Lofty Leftovers

Tags

baking, croissants, leftovers, Milk Bar, NaBloPoMo, Thanksgiving

A couple friends have pointed out that I’ve been playing it safe on my blog this month. Back in the blogging heyday, I used to participate in monthly baking and cooking challenges from the Daring Kitchen, but would also tackle difficult recipes just because, well, I wanted to be challenged. The thrill has always been more in the process than in eating the final result, you know? Though getting to enjoy it is always the best bonus.

So why haven’t I beed very adventurous? I don’t know. The main excuse has been that there are always so many vegetables that need to be cooked, so that’s what’s been keeping me occupied in the kitchen. That said, I do have more time than most, especially if managed well, and I have missed the crazy baking projects.

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Pie High

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baking, butternut squash, fall, NaBloPoMo, pie, pumpkin, Thanksgiving

Usually for holidays, I bake a couple of desserts. I’m not sure if it’s more for variety or to avoid the whole eggs/basket situation, but it’s probably a little of both. This year, I just made one because there is always too much dessert (yes, possible), and it sounded like we’d have less people.

Oddly enough, I decided to make a classic pumpkin pie, which is odd because I don’t really care for it that much. I mean, I’ll eat it, but it would never be near my first pick in a pie line-up. So, why? The recently-posted pumpkin pie recipe on Smitten Kitchen. There’s something so reassuring about Deb that she makes you feel like she’s posting something that’s going to be better than all of the other recipes because she’s done the dirty work and already tried them all for you. But if you’re reading this food blog, then you know this because hers is one of the best and that is partly why.

Um, not that I intended to wax poetic about Deb when I haven’t even talked about this pie. But no surprises here: it was fantastic. I have some truly depressing pie experiences behind me, but this came out pretty perfectly, crust(!) and all.

Wordless Wednesday: Pie Mode

Tags

baking, butternut, fall, NaBloPoMo, pie, pumpkin, Thanksgiving, Wordless Wednesday

I’ll post about the finished pie tomorrow. :)

A Thanksgiving Anecdote

Tags

eels, fall, NaBloPoMo, pie, Thanksgiving

I was listening to The Splendid Table while driving to San Antonio this morning. They were having their annual Turkey Confidential show for listeners to call in with Thanksgiving or Hanukkah cooking queries.

There was one caller who I’d really like to be friends with, but I can’t remember her name, just that she was from Portland. Lisa? Let’s call her Lisa. Apparently, eels were served at the first Thanksgiving. (What.) Since Lisa was to bring something to a non-traditional friendsgiving, she decided that eel seemed appropriate. If you guessed that she was calling in about how to prepare eel, and you are correct. Get this: she had a bag of eels and they were ALIVE. Gah.

Thanksgiving Dessert Pondering

Tags

dessert, NaBloPoMo, round-up, Thanksgiving

Pumpkin Mochi Bundt // Caramel Apple Cranberry Crostata
Pumpkin Cream Pie // Pumpkin Stout Gingerbread Bundt with Brown Butter Icing

Apparently it’s a week away from Thanksgiving. I haven’t been thinking ahead very much this month because it’s been like, “What the heck am I going to write about today?” around here.

I think my family is having Thanksgiving at my parents’ house in San Antonio, but I’m not even sure about that. Last year it was at my sister’s house, and she and I made most of the food.

One thing is certain: I’m making dessert (and rolls). Right now, I’m kind of leaning towards making this Pumpkin Cream Pie again. The texture and flavor was way more appealing than traditional pumpkin pie, I thought. Bonus: everything can be made ahead of time and assembled before eating.

I like trying new recipes though, so I spent this evening looking up possibilities.

Here are some great-looking desserts from local bloggers and blog friends:

T-Day Success!

Tags

fall, family, NaBloPoMo, pie, Thanksgiving

This year my sister and brother-in-law hosted Thanksgiving at their house and I helped make a few things! My parents, grandma, and three year-old niece were also in attendance, so it was a pretty small gathering.

The Thanksgiving Day (food) parade:

As a recent recipient of the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, Jill (of the sister variety) was stoked about making Deb’s Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes. They were really creamy and also tangy, thanks to the buttermilk! Aren’t you jealous of her bowl?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tags

NaBloPoMo, Thanksgiving

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, my fellow ‘Mericans!

Tomorrow I’ll post about what my family feasted on, but for now it’s time to sleep it off.

Thanksgiving (un)Preparedness

Tags

NaBloPoMo, Thanksgiving

“Wait…Thanksgiving is next week?? I thought it was the last Thursday of the month!” -me, five days ago. (Apparently it’s the fourth Thursday, which is usually also the last Thursday, but not always. Did the pilgrims come up with these rules?) I guess that shows you how far in advance I prepare for this holiday.

This year my sister and I are in charge of the food situation. We’ve been texting recipe ideas back and forth for the past few days, and it sounds like I’m making rolls, green bean casserole, and dessert. Any favorite green bean casserole recipes out there, not involving cans? Having seen the Good Eats episode it was in years ago, I’ve been wanting to make Alton Brown’s recipe ever since. I’m open to other ideas, though!

Thanksgiving Procrastinators Anonymous

Tags

baking, cooking, idea, recipes, Thanksgiving

Maybe you figured it out this weekend.  Maybe you’ve known for months.  Maybe you spent last Black Friday brainstorming for this week you freakazoid.

Or maybe you’re just like me and have no clue.  Is it bad that I don’t even know if I’m responsible for more than desserts this year?

I guess it’s time to finally start thinking about what I’m going to make for Thanksgiving.  Hey, when you don’t have a turkey to thaw, it’s never too late, right?  …

Just in case I’ve got some fellow chronic procrastinators out there, here are some yummies made or craved by me:

Butternut Squash Barley Risotto can be a side but is hearty enough to be a main dish for the vegetarians out there.  It’s so creamy and packed with flavor!

Why have Tofurky when you can have Crustless Potpie Over Sweet Potato Biscuit from Vogue Vegetarian?  Oh.  Em.  Gee.

And yet another veggie alternative that I’ve been eyeing for over a year: Nut-Stuffed Delicata Squash from Shutterbean.  Tracy says the sage makes the filling taste sausage-y!

Duh: T-Day requires carbs.  Double Duh: Carbs are 100000x better when homemade.  No-Knead, Overnight Dinner Rolls were a delicious and simple answer to my dilemma with my family’s lunchtime Thanksgiving last year.

Pie: You win some, you lose some…or both.

Tags

apples, baking, butter, Canada, crust, dough, fail, maple, pie, pie crust, Thanksgiving

Two weeks ago, I made a pie.  It was Canadian Thanksgiving.  I am not Canadian, and neither were any of us who were celebrating it together.  It’s just a thing we seem to do, at least since last year!

This pie marks the first pie crust of the dough variety I’ve made since my first unsuccessful attempt at homemade crust several years ago.  Anxiously, I thought of all of the things that could go wrong, from the typical (dense, not flaky crust) to the irrational (eaten by wild monkeys).

To help ease my worries, I went with a recipe from a source that has yet to let me down: Deb of Smitten Kitchen.  She has a few pie crust how-to’s; I went with the all butter crust from Pie Crust 102.