Thanksgiving Recipe Round-Up

Thanksgiving is just around the corner... it snuck up on me! As always, I am spending the holiday with my grandparents in Michigan, where I will get my fill of fresh apple cider, chili-dogs, and midwestern charm. Our Thanksgiving dinner menu never changes, but in case your does, here are a few of my favorite fall/winter side dishes that could go well with your Thanksgiving turkey this year. Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque 

Arugula and Grapefruit Salad

My Grandma's Thanksgiving Stuffing

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Pumpkin Pumpkin Pie

Chewy Molasses Cookies

Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Pie

Buttermilk pie is one of the greatest desserts. I ate it often growing up because my childhood friend's mother made the best buttermilk pie in the world. I haven't had it in years (not for lack of trying, though... there was one buttermilk pie failure with friends in NYC a few years ago), but I stumbled upon this recipe a few days ago and brought it to a friend's house for dessert this weekend. It was delicious. The vanilla bean in this recipe definitely added another layer of flavor and this pie hit the spot. A southern classic! Make sure you don't overcook the pie- you want it to be just barely set so that its still custardy when you serve it. *Adapted from Karen Barker's Sweet Stuff.

INGREDIENTS
1 9-inch raw pie crust (store bought or homemade)
1 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, seeded
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pre-bake the pie crust for 10 minutes with parchment paper lining the crust and pie weights or beans on top of the parchment paper. Remove crust from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, vanilla bean seeds, cornstarch, and salt. The mixture will be very thick. Slowly whisk in the buttermilk and cream until well incorporated. Slowly stream in the melted butter and whisk well. Pour into the bottom of the (slightly) pre-baked crust and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven temperature down to 325 and bake another 30 minutes, until pie is just set in the middle but still jiggly. Remove from oven, let cool to room temperature. Serve slightly chilled.

Rustic Plum Tart

This is hands down the easiest dessert I have ever made. It took 5 minutes to put together, 40 to bake, 15 to cool, and 2 to devour. It was so tasty, even my non-dessert eating friend ended up finishing his first, and then tilted his plate toward his mouth to sip the last few drops of ice creamy-plum syrup. Serves 6 with 1 scoop of ice cream on each plate. *Adapted from Sunny Anderson's recipe on Food Network.

INGREDIENTS 

1 raw and chilled pie crust, homemade or not (enough for a 9-inch pie)

1 lb. ripe plums

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 cup apricot jam

1 egg, plus 1 tablespoon of water (egg wash)

1 teaspoon sugar

Take the pie crust out of the refrigerator and let sit on the counter for about 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Meanwhile, pit and slice the plums into 1/4-inch wedges. Place in a medium bowl and sprinkle with flour. Toss with your hands to coat. This will help thicken the tart as it cooks so you're not left with a goopy soggy mess. Not that a goopy soggy mess wouldn't still be delicious... because it would.

Next, roll out the pie crust into a thin circle, measuring about 12-inches in diameter and place on the cookie sheet. Spoon the apricot jam on the bottom of the crust in a circle, ending about 2-inches from the edge. Pour the plums on top of the jam and spread in an even layer. Fold the edges of the crust over the plums, leaving the center exposed and press lightly to seal. Brush the edges with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until deep golden brown and bubbly. 

Let cool 15 minutes, slice into 6 pieces (like a pizza) and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

The Best Challah French Toast

When I was a kid, my mom would make challah (a brioche-like egg bread) every Friday night and it always turned into the best french toast the next morning. She still makes challah every Friday night, but the difference is that I no longer live at home, so I miss out on the opportunity for weekly challah french toast.

BUT, my mother is the best mother in the history of the world, and this week she over-nighted me a package with the perfect loaf of homemade challah inside. I invited a girlfriend over for brunch this weekend and made her an updated version of the challah I grew up making. And it was a hit!
Serves 4.


INGREDIENTS
8 (3/4-inch) slices of challah bread
4 large eggs
1 cup milk/half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange juice
"some" ground nutmeg
"a lot" of cinnamon
butter & canola/vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and place a cookie sheet on the middle rack.

