This year is my third time hosting Thanksgiving. So far I really enjoy it. I like the planning, the preparation, and the cooking. But last year I made something I thought I was going to hate: mushroom and leek stuffing. The thing is, Thanksgiving isn’t about me. It’s about the people around the table and I want to make sure everyone gets something they like. Last year my guests requested stuffing, but I made it, because as my mother taught me – hosting is about making your guests happy and comfortable. I decided since I was making something I didn’t like I would go all out and add mushrooms, which I hate and Ryan loves. So, mushroom and leek stuffing was on the table. Here’s the thing though: it was flipping delicious. 

In general, I am still not a convert to mushrooms or to stuffing, but this recipe is a game changer. All the flavors and textures combine to make something I can eat straight from the pan by the spoonful. You get all the lovely umami flavor from the mushrooms without much of the chewy texture I dislike. You get the perfect mix of crunchy and soft bread bits. Look at that photo above! That crusty bread/leek/mushroom bite is making my mouth water as I write this. Also leeks just have a great flavor.

Once you have you Thanksgiving menu settled, and everyone’s favorites are included, I think the next thing to organize is timing. How will you get everything cooked in time? This is especially important if, like me, you only have one oven. This recipe can be made most of the way through a day or two before, which is super helpful. Then on the day you stir an egg mixture then bake. You can do that in the morning before the turkey gets going or you can do it when the turkey is out of the oven and resting. How sweet is that?

Seriously, for a non-mushroom lover like me this recipe is amazing. I think you might enjoy it too. Plus, it can easily be made vegetarian. I used chicken stock but feel free to use vegetable stock instead. With just one week to go, what will you be eating on turkey day?

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Messy level: Not very messy, although slightly labor intensive, which can lead to mess. You’ll have to cook the mushrooms in batches which can lead to spills. Also you need to do a lot of chopping, cleaning, and mixing. For me, that means sometimes things fly out of the bowl. It’s not hard to do, just takes a little planning.

Mushroom and Leek Stuffing

 

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Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 45 mins

 

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 stick/ 113 grams butter, divided - plus a little more for greasing
• 1 white onion finely chopped
• 1 leek (white & pale green part only) halved lengthwise then thinly slices [be sure to clean leek thoroughly]
• 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
• pepper
• leaves from 8 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1½ pounds/ 680 grams mixed mushrooms cleaned and thinly sliced [I used a mix of button, chestnut and shiitake mushrooms]
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2½ cups / 590 ml chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 1 pound/ 450 grams of rustic bread cut into 1" cubes (makes about 8 cups)
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten

Instructions

1. Before getting started clean and chop your leeks and mushrooms and chop your bread. This is the most time consuming part! Please do it before you get started.
2. If you're going to bake this right away preheat oven to 375°F/190°C and grease a 10x14" casserole dish (or at least one that can hold 2½ quarts) with butter.
3. In a large skillet on medium heat melt 2 tablespoons (28 grams) of butter.
4. Once the butter is melted add the onion, leak, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until everything is softened - about 8 minutes. Stir in thyme leaves and then remove from the pan and set aside.
5. Return pan to the burner and raise the heat to medium-high. Melt 2 more tablespoons (28 grams) of butter.
6. Add half the mushrooms and ½ teaspoon of salt to the pan. Saute for 4 minutes or until slightly softened. Drain off any excess liquid and then add the cooked mushrooms to the set aside onions and leeks.
7. Add 2 more tablespoons (28 grams) butter, and remaining mushrooms and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt to the pan. Cook in the same way, for 4 minutes or until softened. Once done drain off excess liquid and transfer mushrooms to that set aside plate.
8. Return the pan to the burner on medium-high heat and pour in the wine. Bring to a boil and let it bubble until reduced by half.
9. Add in the broth, stir and bring to a simmer.
10. Meanwhile, put your bread cubes in a large heat-safe bowl.
11. Pour the broth mixture over the bread. Mix until evenly absorbed.
12. If you are cooking it now, gently fold in the mushroom mixture, pecans, and beaten eggs. [If you are making this ahead of time and aren't cooking it right away then follow the recipe to this point but DO NOT ADD the eggs. Then, cover the bowl and put in the fridge. When ready to cook, take the bowl out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Stir in the eggs right before you're ready to bake.]
13. Season with a little pepper.
14. Pour the whole thing into your prepared pan.
15. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes.
16. Uncover the dish and dot with remaining 2 tablespoons of butter (28 grams). Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the top is golden and crisp.
17. Let cool slightly before serving

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For most of us our Thanksgiving menus are probably pretty standard. You know, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, lots of pie, and so on. This year will be my third time hosting Thanksgiving and I will be cooking a lot of the same things I did the last two years. The only difference is I make sure to check with new guests to make sure the one thing they love most will be on the table.

