Thanksgiving - Desserts

Chocolate torte in the front, chocolate molten cake on the right, and pumpkin pie in the back.

The icing on the cake, as it were. We usually have at least three desserts because we can never decide what to have so we just make them all. These are what we had this year. Plus, there's a bonus leftover recipe at the end of this blog.

Remember I made this for the dinner party? I doubled this because I knew we’d want these at Thanksgiving. The instructions and pictures are in the Dinner Party blog, but I’ll copy the recipe here.

Chocolate-Chile Molten Cake
Cooking spray
½ cup sugar, divided   

5 ½ ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate (such as Ghirardelli), chopped or chips
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons butter, softened
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Optional: 1 tbs. finely chopped canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (or ½ tsp. chipotle powder)
3 eggs
¼ tsp. salt
3 tbs. cornmeal
2 tbs. all-purpose flour
2 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, cocoa nibs, cocoa, or raspberries or other fresh fruit for garnish

Spray six 1-cup ramekins with cooking spray. Coat each with 1 teaspoon sugar. 

Place chocolates in a double boiler set over barely simmering hot water. Stir occasionally until chocolates melt. Remove from heat. Or microwave until just before the chocolate is melted. 

Beat butter and sugar together with a mixer until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and chopped chipotle; the mixture may separate slightly. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping bowl and beating 1 minute between additions.  

Add chocolate and beat 5 minutes. (Batter will be thick.)

Combine salt, cornmeal, flour and cocoa; sift over batter and stir.

Divide batter among ramekins. Don’t worry about smoothing out the tops. Cover each tightly with plastic wrap and freeze at least 4 hours. 

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake frozen cakes 10 minutes. (Tops will smooth out.)

Let stand 5 minutes. Invert onto serving plates. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

  

PUMPKIN PIE REVISITED

I knew that Ree Drummond had done a piecrust tutorial on her website, so I checked it out. And I learned a lot! Yep, this is the way to go. This pie crust is the best I've ever tasted. No chemical aftertaste, flaky, tender – wow! For the complete instructions and explanations, go to Ree Drummond's website (on the right) and check out her pie tutorial. For a nine inch, two crust pie:

PIE CRUST

2 ½ cups all purpose or pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon sugar (for a fruit pie. Omit sugar for a savory pie.)
¾ cup cold butter, cut into chunks
¼ cup cold leaf lard, cut into chunks (I didn’t have leaf lard. I didn’t even have lard, so I used ¼ c. Crisco)
¼ cup cold water 

Mix the 2 cups of the flour, salt and sugar together lightly in a mixing bowl or in the bowl of a food processor.

Add the butter and lard chunks and cut into the flour using a pastry cutter or by pulsing the food processor. The mixture should look like large crumbs and begin to cling together in clumps. Add the remaining ½ cup of flour and mix lightly or pulse the processor two or three times.

Do not over mix this flour. It should coat the clumps. 

Sprinkle the water over the dough and with hands or a wooden spoon mix in until dough holds together.

Shape the dough into two discs or one large and one small. At this point, I froze the dough. When I got it out of the freezer, it had to sit for about 30-45 minutes to thaw a bit.  

Using two sheets of parchment paper that is at least twelve inches square each, place a disc of dough between them. (If the dough is sticky for any reason, don’t worry. Just sprinkle some flour on the parchment to get started. You shouldn’t have to add much and it will stop sticking.) Starting at the center roll the pin out to the edge. Turn the dough and parchment as necessary and continue rolling, always from the center to the outer edge. The goal is to have a circle shape that will be just slightly larger than the pie dish. After a couple rolls, lift the parchment paper away from the dough to loosen and replace the parchment. Flip the whole thing and loosen the other paper sheet. Continue rolling until the dough is about eleven inches in diameter for a nine inch pie dish.

Work a bit quickly so that the dough doesn’t get too warm.
 

