just my pan or a combo of both but I destroyed almost as many as I made.  I did finally manage though to get enough for my cake.

The pastry cream was pretty easy as well.

Assembling the cake was a little tougher than I imagined.

I didn’t use Kirsch b/c well I don’t have any and wasn’t gonna buy any.  So I just whipped up the cream and sugar and mixed it with the pastry cream as directed.  Mmmm real whipped cream.

It would have been best to use a premeasured amount of filling for each layer but I just eyeballed it so my crepe cake was not pretty and uniform.

Overall I really liked the way it tasted.  It was pretty much what you would expect… crepe yumminess.
Since everything was vanilla flavored it tasted like creamy vanilla goodness.  It could have used some more flavor though.  I would like to experiment with adding some different flavorings to the pastry cream/filling.  For some reason almond filling seems like it would be kick ass.

Ingredients

Medifast Eggnog

1 packet of Medifast French Vanilla 70 Shake

1/2 Tablespoon Davinci sugar-free syrup Eggnog syrup

Here ye, Here ye! Winners are drawn!

It’s the first day of December and here at MommaOh’s we have completed the drawing for the two personalized aprons. I must say we had fabulous Thanksgiving eats and I owe a lot of it to your recipes. Wow! Each one was as yummy as the one listed above and below. You gals know how to cook.

Since my husband was sooooo appreciative of your submissions, he acquiesced to my request and pulled the names from the official MommaOh blue drawing bowl. So without further aggrandizing the winners are……Adult Apron Winner is Marsha Gardner and Child’s Apron Winner is Caroline.

However I think I am the biggest winner of all this time with all the great recipes! I am very thankful to every one who participated.

Pumpkin pie is the quintessential Thanksgiving dessert. Most people eat it just once a year, and that’s after first gorging themselves on turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, and about ten other side dishes. Yet more often than not I hear people say they’ll take only a “sliver” of pumpkin pie, saving any available room for the other desserts. Sure, we serve pumpkin pie each November, but mostly because it’s become obligatory: an expected holiday staple very few get excited about.

But pumpkin pie can be more than the standard fare of pureed pumpkin mixed with cream, sugar, eggs, and spices in a butter or graham cracker crust. I mean, honestly, do we all need to make the same pie every year? So this holiday, after a lifetime of eating traditional pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, I decided I was in the mood for something a little different. While enjoying some pecan shortbread last week, I started to wonder how it would taste paired with a pumpkin custard. But then my mind began to wander even further from the norm. Why make a regular custard filling when I could use cream cheese? I looked up some pumpkin cheesecake recipes, but most seemed more cheesecake than pumpkin pie, and I wanted to retain the pie’s essence for the holiday, so I decided to make up my own concoction.

As I wanted the pie to preserve some traditional flavors, I started with the customary pumpkin puree mixed with eggs, sugar, and cream, along with the conventional spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. With my eye on making my pie creamier and richer than in years past, I then mixed in a package of cream cheese that had been whipped with some sugar, more eggs and vanilla. Then, to wake up the palate a bit, I also added in some ginger. Of course I used a pecan shortbread crust, the idea of which started this whole adventure in the first place. Finally, once the cake cooled, I topped it with sour cream that had been flavored with maple syrup simply because I wanted a hint of tartness and sugar to help balance the rich creaminess of the cake.

My new and improved pumpkin dessert was light and silky with a rich Fall flavor that wasn’t overwhelming. Using only one package of cream cheese endowed the filling with a velvety sumptuousness that was more fluffy than overwhelmingly cheesy. The pecan crust’s nutty and buttery crispness was also the perfect foil for the creamy center. And did I mention that you just press the dough in the pan, which means you don’t have to prepare and roll out a crust? I have a feeling this new pumpkin dessert will find a place in my holiday repertoire of desserts, but I’m also open to future experimentation.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Pecan Shortbread Crust

Makes: 1 8-inch cake

Ingredients:

