Pumpkin Pancakes

It's Veteran's Day, and with no work to do and no place to be, it's the perfect time to indulge in some breakfast for lunch. (In case you were wondering? We also had breakfast for breakfast too). 

I whipped out my trusty Vanilla Bean Pancake recipe; but low and behold, we had no vanilla. Zip, Zilch, Nada. This, in and of itself, is a heinous pantry crime-- one I fully intend on rectifying as soon as I am done with this post! Luckily for me, I had just purchased canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice, because? 

My kids are pumpkin fiends. Seriously. I currently have 8 boxes of pumpkin bars, three boxes of pumpkin o's, pumpkin bread, pumpkin yogurt, and pumpkin granola. I'll say it again... my kids are pumpkin fiends.i

Which in this case was extremely advantageous; as vanilla bean pancakes quickly became pumpkin pancakes with just a few minor adjustments. Like the original, they are dairy free (I think using rice milk instead of whole milk creates a lighter, fluffier pancake), however for those of you "true" dairy fanatics, regular milk will work just as well.

Ingredients:

4 cups and 2 T of flour, 

1/2 cup of sugar

1 t salt

1 t pumpkin pie spice

4 t baking powder

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 box of rice milk (plain, unsweetened)

2 T canned pumpkin

Directions:

Preheat a griddle over medium heat. 

Whisk together the dry ingredients.

Add pumpkin, eggs, oil and rice milk. Whisk until batter is almost smooth. 

Using a cookie batter scoop, ladle out pumpkin batter on griddle, Flip pancakes when bubbles form and start to burst.

Tastes of Fall: Apple Cinnamon Sangria

So a couple of years ago, we had the summer of Sangria. And what a summer it was. Multiple recipes tested, tasted, and repeated. Sangria continues to be a staple of summer.

But what about now? Fall has set in, and just like with food, I'm starting to crave something a little less light and crisp, and a little more filling and homey.

Enter the perfect season changer: Apple Cinnamon Sangria.

Made with Hard Cider, instead of wine, and maple syrup instead of honey or sugar, it's a heartier version of the summer favorite. And every bit as drinkable.

Ingredients:

6 Fuji apples, core removed and sliced
2 oranges, sliced
1/4 cup real Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey
1 cinnamon stick
33 oz of Hard Apple Cider
Unfiltered apple juice

Directions:

8 hours before serving combine all ingredients except for apple juice in a large pitcher. Mix to combine. Refrigerate. Couldn't be simpler to enjoy fall in a glass.

When serving, fill glasses 2/3 full with Sangria and top with cold unfiltered apple juice.

Roasted Turkey Breast

Having cooked Thanksgiving for the past 17 years, I consider myself quite the turkey expert. I have cooking the whole bird down to a T. This past Thanksgiving, Jamie and I were remarking that for a family who is as large as ours is, and who loves turkey as much as we do, it's surprising that we only have turkey once a year. On Thanksgiving. We could quite easily roast a smaller bird, and eat it, throughout the year, but we just never do it.

Yesterday I was at the grocery store, tracking down snack items for Buggys class, when I ran across a bone-in, skin-on Turkey breast, and thought...why not? It's got the bone and the skin for flavor- one of the reasons I have been against cooking just a breast...Really, what good is turkey without all the built-in flavor enhancers?!? So I brought it home with me and cooked it.

Life changing. I kid you not. Turkey, pan gravy, and all the thanksgiving yuminess in no time. I served it with steamed zucchini and artichoke risotto. Perfect family meal. Life changing. Guess what we will be having for dinner regularly? I can't wait to play around with flavors, now that I've nailed the cooking technique. And trust me when I say this... It's easy. 

And have I mentioned... life changing?!?

Ingredients

4 - 5 lb turkey breast, skin-on, bone in

1 cup of butter (2 sticks), softened 

2 sweet onions, peeled and sliced

Handful of Italian Parsley

8 stalks of fresh Thyme

4 stalks of fresh Rosemary

1/2 cup of Chardonnay

1/2 cup of chicken stock

3 T of flour

1/2 cup of milk, warmed 

2-3 cups of chicken stock (separate use)

Salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat Oven to 450.