But I got to thinking about changing up Thanksgiving menus after listening to the podcast Gravy. This podcast is made by the Southern Foodways Alliance, which tells stories about the American South through food. In the episode called “Coming Out Meatless,” part of the episode was about a young man who became a vegetarian and when he went home for Thanksgiving there was only one dish he could eat. And it got me thinking, what would I cook if I were to make a vegetarian Thanksgiving? What I came up with was squash stuffed with lentils. 

Once while eating at Eataly in New York I had acorn squash stuffed with lentils and it was the best vegetarian meal I have ever had. I don’t remember all the details about this dish, but I still remember the happy satisfied feeling I felt after the meal. And I think that’s what you really want on Thanksgiving. You want everyone at your table to end the meal feeling happy, satisfied, and very full.

This recipe is great for that full feeling because anything stuffed gives a sense of abundance. It’s easy to pile the squash high with the lentil salad – and even better you can have it spilling out of the squash to make the meal look plentiful. I think it’s also a good vegetarian main dish because you have filling proteins from the lentils, a bit of healthy fats and a nice crunch from the pecans, and just a subtle sweetness from the squash and cranberries.

Thanksgiving isn’t just about eating a lot, it’s also about connecting to the people you love. Sure, you could order a cheese pizza for the vegetarian at your table and they’d be full, but I imagine that would make them feel left out. I think this recipe for squash stuffed with lentils is great because it uses some of the same seasonal ingredients (squash and cranberries) and herbs (thyme) that you’ll have elsewhere on the table. Food is a great way to bring people together and this recipe will fit in nicely with whatever else is on your Thanksgiving menu.

The squash I used for this recipe is called a harlequin squash. I think in the US it might be called a carnival squash. I did some research to try to confirm this but I was unable to find any sentence that explicitly said this. However, on US websites about squash the photos that looked like the one above were labeled carnival squash and I couldn’t find anything on a US website called harlequin squash. Is anyone out there a squash expert that could confirm this? If so, please write it in the comments.

Anyway you can also use an acorn squash for this recipe. In fact, use any squash you like but I think acorn or harlequin/carnival are the best because they look like personal sized portions when cut in half. Do what feels right to you and it’ll be delicious.

Anyway I think this recipe is so delicious that even the omnivores at the table will want some. What will be on your Thanksgiving table? Are you trying anything new this year?Write it in the comments. I’d love to know!

Adapted from Lentils.ca

Messy level: Not very messy at all. The biggest challenge is cutting the squash but that’s hardly messy. I think the only danger is spilling the lentils when pouring them into the squash. And that’s not worth worrying about.

Squash stuffed with Lentils

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

Serves: 6 squash halves

Ingredients

• 3 harlequin/carnival or acorn squashes
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup green lentils
• 3 cups vegetable stock (or water, but stock has more flavor)
• 2 garlic cloves
• ¾ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• leaves from 4-6 sprigs thyme
• 1 tablespoon of butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.
2. Cut the top of the squashes off. Cut the squashes in half and scoop out the seeds. Discard the seeds.
3. Cut off a bit of the back of the squash so that it will sit flat on a baking sheet.
4. Place the squash on a baking sheet. Drizzle the squash with olive oil, salt, pepper, and the garlic powder. (You can use more than ½ teaspoon garlic powder if you like!)
5. Roast squash in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until fork tender.
6. Meanwhile, start cooking the lentils. Wash the lentils and pick out any debris you might find.
7. Place the two garlic cloves on your cutting board. Take a chef's knife and put it flat (so the blade is parallel to the cutting board) on top of the garlic cloves. Use the heel of your hand to hit the knife and smash the garlic.
8. In a large sauce pan combine the stock, lentils and crushed garlic. Bring the stock to a boil then cover the pan and lower the heat so the liquid simmers. Cook until lentils are tender, this can take between 20-40 minutes. It's ok to lift the lid from time to time and test the lentils to see if they are soft and tender. Once cooked drain off any excess liquid and scoop out the crushed garlic.
9. In a large bowl mix the lentils, cranberries, pecans, and thyme. Stir in the butter too.
10. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your taste.
11. Once the squash is cooked, spoon the lentil salad into the squash. Fill until slightly overflowing.
12. Serve!

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I was so proud of my turkey! It came out of the oven and I was like, “The turkey is beautiful! Ryan look at the turkey! Look at it! It’s so beautiful! Take a picture of me with the turkey.” This was my first turkey done by me without the aid of a veteran (AKA someone who has done this more than a few times). You know how as you grow up there are lots of little things that make you feel like an adult? Well, cooking Thanksgiving dinner and preparing a really nice turkey made me feel like, “yeah, I got this, I’m an adult.”

Anyway, it was a really lovely evening. Our friends Alessia and Raffaello came over for their first Thanksgiving and they were the best sports. We were feeding them a number of foods they’d never had before and they tried everything. Having guests over meant I got to use these wine glass charms my friend Mala had sent me. They are little monster guys and they hang on to the stem by their mouth. It’s adorable and helps you keep track of your glass. Silly, but cute – see the picture below.

