Thanksgiving Game Plan and Pumpkin Pie

Its holiday time, and Kevin and I have been baking up a storm. I am posting my plans for Thanksgiving preparations, since that my help any readers who may be cooking this year for friends or family.  My best friend during the holidays is the freezer--I'm all about planning ahead, freezing, and baking things off right before I need them for the next potluck or family gathering. It makes it easier to plan a large meal, especially when you have one oven and 10 (or more!) hungry people.

So here's to the first blog post of the holiday series, in honor of Thanksgiving-pumpkin pie. Its easier than you may think-only a few ingredients. If you're nervous about making your own crust, you can go with a store-bought frozen pie shell or refrigerated crust, but the following recipe is actually quite easy and foolproof. You can multiply the amount of pie dough to make a double or triple batch, wrap the extra dough in the freezer in plastic wrap, and keep the frozen dough for up to a month. Let the frozen dough thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling out and filling your pie dish. I used a mixture of whole-wheat and unbleached white flour so that its healthier, but you can also go with all white flour. I wouldn't recommend using all wheat flour, because the crust will be too tough and not flaky. You can also try whole wheat pastry flour, which is ground finer than regular whole wheat flour and tastes less "healthy."

If you have room in your freezer, you can also roll out the dough, fill the pie dish with the dough, and freeze the whole thing, pie tin and all, in the freezer--wrapped very well in plastic, of course. The day before thanksgiving, I bake all of my pies, clean any vegetables, make the cranberry sauce, and chop any veggies for stuffing. Of course, recruit any help as needed, that will also ease the worry of cooking a large meal. Here's my Thanksgiving game-plan:

Sunday or Monday:

• go grocery shopping for Thanksgiving
• if buying a frozen turkey, thaw in refrigerator for two days, so that it is defrosted enough to put in a brine by Tuesday
• make pie doughs and freeze; or make pie doughs, fill pie tins with dough and freeze

Tuesday:

• brine the turkey (recipe coming soon!)--yes, its worth it to ensure a juicy turkey

Wednesday:

• bake all pies and other desserts
• I make a sugar-free apple gallette for my dad, which I assemble and freeze until the next day. On Thanksgiving, after the turkey comes out of the oven, I bake the gallette, as it is best eaten within a few hours of baking.
• clean vegetables-pick ends off green beans, clean brussel sprouts, etc.
• Make "kits" for recipes--chop all vegetables for stuffing or other side dishes (onions, carrots, celery, fennel) and package the ingredients for each dish together. Store in the refrigerator. When you're ready to cook the next day, just pull out the pre-chopped, measured vegetables for each recipe--this saves a lot of time!

Thursday (day of Thanksgiving): to be done in this order

1. Stuff and bake turkey 
2. Mashed potatoes
3. Candied Yams
4. Green Bean side dish
5. Brussel Sprout side dish
6. Whipped cream for pies
7. When turkey comes out of the oven, bake the apple gallette.
8. Have a glass of vino and enjoy family time-you've done a lot of hard work!

Pumpkin Pie
for the crust (makes one single crust 9-inch pie):
4 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2/3 cup whole wheat flour 

In a food processor fitted with the dough blade, process the cream cheese and butter until mixed and looks like a smooth paste. Add the salt and pulse to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, then add the flour mixture to the cream cheese and butter. Process until the dough just until it comes together in a ball. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, forming the dough into a flattened disk. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to form into the crust. (If freezing, thaw the dough disk overnight before rolling.)

You can also do this recipe with a stand mixer--mix together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the salt and flours, mix until smooth, just until it comes together in a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, forming the dough into a flattened disk. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To form the crust, remove the dough disk from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Line a cutting board or the countertop with plastic wrap. Sprinkle a small amount of flour on the plastic wrap, and place the dough disk on top. Place a little more flour on the dough, and another piece of plastic wrap on top. Using a rolling pin or heavy wine bottle, roll out the dough disk to 1/4 inch thickness, rotating the dough as needed to make an even circle.  (Use more flour only as needed.) Place the upside down pie tin on top of the dough--there should be about a 1-inch border around the edge of the pie tin.

Remove one piece of plastic wrap, put the upside down pie tin in the center of the dough circle, and quickly use the other piece of plastic wrap still on the dough to flip the dough onto the pie tin, flipping the pie tin with your other hand so it is right side up. Remove the other piece of plastic wrap.

Let the dough settle into the sides of the tin. Use the pads of your fingers to push the dough into the edges of the tin. Trim the edges so there is an even 1 to 1 1/2 inch border of dough standing up around the edge of the tin.

