Thanksgiving, Monday Edition

Happy Monday! Hope your weekend was good. Ours was interesting, which is sometimes as good as one can hope for.

This Thursday is Thanksgiving, so I'll be posting food over the next few days that can be used for your Thanksgiving meal - including tacos tomorrow for Taco Tuesday stuff that, while you can eat at any time, can also be used as extras on your Thanksgiving table.

So, without any more chit-chat, here are today's six recipes to help you through the day while getting ready for Thursday, including Ginger Pumpkin Pie and Roasted Green Bean Bundles. Enjoy!

Note: I'll be taking Thursday off to spend time with family, but will be back on Friday. Hope everyone's Thanksgiving is wonderful and peaceful.

CLASSIC MASHED POTATOES

This is from Julia Moskin in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Julia wrote, “Mashed potatoes are very forgiving, and with a good masher, hot potatoes and enough butter and salt, cooks can accommodate religionists of the fluffy style and partisans of the creamy and dense. Be openhanded with salt and butter but stingy with milk, which will flatten out the bright, earthy potato taste. (And for everything you need to know to make perfect potatoes, visit our potato guide.)”

Yield: 4 to 6 servings; Time: about 45 minutes.

This was featured in “The Secret? It’s Not the Potatoes” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

Salt

2 1/2 pounds potatoes (about 6 large potatoes), preferably a combination of russet (baking) potatoes and large Yukon Golds, or all Yukon Golds

4 tablespoons butter, more for dotting

1/3 cup whole milk

Preparation

In a large pot, bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil over high heat. Peel and quarter potatoes and keep in cold water until ready to cook. (This can be done up to 4 hours in advance.) Add potatoes to boiling water and boil about 15 to 20 minutes, until soft; a knife should go in with almost no resistance. (It is better to overcook than to undercook.)

In a saucepan or a microwave oven, heat butter and milk together until butter melts and mixture steams. Drain potatoes well and return to pot. Using an extruding masher or a ricer, mash hot potatoes until smooth. Lightly mix in about half of hot butter mixture, just until blended. Taste for salt and add more butter mixture until seasoned to your liking.

Stop here for fluffy potatoes. For creamy potatoes, keep stirring potato mixture, using a sturdy spoon to press it against sides and bottom of pot. Mix until dense and thick. For whipped potatoes, use a stand mixer to mash hot potatoes just until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add all the butter mixture and salt to taste, pulsing machine in short bursts at medium speed. When light and creamy, stop mixing immediately. (Potatoes can quickly become sticky.)

To keep hot until ready to serve, transfer to serving bowl, dot top with butter, cover tightly and keep in a warm place, like the back of the stove. Potatoes will stay hot for at least 30 minutes. To keep longer, place covered bowl in a pan holding about an inch of gently simmering water. Before serving, mix well.

Tip:

This recipe can be doubled, tripled and more.

BLOTKAKE (NORWEGIAN CREAM CAKE)

This also comes from Julia Moskin in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Julia wrote, “Blotkake, layered spongecake covered with drifts of whipped cream and fruit, is a dessert that Norwegians are passionate and possessive about. It is a traditional sweet finish for any festive meal, whether a long, dark winter lunch or a long, sunlit summer dinner. ‘Scandinavians really value lingering and feasting at the table,’ said Maren Waxenberg, a Norwegian-American cook who lives in New York City and serves this cake at Thanksgiving.

“Cloudberries are a protected crop in Norway and are rarely available fresh in the United States, but raspberries are a good substitute.”

Yield: 10 to 12 servings; Time: 1 hour, plus cooling.

This was featured in “The American Thanksgiving” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

Nonstick cooking spray

4 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

For the Filling and Frosting:

3 cups whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons cloudberry, raspberry or blackberry preserves

1/3 cup cloudberry or raspberry liqueur (such as Chambord), or berry juice of your choice

12 ounces fresh raspberries or blackberries, for decorating (optional)

Preparation

Bake the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees and mist a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Combine eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer (or the whisk attachment of a stand mixer) until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

Sift cake flour and baking powder into a separate bowl, then fold into the egg mixture in 2 additions.

Pour batter into pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely before removing from pan.

Make the frosting and filling: Beat whipping cream, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Transfer 1/3 of the whipped cream to a separate bowl and stir in preserves.

Use a serrated knife to slice cake horizontally into 3 equal layers. Arrange top layer of the cake cut-side-up on a platter. Poke a few holes in the cake layer with a toothpick, then sprinkle with 1/3 of the liqueur or juice.

Spread half the whipped cream and preserves mixture over the cake layer, then arrange middle layer on top. Poke holes in the middle layer with a toothpick and sprinkle with another 1/3 of the liqueur or juice. Top with remaining whipped cream and preserves mixture.

Arrange the bottom cake layer on top of the stack, cut-side-down. Poke more holes and sprinkle with remaining liqueur or juice. Frost top and sides of cake with the whipped cream, using a pastry bag to pipe on stars or other designs, if you'd like. Decorate with fresh berries.