I made stuffing for the first time,and usually I don’t like it. And because I don’t like it, I thought why not lean in, so I put mushrooms in which I really don’t like. But it turned out to be amazingly delicious. I’m semi-converted. I also served cranberry sauce, canned shaped, cut into slices. I bought the can when I was in Raleigh. My family might correct me, but I have no recollection of ever having this kind of cranberry sauce as a kid. But, since the can shape with the lines on the side is an iconic American Thanksgiving image, I had to serve it.

We also all had to share what we were thankful for and we had to make trace our hands (with crayon) and color them in to be turkeys. I had such a blast, I went to bed full, woke up full, and went to work on Friday feeling all warm and fuzzy and aglow with the holiday spirit. Cheesy I know, but true.

Then over the weekend, we decided it was time to embrace Christmas so Ryan and I went to Hamley’s, which is a famous toy store in London. It dates back to 1790!! It was really crowded and felt a lot like going to FAO Schwartz in New York City. There were five floors of toys! They also had stuff on the floor doing demonstrations with the toys. I thought that seemed like a really fun job, until I realized that my job is the same just instead of demonstrating toys I demonstrate science. Ryan was into the the remote controlled cars and planes. I was into the Legos. I also go to toy stores, look at the Lego Star Wars items and sigh and wish they weren’t so expensive. People can do such cool stuff with Legos. Look at these AMAZING statues of the royal family!! Also, just fyi, the Santa and reindeer are all Legos, but they are in Covent Garden, not Hamley’s. We left Hamley’s with a present for Boden and a small toy for me and Ryan.

We then went over to Covent Garden to check out their Christmas scene. They had a nice big tree, a big silver reindeer, and some lights. I didn’t take a picture, but they also have ENORMOUS Christmas bulbs hanging from the ceiling. They are really impressive in size. It was a beautiful afternoon and I really nice way to kick-off the Christmas season. I even talked Ryan into stopping at Costa Coffee for a few holiday drinks. What could be better? Nothing, that’s what.

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Warning: This post is a little sappy.

This recipe for cinnamon glazed sweet potatoes, simply called “yams” in my family, is one of my Mom’s signature holiday recipes. For Thanksgiving and Christmas, you can always count on my mom to make an apple pie and this recipe. Sure, she can makes other things too, but those are staples. It’s a really nice dish. It’s sweet, and a lovely hybrid between baked and mashed potatoes. But, to be honest, it’s not my favorite Thanksgiving food, but it is my brother’s favorite. Eric’s Thanksgiving plate is usually 50% baked ham and 50% yams. He loves this stuff. And so today’s post is dedicated to him.

I’ve been thinking about Eric a bunch recently. It started at work the other day. I was playing on a piano thing with a little boy and his mom. All of a sudden, this slightly taller little girl (who turned out to be his sister) ran up to him, semi-violently grabbed his face, kissed him on the cheek, then ran away. Mom was very touched. I thought it was hilarious. And the boy was completely unfazed. It was that somewhat violent and tender moment that made me think of Eric.

See, he doesn’t mind if I squash him

It made me think of Eric because although he has been bigger and stronger than me for over ten years, he still lets me be the big dog. He lets me poke him, tickle him, squash him, tease him, and put my cold hands on his neck – and he is unbothered by all of it. Like that little boy, Eric accepts all my pestering and understands that it is meant to show affection. I’m lucky that Eric and I get along so well. We have a really similar sense of humor, sometimes he says exactly what I’m thinking, and of course he lets me pretend I’m the dominant sibling.

I’m excited about Thanksgiving in London, but I’ll miss my family and Eric most of all (sorry guys). So, even though this recipe isn’t my favorite it will be part of our Thanksgiving meal so my brother can be with me in spirit.

Messy level: Two spoons. This is really straightforward in terms of prep – peel and cut sweet potatoes, make some glaze, pour on potatoes, bake. Easy and not messy.

Cinnamon Glazed Sweet Potatoes

 

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Cook time

2 hours 30 mins

Total time

2 hours 30 mins

 

Author: My Mom

Ingredients

• 6-8 medium sweet potatoes
• 4 oz butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375°F/190°C.
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into circles that are 1.5-2" thick.
3. Place prepared sweet potatoes in a large tray - like a 9x13" pan with sides would be good.
4. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
5. Once the butter is melted, add in the water, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
6. Stir until sugar is dissolved, everything is well mixed. Heat until just about boiling.
7. Taste. Add more cinnamon or nutmeg if you like.
8. Pour the glaze over your prepared sweet potatoes.
9. Cover with aluminium foil and bake in the oven for 2 hours, or until soft and can be easily pierced with a fork. Every 45-60 minutes, gently turn the potatoes and spoon sauce over them. Don't be too aggressive here or you'll turn this into mashed sweet potatoes.
10. Once the potatoes are soft remove the aluminium foil. Place back in the oven for 30-45 minutes more. It is ready when the liquid has begun to thicken and evaporate, and the potatoes are nicely coated.
11. Serve and spoon a little glaze from the pan over it before eating!