In a stove-top safe roasting pan, layer onions on top of each other in center of the pan. Top with fresh herbs. Rub softened butter all over turkey breast, under skin, in cavity, and under the bone. (If you don't plan on making gravy, you can coat the breast in olive oil instead). Salt and pepper the breast, top and bottom. Lay breast skin side up, over onions and herbs, using them to create a natural roasting rack. The flavor will infuse the breast, and also flavor the drippings for pan gravy. Pour liquid into the bottom of the pan.

Roast at 450 for 25 minutes. Lower heat to 375, basting turkey with pan liquid when you do so. Continue to cook for one hour, basting every 20 minutes. Using a meat thermometer make sure breast has reached 165 degrees. 

Remove turkey to carving board and tent with tin foil. Let rest 20 minutes before carving.

While turkey is resting, make gravy. Place pan on stove top, and turn heat to medium. Add flour 1 TSP at a time, whisking vigorously several minutes between each addition. Once pan drippings and flour have been combined, whisk in warmed milk. Add chicken stock in 1/2 cup increments, whisking every time, until mixture is slightly thick. 

Serve gravy over sliced turkey.

Company Carrots

This recipe has been in my family as long as I can remember.  If you've attended a Lister Family soirée or been a guest at one of the 16 Thanksgivings I've hosted, chances are you've not only tasted this dish, but have asked for the recipe by name...repeatedly (Andy, Jenn, Wendy, Marta, I'm looking at you and know I've totally slacked).

I don't know why it's called company carrots, other than it was always a dish my grandmother served for large dinner parties where inevitably, company was present.  Over the years that I've been making it, I've updated and (I'd like to think) improved upon it. I use more fresh ingredients and put it together in a slightly different way, while still maintaining the flavor and integrity of the dish that made it the beloved favorite that it remains today. 

Ingredients:

5 lbs of carrots, julienned

       (I use packaged baby carrots-- yes, I know they are not really baby carrots-- for two reasons. 1)    

       They are already peeled- and it saves extra work. 2) The length is the perfect size (which again

       saves extra cutting work) for julienning, all you have to do is slice them in half, and then in half 

       again one or two more times. And before you ask, yes... julienne is that important to the recipe. 

       It's what allows for the sauce to trickle down and flavor all the carrots, making each bite better 

       than the last.  I did it with whole carrots one time, only one time. The extra work is worth it. Trust 

       me!)

                            

3/4 cup of the liquid the carrots cooked in

1 cup Mayonnaise

3 TBSP prepared horseradish 

2 TBSP Dijon mustard

1/4 cup white onion, minced 

Salt

1-2 cups of panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup of butter, melted

1 bunch of Italian parsley, leaves removed and diced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter the inside of a 9x13 baking dish.

Bring a large stockpot of water to boil. Once boiling, add in carrots and cook until easily pierced by a fork. Approximately 10 minutes. Drain carrots, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. When carrots are dry, pour into baking dish.

In a separate bowl combine cooking liquid, mayo, onion, horseradish, mustard, and a pinch of salt. Mix with a fork until ingredients are combined. Spoon over carrots. 

Toss panko, parsley, and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle mixture gently over the top of the carrots. You aren't trying to create a thick crust, instead just a layer similar to a dessert crumble. Drizzle melted butter butter over the top.

Bake 30-45 minutes, until panko is a golden brown. 

Turkey Stock

I typically don't make my own stock. Ever. Even though I know how incredibly easy it is to do, I still find it easier to pop open a box top. Always.

Except when it comes to Thanksgiving. The key to my pan gravy is the flavor, and part of that key is making my own, fresh, homemade turkey stock. 

Which I do religiously, every Thanksgiving Eve.  Jamie comes home with the fresh turkey, and I make stock. Like clockwork.

Ingredients:

Turkey neck and giblets (I don't use the liver, but you? May feel free to do so if you choose)

8 cups of drinking water

3-4 carrots, lightly peeled and chopped in 4-6 pieces

4 celery stalks, chopped in 4-6 pieces

1 rosemary sprig

2 thyme sprigs

1/2  bunch of Italian parsley

1 bay leaf

1 TBSP whole black pepper corns

Large pinch of salt

Directions:

Place all ingredients in large stockpot. Bring water to boil. Turn heat to low and let simmer 2 hours.

Strain ingredients using cheesecloth or other fine sieve. Refrigerate liquid overnight. 

