"Cooking is an art and patience a virtue...careful shopping, fresh ingredients
and an unhurried approach are nearly all you need."

Keith Floyd
A Feast of Food


Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Butternut Squash Pie

This is my friend Laura's recipe. It's the pie I made for our Thanksgiving feast and the pumpkin pie lovers raved about it. Laura says she doesn't usually let on that it's not pumpkin until after the skeptics have tasted it.

I used a butternut squash I bought at the farmers market before it closed for the season. It had been sitting in a basket on my kitchen table for nearly a month and it was still perfectly good. Winter squash will keep for months in a cold garage and Kruse Farms still has some to stock up on.

Butternut Squash Pie
(adapted from Libby's Pumpkin Pie recipe)
Makes one 10-inch pie

Pastry for one 10-inch pie pan, unbaked
1 3/4 cups pureed butternut squash (see note)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I used freshly ground and I counted 50 swipes across my grater)
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups cream, half-n-half, or evaporated milk (I used evaporated milk)

For the pastry, I made one batch of all-butter pie crust (see Perfect peach pie) and used half for the butternut squash pie and half for the Dutch apple pie.

Preheat oven to 425. Combine pureed squash, sugar and spices. Blend in eggs and cream or evaporated milk. Pour into unbaked 10-inch pie shell. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Note* To prepare the squash: Wash thoroughly, pierce with a sharp knife ( I make a two or three-inch slit in one side) and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 1 hour, until soft. Let cool, remove skin and puree in blender or food processor until smooth. If not using right away, cooked squash may be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen. One 3 1/2 pound uncooked squash yields about 4 1/2 cups of puree.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Update on The Lists and the Day in Photos

Laura and Kevin set a lovely table for us.

I asked my son Kevin to photograph the day for me and told him I would buy any photos I could use on my blog. A buck a piece is his going rate, he says, so this post ought to just about pay his way into a movie with a friend this afternoon!

Featherlight roll dough ready for dividing and shaping.




Oma's (my mother's) Macaroni & Cheese


Scraping every last bit of Vanilla Ice Cream off the dasher.

So lists are good. And though there's always a mad rush at the end, trying to get the gravy made and the peas cooked, ice in the glasses, and rolls baked at the very last minute while my husband carves the turkey, things went more smoothly this year than they ever have. I didn't get everything on my lists done. I decided to forgo making cinnamon rolls and sticky buns in favor of an hour-long bike ride to the Discovery Gardens with my son. But the lists definitely kept me on track and there was no last minute panic at having forgotten an important part of the meal.

Birthday presents didn't get wrapped until just before I handed them to my husband, the sweet potatoes didn't get prepped the night before (and I ended up cooking them on the stove, instead of in the oven), I decided to use butternut squash instead of pumpkin for the pie and didn't bother roasting the seeds. But it all came together pretty much on schedule and we sat down with thankful hearts to a glorious feast just after 2:00 pm.

We were a small group this year, just six of us. We took our time enjoying the food and conversation and eventually ended up in front of a crackling fire in the living room listening to and telling old family stories. To me, that's the best part of all holidays and celebrations and if a delicious meal helps bring everyone together, then I am happy to do my part.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Prepping for the Big Day

As the big day draws near, my to-do lists are getting longer and more detailed. I'm trying to get as much done ahead as possible because I need to pick my daughter, Laura, up in Portland on Wednesday and I'll be gone from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon. On top of that, my husband's birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year!

The following notes are not meant to make me look like a martyr or slave to my kitchen. Cooking is my thing and this is my favorite holiday. But for anyone who is cooking a big dinner for the first time (my oldest daughter is doing her first Thanksgiving dinner in North Carolina) , I thought these lists might come in handy.

The Menu

Roast Turkey
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Cornbread Dressing
Buttered Peas
Fruit Ambrosia (Mom's bringing it)
Macaroni & Cheese (Mom's bringing it)
Cranberry Sauce
Featherlight Rolls w/butter and homemade jam
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Olives and Sweet Pickles
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Sparkling Cider & San Pellegrino

Here's the game plan:

Several days ahead--

Big grocery trip for all of the non-perishable items. DONE!

Make a huge batch of granola for easy breakfasts. DONE!

Bake 100% whole wheat buttermilk bread and freeze several loaves for turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving. DONE!

Refresh dormant sourdough starter so I can make Pain au Levain to use in the McDaniel Family Cornbread Dressing (that's my twist on it--it only calls for cornbread and whole wheat bread, but I like the slight tang of sourdough). DONE!

Iron all the cloth napkins. DONE!--I paid my son to do it.

Chop onions for the dressing and freeze. DONE!

Put the frozen turkey on a tray in the extra fridge to begin defrosting. DONE!

Make pie crusts and freeze. TOMORROW

Chill beverages. TOMORROW

Make cranberry sauce. TOMORROW

Bake Pain au Levain. TOMORROW

Cook pumpkins and puree for pie. Roast seeds. TOMORROW

Last trip to grocery store for perishables. TOMORROW

No school this week, so my son is home to help with all of the above!

Tuesday morning--

Make cornbread.

Wrap birthday gifts. Sign card.

Mix whole wheat cinnamon roll/sticky bun dough.

Clean house for the last time before the holiday.

Wednesday evening after we get home--

Leave cornbread out to dry.

Mix featherlight roll dough.

Make custard for ice cream.

Prep sweet potatoes (peel, slice, layer in buttered casserole with brown sugar, butter, a bit of salt and lemon zest. Cover and refrigerate.

Shape cinnamon rolls and sticky buns.

Bake pumpkin pie and apple pie.

On Thanksgiving Day--

Bake cinnamon rolls and sticky buns.

Get the turkey in the oven.

Set the table.

Soften butter for rolls.

Make ice cream.

Divide and shape rolls.

Bake sweet potatoes.

Make and bake dressing.

Whip cream for pumpkin pie.

Put out olives, pickles and cranberry sauce.

Boil and mash potatoes. (Save potato water for breadmaking)

Bake rolls.

Cook peas.

Make gravy.

Enjoy dinner with my family! (then relax while they do all the dishes)

I don't know if I will have time to post anything during all this, but I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with your family and friends.