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I have been thinking about making pumpkin pie and bringing it to work. I like bringing food into work because I love to bake and sharing what I make means Ryan and I won’t gorge too much on sweets. But one of the things I like best about living here (and travel in general) is trying and sharing new foods.

Since starting work, I have tried various kinds of cookies (biscuits, if I want to be proper about it) and a mince pie, which is a sweet pie that Santa gets when he comes with presents. I’ve brought in s’mores flavored candy corn – and practically no one had ever had candy corn or a s’more. And to digress for a second, it seems sad to me that s’mores aren’t a thing here. I think I should start a food truck that makes s’mores with different chocolates, different graham crackers, and maybe add-ins like nutella and bananas. Sounds delicious right? If you still don’t know what a s’more is, read about it here.

But back to pumpkin pie. From what I can tell, pumpkin pie isn’t really popular here. This is evidenced by the fact that nothing in the grocery store is pumpkin flavored whereas in the US everything is pumpkin flavored this time of year. Also, I introduced pumpkin pie to two people here, with, what I think was, great success. Recently Ryan and I were invited to an Italian lunch at our friends Alessia and Raffaello’s flat. Alessia made an amazing pasta, a meat dish, a cheese plate, potatoes, tomatoes and finished with esperesso. It was a delicious feast and Ryan and I loved trying some new Italian foods. For dessert, I brought a pumpkin cream cheese pie and it was the first time they had something like it. So I thought, maybe I should introduce more people to pumpkin pie and thereby become an ambassador for American sweets. And doesn’t that sound like an awesome job? Ambassador for American Sweets in the UK. I like it.

Writing all of this, it’s clear to me that I over think pie. And maybe in general, think about pie too much (if that’s possible). But, for perfect shareability, I thought making pumpkin pie bars would be the best way to go. Bars mean more pieces, no need for plates or utensils, and you can have as big or small a slice as you like – the perfect solution for sharing with a bunch of colleagues. I also decided to add a little richness by adding a sprinkling of chocolate chips at the top. I like pumpkin and chocolate, I think it’s nice but you can certainly leave them off. Next time I make these, I’m going to melt the chocolate and create some sort of marble swirl design on the top.

So, this batch was just for me and Ryan. But around Thanksgiving, I intend to bring these pumpkin pie bars to work and share some of my holiday traditions with the Brits. And I bet whoever your coworkers are, they’ll appreciate some pumpkin pie in the break room.

 Crust is adapted from a recipe by Sally’s Baking Addition and the pie filling is based on a recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

Messy level: This is actually a one spoon recipe because I bashed the graham crackers using a plastic bag and rolling pin. That means, in the end I only used one dish, one whisk, and a few measuring cups to make this whole recipe. Easy peasy! I also think because we’re making bars, the crumbs for the crust stay contained and don’t fall as easily as they do when making a regular pie.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Serves: 12

Ingredients

Crust

• 1¼ cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (Crush cookies in a processor or using a plastic bag and rolling pin)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, melted

Pie Filling

• 1 large egg
• 1 egg white
• 1¼ cups pumpkin puree (it's about ¾ of a standard 15oz can)
• ¼ cup (50g) sugar
• ¼ cup (50g) brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon all spice
• sprinkle nutmeg
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1-2 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325/165°.
2. Mix the cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter together in a medium bowl until combined.
3. Press into the bottom of an 8x8 square pan.
4. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
5. When the crust is done, turn the oven up to 425/220°.
6. To make the filling, lightly beat the egg and egg white in large bowl. Then whisk in the pumpkin, sugars, cinnamon, ginger, all spice, and nutmeg.
7. Slowly whisk in the cream to the pumpkin mixture.
8. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the prepared gingersnap crust.
9. Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips, if using.
10. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 350/180° and cook for another 20 minutes. The pie is ready when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

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It’s November, which means I’m already thinking about what Ryan and I will be making for Thanksgiving dinner. Weeks ago while at the pub with our Italian friends, Alessia and Raffaello, we invited them over to have Thanksgiving with us. I’m totally excited to have them over, introduce them to new foods and share our traditions with them. And I think they’re excited too. But the truth is I’m nervous. Making Thanksgiving dinner can be a little nerve-racking anyway because I want it to go well, but the pressure is increased because I want to impress our guests who have never had this meal before.

So I decided to practice. I’ve made a turkey twice before. The first time in 2011 under the tutelage of my Uncle Willie. I did most of the work, but he was telling me what to do as we went. The second turkey was in 2012. I did all the prep myself but my mother-in-law Susan was there during the cooking to add her experience and moral support. This time it is all me. I went to the grocery store to get my practice turkey, and they didn’t have any. Sigh.

