It's as easy as pumpkin pie

Thanksgiving is not just about dinner; it's an all-day affair in the kitchen. It's a holiday centered on food: on food you eat only once a year, on traditions, on coming together to prepare a feast. So, as you and your family come together for the feast, the last thing you need--as you simultaneously watch the cranberries, the turkey, the stuffing, the breads, and the rolls--is something complicated and time-consuming.

Every year my family and I make this pie on Thanksgiving. It's not what you'd expect. It's not a complex array of ingredients tactfully concocted together and lovingly prepared for hours. It's your average pie made from prepared ingredients, and cooked on the morning of the big turkey day.

This is Libby's famous pumpkin pie recipe. Who's Libby? Oh well. You know the Libby's brand pumpkin purée? Yeah, that's her.

The Recipe:

1 (15oz) can Libby's pumpkin purée
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon*
1/2 tsp ground ginger*
1/4 tsp ground cloves*
2 large eggs
1 can (12oz) evaporated milk
2 pre-made 9-inch pie crusts OR 1 pre-made 9-inch deep-dish pie crust (either plain or graham cracker)

*if you do not have all of these spices readily available, feel free to substitute the cinnamon, cloves, ginger combination with 2 tsps of pumpkin pie spice (available from McCormick)

Preheat your oven to 425'F. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl. In another, larger bowl, whisk together the eggs and the pumpkin purée, then add the dry ingredients. Slowly add the evaporated milk, whisking after each addition. Place the pie crusts on a cookie sheet to avoid any spillage or leaking. Fill the pie crusts, so that they are 3/4 full and place them on the center rack of the oven. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 350'F, baking for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours, serve with whipped cream.

Apple Cider Pancakes

It's coming. Thanksgiving is hours away. And what is going to prepare you for a day of cooking, football, and in-laws better than a hearty and nutritious breakfast? This recipe for apple cider pancakes with a cinnamon sugar topping comes from an amazing blog written by an American in Tokyo (http://www.tokyoterrace.com/) and is sure to hit the spot on Thanksgiving morning.

If you want to save space for the truckload of turkey you'll be eating that evening, think about making these before a day of black friday shopping!

This will make a large batch of pancakes, so if you're cooking for only 2 or 3 people, you might want to either halve the recipe or save the extra dry mix for a later batch.

6 cups flour (either 3 cups whole wheat with 3 cups all purpose, or 6 cups all purpose flour)
1 1/2 tsps baking soda
3 tsps baking powder
1 tbsp salt

Place ingredients in an airtight container and store until ready to use. The ingredients below will make enough pancakes for about 3 or 4 people.

1 cup dry pancake mix from above
1 egg, separated
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoons honey
1/2 cup apple cider (or apple juice)

Unsalted Butter (both for cooking the pancakes and topping them when they are finished)

3 Tablespoons sugar + 1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

Place the 1 cup of dry mix in a large bowl. Then, in a small bowl whisk the egg white, buttermilk, yogurt, honey, and cider. In another small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with olive oil. Combine your wet ingredients and then add them to the dry mix until just combined. Don't be concerned if your mix is a bit lumpy; this is just fine.

Heat a pan and grease with either butter or oil. Ladle your pancake batter into the pan. When small bubbles appear, you can flip the pancakes.

While the pancakes are still warm, top with some butter and allow it to melt over the top of the pancakes. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar mixture and eat!

The Buzz : Cocktails for a Toasty Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, entertaining is probably on your mind. Even if you're not hosting the big family dinner, it's a day that will most likely be filled with food, friends, family, and a great deal of careful preparation.

If you're having people over and are in need of some holiday concoctions to keep your guests' bellies warm until the big dinner, take a look at these Thanksgiving and winter cocktails. These cocktails, taken from Martha Stewart's holiday cocktail collection, are sure to tingle taste buds. And, even better, most are non-alcoholic to keep feisty relatives under control.

Apple Pie Spiced Cider

Enjoy the flavor of a favorite fall dessert while the pie is still in the oven. This cider combines the spices found in apple pie for a hearty and warming beverage that can be served with or without brandy.

Serves six

1 1/4 quarts apple cider
3 tbsps firmly packed light-brown sugar
7 whole cinnamon sticks, (6 sticks for garnish)
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Ground cloves
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt
1/2 cup brandy (optional)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the cider and spices. Bring to a simmer, remove from heat, and add brandy (if desired). Serve in mugs, garnished with cinnamon sticks.

Apple Ginger Sparklers

This drink unites classic fall flavors of ginger and apple into a sparkling, non-alcoholic concoction. For extra flavor, make the ginger syrup the day before.

Serves six

2 cups sugar
1 six-inch piece fresh ginger, finely diced

4 1/2 cups sparkling apple cider
6 cinnamon sticks
6 pieces crystallized ginger

To make the ginger syrup, combine sugar, ginger, and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for about an hour. Let cool and strain before using.

For the sparklers, place 2 tablespoons ginger syrup in each of six glasses. Fill glasses with ice cubes, pour in cider, and stir to combine. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and fresh ginger, and serve.

Cranberry Cider

Cranberries are a Thanksgiving standard. In addition to enjoying them in sauces and garnishes, try this recipe for hot cranberry cider.