Roll the edge of the dough onto itself, tucking the dough into a neat, even mound around the edge of the tin, rotating the pie tin as you roll. To create a crimped edge, pinch the edge of the crust with the two fingers of one hand, and push in the middle of the pinched fingers with your index finger or thumb in your other hand (see picture). You can also just stamp a fork around the edge of the dough.

Prick the bottom of the pie shell with a fork or knife about 10 times in different spots- this helps release air pockets from the dough as it bakes, keeping the crust even and flat. Set the crust aside to fill with pie filling, or wrap in plastic and freeze until ready to fill and bake.

For the filling:
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 15 ounce can pumpkin (easier than making your own pumpkin puree, trust me)
1 12 fluid ounce can evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, and allspice in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla extract lightly. Stir in the pumpkin and sugar/spice mixture. Add the evaporated milk slowly, mixing until combined. Pour the mixture into prepared pie shell.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake for 40-50 minutes until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean. (The pie may still jiggle slightly-its ready when it jiggles all together and looks set on top.) Cool for two hours and serve, or refrigerate. Serve with freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Milk and Cookies

My idea of a Monday night: watching Anthony Bourdain on the DVR so I can skip through commercials, enjoying leftovers, and a warm chocolate chip cookie. These cookies are also a surefire way to show someone how much you love them. I know some people scoff at the notion of making cookies from scratch on a weeknight, thinking there is not enough time, but honestly it takes only 30 minutes start to finish. The beauty of making a full batch of cookie dough is baking a few to eat right away, and then freezing the rest of the dough pre-portioned for future chocolate chip cookie cravings (which, in my world, happens at least once every two weeks) leaving you only 12 minutes away from a warm and melty cookie.  I like using a spring loaded cookie scoop purchased from a cooking supply store to shape the cookies, but you can also use two spoons. This recipe is the culmination of 3 years of experience baking at an award-winning cafe, boutique hotel, and countless batches at home, and never fails to hit the spot.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can add other ingredients, like chopped chocolate covered espresso beans, chopped pecans or walnuts, experiment with different types of chocolate, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, or increase the oatmeal while decreasing the amount of flour for a more oatmeal-y cookie. As it stands, the cookie has just a little oatmeal to complete the chew to crispy edge ratio, but play around with it as you like. I also recommend baking the cookies on a silpat, or silicone baking mat. You can also use parchment paper, but I like re-using the silpat to help save paper. I would not recommend foil, as the cookies will spread too much. With the cookies I always have a glass of milk, or maybe milk spiked with a shot of Irish cream if it’s been a long day.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
start to finish: 30 minutes
makes 40 cookies

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, 60% cacao

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, oatmeal, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined and set aside. In a separate bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugars just until combined. Very important-do not overmix or the cookies will come out cakey. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla, just until combined, scraping the bowl often with a rubber spatula. (Note-when cracking eggs, crack flat side down on the countertop and then into a bowl to minimize getting eggshells in your dough.) Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, just until combined. Adding all of the flour should take about 20 seconds, stopping every 10 seconds to scrape down the bottom of the bowl. Add the chocolate chips and mix for about 4 seconds,or just until combined.

Scoop the cookies using a cookie scoop or two tablespoons onto a silpat and bake for 10-11 minutes,on the middle rack, rotating the pan inside the oven once. Cookies are done when the middles no longer look raw and the edges are golden brown.

If not baking all of the cookies today, you can store them in the freezer. Line a plate with plastic wrap, scoop the cookies in a single layer onto the plastic wrap, and wrap the whole plate twice with wrap to minimize the cookies absorbing any freezer odors. If you need to stack the cookies on top of each other, line each layer with plastic. Frozen cookies keep for a month and take about 12-13 minutes to bake. Cookies are best eaten while warm the same day. You can also store them in an airtight container for the day and reheat in the microwave for 10 seconds for the same melty goodness.

Sunday Night Stew and Irish Soda Bread

Just another lazy Sunday afternoon, filled with delicious smells of home. Occasionally, Kevin and I feel particularly lazy when its overcast outside, and we’ve both had a busy week. On these days, he revels in video game battles while I think of fun dinners that can cook all day, which are preferably inexpensive and yield good leftovers for the upcoming week. This beef stew was made on the stove-top, but also translates well in a slow cooker, set on high for 6 hours. Prepare the recipe on the stove top through the adding of the wine, then transfer everything to the slow cooker and continue the rest of the recipe in the slow cooker. As for the gremolata, it’s optional, but the neighbors have a ever-blossoming orange tree that creeps over the fence, making for wonderful orange concoctions. The gremolata also brings brightness to the rich stew, and for me helps use up any fresh herbs from previous meals made earlier in the week. You could also substitute lemon peel and parsley for a more traditional gremolata.