As a stand in, I bought a whole chicken. I know it’s not totally the same, but it’s not totally different. Also I’ve only roasted a chicken once so I figured this is an important skill to cultivate. [Side note: In the US, I never roasted a whole chicken because I always bought whole chicken parts. That packaging doesn’t seem to be a thing here. I can buy all the various parts separately, but I can’t buy a package that has breasts, thighs, wings etc all in one.]

Stocked up with herbs, butter, vegetables, and a chicken, I was ready to roast. I found the preparation process really fun because everything smelled so good. This recipe is adapted from one I found on the Pioneer Woman Cooks‘ website. I used sage, rosemary, and thyme for the herbs. It all smells so good! I love that rosemary makes me think of Christmas and that thyme smells herbal and a bit floral. I’ve never used sage before, but I liked the thicker texture and its subtle pine smell. I ended up making more herb butter than I needed, but it’s a learning process right?

Basically, I chopped up a bunch of herbs and mixed them with butter. I then used my hands to slather the chicken with herb butter. I put a ton all over the outside. For extra flavor, I even got in between the skin and the meat and added more herb butter. There’s a picture below. It’s not beautiful, but I wanted you to know that you should just go crazy with the seasoning. I also stuffed the chicken with some garlic, veggies, and a lemon to add flavor.

In the end, this chicken came out so flipping good. I mean SO GOOD. I started making it and then while it was in the oven Ryan left to go to the Arsenal match. The apartment started to smell really good and the chicken started to brown. Some of the herbs turned crunchy and too dark, but I just scraped them off at the end. Once the chicken was done I took it out and photographed it for the blog. And then I dug in. I dug in hard. The first bite was a moist explosion of delicious chicken flavor, followed by herbal hints, and finished with a salty crunchy bite of skin. I was alone, but I thought, “damn this is good.” It was so good I ate half the chicken myself (and I may or may not have been standing up over the counter eating directly from the roasting pan).

When Ryan got home he pulled out the chicken from the fridge and ate a bite. He turned around and gave me an “oh yeah this is delicious,” face. He also explicitly said the same thing. And then he ate the other half of the chicken. That should be a ringing endorsement. This chicken is so good that two people can eat a whole chicken in one sitting without any need for sides, plates, drinks, or normal meal-time behavior.

Messy level: Not so messy dish-wise, but very messy on your hands. Slathering your hands with butter then massaging a chicken isn’t clean. Still, I’ll give it two spoons.

Herb Roasted Chicken

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs sage
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp pepper
• 4 tbsp butter
• ½ lemon
• ½ onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 large carrot
• 4 garlic cloves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450/230°.
2. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and place it into a roasting pan.
3. Remove the herbs from their stems. Chop the herbs finely and mix them up.
4. Measure out about 2 tbsp of chopped herbs. (If you have more you can use more). Put the herbs in a small bowl. Add in the salt, garlic powder, and pepper.
5. Add the butter to the herbs and spices. Use your hands to mix everything all together so that you create an herb butter. Set aside for now.
6. Roughly chop up the onion, celery, and carrots. These are just for smell and flavor, so if you're not going to eat them they don't have to look beautiful.
7. Crush the garlic cloves. To do this, put the flat of your knife over the clove, then press down with the palm of your hand until you feel the garlic break and flatten.
8. Squeeze the juice of the ½ lemon into the cavity of the chicken. Stuff the chicken with the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and onion. Again, doesn't have to be pretty and it may not all fit.
9. Using your hands, rubs the herb butter all over the chicken. Be generous but you don't have to worry about how it looks. You may not need all the butter.
10. For added flavor and moisture, gently butter in between the skin and the meat. (You can get in there at the top of the cavity)
11. Cook in the oven for 1 hour, or until an inserted thermometer reaches 160/71°.
12. Let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes. If you cut it too soon all the juices fall out! Be patient!
13. For the sake of presentation, flick off any herbs that have gotten too dark and crispy.
14. Carve it and serve.

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But England does not celebrate pumpkin everything like the U.S. I can’t find pumpkin spice in the grocery store so I make my own instead. A few weeks ago I had a craving for a pumpkin spice latte. Ryan and I decided to trek over to Starbucks to find out if it had arrived. Mind you, in the U.S. you’d never have to guess because every Starbucks window would be plastered with orange writing and pumpkin pictures. On the way to Starbucks we passed at least four proper coffee shops and a few other places that also sold coffee, but my heart was set on a PSL. We got there, and we were nervous, but they had it! It was advertised with only one small picture and a line item on the menu. How are the people of England supposed to know about pumpkin mania with such little advertising?