In a 9x13 pan, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, oj, a pinch or two of ground nutmeg and a bunch of shakes of ground cinnamon. Make sure to really incorporate the cinnamon into the wet ingredients. Take each piece and dunk in the egg mixture, for about 1 minute per side and place in a skillet set on medium heat with a bit of butter and oil in the bottom. Cook for ~2-3 minutes per side, or until perfectly golden brown. Flip and cook the other side the same. Once cooked on both sides, place on a cookie sheet in the preheated oven to keep warm while the rest of the bread is cooking. Continue to add more nutmeg and cinnamon to the egg mixture as needed, whisking to incorporate, and continue dipping and cooking the bread the same way.

Serve with a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top and a maple syrup drizzle. Mmm mmm mmm.

Fish Tacos

I made fish tacos this week to satisfy a mexican food craving. I combined a few recipes and the end result was a delicious and flavorful taco. Although it is not pictured, the cilantro-lime crema is ESSENTIAL. Adapted from Cooking Light. Serves 4.

TACO INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pound flakey fish (tilapia, red snapper)
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
2 cups shredded cabbage
cilantro-lime crema
8 corn tortillas

Mix together the lime juice, orange juice, and taco seasoning and pour into a large ziploc bag. Add the fish to the bag, and seal the bag, taking all the air out. Marinade for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, head the oven to 425 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Take the fish and place in a single layer on the cookie sheet and bake for ~9 minutes, or until flakey.

While the fish is in the oven, make the cilantro-lime crema by stirring together the following ingredients.

Cilantro-Lime Crema Ingredients
4 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon lime zest
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Once fish is cooked and cilantro-lime crema has been prepared, heat the tortillas according to package directions. Flake the fish and place into hot tortillas, top with shredded cabbage, and lime crema. Serve with any other toppings (guacamole, salsa, etc.) and enjoy!

S'mores Bars

S'mores! Without a fire! These were very fun to make and were a yummy Friday treat.

INGREDIENTS

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup flour

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

4 (1.5 oz) Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars

1 (7 oz) jar of Marshmallow Creme/Fluff

Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated, scraping down the sides once. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt and add to the butter mixture, beating just until incorporated. 

Press half of the dough into the bottom of a lightly greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Spread the marshmallow creme on top in an even layer and top with an even layer of the chocolate bars (break up as needed to fit). Press the rest of the dough on top and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. 

Remove from oven, let cool, cut into squares and serve! 

Late Summer Cheese Plate

I don't usually post things like this, since I didn't actually make any of the edible items in this picture... But I've been feeling guilty about my lapse in blogging and am probably over-compensating by posting anything I can deem even adequately appropriate for a food blog. Also, whenever I can get Jason (my favorite photographer) to take pictures of my food, I jump at the opportunity. And this picture is just too pretty to not post.

The fun thing about making a cheese plate/board is that you can add whatever you want to it and take out whatever you don't like, you can change it based on the season, or pick items based on what wine you'll be drinking. In general, when I'm making a cheese plate, I try to find a few different types of cheese (1 soft, 1 hard, 1 semi-hard), one kind of fruit, one kind of meat, one kind of finger food, and one kind of dip or relish. Below are some of my favorite potential combinations.

CHEESE PLATE INGREDIENTS
1 Soft Cheese
     - Triple Cream Brie
     - Burrata
     - Boursin
     - Goat cheese
1 Hard Cheese
     - Parmesan
     - Asiago
     - Romano
1 Semi-Hard Cheese
     - Cheddar
     - Manchego
     - Roquefort/Stilton
     - Edam
1 Meat/Charcuterie
     - Salami
     - Prosciutto
     - Soppressata
1 Fruit
     - Grapes
     - Sliced pear
     - Sliced apple
     - Figs
1 Finger Food
     - Marcona Almonds
     - Mixed nuts
     - Olives
1 Relish/Spread
     - Pepper relish
     - Pesto
     - Honey

Once you have bought and prepared all of your ingredients, place them on a large plate and decorate with fresh herbs or greens. Then... devour it!