Crust
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 15-oz can pureed pumpkin or 2 cups cooked pumpkin
3/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Topping
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp chopped pecans

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix together all ingredients using either the paddle of a mixer or your hands.
3. Press crust into a 9-inch spring-form pan, being sure to make the bottom even and also pressing the edges of the dough about a 1/4 to 1/2 way up the sides of the pan. Set the pan in the refrigerator.
4. In a medium bowl, whip together the pumpkin puree, cream, 2 eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt until fully incorporated.
5. Using a the paddle attachment on your mixer, combine the softened cream cheese, 2 eggs, granulated sugar and vanilla until creamy.
6. Gently add the pumpkin mixture to the cream cheese, being sure not to over mix.
7. Take the crust out of the refrigerator and set the pan on a large baking sheet. Pour the filling into the pan.
8. Place the filled pan (which should still be on the large baking sheet) into the oven for 45 minutes or until the center only slightly jiggles. If the middle shakes like jell-o, leave it in until it sets further.
9. Once the cake has cooled down, mix the sour cream and maple syrup together. Spread the mixture on top of the cake and then sprinkle on the chopped pecans.
10. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight and serve.

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How to Save a Fruitcake

Hello again!  For those of you keeping up with family’s raw food challenge, I got some fun stuff to report!  Everyone involved is doin’ great!  Let’s start off with my Mom, if you’re just now reading this we have had her at the house for 10 days now eating 100% raw foods.  During her three week transition period she was eating about 50% raw foods and had lost 15lbs, and her blood sugar levels were lookin’ pretty good.  Now that she’s here her sugar levels are lookin’ even better, goin’ from a norm between 160 and sometimes as high as 210 to lows as low 112 and the highest in the low 140’s!!  We are so psyched up about her progress!  We’ll have to wait until after the challenge to see how her weight loss is progressing, as she has to go to the Doc’s to weigh in, but we can all see a difference in her face and overall!  Her skin is even showing better color!  She’s been enjoying all the raw eats with the exception of some of the interesting juices Amanda concocted in honor of International Juice Feasting Day.  This makes me so happy because she is getting to experience first hand how tasty and satisfying raw eating can be, I think it’s a big eye-opener for her and I’m hoping it will encourage her to stick with a high raw diet long after the challenge has ended!  Keep checkin’ out her progress and if you’re not already a subscriber to my channel on youtube then get your butt over there and hit it up, ’cause we’re gonna be posting weekly with new videos to update her and my other family members progress, and as usual gonna be throwing in the occasional recipe video! :0)

 My mom isn’t the only one rawkin’ it out, my sister, Danielle, and bro-in-law, Aaron, and my lovely wife, Amanda are also now 10 days into the 100% raw eating, and have been having great results!  Aaron, who’s decided to dive into the raw challenge head first by goin’ 100% raw from the get go has shed over 40lbs in 4 weeks!!  Danielle, who doesn’t have much to shed, has dropped 15lbs over this past 10 days of eating 100% raw, and Amanda has shed 10lbs during the same time!  Aaron has been presently surprised by how tasty and filling raw food can be, and has been enjoying all the eats I’ve been whipping up, particularly my marinated mushroom wraps with seed cheese, BBQ Portobello Burgers and Raw tacos with the works.  It’s really awesome for me to be chefin’ it up for my family and sharing with them the strategies and info that has brought about such an awesome transformation for me!  It’s great to be doing this for them with all the love and support they’ve given me! 