As for the soda bread, I originally thought we had a loaf of bread left from a previous dinner of wine and cheese (yep, we’re classy up in here!) but alas, no bread. Next best thing--fresh Irish soda bread that can be made without yeast in about an hour. To time it right, about an hour and a half to two hours into making the stew, mix together the soda bread and put it in the oven, and everything should be ready at about the same time. I used champagne because we had some leftover champagne from this morning’s mimosas, but lemon juice works just fine. Most recipes call for buttermilk, but since I never seem to have that in the fridge, milk mixed with something acidic does the same thing.

We’re also pretty serious about or beverages. Here, I’d suggest a nice cold beer, or a glass of wine left from making the stew. If the oranges from the gremolata have not been used, we also like to juice them, add vodka (or homemade lemon vodka, a blog entry soon to come), ice, and top with champagne for a lovely cocktail.

If Buddy’s a good boy tonight, he may get a crust of soda bread with his dinner. Either way, this is one of those meals that warrants drooling. It all makes for a very happy Sunday.

Sunday Beef Bourguignon, serves 6, cooking time about 3 hours

for the stew:
1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cubed into 1-2 inch chunks (chuck, sirloin roast, or round)
3 slices of bacon, diced
1 tsp canola oil
1 medium size red onion, large dice
2 carrots, large dice
3 ribs celery, large dice
1 lb button or cremini mushrooms
3 red potatoes, large dice
2 cups red wine (inexpensive)
3 cups low sodium stock, chicken or beef
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp fennel seed
1 bay leaf
5 stems of fresh thyme
1 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste *sea salt or kosher salt is preferable

optional: orange herb gremolata: Mix together and set aside to serve on top of the stew.
fine zest of two oranges
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced

In a large stockpot, render the fat from the bacon on medium heat. Meanwhile, pat dry the meat, and season with salt and pepper on all sides. Toss with the flour to coat. Remove the bacon pieces from the pan and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pan. Raise the temperature to medium high, add the canola oil, and then the flour-coated meat. Sear the meat until deep brown in color on all sides, making sure not to overcrowd the pan or the meat will steam. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium, and add the diced onion and spices(except for the fresh thyme), stirring to release the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Also add a sprinkling of salt to help release the water from the onions. When the onions are translucent, add the red wine and continue to scrape the bottom of the pan. Add the stock, and return the beef and bacon to the pan. Let the beef simmer for about 2 and a half hours, stirring occasionally and skimming any foam that rises to the top off of the stew. It should look like a lazy bubble.

At this point, taste the broth. It should taste full-flavored, and not too winey. Add the rest of the vegetables, a bit more salt and pepper, and the fresh thyme, and let cook for about 30 minutes until the potatoes and meat are fork tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Top with a spoonful of gremolata. Serve with crusty bread or soda bread (recipe follows).

Note: stew is delicious the next day for leftovers, or the leftovers can be cooled completely, frozen, and reheated for up to two weeks. Make sure to re-heat until hot before serving.




Irish Soda Bread, prep time 5 minutes, bake time 50-60 minutes

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 3/4 cups milk
1/4 champagne or lemon juice
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Mix together the milk and lemon juice or champagne and add to the dry ingredients, stirring quickly just until combined. Add the melted butter and parmesan cheese. Pour into the loaf pan, evening out the top. Bake for about 50 minutes until a cake tester or knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about five minutes, (enough time to make the gremolata)  then turn out onto a cutting board to slice. Serve warm, with butter on top.

Also makes a great breakfast!

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Welcome!

This blog is for hungry people, with not a lot of time, who have a passion for food, eating, and being with great company. After working in the culinary industry as a pastry cook who has also been trained in classical French cuisine, cooked in San Francisco and Los Angeles, I thought I might take my simpler weeknight dinners public, complete with pictures. I'm still working out the kinks, but soon I'll post some pictures and recipes. You'll also find details about perfecting the recipes in your own home.

And, of course, questions are welcome!

One lucky reader a month will win a dinner, cooked by me! 

P.S. Any suggestions on a sexy blog name would also be appreciated.