Winter Wild Rice Salad

I first came up with this dish when I was coming up with additional sides for Thanksgiving... But let's be honest, you can use it for any occasion.  It's a great side dish and, since it's served cold, you can use it any time of the year. The only reason I've termed it "winter" is because of its colors... The red and the green play against the wild rice nicely.

Too be fair, it's not solely wild rice, I use a rice blend... However, you could use only wild rice if you wanted, and I think it would be just as pretty.  And definitely as tasty!

Ingredients:

1 cup wild rice

1 cup long grained white rice

2 Tbs olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

4 cups of chicken stock (you can substitute vegetable stock to make a vegetarian version)

1 package of dried cranberries, chopped

6 green onions, white and light green part only, sliced

4 celery stems sliced and chopped

1/2 bunch of Italian parsley, leaves pulled and chopped

Juice and zest of one orange

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3 TBSP Orange Marmalade

2 TBSP Dijon Marmalade

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add garlic, and stir for one minute. Add in rice, and sauté for 3 minutes. Add in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to low, cover. Cook until rice has absorbed stock, between 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool.

In a separate bowl, whisk orange juice, zest, vinegar, marmalade, Dijon, and oil. 

Add half of dressing to rice, and let sit overnight. 

Before serving, add cranberries, onions, celery and parsley to rice. Taste and add salt and pepper, and additional dressing as needed to taste.

Compound Herb Butter

Compound butter is a Fancy Nancy way of saying butter with stuff in it. It's sounds a lot more involved than it actually is. Making it is not complicated whatsoever.  But don't let it's simplicity fool you. It's this little, uncomplicated, butter that lends its flavor to all of the things that make Thanksgiving taste like Thanksgiving.

This particular compound butter I make the night before Thanksgiving.  I flavor it with the same herbs I use to roast my turkey, the same herbs I use to season my homemade turkey stock, and it's these same herbs that will flavor my pan gravy... Because this butter? Is what gets it all started.

I use this butter to coat the turkey; all over the top of the skin to help brown it, under the skin to keep the meat moist, and in the cavity to create flavorful drippings.  I use this butter, as it's melting, to baste the turkey throughout its roasting time. And finally? It's this butter, after the turkey has finished roasting and it's picked up every last morsel of flavor, that I use as the fat to form the base of my pan gravy.

Because this butter? Is the mainstay of my Thanksgiving. 

Ingredients:

1 lb (4 sticks) of butter, softened

1 bunch of rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped

1 bunch Italian parsley, leaves stripped, and chopped

1 bunch of thyme, leaves stripped

Once butter is soft enough to be malleable, in a large bowl, use your hands to mix in fresh herbs with butter. Knead until evenly combined. Shape into a rough cylinder and wrap with Saran Wrap. 

Refrigerate overnight. 

Hamentaschen

I can't guarantee that Hamentaschen is a real word, or even a real cookie. What I am sure of, is how delicious these cookies are. Hamentaschen is what my Dad called them, when he would whip these little morsels out, so forevermore Hamentaschen is what they will be to me.

What they will be to you, is a tender cookie, rolled flat, filled with fruit, and popped in your mouth one after another. 

Whatever you want to call them, you'll love them. This? I can guarantee.

My dad said they were traditionally filled with prunes or poppy seeds, but he always filled them with an apricot mixture. When I first started making these as a Thanksgiving complement, I also created a Cran-raspberry flavor. I loved how the cookies looked with vibrant orange and red fruit poking out of the middle; playing off both the colors and the flavors of the Holiday. My favorite is the apricot... try them both and see what you think. Either way, you'll find them delicious.

For the dough...

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla paste

Zest of one orange 

Juice of one orange

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour (up to 1 additional cup may be necessary)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In an electric mixer, cream eggs and sugar. Add oil, vanilla, juice and zest. Mix until thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 3/4 cups of flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add to wet ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time, blending on low until incorporated. Add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough reaches the constancy of sugar cookie dough-- moist, but not sticky.

Roll dough out on a generously floured surface.  Approximately 3/16" thick. Using a 4" diameter cookie cutter, or wide-mouth glass, cut dough into rounds and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Place a spoonful of filling in the center of each round. Fold three edges of the cookie together, leaving only a portion of the center uncovered, and pinch the ends together.

When finished you will have created about two dozen triangular shaped cookies, highlighting the filling in the middle.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until just barely golden brown.

For the filling...