 These videos that I’m sharing here have been featured on Raw Fu and Raw Food Rehab and the  response to them has been overwhelmingly awesome!! Sooo many people have written to tell how they’ve been touched by what we’re doing and have been sharing them with family members who they’d love to see make awesome improvements to their health.  Amongst these cool responses have been many who say they’ve been re-inspired to tackle their own raw food challenges!  I’m so happy to hear all the wonderful things that are comin’ about from my family’s raw adventure and they’re excited as well to hear all the great comments, words of support and encouragement, and tales of others inspired by their changes, so from all of them and myself to all the people cheering them on we wanna say thank you so very much and you all freakin’ ROCK!!  Peace, love and rawness~ Rory and Family :0)

Before I dive headfirst into the Christmas season, I wanted to include one last Thanksgiving/harvest-related post.  First, the post-Thanksgiving notes:

• The Caramel Apple Pie recipe I used for Thanksgiving is IT, folks.  It was incredible.  My final apple mix was three large Honeycrisp and five medium Granny Smith apples to get the nine cups of apples required for the recipe; it hit the “mostly sweet with a barely-there hint of tart” flavor balance I had been trying to achieve.  I may eat my words after the Christmas pie clinic with Dr. O’s grandmother, but for now, this is the only apple pie recipe I’m going to use.
• The Broccoli and Gruyere Gratin recipe produced perfect results.  The broccoli was tender but not one bit mushy, and the cheese sauce and cheesy top were absolutely delicious.  I especially like this recipe because you can assemble it up to one day ahead, bring it to room temperature, and bake it whenever you’re ready.  It’s going to become a staple in my house for entertaining for sure.

Second, I wanted to post the last Thanksgiving-related dish I’ll put on the site until next year: Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal.  I discovered this recipe a few weeks ago when a blog visitor checked out my instructions for making pumpkin puree and mentioned that she planned to use the puree to make this particular oatmeal.  I still have some leftover pumpkin puree from the Chocolate-Pumpkin Tart I made for Thanksgiving and could think of no better use for it than making a warm, comforting breakfast for Dr. O and myself.  (Note: I made a half recipe of the oatmeal since it was just the two of us; see the posted recipe for original ingredient quantities.)

First, I preheated the oven to 375F and greased two individual-sized ramekins.  (Since the recipe didn’t offer a specific recommendation for ramekin size, I used 8-ounce ramekins; I probably would have been better off with 4- or 6-ounce ramekins.)

In a small bowl, I stirred together 1/2 cup of old-fashioned oats, 1 1/4 tablespoons of packed brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon of allspice, 1/16 teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon of table salt.  In a separate small bowl, I whisked together 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon of lemon zest, 1 teaspoon of softened unsalted butter, 3/8 cup of pumpkin puree, and 3/8 cup of milk.  I poured the pumpkin mixture into the oat mixture and stirred until everything was combined.

I divided the oatmeal mixture evenly between the two ramekins, placed the ramekins on a baking sheet, and baked them for 10 minutes at 375F.  Meanwhile, I made the topping.  I combined 1/8 cup of chopped pecans, 1 teaspoon of softened unsalted butter, and 1/2 tablespoon of packed brown sugar.  After the oatmeal had baked for 10 minutes, I divided the topping evenly between the two ramekins and returned them to the oven for an additional 7 minutes.  I let the oatmeal cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Texturally, the oatmeal was out of this world.  It was warm and creamy, and I loved the crunch from the pecan topping.  In terms of flavor, it was good, but I thought it was a bit too spiced.  I think this was intended to be a healthy recipe, so my “improvements” would take away from that a bit; I’d double the amount of brown sugar and butter in the oatmeal part of the recipe.  (The topping was just fine as is.)  I would also cut the amount of nutmeg and allspice to a quick sprinkle each to create a more balanced flavor.  With the changes indicated, I would definitely bring this one back next year.

TIPS:  Feel free to substitute canned pumpkin for the fresh pumpkin puree.

Recipe link: Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

My sisters spend Thanksgiving elsewhere and Hubster and I go to my in-laws informal buffet style dinner on this holiday. A few years ago I started my own Thanksgiving tradition (being my mother’s favorite holiday). I have an early or late Thanksgiving feast every year. Inviting my In-Laws, my parents, siblings and nieces and nephews. I also invited two of my best friends (they are my family). I like Thanksgiving to be the holiday where everyone is gathered around one table, together. I love to work hard and prepare this scrumptious feast for the family I’m so thankful to have in my life. Each year I tweak my recipes and there’s always something for everyone. This year, I would like to set up a Christmas Gingerbread House craft for my niece, nephews and son to make together.

