Save Room For Dessert
Published November 26, 2020
My favorite part of Thanksgiving is time spent around the table. And all the better with some seriously tasty food to bring us all together. This year was far from traditional, but it was the perfect host to throw the playbook out the window. I had extra time to add special touches and new dishes while still incorporating some of our must-have traditional family recipes.
Fondue for Two (or more!)
The look of a Cinderella pumpkin is beautiful in itself, never mind baked and filled with a deliciously smooth fondue and perfectly sized to serve a small gathering. If you can't find a Cinderella, an orange Japanese kabocha squash will do the trick. Plated on a small metal cake stand from HomeGoods with fondue skewers surrounded by Pier One sunflower garland, this makes a beautiful appetizer or meal in itself. I served it with pita chips and apple slices, but you can choose the veggies and dippers as you like.
1 Medium Cinderella Pumpkin
2 Tbl Olive Oil
1 Garlic Clove Pressed
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Cup Shredded Gruyère Cheese
1 Cup Shredded Emmentaler Cheese
Heat Oven to 400°F. Slice top 1" from pumpkin. Scoop of seeds and discard. Rub pumpkin with olive oil and roast on baking sheet for 15-20min. In a medium pan on stovetop, mix cheeses, cream and garlic over medium heat until smooth. Keep warm on low heat. Remove Pumpkin from oven and fill with cheese mixture. Serve with your favorite dippers.
Bourbon Spiked Cider
These coupe glasses caught my eye at Crate and Barrel a long time ago. It was time to take them home to compliment the silver chargers under my Thanksgiving place setting. I couldn't think of anything more festive in color and flavor than local pressed apple cider and our favorite bourbon to fill it with for a toast.
2 oz Apple Cider
2 oz Bourbon
3 Drops Orange Bitters
Luxardo Cherry for Garnish
In a mixing glass with ice, stir cider, bourbon and orange bitters until chilled. Pour in a coupe glass or over ice and garnish with a cherry. Recipe makes one drink.
Dry Brine Turkey
If you don't want to hassle with a wet brine, a dry brine is fast, easy and much less of a mess with no shortage of flavor. You can make your own from fresh herbs or buy a premix of Herbes de Provence from William Sonoma, which is exactly what I did.
Prep Turkey - Remove wrapping, giblets and neck from bird.
Wash bird with water and clean cavity with salt and water.
Pat dry with paper towels.
Set in Roasting Rack.
Rub entire bird with 1/2 cup+ dry brine.
Set in fridge uncovered for 24 Hours.
Wash brine off of bird and pat dry with paper towels.
Slather butter under the skin and all over the bird.
Season with salt, pepper and dry brine herbs.
Stuff with aromatics, vegetables, fruit or stuffing.
Let bird stand at room temperature 1 hour before roasting.
Roast at 425°F for 30 minutes.
Reduce temperature to 325°F until internal temperature reaches 167°F.
Let stand for 30 minutes before carving.
Nana's Homemade Pie Dough
No pie will ever taste as good as my grandmother would make it. And no holiday was complete with out it. Fortunately, my mother learned from her and taught me her tricks. It's all about the crust. Flakey, full of flavor and the perfect addition to any filling.
My pies are made a day ahead of Thanksgiving to allow for other prep-work the day of. Whether you choose to fill your pies with pumpkin, apple, pecan, chocolate cream, banana cream or pear, once you go with homemade crust you will never go back to store-bought again.
I adorned the pumpkin and pecan pies with extra dough using William Sonoma's Fall Dough Cutters. The lattice strips on the pecan pie were made from the William Sonoma's fluted pastry cutter. Brushed lightly with milk, the dough browns to perfection.
2 1/4 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup Crisco
1/2 tsp Salt
5 Tbl+ Water
1/4 Cup Milk for brushing
Using a dough cutter, mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl until well combined. Kneed dough until it's pliable, adding more water if needed if it's crumbling. Roll out on a well floured pastry mat until desired size is formed. Place into pie plate and trim additional dough with kitchen scissors or knife if needed. Fill with pie filling and bake as directed on pie recipe.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Jelly Roll Cake
If you're a pumpkin fan like myself, you can never get enough of Pumpkin Spice before Gingerbread season begins. Add some sweetened whipped cream cheese and away we roll.
Cake:
3 Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup Canned Pumpkin
1 tsp Lemon Juice
3/4 Cup Flour
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
Filling:
6 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup Powdered Sugar, plus more for rolling and dusting
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 15x10" jelly roll pan (rimmed baking sheet). Line with parchment paper. Grease and flour paper. Beat eggs in a large bowl with mixer on high speed for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in white sugar until mixture is pale yellow. Add pumpkin and lemon juice. Mix until combined. In small bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Fold into sugar mixture. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle with walnuts
Bake 15 minutes or until cake springs back. Immediately turn onto a linen towel dusted with powdered sugar. Peel off paper and roll cake up in towel (starting with the short end). Cool completely.
Beat cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Carefully unroll cake. Spread filling over cake to within 1" of edges. Roll cake up again. Cover and chill until serving. Dust with additional powdered sugar.
Happy Turkey Day from My Table to Yours!
Enjoy!
Renée Meuse Lovley