To get my true pumpkin fix, I hit the kitchen. I found this recipe for a pumpkin swiss roll on Pinterest and I was excited, but nervous to try it out. To make the beautiful swirl you have to bake then roll up a cake. Roll up a cake?! What if I break it? The key is, as soon as it comes out of the oven, you roll up the cake (without the filling) while it is hot. The cake won’t be so hot as to burn you, but I recommend using gloves or an oven mitt to make it easier. Then, wait for the cake to  be completely cool. It’s hard to be patient (and Ryan and I weren’t entirely patient), but if the cake is hot it will melt your filling and you don’t want that.

This cake is a great treat for any old day, but I also think it can be pretty enough to bring to a party or to your Thanksgiving feasts. The swirl of cream cheese looks just beautiful when cut. And you might not believe me, but this is actually easy to make. Any level of baker can make this recipe, I know it. Most importantly, this roll is incredible delicious. Ryan and I ate this whole roll in about two and a half days and have been talking about making another one ever since. As you can see, we still haven’t gotten our pumpkin fix yet.

I hope you enjoy the new recipe format below. I like this a lot because it looks more streamlined and easy to read. If you like to print recipes, you can finally do that. If you bring your computer into the kitchen, like I do, then you don’t have to scroll as much and won’t get dirty fingers on the keyboard. The only drawback is that I can’t post pictures alongside the steps, but for difficult or strange techniques I’ll still post those pictures above the recipe.

Now enough talk. Get your pumpkin on! Recipe by Sweet Anna’s.

Messy level: This is a three spoon recipe, but just barely. I’m giving it three spoons because you need two bowls for the cake, one for the frosting, and then you still have to sprinkle powdered sugar everywhere. Also, if you over fill the inside you’ll have a cream cheese burst (like I did) at the end of the cake.

Pumpkin Rolls with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling

 

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Ingredients

• for the cake:
• ¼ cup powdered sugar (for dusting the towel)
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅔ cup pumpkin purée
• for the filling:
• 8oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 6 tbsp butter, softened (if you don't let it soften you will have butter chunks in your filling)
• 1½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375º/190º.
2. Line a 10x15" jelly roll pan with parchment paper. (a pan with edges all around, you have to have this pan) Then grease the parchment paper.
3. Somewhere on your counter, spread out a clean kitchen towel or piece of parchment paper, and sprinkle that with powdered sugar.
4. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice & salt.
5. In a large bowl, beat eggs, vanilla & sugar until thick & creamy.
6. Add in the pumpkin and mix to combine.
7. Stir in the flour mixture.
8. Pour the batter onto the prepared pan. Spread the batter evenly.
9. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when touched. Stay on the side of slightly under cooked, if you over cook it then cake will be too dry and won't roll.
10. Immediately loosen the edges of the cake and turn it out onto the sugared towel/parchment. Peel off the parchment paper.
11. Roll up the cake & towel together fairly tightly, starting with a narrow end.
12. Cool completely on a wire rack.
13. Now start on the filling. In another medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter & vanilla until smooth.
14. Carefully unroll the cooled cake (removing the towel) and spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the cake, coming to about 1″ away from the edges. If you go all the way to the edge, you will have filling oozing out the end.
15. Carefully reroll the cake, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.
16. Before serving cut a little slice off of each end so the roll has a smooth look. Then dust the top with powdered sugar.

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The post Pumpkin Rolls with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

[Note: some photos and recipe formatting updated in October 2016]

This apple pie is my favorite dish during the holidays. I will eat this pie for dessert, breakfast the next day, and then again for lunch if there’s any left. I want to make sure I get as much of it as possible so that when the slices run out, I have no regrets. I am jealously possessive of this pie in a way that goes against the holiday spirit.

When I was a kid, my mom would make an apple pie for me and a pumpkin pie for my brother. Dessert time would come around and she would ask, “what do you want?” Sometimes, Eric said apple and I would boil with rage. That was my pie and he was doing this on purpose to infuriate me because he knew I wasn’t going to eat his pumpkin pie. I have no evidence to prove this is true, but it’s how I felt at the time.

I love this pie so much, that in college my mom would make one pie for the holiday meal and one pie for me to take back to my dorm.

Last year, we hosted Thanksgiving for Ryan’s family and I just had to make this pie. It would not be Thanksgiving otherwise. I had helped my mom make this pie before, but usually I just mixed the apples and sugar. Then, I’d eat the apple slices until she told me to stop. Last year was my first year doing it by myself. So the week before, my mom helped me make the crust. The day before, Ryan and I had an apple coring-peeling, slicing sweatshop where we produced a giant mountain of apple slices. All was going well…until it wasn’t.

2012 Thanksgiving pie that I burnt (this is before I tried to fix it)

I made the rookie mistake of not checking on the pie. When I finally took it out of the oven, the crust was a little bit burnt. I was hysterical and inconsolable.

“I’ve ruined dessert!” I cried to Ryan.

No he assured me, I hadn’t. The pie would still be good (and it was). And even if it wasn’t, Ryan’s mom brought a pumpkin pie and I had made cupcakes, so there was still plenty for dessert. But even so, I was disappointed that I’d burnt my pie. So I called my mom to whine some more.