The day before I arrange fall color flowers in vases filled with cranberries for my centerpieces, I press and fold cloth napkins, set the table and chill the champagne.

At meal time, I say our standard grace then we go around the table each sharing one thing for which we’re thankful. Then we toast with champagne and sparkling cider and dig into our feast.

Many of the recipes can be prepped or put together the day before and baked the day of the feast.

Turkey
I soak the turkey in apple and orange juice for a few hours (or the day before). I stuff the turkey with a quartered cored apple, a few split celery stalks, a quartered onion (which someone else has to cut… although Rachel Ray says a chilled onion causes less tears), fresh chopped sage, fresh chopped rosemary. I rub sage and rosemary under the skin and rub orange zest on top of the skin. Then I roast according to the package directions for an unstuffed turkey and baste every so often.

Gravy – I blend together the turkey juice dripping (avoiding the grease) with enough cornstarch to thicken (usually becomes my moms job). The trick is to make it without the clumps is to take some of the juice and mix it with the cornstarch to make a paste, before adding it to the rest of the juice.

Stuffing – I do not like mushy stuffing, so I bake mine separate from the bird. The day before I cube a loaf of french bread and let it harden. The day of the feast, I saute onions and celery in butter with sage and parsley. I took the saute off the heat  and mix in cran-raisins, thyme, marjoram, pepper, salt 1 c. chicken broth and EVOO (add more chicken broth if needed). I tossed in the bread and spread the mixture in casserole dish, bake for 40 minutes at 350°F.

Spicy Green Bean Casserole – Last year I learned that if I’m using fresh green beans, I need to steam them first! I mix together a can of cream of celery soup with diced jalepeÑos. I coat the green beans, toss with cream mixture and then transfer to a baking dish. I top with French’s Onions and bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes.

Sweet Potato Apple Casserole – I boil the sweet potatoes and set aside to cool. I core & slice four apples and dip them in lemon juice (One year I want to use pears instead). I cut the sweet potatoes into large cubes, mix in the apples and pecans. I toss with melted butter and about 1 c. of brown sugar. I sprinkle a pinch of nutmeg overtop, add a few more pats of butter and bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes.

Succotash – I cook together Lima beans & sweet corn and bake at 350°F until warm.

Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce - I steam asparagus and whip up my Hollandaise sauce to drizzle on top.

Creamy Dill Mashed Potatoes – My SIL’s bf doesn’t like lumpy mashed potatoes, but I love the flavor and texture of the skin. I boil the potatoes then drain the water. I use my hand mixer to whip in a container of sour cream and dill weed.

Cornbread Souffle – Mix together 1 can of cream corn, 1 c. corn kernels, 1 16 oz. container sour cream, a pouch of cornbread mix and an egg.  Transfer into baking dish and bake at 350°F for an hour (toothpick inserted in middle should come out clean).

Cheddar Biscuits – Mix together 5 c. Bisquick mix,  1/2 c. milk, 1 stick butter, 1 tsp. garlic, 1 tsp. parsley flakes and 2 c. cheddar cheese. Drop biscuit mixture onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes at 400°F. Brush tops with melted butter mixed with garlic powder and parsley flakes.

Cornbread Muffins - Bakes in my mini muffin pans.

Homemade Butter – Whip together heavy whipping cream, salt and preferred herbs. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Caeser Salad – I chop up romaine lettuce, top if off with croutons and drizzle my homemade Caeser dressing over top (I mix together 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, 1/4 c. Romano cheese, 2 pressed garlic cloves, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, fresh black pepper, 1/4 c. lemon juice, 1/3 c. EVOO).

Cauliflower Casserole - This dish is from my MIL’s MIL (haha, my GIL). I usually make it, however she likes to bring a dish, So I had her bring it this year.