GINGER PUMPKIN PIE

Kathy Kingsley is one of About.com's American Food experts. She writes, “Flavored with fresh ginger and honey, this pumpkin pie is sure to become one of your go-to holiday recipes.” Prep Time: 35 minutes; Cook Time: 50 minutes; Total Time: 85 minutes; Yield: Serves 8

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Pastry

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

3 tablespoons ice water

Pumpkin Filling

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 16-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin

1 12-ounce can evaporated milk

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Honey Whipped Cream

3/4 cup heavy or whipping cream, chilled

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Make the pastry dough: Combine the flour, sugar, vegetable shortening, and butter in a food processor and pulse on/off until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. With the motor running, add the ice water through the feed tube, and process just until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.

Press the dough into a ball, then flatten it into a disc, about 1-inch thick.

On a lightly floured surface using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle. Line a 9-inch pie pan with the dough. Turn the edges under, and crimp or flute the crust. Set the pie shell on a rimmed baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Brush about teaspoon of the egg around the edge of the crust.

Add the pumpkin, milk, honey, sugar, ginger, pumpkin pie spice and salt to the eggs, and mix until well blended. Pour the filling into the pie crust.

Bake the pie for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling is set. If the edges become too dark during baking, carefully cover them with foil strips (see Recipe Notes). Set the pie on a wire rack to cool. If not serving right away, cover and chill.

When ready to serve, make the honey whipped cream. Put the cream into a medium bowl. Add the honey and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Serve the pie topped with the whipped cream.

Recipe Notes

• To make a foil collar to prevent edges of pie from browning too much, fold a 12-inch-long piece of foil into a strip with 3-inch-high sides. Stand the strip on the oven rack around the pie dish. Secure the overhang with a paper clip. The collar doesn't have to touch or cover the crust to protect it.

SKILLET PUMPKIN CORNBREAD

This comes from Judy Kim on Delish. Judy wrote, “”Pumpkin bread goes the savory route.” Total Time: 35 minutes; Prep Time: 5 minutes; Level: Easy; Yield: 6 servings.

Note: According to the footnote with the recipe, “Judy Kim is a NYC-based food stylist, recipe developer, and photographer. She also writes recipes for her website The Judy Lab.” If you’ve never been to her sit, I highly recommend doing so. Very nice site!

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 c. pumpkin purée

1 c. buttermilk

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided

1 1/2 c. cornmeal

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Directions

Preheat oven 375 degrees F. Grease 10" cast iron skillet with 1 tablespoon butter, set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together cornmeal, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk, egg, brown sugar and 1/4 cup melted butter. Pour in cornmeal mixture and whisk together. Transfer to skillet and bake 25 to 30 minutes. (Test doneness by pricking center with a toothpick—it should come out clean.) Immediately spread remaining tablespoon butter all over.

Cool for 5 minutes and serve immediately.

GARLICKY GREEN BEANS WITH CRISPY ONIONS

This also comes from Judy Kim on Delish. Judy wrote, “Crispier and quicker than mushy casserole.” Total Time: 25 minutes; Prep Time: 5 minutes; Level: Easy; Yield: 6 servings

Note: Judy had 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth. Since this is a vegetarian blog – I am, after all, a vegetarian (99.9% of the time, anyway), I changed the chicken broth to vegetable broth. Judy, if you're reading this, I hope you're not offended.

Ingredients

Canola oil, for frying

1 large onion, thinly sliced using a mandoline

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

kosher salt

3 tbsp. unsalted butter

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb. green beans, trimmed

1/2 c. low-sodium vegetable broth

Freshly ground black pepper

1 c. Grated Cheddar

Directions

Heat a large pot with 2" oil over medium-high heat. In a large mixing bowl separate onions into rings and toss with flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Shake onions and discard excess flour. When oil is hot but not smoking, add handful of onions; fry until golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with additional batches.

Meanwhile in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat melt butter with garlic. Add green beans and chicken broth; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Stir and cover with lid to steam; cooked until al dente, about 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle cheese all over and cover with lid until melted.

Top with crispy onions and serve immediately.

ROASTED GREEN BEAN BUNDLES

This recipe comes from the November 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 58. It starts off, “These individual bundles of seasoned, roasted green beans will impress guests and make serving a cinch.” Serves 8 in 30 minutes or less.

This can be viewed online here.

1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed

1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise

1 Tbs. garlic-flavored olive oil

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp. salt

1 pinch ground black pepper

Lemon slices, for garnish, optional

Hawaiian salt, black salt, or fleur de sel, for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, or coat with cooking spray.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans and red onion, and blanch 3 minutes. Drain, then pat vegetables dry with paper towels.

Whisk together oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Add beans and onion slices; toss to coat.

Group beans and onion slices into 8 bundles (about 10 to 15 beans each), and tie each bundle with 8-inch piece of kitchen twine. Place bundles tie side down on prepared baking sheet. Bake 7 to 10 minutes, or until bean ends begin to brown. Flip bundles with spatula so tie side is up, and bake 7 to 10 minutes more, or until all bean tips are brown. Transfer bundles to serving plate, and garnish with lemon slices and Hawaiian salt, if using.

nutritional information Per Bundle: Calories: 35; Protein: 1 g; Total Fat: 2 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 4 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 80 mg; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 2 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free