“Mom! I’ve ruined dessert!” I moaned, while Ryan stood nearby shaking his head.

She was sympathetic and then came up with the brilliant idea of scraping off the burnt part, adding new crumbs, and then when I reheated it the new crumbs would cook to the perfect brown. I wasn’t able to remove all of the dark spots, but her scrape and re-apply method really worked out (so keep that in mind if yours gets too dark).

My mom’s well loved, ripped, and beat-up cookbook

Anyway, Thanksgiving arrived and the pie was devoured. I felt pleased with myself not only for making the pie, but being adult enough to share it with others.

This year, I’ll be eating my mom’s pie. But I made my own a few days early so I could be sure get enough (and so not have to share too much).

This recipe is adapted from my mom’s recipe, which is adapted from the oldest and most beat-up Betty Crocker cookbook. That book is so old, I have no recollection of the cover ever being attached to it.

[Update: Hi all! I’ve added the easier to read and print format of the recipe below. Keep scrolling if you want to see the original writing with step by step photos.]

Apple Pie with a Crumb Top

 

Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Author: Cooking is Messy

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

Pie crust

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup+ 1 tablespoon shortening (or butter, or ⅓ cup lard)
• cup of cold water (you won’t need it all)

Apple filling

• 8 medium sized apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (Gala or McIntosh are recommended)
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Crumb topping

• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 stick cold butter

Instructions

1. Put a small cup of water in the freezer.
2. Start with the pie crust! In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt.
3. Cut the shortening into the flour until you have what looks like pieces the size of small peas. To do this, use 2 butter knives and cut through using an "x" motion or use a dough blender.
4. Take the water out of the freezer. Add 1 tablespoon to the flour. Mix it into the flour with a fork. Keep adding 1 tablespoon and mixing with a fork until a dough forms and it isn’t sticking to the side of the bowl. For me this can sometimes be up to 5 tablespoons.
5. Gather the dough into a ball and put it on a well-floured counter. Roll out the dough until it’s about 2″ larger than the size of a 9" pie plate.
6. To get the crust in the pan, I find it easiest to fold the dough into quarters and place it into your pie plate. Gently unfold the crust and press it into place on the pie pan.
7. Gently pull off dough that is overhanging the edge of the pie pan. If you’re feeling fancy, roll the excess crust into snakes, put it on the crust on the rim of the pie plate, and them crimp it to make a pretty edge.
8. Put the crust in the fridge while you work on your filling.
9. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C.
10. If you haven't already peel, core, and cut your apples into thin half-moon sized slices.
11. In a large bowl mix the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the cut apples into this mix and stir it all together. Snack on a few apples, it's worth it.
12. Take the pie crust out of the fridge, put in the apple filling that you just made.
13. Now for the crumb topping! In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of flour and ½ cup of brown sugar. Cut in 1 stick of cold butter (just like you did earlier with the shortening). You should have some big peas and some little pea sizes. Sprinkle this generously over the top of your pie filling.
14. Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet. This is important for two reasons. 1. It makes it easier to take in and out of the oven. And 2, it will catch any juices that drip out of the pie and so your oven won't fill with burning sugar smoke.
15. Put the pie in the oven for about 30-35 minutes.
16. Cover the pie with tin foil. This is to keep the exterior color golden brown while the interior continues to bake.
17. Cook for 15-20 more minutes (so a total of 45-50 minutes). The pie is done when you can easily stick a knife through the pie and it meets little resistance from the apples.
18. Let cool then serve!

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Pie Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup+ 1 tbsp shortening (or butter, or 1/3 cup lard)

cup of cold water (you won’t need it all)

Filling:

8 medium sized apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (I used a mix of Gala, Fuji and Cameo)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Crumb topping:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 stick cold butter

Directions:

1. Put a small cup of water in the freezer.

2. We’re making the pie crust first. In a large bowl, mix the 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp salt.

3. Cut the shortening into the flour until you have what looks like pieces the size of small peas. (Cut the shortening/lard/butter using 2 butter knives or with a dough blender)

4. Take the water out of the freezer. Add 1 tbsp to the flour. Mix it into the flour with a fork. Keep adding 1 tbsp and mixing with a fork until a dough forms and it isn’t sticking to the side of the bowl. For me this was almost 5 tbsp, but the recipe book says it should be 2-3 tbsp.

5. Gather the dough into a ball and put it on a well-floured counter. Roll out the dough until it’s about 2″ larger than the size of your pie plate.

6. To get the crust in the pan, I find it easiest to fold the dough into quarters and place it into your pie plate. Gently unfold the crust and press it into place on the pie pan.

7. Gently pull off dough that is overhanging the edge of the pie pan. If you’re feeling fancy, roll the excess crust into snakes, put it on the crust on the rim of the pie plate, and them crimp it to make a pretty edge. I used a spoon and pinched a little point to make it look pretty.