Pumpkin Pie with Homemade Vanilla or Cinnamon Ice-cream -Served with homemade whipped cream and tea or cinnamon coffee.

My Dad makes a delicious cranberry pineapple relish although I still have the canned kind for some of the kiddies. My mother usually makes pearled onions (although three supermarkets didn’t have pearl onions). In the past I’ve made a ham in addition to the turkey, my FIL and Hubster love my ham recipe, but I’ll have to find another occasion for them to enjoy that dish.

The chaffing dishes and steam bar worked wonders this year! I didn’t remember to take pictures of the food until ex post facto, maybe next year I’ll get a picture of my glorious bird and sides.

I cook the gizzards early in the morning for my dog and cat to enjoy. Leave a comment and let me know what are your holiday traditions? What are your favorite holiday recipes. The only thing missing is listening to the parade in the background in the morning.

i almost forgot to post a photo of our thanksgiving “linner” … word around the table was that dry brining produced a crispy skin, a flavor infusion (rosemary and lemon zest) throughout the oh-so-moist-and-tender meat…so, i would say it was a hit! certainly more than my stuffed pumpkin experiment (but there’s always next year). and for your dining pleasure, the turkey was served with asiago mashed potatoes, green beans and a vegetarian dressing (complete with veggie sausages!). dessert was supposed to be pumpkin pie – but turned into pumpkin gingerbread instead – delicious nonetheless! and the tablecloth was a bright and cheery gift,  perfect for our casual holiday meal! tune in tomorrow for the first of the holiday decorations – i’m giddy with seasonal cheer!

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and now you’re left with a lot of great memories and a fridge-full of leftovers. Thanksgiving leftovers are as much a part of the holiday tradition as the big feast itself. With some creativity, your leftovers can be just as delicious and a lot less stressful the second time around. Nothing tastes better the day after Thanksgiving than a plate of leftover turkey. Plan for leftovers ahead of time by thinking about how you want to use up your meal. Flavorful Thanksgiving turkey subtly enriches the hash without taking over. Serve this alongside chicken or duck or a mixed greens salad. The runny poached egg on top makes a great light meal on its own.

More Thanksgiving leftover recipes:

Turkey Sandwich with Brie, Apple & Dijon-Balsamic Reduction

BBQ Shepherd’s Pie Bake

Turkey, Feta & Pear Panini

Skillet Bacon & Potato Hash

Sweet Potato Hash with Poached Egg

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, turkey, carrots and sweet potatoes and cook, stirring often, until softened and lightly browned, 5-8 minutes. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder.
2. In the meantime, heat a pot of boiling water and drop the eggs in. The egg white will coagulate in the water and turn white. Most eggs will take between two and three minutes for the white to cook but leave the yolk still runny. Remove the egg at this point with a slotted spoon or strainer.
3. Plate hash and top with poached egg!

Plucked from our very own tree, two beautiful Meyer lemons.

I’d promised to take another crack at the Shaker Lemon Pie almost exactly a month ago.  Thanksgiving morning, I was inspired to deliver.

All credit and praise to Tartine Bakery and Cafe in San Francisco for the recipe and inspiration.

2 medium lemons
2 c. sugar (14 oz.)
flaky tart dough
4 large eggs
1/4 tsp. salt

egg wash
1 large egg yolk
1 TBS. cream

sugar for dusting top of crust

Slice the lemons super-thin – sharpen your knife first and you will be glad.
Remove all seeds, but put everything else in a glass bowl.
Add sugar and stir gently, then cover and macerate for 3 hours or overnight.
When using Meyer lemons, you can skip the macerating, but I think at least a couple of hours helps.
(You macerate to tenderize the skin, which, on Meyers, is already fairly thin and tender.)

