Thanksgiving Sneak Peak...

   Our first major holiday as hosts is just around the corner.  Luckily we will have a lot of help preparing a Thanksgiving feast for both my family and Arnauld's.  Arnauld's mom is making the turkey and some veggies.  My mom is making stuffing and pumpkin pie.  

Below are a few recipes that are on my list for the big day.

I wasn't even planning to have cranberry sauce, the thought of that stuff in a can grosses me out. But a conversation at lunch on Friday made me change my mind.  One of my friends at work shared her recipe for fresh cranberry sauce so I'm going to give it a shot. 

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

Fresh cranberries
Navel oranges
Honey

Method
 Put all of the ingredients in the food processor and blend.  It's that easy.  Apparently it comes out kind of crunchy and tart.  You can sweeten to your liking with the honey.   I'm excited to try it!


This next recipe comes from my Real Simple magazine.


Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Parmesan 

Serves 8| Hands-On Time: 15m | Total Time: 1hr 10m

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the baking dish
• 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1⁄4-inch-thick rounds
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Oil a shallow 2 ½- to 3-quart baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the Parmesan, 2 tablespoons of the oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper; transfer to the prepared baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake until tender, 45 to 50 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the pecans, sugar, thyme, cayenne, the remaining tablespoon of oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper.
4. Remove the foil from the baking dish, sprinkle the pecan mixture over the potatoes, and continue to bake, uncovered, until the pecans are toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. 

This last recipe for warm apple buttermilk custard pie comes from my Cooking Light book.  I made it last year and Arnauld requested it again this year.

Warm Apple Buttermilk Custard Pie

Ingredients:

• 0.5 (15 ounce) package pie dough

Streusel

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Filling

• 5 cups sliced peeled granny smith apples (about 2 pounds)
• 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups fat-free buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Prep Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 1 hr

1. Preheat oven to 325º.
2. To prepare crust, roll dough into a 14-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch deepdish pie plate coated with cookig spray. Fold edges under; flute. Place pie plate in refrigerator until ready to use.
3. To prepare streusel, lightly spoon 1/3 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 1/3 cup flour, brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Place streusel in refrigerator.
4. To prepare the filling, heat a large nonstrick skillet coated with cookig spray over medium heat. Add sliced apple, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; cook 10 minutes or until the apple is tender, sitrring mixture occasionally. Spoon the apple mixture into prepared crust.
5. Combine remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, salt, and eggs, stirring with a whisk. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. Pour over apple mixture. Bake at 325º for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300º (do not remove pie from oven); sprinkle streusel over pie. Bake at 300º for 40 minutes or until set. Let stand 1 hour before serving.

Here is something else that I thought was a great planning tool for a big undertaking like Thanksgiving...especially if you are a novice like me!  I use a planner made by momAgenda.  I find it to be a great way to stay organized.  If you are a nerd like me, a good planner is important.  I was talking to someone at work just this week about how I can stand in Barnes and Noble or Staples for a really long time contemplating just the right planner or notebook.  So I get periodic emails from momAgenda and they have a free template for planning Thanksgiving dinner.  I haven't actually used it, although I did print it out.  There are other free printables available to help keep you organized.  Here it is in case anyone is interested!

Thanksgiving Planner



Stay tuned for pictures of the finished products and reviews!