Ingredients:

Apricot

1 package of dried apricots

Water

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp almond extract

Cran-Rasp

1 package of dried cranberries

2 TBSP Raspberry jam

Water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

Directions:

Place dried fruit in a sauce pan. Add just enough water to cover the top of the fruit. Simmer slowly over low heat, until the fruit has softened enough to mush together. Stir frequently while waiting,mad you don't want toe fruit to burn. If the fruit hasn't softened, yet all the water has been absorbed, add more water in 1/4 cup increments. Once the fruit has reached the consistency of a thick jam, whisk in sugar, extract, and jam (if called for). 

The Thanksgiving Collective

In case you haven't heard? Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. FA. VOR. ITE. 

What's not to love? Food, family and friends. And lots of them.

Over the last 16 years that I have been hosting Thanksgiving we've had anywhere from 4 to 40 people sitting at out table and sharing our food. To me, that is the whole point of the holiday, sharing a day and food with your your favorite people. Being surrounded by everything and everyone that you love, throughout a long and lazy day.  To that end we have always had a open door, open table policy.  

Thanksgiving is not just my favorite holiday, in my mind, it's the holiday.  I want my kids to remember Thanksgiving at home, to return to Thanksgiving bringing with them their friends and their families time after time, and most importantly to salivate over the tastes throughout the year.  

I'm all about creating food memories for my children, tying favorite foods and tastes to certain experiences. Enriching those experiences by fostering a love and appreciation of food. 

Thanksgiving is no different. I go back to the same flavors and dishes year after year that my grandmother cooked for our family Thanksgivings. The flavors and dishes that I associate with Thanksgiving. The ones that I salivate over throughout the year.  My overall menu never changes, as each dish is conceived to compliment its counterparts, with the same basic dishes being the starting point for each year's feast. What does change, is the number of additional sides I will add each year depending on our number of guests.  All these additional dishes continue to enhance the overall meal profile, yet are not missed if one is not hosting quite so large a gathering. Conversely, these "extra" dishes will also compliment any Thanksgiving meal, and will be well received anywhere you might choose to bring them.

Thanksgiving Menu

Breakfast

Apricot Coffee Cake

Appetizers

Goat Cheese Spread

Pickles, olives, toasted French rounds

Main

Compound Herb Butter

Turkey Stock

Turkey

Pan Gravy

Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes

Company Carrots

Brussels Sprouts

Potato Rolls

Orange-Cranberry Sauce

Extras

Wild Rice Winter Salad

Corn Salad

Creamed Peas

Roasted Veggie Panzanilla Salad

Dessert

Pumpkin Custard Pie

Chocolate Cream Pie

Apricot and Cran-Rasp Hamentaschen Cookies

Pumpkin Custard Pie

It's no secret that fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the holidays, the traditions, and of course...the food. The best part about the food?  The smells.  Fall means soups, stews, and roasting meats and vegetables. The whole house is perfumed by the smells emanating from the oven.

Yesterday was Halloween-- and as part of the school celebration, the kids classes were having potluck lunch parties.  I made fruit plates, and salads, and my favorite fall treat-- pumpkin pie.

My pumpkin pie is a little different that the traditional, it's much less dense, and more custard like. It's not as heavy, and? In my opinion? Much, much tastier.

Ingredients

Pie Crust

Use your favorite pie crust recipe, mix, uncooked store-bought, or mine (once I post it).  If using pre-made, I prefer the Betty Crocker boxed pie mix.  I use the entire box, adding water as directed, and combining by fork until water is incorporated.  You should be able to gather the dough in a ball and place in an ungreased, deep quiche pan. I use my fingers to spread out over bottom and sides of pan, crimping the top to create an even look.  Prick bottom and sides in a circular pattern with a fork.


Filling
1 sugar pumpkin
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 t salt
1 heaping tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
2 cups whole milk

Cut the top (with stem) and bottom of pumpkin to create a flat surface.  Cut the pumpkin in half, and remove seeds and pulp.  Place pumpkin, center down, on a parchment paper lined jelly roll pan. Pierce the skin with a fork. Roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

Remove Pumpkin from oven and scoop out pulp. Set aside to cool, and raise oven temp to 450 degrees.

In a saucepan, bring milk just to boiling and remove from heat.  Set aside.

In an electric mixer, beat eggs until fluffy and light in color.