Prepare the tart dough in a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
Mix the eggs and salt, then mix into the lemons, then pour into the pan.
Brush egg wash around the rim of the bottom layer of dough.
Lay the second round on top, trim, and seal.  Crimp so you are sure to get it sealed.
Brush top with the egg wash, then dust with sugar.
Let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes or so, then cut vents before baking.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until you have a nicely-browned crust.

I always put my tart pan on a small baking sheet to avoid the rookie mistake of sliding your hand underneath the tart pan to pick it up and pushing the entire tart out of the pan and onto the floor.  Not that I’ve done that, but I bet it could happen.

Also, this time, I hit the rim of the tart pan with a light spray of Baker’s Joy.  I did not want to struggle to get this buttery lemon delivery system out of the tart pan.  It definitely helped, as did making sure the seal was tight on the crust so no lemon-sugar-egg glue oozed out.

Some slices are thinner than others.

After a couple of hours, the lemon juice and sugar have turned this into a very liquid mixture.  Be ready to mix in the eggs and get into the dough quickly once you’ve mixed.

Post-egg wash and sugar dusting, but pre-vents.

I think I could let it get even browner, but this crust flaked like nothing I’ve ever achieved before, so I’m not going to worry about it.

The photo in the cookbook shows a crust so crackly and brown that I suspect they use a kitchen torch to really carmelize that sugar.  I dropped a hint to my father-in-law about the fact that a small torch from the hardware store might be a lovely addition to my collection of kitchen gadgets.

Rave reviews from all at Thanksgiving.  I admit it, my ego depends upon such praise, and I play to it.  As vices go, however, I’ll take seeking praise for pastry over most of the others I see people struggle to overcome!

So, for vanity’s sake, another angle:

OK, technically, this is flaky tart dough.  The recipe comes from Tartine, the cookbook from the bakery of the same name.  I was making the dough for Shaker Lemon Pie, however, and tart epiphany sounded not as good and could be misconstrued.

Ingredients:

1 tsp. salt
2/3 c. water, very cold
1 lb. all-purpose flour (approx 3 c. + 2 TBS.)
10.5 oz. unsalted butter, very cold (1 c. + 5 TBS.)

Instructions:

Mix salt into water, keep cold.
Put flour in work bowl of food processor.
Add butter, cut into 1-inch chunks, to flour.
Pulse until most butter bits are size of peas.
Add salt-water and pulse for a few seconds, until dough starts to come together in a ball.
You should still see some butter chunks.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface, form into two equal balls, then disks, then wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

That’s it.  How hard could it be?  Turns out, I have been over-processing, forgetting that the time the dough rests in the fridge gives it time to come together on its own.

I cut up my butter into 1-inch pieces and put it in the freezer, then mix the salt & water and do the same, then hit the ‘net for some browsing while I let everything chill.

Some recipes I’ve seen even recommend chilling the flour.  I don’t find that necessary.

What I do find necessary is weighing the flour versus just measuring it.  With stew or goulash, winging it is fine.  Pastry demands precision.

I realize the measure looks a little imprecise, but that’s just the camera angle.  The shot I got that showed the needle pegged to the pound was blurry. Trust me, I was putting flour on and taking it off by the teaspoon to get to the pound mark.

Flour into the processor, then butter on top.  During all prior attempts, I’d been trying to get my dough to the point it was in a ball when the processing stopped.

This time, I stopped sooner.  When pulsing, the dough was coming together.  At rest, however, it still looked like this.  And so, like this, I turned it out on to my floured slab of marble.

I actually covered it with saran wrap so my hot little hands didn’t come into direct contact with the dough.  I pushed it together, not into a ball, but a rectangle.  I have a hard time judging the actual middle of a lumpy sphere of dough, so I never get the 2 disks of dough the same size.  Turns out, a rectangle was much easier to figure.

Note that the slab on the left shows a fairly large slice of butter still intact.  Totally fine to have that.  The chilled pockets of butter in the dough make the flake.  And flake is what we’re after, no?

I actually weighed both halves and cut a sliver from one to make them equal.  A little obsessive, but again, say it with me, people -

Pastry demands precision.

