Thanksgiving Eve

It's been a busy Thanksgiving weekend here. Mom and I had a minimal amount of time to plan this year, which ended up being a bit fortuitous, as it forced us to make decisions on what was in and what was out. Additionally, we both made an effort to get a big chunk of the work done before Thanksgiving Day. Neither of us wanted to fall into our seats at dinner, absolutely exhausted from a day in the kitchen. So, on Thanksgiving Eve, we each tackled two dishes: she made apple sauce and cranberry sauce, and I made stuffing and pumpkin pie. It was a lot of futzing in the kitchen on the night before, but it really turned out to be worth the effort! Recipes and comments are below.

Pumpkin Pie
I've been making this pie recipe for several years now. I basically follow it to a T (except for the one year when I completely forgot to put in the pumpkin puree - whoops) but I make two small modifications: I will add a shot of rum or bourbon, whatever's on hand, and I will use orange zest instead of lemon zest. I find that the orange really deepens the flavor. I will also puree my own pumpkin from scratch. I've found that quartering the pumpkin and steaming for 30 minutes is the best and fastest method (versus roasting) to get the skin off the pumpkin. This year, I discovered this recipe for pie crust, when I was making mince pies for Simon. For pumpkin pie, I simply halve the crust recipe.

Cranberries
My friend Erica use to host Friendsgiving. I went for a few years - she would make a phenomenal turkey and an equally delicious cranberry side. I asked her for her recipe, adopted it, and it's been on our table ever since. Recipe is:

2 bags fresh cranberries
1 C sugar2 T cinnamon1 t nutmeg1 shot bourbon

Mix cranberries, sugar, and spices in a baking dish (I use a 9x13 cake pan but it doesn't make much difference). Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. You'll see the berries start to break up and ooze juices, which is exactly what you want. When the berries look soft and juicy, remove from oven. While hot pour bourbon over berries. Stir well and let cool. 

Stuffing
I have to admit, I love stuffing out of the box. However, ever since I've been cooking most of my food from scratch, I've wanted to make a homemade stuffing that was just as tasty as box stuffing (but without all the added salt and processed ingredients). This year I found a new stuffing recipe and it worked fairly well. The only hiccup was that I decided to incorporate some leftover apple pecan cake that I hadn't found terribly tasty. OMG. Big mistake. I thought that I didn't like the cake then; I threw in half my spice cabinet to try to overcome the cinnamon-y sweetness in the stuffing. (Note: chili powder, cumin, and balsamic vinegar all helped.) We also stuffed the turkey, and while it was roasting, the stuffing absorbed some of the broth, wine, vegetables, and herbs in the pan, which helped a ton, too. Next year, I will make the stuffing as it was written and then maybe I will have finally achieved my goal. This year, box stuffing still made it's way onto the table (but I'm not complaining).

Apple Sauce
Mom makes this every year, mostly from her own experience. The recipe, loosely, is:

3-4 lbs apples (granny smith and gala), peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
1 C sugar (more or less depending on sweet/tartness of the apples)
pinch of salt
2 t ground cinnamon or 2 sticks of cinnamon
1 T lemon zest
1/2 t ground cloves or 5-6 whole cloves

Mix all ingredients in a large pot over low heat. Stir continuously until apples are soft and have broken down into a sauce-like consistency, with some chunky pieces remaining. Adjust spices and seasoning as necessary.