Tag Archives: thanksgiving

butternut squash love

Posted in pasta, vegetarian by

Lasagna is a wonderful winter meal. It’s hardy, it’s versatile, and most importantly it heats up brilliantly.  What more could you ask for on a cold February night?

I’m a huge fan of all things squash so when I found this recipe for butternut squash lasagna I could not resist.

You start by peeling and cubing the squash and then simmering it in water until it is soft enough to puree.  Then season with salt and pepper.

Then you make a bechamel sauce which I found kind of intimidating at first, though I can assure you it is quite easy.  You just heat up butter and flour and then whisk in milk until it boils.  For this recipe you also grate in some nutmeg and finally blend with fresh basil.

Then you start to build your layers.  Bechamel sauce followed by noodles followed by butternut squash puree…

…followed by cheese and then repeat twice more.  I made the lasagna for my dad’s birthday party last weekend and got so busy chatting with family that I forgot to take an after picture!  Oops…

Butternut Squash Lasagna (recipe origin unknown– I tore it out of a magazine years ago and my Google-ing proved unsuccessful…)

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced (about 2 ½ lbs)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 ½ cups milk
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¾ cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
  • 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 1 box (8 oz.) oven-ready lasagna noodles
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In large skilled heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add squash and toss to coat. Add ½ cup water. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly. Puree squash in food processor. Season with salt and pepper.

In medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, whisking for 1 minute. Increase heat to high and gradually whisk in milk. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Whisk in nutmeg and cinnamon. Let cool slightly. Pour half the white sauce into a blender add the basil and blend until smooth. Return basil sauce to saucepan and combine with rest of white sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

sweet potato and carrot bisque

Posted in soup, vegetable, vegetarian by

Last weekend was a total soup weekend. It was cold, it snowed like six inches on top of the six we already had, and I was in no mood to venture out to grocery shop so instead decided to shop my pantry. I had sweet potatoes. I had carrots. I had onions. I had vegetable stock. Done and done and done and done.

With baking you have to stick pretty close to actual recipes but with cooking you can be more free and soup is an especially easy arena in which to experiment. Some of my favorite soups (and salads for that matter) have been a result of the mix of ingredients I happened to have on hand at that moment that all worked together to create something better than the sum of their parts.

This soup is full of orange vegetables– you know, the kind that make you see further and help prevent cancer. Totally awesome. Added bonus: it tastes good too.

Don’t fret if you don’t have an immersion blender, (though I highly recommend investing in one) you can puree this soup in batches in a blender or a food processor. Or you could even leave it chunky– that would be great too. Totally up to you. Experiment!

Sweet Potato and Carrot Bisque

  • 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into quarter-inch rounds
  • 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
  • 5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the onion, cover and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the carrots and sweet potatoes, cover and cook, stirring once, until the vegetables are just beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and vegetable or chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and allow to simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender, transfer soup to blender or food processor in batches and puree until smooth.

comfort food

Posted in sidedish, vegetarian by

Almost exactly six years ago I moved from the Upper East Side of Manhattan to the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.  I was still relatively new to New York and hadn’t spent a whole lot of time in Brooklyn prior to moving there but I knew that even though the rent was still exorbitant you got more space for your money so it seemed like a great idea.  But I digress.

My roommate and I happened to move in the midst of a snowstorm that produced what was then one of the largest amounts of snowfall on record.  Awesome.  I remember packing and moving from 6 in the morning until 8 at night and then crashing hard at 9pm which made that the first time I had gone to bed that early without being sick since I was about eight years old.  I still remember it being one of the hardest sleeps I’ve ever experienced.  I was cold out.

The next morning my roommate and I ventured out in search of sustenance and came across a cute little hipster pub that seemed like it had a decent menu.  I ordered mac and cheese.  It was the best dang mac and cheese I’ve ever had in my entire life.  And I have eaten some mac and cheese, let me tell you.  This heavenly mac and cheese had bacon in it.  And it had a crisp topping.  Yes, please.

The name of this restaurant?  DuMont Burger.  I lived in that neighborhood for two-and-a-half years and whenever I had been really good about going to the gym, or whenever I had worked a sixty-hour week, or whenever someone gave me the stink eye on the subway I would reward/comfort myself with mac and cheese takeout from DuMont Burger.  It was simply too easy to call on my walk home from the subway and swing in to pick it up.  Instant comfort.

Now that I no longer live (anywhere near) there I decided that I must recreate it for myself at home.  I couldn’t find radiatore pasta at my local grocery store, but fusilli worked just fine.  I had panko (Japanese bread crumbs) on hand instead of standard bread crumbs so subbed those.  I served pork with the mac and cheese so opted not to include bacon in my version (though I certainly will next time) because that just seemed like pig overkill.  Even still, it turned out pretty great.