Never fear, however, because pastry also rewards precision.  The reward was in the rolling.  I let the dough chill for about 2 hours, then broke out the rolling pin.

I bet I had a 17″ x 17″ rectangle.  Again, I’m not so good with the circles … but this time, I’d done everything right up until this point, so the dough was forgiving and easy to roll.  Roll, flip, rotate, bit of flour, repeat.  I trimmed it into a neat circle.

Note you can still see the butter in the dough.  You’ll have to check out the post on the Shaker Lemon Pie (to be written soon) to see how the pie/tart worked out.

Sweet Cranberry Rice is one of the important meals which are loved by all the guests including kids and adults. Best things about cranberry rice are that it does not require lot of cooking time making it an ideal choice for a Thanksgiving dinner. Cranberry rice can be served well with any meal you are preparing for your Thanksgiving dinner party.

Thanksgiving party without any hassle. It will hardly take 10 minutes but this mouth watering recipe will earn you lots of compliment from your guests.

Read recipe for cooking sweet cranberry rice.

Yams are a delicious recipe for a Thanksgiving holiday dinner. Best thing about Yams is that it doesn’t require lot of cooking time and can be prepared easily. Cooking yams for Thanksgiving just require 10 minutes, so why go for canned yams? The yam has all the natural flavors to enjoy and even leaves the guest delighted.

Read how to create candied yams recipe.

Thanksgiving celebrations revolve around turkey, meat and lots of non-vegetarian eatable items but in most of the Thanksgiving parties you will meet few people who are strictly vegetarian by nature. They do not prefer any eatable items which contained meat particles; few people are very specific about eggs too. If you are planning a Thanksgiving menu then you should consider all the guests and their eating habits. If you are not sure you can simply ask whether they (guest) would like to have vegetarian or non-vegetarian food. This will also help you in determining the capacity of vegetarian food required to satisfy your vegan friends and family members.

Read about the best vegetarian menu for Thanksgiving.

The fried pies received universal acclaim.  Allen ate five on Monday, saving me from the task of batting clean-up on the second batch.

Since we fried two turkeys Thanksgiving morning, I skipped another round of fried pies.  I would have had to fight for time in the hot oil, and, I was concerned that our families would feel deprived if the more traditional pie weren’t available.

The Pie Bible author, Rose Levy Beranbaum, suggests two solutions for soggy pumpkin pie crust.  One, press a mixture of ground gingersnaps and pecans into the pie crust before filling it with the pumpkin custard.  Two, bake the pie on the floor of the oven.  Great results!

I used a Pyrex dish with a flat bottom, which she recommends.  I saw a note from someone who used a pie pan with small feet, and it turns out the direct contact with the heat is part of the magic.  Our oven has a small indentation in the bottom, so my pie actually didn’t have total contact, resulting in a crust with slightly overcooked edges everywhere it came into contact with the oven floor, and not as cooked where it didn’t meet the floor.  For years, I’ve wanted a baking stone, and now I have one more reason to get one.

Rose’s Favorite Flaky & Tender Pie Crust worked very well, save for the oven floor mishap.  It rolled out like a dream.  If you fear pastry crust, try this one.  Very forgiving.  Her Great Pumpkin Pie also worked well.   I actually found her website difficult to navigate, and the recipe written in a somewhat confusing manner, so printed it all out and read it through several times to be sure I got it all right.

Finely-processed gingersnaps and pecans.

The pie crust rolled out, turned under, and somewhat crimped.

Not as pretty, but highly effective, once the pecan-gingersnap mix is added.

The recipe calls for pre-cooking the pumpkin mixture.

Whirled around after bubbling a bit over the stove.

Much silkier once the eggs, cream, and milk have been blitzed in.

I used my leaf-cutters for a first round of garnish, but they were too small, so I hand-cut these from leftover pastry from another recipe.

It almost looked like chocolate when it came out!