Serves six to eight

2 oranges
2 quarts cranberry juice
4 three-inch cinnamon sticks
2 two-inch pieces fresh ginger, peeled and sliced lengthwise
Sugar, to taste

With a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife, remove four 3-inch-long strips of peel from orange; set aside. Juice the orange and remove the pulp. In a medium stockpot, combine orange juice, reserved orange peel, cranberry juice, cinnamon sticks, and ginger. Taste, and add sugar if desired. Heat over medium-high heat until simmering. Then, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. Strain, and discard solids. Serve hot.

Yellow Tail Thanksgiving Commercial

Love this ad for Thanksgiving!

Yellowtail Turkey Spot from San Charoenchai on Vimeo.

The Buzz : The White Lady

First off, I would like to apologize for not posting as often as I have been wont to; this week has been and continues to be insane, with two major exams that will determine my future (YAY) and the onset of various anxieties about my future and the things that need to happen before I can determine what it is, exactly.

Like many people faced with times of stress and uncertainty, I turn to the soothing effects of alcohol. Ok, that sounds really terrible. What I am saying is that after a day of studying and a stressful week, I decided to make a cocktail I had been meaning to try. I'm not an alcoholic. No worries, friends.

Legend has it that the White Lady was created in London in 1919 as a tribute to the Mata Hari. This smooth yet shockingly strong cocktail combines the freshness of gin with the subtle fruitiness of orange liquor and lemon juice. Don't be fooled by it's ghostly white appearance--one of these is powerful enough to take the sting out of a tough week.


The Recipe:

1 oz Cointreau

2 oz Bombay Sapphire gin

3/4 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Splash of sprite

Ice

Chill a fancy glass and add a single ice cube. Then, combine the Cointreau, gin, and lemon juice. Top off with Sprite for a less deadly potion. Serve and enjoy.

Photo courtesy of The Science of Drink.

Squash and Spinach Gratin

For my mom's birthday, I decided to surprise her by cooking dinner and baking her a cake (see the previous post). I decided to make use of seasonal vegetables and make a butternut squash and spinach gratin, based on the recipe from epicurious.com. This dish combines the mellow taste of spinach with butter and onions and pairs it with butternut squash, topped with cream and parmigiano-reggiano. The result is an easy-to-make and hearty vegetable lasagna which is perfectly paired with a light or sparkling white wine.

The Recipe:

15 oz frozen leaf spinach, thawed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 pounds butternut squash (1 large), peeled, quartered, and seeded

First, cook your spinach according to the package instructions. Once cooked, drain it of all water and set aside in a bowl. Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in an 8-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, then add the onion and garlic, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the butter, onion, and garlic to the spinach along with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cream and stir to combine.

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 3-quart shallow baking dish (13 by 9 inches--not glass). Cut the squash to separate bulb section from solid neck section, then cut pieces lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. (This is the hardest and most time consuming step, I promise).

Now, in the manner of making a lasagna, layer squash and spinach mixture in baking dish. For each layer, use about one fifth of squash and one fourth of spinach, beginning and ending with squash. Sprinkle top layer of squash evenly with parmesan cheese and cover with parchment paper. Bake until squash is tender and filling is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the paper and bake gratin until browned in spots, 10 to 15 minutes.

That's it!

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Butternut-Squash-and-Creamed-Spinach-Gratin-236374#ixzz1d9v2ESHQ

Carrot Ginger Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Yesterday, we celebrated my mom's birthday. She and my father had been away for the weekend, and so I had unfortunately missed the actual day; however, that wasn't going to stop me from surprising her when they got home with an already-cooked dinner and a birthday cake.

My family and I have been suffering from a sugar overload over the past week, which I am fully ready to accept as my own fault. Halloween left in its wake not only a trail of candy wrappers and smashed pumpkins, but a lot of tummies sore from too much indulgence.

Instead of making a sweet and traditional birthday cake laden with fruit and chocolate, I opted for a more modest alternative fitting both to the season and our craving for the savory.

I decided to halve the recipe for Martha Stewart's Carrot Ginger Layer Cake (see the original at http://www.marthastewart.com/344218/carrot-ginger-layer-cake-orange-cream-cheese-frosting?czone=food/cake-center/favorite-cake-recipes ) and make some slight variations in hopes of creating the perfect surprise cake.

In my version, I not only halved the recipe for a smaller (aka *not* four layer) cake, but also used ground ginger instead of fresh and a more savory lemon cream cheese frosting. The cake turned out moist and flavorful, and, above all, not too sweet. My mother was delighted with her celebration. All in all it was a not-so-sweet victory with a great deal of spice!

The Recipe:

For the cake:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (3 ounces) chopped pecans
1/2 pound large carrots, peeled
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger OR 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and a dash of lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the frosting:

6 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
12 oz chilled cream cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger OR 1 tsp ground ginger

Heat oven to 375 degrees and lay pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast until lightly golden, for about 5 minutes. Be sure to check them very frequently as nuts burn fast and without warning. Take them out and let them cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Meanwhile, using the smallest holes of a grater, grate your carrots and place them in a bowl. Mix together with eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, canola oil, and ginger until well-incorporated.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture until combined. Fold in the toasted pecans. Divide the misture evenly between two buttered and floured pans.

Bake until a knife inserted into the middles comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes. Remove pans from oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool, 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack; let stand until completely cool.

Meanwhile, make your frosting by creaming the butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, and beat until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add sugar, lemon extract, ginger, and salt, and beat for 5 minutes.

Frost your cake and make sure to keep it cool until serving.

Bon appetit!