Thanksgiving Prep, One

Saturday -

Thanksgiving preparation started on Saturday with the bread for the dressing. Along with the white bread I made cornbread for the cornbread dressing (which also has regular bread in it).

From Baking with Julia, the recipe for 'white loaves' is what I have been using for the past few years. It's a straight dough, though I sometimes let it sponge at the beginning, and I always add two tablespoons of vital wheat gluten. The dough is made in the way of a brioche in that the four tablespoons of butter are kneaded in after the initial kneading, resulting in a very smooth, satiny dough. Two loaves are made from this recipe, and that's exactly enough for the amount of bread cubes needed. I can't help but to nibble on the crusts and a few of the bread cubes because this is better than Wonderbread.

Sunday -

What better way to start the day than with buttermilk pancakes and pumpkin syrup? There's no direction, just mix in a 2:1 ratio syrup and pumpkin puree, a tablespoon of butter, and a splash of lemon juice. Heat in the microwave or in a small pot on the stove until simmering. Stir, check to see if it's thoroughly heated, and pour over your pancakes. This would also be great on oatmeal and many other things. I didn't add spices because I like the taste with just the pumpkin and syrup.

From the same cookbook I mentioned above, I used the recipe for 'flaky pie dough', or something like that. It has both butter and shortening, which I like because it has that unbeatable taste only butter can give, and it's flaky due to the shortening.

Since the full recipe makes enough for two double-crust pies, I have to make it by hand because my food processor isn't large enough. I didn't add the full cup of ice water, but I probably should have added two more tablespoons from the remaining 1/4 cup so the finished dough would be more like how it was when I made pumpkin pasties. Not that I didn't add enough water, I just would have liked it a bit more moist. Hm.

I'm planning on making one pumpkin pie and one apple pie, along with a pumpkin roll. I thought about making three dough discs and using the doubled amount for an open-faced apple pie with long pleated edges, but I'll save that for a time when I can experiment.

What kind of pies are you going to make?

Day two of Thanksgiving Prep is over, but it's only going to get busier from here!

Recap of Dinners

Chipotle-Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

This is my mom's favorite recipe for shepherd's pie. Mashed sweet potatoes get a smoky kick from chopped chipotles in adobo sauce. The beef-vegetable mixture is flavorful and light with a light gravy made by the ingredients and not a roux.

My mom's go-to recipe for potato soup, which she added tilapia to and made it into a potato fish chowder. She also added a splash of kirsch in towards the end that really added to the flavor. Accompanied by no-knead bread I made earlier, this was a perfect meal for colder weather.

Chicken quesadillas with refried beans, diced green bell peppers inside, and guacamole on the side.

My first BSI , I decided to make pumpkin potstickers. The filling is a creamy pumpkin-tofu mixture with oregano, a bit of paprika, garlic, brown butter, kosher salt, and finely chopped spinach for color contrast.

(Recipe below)

A frozen tray of pumpkin potstickers

Everyone really enjoyed these. The texture of the pumpkin flavor was very creamy and flavorful with a hint of pumpkin. If you are skeptical about using tofu, don't be. Tofu takes on the flavor of the ingredients with it, especially if you use ingredients with pronounced flavors.

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Pumpkin Tofu Filling
My variation on Tofu Basil Ricotta

Ingredients

• 1 pound firm tofu, pressed


• 3 tablespoons brown butter


• 3 garlic cloves, minced


• ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree


• ¼ cup parmesan cheese


• 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt


• ½ teaspoon oregano


• ¼ teaspoon paprika


• ½ cup finely chopped baby spinach leaves

Directions:

1. Place tofu in a bowl and mash with a fork until crumbly.


2. Add remaining ingredients and mash again until the mixture resembles ricotta cheese. Check for seasonings. Set aside for at least 15 minutes to give the flavors time to meld.

Use as a filling for wontons or potstickers, calzones, in lasagne, a topping on pizza, etc.

Frosted

With all the snow that fell overnight on Friday everything outside was frosted, as were the cookies I made that day. It reminds me of the song in White Christmas where the four main characters are singing about snow on the train. It would have been the perfect movie to watch today except I have a rule about not listening to or watching anything with a Christmas theme until after Thanksgiving. (It's similar to seeing bathing suits in the stores in January. Right, I know that many people go on spring break trips and are in need of a new swimsuit each year, but unlike them I don't want to think about summer while I'm still enjoying the snow. I might be alone on that.)

These sugar cookies are soft and somewhat chewy, sort of like the kind you see at the stores that are iced, but these taste much better. Since the recipe calls for oil instead of butter you can bake a batch of these on a whim. Better yet, you can make the dough by hand.

Freshly grated nutmeg goes into the batter, and although it's not pronounced it comes through enough to pair well with the flavor of the frosting, a brown butter buttercream. The frosting was quite sweet, but the cookie itself wasn't intensely sweet and made the perfect platform. On the other hand, it's sweet enough to top with a chocolate icing, or just melted chocolate.

(Recipe at the end of post)

Soft Sugar Cookies, recipe below

For an added touch, I sprinkled the tops with edible gold glitter flakes and orange-colored sugar (keeping in the theme of fall, of course).

If you ever are in need of a quick treat that tastes delicious, this is the perfect recipe to turn to. But you don't have to take my word for it!

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Print this recipe

Sugar Drop Cookies with Oil
Recipe from Joy of Cooking
Back to the top

Makes about 32

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Granulated sugar
Your favorite icing and/or decorative sugar

Directions:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, then whisk in nutmeg in a medium-sized bowl.


2. Combine the sugar and the oil together in another bowl and whisk together for a minute. Add to this mixture the egg and vanilla, and beat well. Add the flour mixture all at once and beat well. Transfer the dough to a container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You don't have to, but the dough is sticky and a short chilling time helps. (Preheat the oven to 375° 15 minutes into the cooling time, or before preparing the dough if not chilling.)


3. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure out 1 tablespoon portions of dough and scoop out with a spoon onto the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart (I was able to get exactly 16 cookies.) The dough will still be sticky, so you need to plop out the dough balls on the exact spot you want to place it. Wetting your fingertips a bit will help keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. Lightly coat the back of a drinking glass with cooking spray, then dip it into a bowl filled with with a few tablespoons of granulated sugar. Press the cookies out 2½ inches in diameter, dipping the glass back in the sugar each time. (Sprinkle again with colored decorating sugar now if that's all you want to do.)


4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the top of the cookies are set but still look pale. Remove sheet from oven and let cookies cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.


5. Once cooled, frost with your favorite frosting and decorate the tops with colored sugar or sprinkles.