If it’s as grey and cold elsewhere in the country as it is in my neck of the woods right now this would be a great week to make yourself a big ol’ pan of it.  Get to it!

DuMac and Cheese (from “The New Brooklyn Cookbook” by Melissa and Brendan Vaughan)

  • 1 pound radiatore, elbow macaroni, or fusilli
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 pound Gruyère, grated, divided
  • 1/2 pound sharp white cheddar, grated, divided
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente, according to the package directions. Drain, toss with the olive oil in a large bowl, and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, combine the milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat; bring to a gentle simmer.

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until the flour is fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue mixing with a wooden spoon until the mixture is a pale golden color, about 4 minutes. Slowly add the hot milk and cream mixture to the flour mixture, whisking constantly to incorporate. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally to keep the mixture from burning. Add half the Gruyère and half the cheddar and whisk until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the cooked pasta and toss well to combine. Pour the pasta into a buttered 9 x 13-inch baking dish or a 3-quart gratin dish. Top with the remaining Gruyère and cheddar and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Allow the mac and cheese to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

cranberry brie pie

Posted in fruit, pie by

I had a request for the recipe for the Cranberry Brie Pie I made for Thanksgiving so am posting it now.  Unfortunately I could not find the origin of the recipe online as I clipped it from a magazine years ago, which is a shame because a) I’d like to give proper credit where credit is due, and b) people need to know about this recipe and then go out and make it!  Updated 12.15.11: recipe came from Fresh Home magazine.

Like any cranberry recipe (at least any cranberry recipe I’ve tried) you have to first cook the cranberries down to soften them up a bit.  Then you pair them with a little bit of creamy, slightly salty Brie cheese in the shell of a pie and top with a butter/brown sugar/flour combination for a nice crispy finish.  The combination of flavors was awesome– the tart from the cranberries with the savory, salty bite of the Brie, and the sweet of the brown sugar topping.  Awesome.  It was my favorite dessert at Thanksgiving this year but could certainly make a great finish to any meal this holiday season since cranberries are still abundant in grocery stores.  Take advantage!

Last night I had a small Christmas party and spent oh, about 7 hours preparing for it yesterday so am a little bit beat this afternoon.  This week I will be posting some images from the party with tips on how to survive your own holiday shindigs this time of year.  I definitely learned a few lessons myself and am happy to share them so that you do not make the same mistakes I did..

Cranberry Brie Pie (recipe by John McMillan published in Fresh Home magazine)

  • 3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 4 oz. Brie cheese, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • 1 sheet refrigerated pastry dough (or use One Crust Pie Pastry recipe to make your own below)

Topping:

  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup packed brown sugar
  • ¼ cup cold butter, cubed

In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, brown sugar, orange juice, flour and vinegar.  Cook over medium heat until berries pop, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, unroll pastry into a 9-in. pie plate; flute edges.  Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes.

Remove cranberry mixture from the heat; stir in vanilla.  Pour into crust.  Dot with butter.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine flour and brown sugar; cut in butter until crumbly.  Sprinkle over filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly (cover edges with foil during the last 20 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary).  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Refrigerate leftovers.

One Crust Pie Pastry (from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook)

  • 1 cup all-purpose or unbleached flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

Mix flour and salt in medium bowl.  Cut in shortening, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until particles are size of small peas.  Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

Gather pastry into a ball.  Shape into flattened round.  If desired, wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes to firm up the shortening slightly, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky and lets the water absorb evenly throughout the dough.

Roll pastry on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down pie plate.  Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie plate; or roll pastry loosely around rolling pin and transfer to pie plate.  Unfold or unroll pastry and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry, which will cause it to shrink when baked.

a gluttonous feast

Posted in Uncategorized by

Now that leftovers are all gone I thought I would post some images of my Thanksgiving dishes.  Am already feeling a slight nostalgia for the day that was…

There were cheddar herb biscuits:

Cornbread and sausage stuffing:

 Corn pudding:

Sweet potato casserole:

Brussels sprouts and carmelized shallot hash:

Cranberry-apple chutney:

The star of the day, salted herb roast turkey:

Pecan pie with cream cheese crust:

Pumpkin cream pie with (homemade) gingersnap crust:

And cranberry brie pie:

 There was also gingersnap ice cream but I somehow managed to miss taking a photo of it… but I can assure you it was quite good.

It dawned on me when I opened a can of chiles for the corn pudding that it was the first and only can I opened in the entire preparation the meal– everything else was made from scratch from the chicken stock to the pumpkin puree to the pie crusts.  A very homemade Thanksgiving, indeed.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

This week I will be traveling to New York for work so my posts will likely be images of what I am eating while there.  Will return with regular programming (aka recipes) next week.