In a separate bowl, whisk sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and flour, until combined. Add to eggs and blend until combined. Stir in milk a little at a time.

Add pumpkin and beat on low for 1-2 minutes. Pour mixture into pie shell.  Cover top edge of pie crust with tin foil.

Bake in oven for 5 minutes.  Turn heat down to 350 and bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.  After 30 minutes, remove tin foil. The pie is done when the middle is firm, if you jiggle the pan. You can also insert a bread knife into the center of the custard-- if it comes out clean, it's ready.

(Disclaimer: If you wanted to, you could substitute 4 heaping TBS of canned pumpkin for the fresh).

Brussel Sprouts with Apples and Bacon

Brussel sprouts - if you love them, you want to eat them constantly, if you hate them, it's because you haven't had them like this. When I was growing up, Brussel Sprouts were found in the frozen food aisle, and tasted acidic and bitter. It wasn't until I made them for my children, that I realized how delicious they could be.  We eat them in some form, at least once a week.  When we are grocery shopping, at least one of my kids will point to them and exclaim loudly, "lets get Brussel Sprouts!" Undoubtedly, some random shopper will make a shocked comment about my veggie loving children - and yes, I'm not too proud to admit that, when this happens, I give myself an internal high five.

Although delicious any way you make them- this is by far, our favorite.

What you need:

3 Small Bags of fresh Brussels (about one large stalk, or 60ish individual sprouts)

1 package of nitrate free, applewood smoked bacon

4 Gala apples

Fill bottom of double boiler with water- bring to a boil. Cut the bottom off of each sprout, and halve them, peeling off the outer leaves in the process. Rinse and set in vegetable strainer. Place over boiling water and cover. Steam until sprouts are bright green, and just tender (they will finish cooking later).

In the meantime, peel, core, and dice apples. 

Dice bacon into approximately 1/4 inch squares. Add to skillet that has been heated on stove. Cook bacon until browned, being careful to stir frequently so bottom of pan doesn't burn. Add apples to bacon, and saute for 5 minutes in bacon fat.  Add steamed Brussels to pan, coating with bacon fat.  Add a pinch of salt. Saute for 5 more minutes and serve immediately.

For a slight flavor variation, stir in the leaves from 5 stalks of fresh thyme, just before serving..

Goat Cheese Dip

4 heads of garlic
20oz plain goat cheese
2 pkg sundried tomatoes (not in oil), chopped
10 green onions, chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
20 leaves, fresh basil, sliced
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp White pepper
2 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 400. Slice tops of the 4 heads of garlic and place on large strip of tin foil. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over heads (at least 3 TBS), and sprinkle with salt. Gather edges of tin foil and press together, sealing tightly around garlic heads. Bake in oven until garlic is soft and cloves can be squeezed out of skin easily (approx 45 minutes). Let cool.

Set goat cheese out until slightly soft. In a large mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, green onions, basil, 2 Tbs of the garlic infused olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir until ingredients are combined. Refrigerate, preferably over night to allow flavors to combine.

Serve with crackers, celery, and carrots.

Holiday Apricot Coffee Cake

This is one of those recipes that can take me back to childhood in an instant. Originally my paternal grandmother's, I've updated it quite a bit, and it's now one of my families favorites.

Bread:

I make the bread dough from scratch, but if you are not as adventurous you can do what my grandmother did and purchase premade, frozen bread dough from Bridgeford. If you are using the frozen dough - I suggest 2 ''loaves'', for this recipe. Follow directions on package through to first rise.

Filing:
1 package dried apricots, cut into pieces
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup sugar

Place dried apricots in a sauce pan, and cover completely with water. Cook on medium, until mushy, adding additional water if necessary. Add sugar and almond extract, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cool.

Icing:
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp milk
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon

Whisk ingredients together, adding small amounts of milk as needed.

To make coffee cake:

After bread has risen, place on floured surface and roll into a rectangle approximately 12" x 18" and about 1/4 inch thick.

Spread the apricots on to the dough.

Roll dough, with apricots inside, lengthwise.

Leave seam on bottom

Transfer dough to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and form into a ring.

Using scissors, snip the top diagonally around the ring.

Cover with a light cloth and set aside until the dough rises again to double its size (approximately 1 hour). Or, cover with a light cloth and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Bake in a 350 oven for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown.

Spread icing on warm coffee cake, so it will melt and drip down sides.