8. Put the crust in the fridge while you work on your filling. Now preheat the oven to 425°.

9. Peel, core, and cut your apples. This year instead of an apple-prep sweat shop, I used what I call an “apple crank.” It does all three jobs in one, all you have to do is turn the handle and it pushes the apple through the corer, peeler, and slicer. I think it’s awesome, and I felt like it made good slices. After cranking, I cut the apple in half so I had half-moon slices. This is a divergence from my mom, who likes her slices even thinner, so she cuts the apples by hand.

10. In a large bowl mix the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Mix that with your cut apples. Mix until everything is coated. This is MY FAVORITE PART. I love eating the apple slices, so be sure to save yourself a few to snack on.

11. Take the pie crust out of the fridge, put in the apple filling that you just made.

12. Now for the crumb topping! In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Cut in 1 stick of cold butter. You should have some big peas and some little pea sizes. Sprinkle this generously over the top of your pie filling.

13. Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet. It makes it easier to take in and out of the oven. Then, put the pie in the oven for about 30-35 minutes. If at this point it is your desired golden brown, put a tin foil cover gently over your pie.

14. Cook for 15-20 more minutes (so a total of 45-50 minutes). The pie is done when you can easily stick a knife through the pie and it meets little resistance from the apples.

15. Serve with vanilla ice cream!

Messy level: This is pretty messy because there are so many steps. The crust can stick to the counter and tear which can be mess number one. I feel like the apple-crank really keeps the mess down when making the filling because it makes preparing the apples most efficient. Still, the sink was filled with ribbons of apple peel. And finally, a crumb top is just asking for me to drop things everywhere. However, it’s worth it. It makes the kitchen smell and feel festive.

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Now, some of you might be saying, “Mariel are you crazy?! I love canned cranberry sauce and it is a Thanksgiving staple.” And I hear you. Canned cranberry sauces is sweet, predictable, and tastes pretty good. But let me give you four reasons to consider making it yourself.

1. It’s super easy to make. With this recipe, even the most inexperienced cook can bring something delicious to the holiday table. And it stores well too, so you can make it days ahead of time.

2. The numbers don’t lie. This recipe is both inexpensive and makes a lot. One bag of fresh cranberries about $2 and a can is about $1.50. And, one 12oz bag of fresh cranberries will make about 2.5 cups of sauce (about 20 oz), while a can is usually 14oz. You’re getting up to 6 oz more of cranberry goodness for just 50¢.

3. Three ingredients. All pronounceable, all familiar.

4. The “awe factor.” You’ll bring it to your holiday feast and people will be all, “wow you made that,” and they don’t have to know that it took you less than 15 minutes. Making your own cranberry sauce, you can feel proud that you stepped Thanksgiving up a notch. BOOM.

Seriously, I love this recipe. I made it on Sunday and have just been eating it straight from the bowl with a spoon. I take it to work as a lunchtime side dish. Ryan has has about 2 spoonfuls and I’ve probably eaten the rest.  I like to think this is how I’m getting my daily servings of fruit.

But, if you still absolutely need your can, and you think this is the most ridiculous, blasphemous post ever – please stick with me just a bit longer. At the bottom of the recipe I have a few variations that might satisfy those of you who prefer smooth and canned cranberry sauce.

Adapted from how my mom told me to make this (and also the back of the Ocean Spray bag)

Ingredients:

1 cup of water

1 cup of sugar

1 12oz bag of fresh (or frozen) cranberries

Directions:

1. Rinse cranberries.

I used frozen berries

2. Put the water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat on high and bring it to a boil. As that water is heating up, I stir occasionally to help the sugar dissolve.

3. Once the water is boiling, add the cranberries. When the water has come back to a roiling boil, then lower the heat to medium-low.

4. Simmer the cranberries for 10 minutes, or until the water becomes thick and red. This simmering part is THE BEST. The cranberries hiss, sizzle, and pop open. Their skins burst and their sweet-tart juice ooze out.

5. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Store in the refrigerator. The sauce will thicken a bit more as it cools.

Variation #1 – For a citrus twist on an old favorite add up to 1/2 cup of orange juice in with the water and sugar. Follow the directions as above. At the end, stir in zest from 1 orange.

Variation #2 – Prefer smooth sauce? Follow the recipe above. Once it’s cool enough to touch, pour the sauce into a fine mesh sieve or colander. Place that over a bowl. Using a metal spoon or your hands, press the sauce through the sieve. Keep pressing until all that’s left in your sieve are the seeds and skins. In your bowl you’ll have smooth sauce.

Variation #3 – Absolutely need the can shape? Find how you can do it here, from Food 52.

Messy Level – Just one spoon. The only time I made a mess was when I’d sneak the container out from the fridge and then eat giant spoonfuls over the counter. There was spilling. It was delicious, so I couldn’t be neat as I scarfed it down.

The post Whole Cranberry Sauce appeared first on Cooking is Messy.