Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Thanksgiving Baking


This Thanksgiving I was fortunate enough to make a few desserts for the holiday. The first was your boring old Pumpkin Pie. I used Martha Stewart's recipe for both the crust and the filling- and it came out exactly how it should-nothing to crazy, just a good solid pumpkin pie. Unfortunately the picture just doesn't want to show here :) I did realize when trying to make Martha's decorative crust made of small leaf cut outs, that I have no SMALL Leaf cookie cutters! I have a small leaf fondant stamp, oh and a large christmas type leaf, but nothing small. However I did have a rooster cookie cutter- this was one of the farm animal cutters my mom must have picked up when I was a kid, because I definitely remember the rooster cookies at christmas time ? I know, weird, right? Anyways, when you layer the roosters on top of each other, at just the right angle, they look like holiday leaves- who knew!

Of course, I couldn't get through the holiday without baking some items from Gourmet Magazine. I choose 3 recipes- the first was a Lemon Pie from Gourmet's final issue (November 2009). This called for zest from two lemons- and then exactly the amount of juice produced by said lemons. Everything about this pies was easy. The custard set exactly as it should, the graham cracker crust was thick but not too dry and the filling was just the right amount of tart. I would consider making this again and again- it would be perfect as little individual size tartlets if putting together an assortment. As always is the case with lemon tarts and pies- the picture here does not do it justice.

My second recipe was from the November 1986 Gourmet Magazine. I know with all the blogs, websites and cookbooks out there- did I really need to go back to a magazine from the '80s for a dessert recipe? Well I guess I did! I made the Cranberry Tart with Rum Cream and Chocolate from this edition. For those of you who don't know, or may have forgotten- Gourmet was a different kind of magazine in the '80s. Of course every type of media that was around then has shed some of that decade's trademarks-but here I'm talking more about the complexity or perhaps the lack of explicity within the recipes. I loved the cream cheese pastry crust- which is a good thing, since I had to make it twice, on account that my first attempt left me with a crust that was too small for my tart pan, and therefore left me with a browned pathetic looking crust (that ended up being a great sweet snack on it's own- while I was rolling out the second attempt!). The recipe for the rum pastry cream, could have contained the very important detail, that was included in my Lemon Custard recipe- make sure the cream sets, before adding topping! I think the '80s Gourmet reader who was the "Pre-food network, Foodie" Generation, probably knew these things already. But even through all of my slight mess ups- this ended up being a spectacular tart. The thin layer of chocolate on the base of the crust was the perfect compliment to the sweetened cranberries. And while the rum cream was a little runnier, and a little less rummier than I would have prefered- it was still a beautiful tart, that tasted good as well.

Incidentally, if anyone remembers when Woodie's in Columbia Mall had a chocolate counter that sold cakes and pies- they used to do a superb strawberry pie that was really strawberry sugar gelatin goop in a pie shell that had a not so thin layer of chocolate on the bottom- just like the cranberry tart. I've never come across this pie since- and it was a favorite of both mine and my grandmother...now that I've perfected the fine layer of chocolate on a crust, and I have some frozen strawberries in the freezer...hmmmm stay tuned for that!

I went back to present day with Gourmet's November 2009 recipe for a Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie. This recipe turned out just to be okay. The cranberries were not cooked with any sugar ahead of time, so they seemed a little too sour in comparison tothe apples. I understand the concept of the balance this pie was looking for but it just didn't seem to make it. The crust was good, but did not offer the crunchies one expects from a homemade pie. All in all, I'm not sure I'd make this recipe again. Sorry the picture is from my blackberry- not the best.

Lastly, I made something savory-for post turkey day lunchtime. This was a Butternut Squash and Apple Galette with Stilton recipe I adapted from a Tasting Table recipe. It was by far the best thing I've had. The crust was easy to make the day before, and the squash you actually cook with the rind left on! Since I made this in the morning before getting in the car and then serving for late afternoon snack- I waited until we were almost ready to serve and then reheated in the oven with a sprinkling of some left over Moncacy Ash Goat cheese from Cherry Glen, - instead of the stilton called for in the recipe and it was perfect. I had leftover filling the next day, which I just sauteed up, and it made an nice elegant sidedish. As you can see by the picture, half of it was gone before I got to it :) (once again pic from blackberry)

This was my Thanksgiving baking- it was a whirlwind as I was recovering from some dental work, and well we all know how crazy the holidays can be....now I'm thinking of inexpensive yet fun holiday cookies.