When the dough circle is the desired size (hover the pie pan over the dough to check if the dough circle is large enough) loosen both sheets of parchment by lifting them away and then replacing them on the dough. Keep one sheet of paper on the dough and use it to lift the dough and flip it into the pie dish. Take care to center the dough in the dish. Remove the paper.

 

To form the edge, I leave about an inch over hang (keep the trimmings for a pie crust cookie!). I turn it under and push the edge to a rim.

Then I crimp the edge with my fingers.

Not pretty, but who cares when the pumpkin and topping are in it?

For the pie itself, all the pictures are on my blog on baking with pumpkin. This is still the best pumpkin pie ever.

PUMPKIN PIE

2 eggs slightly beaten   

2 c. pumpkin        

3/4 c. sugar         

½ tsp. salt             

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 tsp. cinnamon         

½ tsp. ginger

¼ tsp. cloves

¼ tsp. nutmeg

OR

2-3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 pie shell (bake at 425° for 10 minutes before adding filling. Remember the trick with the beans?) 

Mix spices with sugar.

Add all ingredients. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes then 350° for 30 minutes. Sprinkle on topping. Bake 15 minutes. Cool. This makes lots of filling - make in a deep dish pie plate.

Optional (although it’s not really) - top with:

¼ c. (½ stick) butter

½ c. flour

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

½ c. chopped pecans or walnuts

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients;

cut in butter and vanilla.

Sprinkle on pie last 15 minutes of baking.

I hope you can see how flaky the crust is.

Jenny made this and it was wonderful. Fabulous. Delicious. Chocolatey.

Double Chocolate Torte

Bon Appétit | December 2000

***Note: I used silken tofu and dark chocolate. Next time I would make it the day before – it took that long to set.

Or I would serve it separate from the brownie base, and just dollop the mousse like whipped cream. 

Cake:

8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

5 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan; dust with sugar.

Melt chocolate and butter in heavy large saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.

Cool to lukewarm. Whisk in sugar. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in vanilla and salt, then flour.

Pour batter into pan.

Bake until cake just rises in center (tester inserted into center will not come out clean), about 35 minutes.

Cool completely in pan on rack. Cover; chill while making mousse.

Mousse:

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

1 (12.3-ounce) package reduced-fat extra-firm tofu

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Fat-free whipped topping, thawed (optional)

Grated chocolate (optional)

2 cups fresh raspberries

Place chocolate and tofu in a food processor or blender, and process 2 minutes or until smooth.

Place salt and egg whites in a medium bowl, and beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until candy thermometer registers 238°.

Pour the hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beating at high speed.

Gently stir one-fourth of meringue into the tofu mixture;

gently fold in remaining meringue. Spoon mousse over cake.

Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Garnish with whipped topping, raspberries and grated chocolate, if desired.

 

Bonus:

This is NOT a dessert, but Jenny used up some of the leftover Thanksgiving stuffing the next day by making:

Stuffing Frittata

· 

Cooking spray

· 

2 to 3 cups leftover stuffing (Note from Jenny: I reduced the stuffing, and added some whole wheat bread, so you could substitute any leftover bread for the stuffing.)

· 

1 cup shredded Cheddar (regular or reduced-fat)

· 

6 large eggs

2 large egg whites (Jenny says she didn’t use these)

· 

3/4 cup milk

½ teaspoon mustard powder

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves 

Preheat broiler.

Coat an ovenproof nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Put stuffing in the bottom of pan to warm and stir to break up a little. Sprinkle cheese over top.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, milk, mustard powder, and nutmeg. Pour mixture over stuffing and cheese to cover stuffing. Sprinkle Parmesan over top. Cook on stovetop over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to the broiler and broil for about 2 minutes, until egg is cooked through and cheese is golden and bubbly.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. Serve with sliced tomatoes. Sounds delicious!

So, Happy Thanksgiving! even though it's after the fact. I hope yours was wonderful! I am indeed grateful for all my blessings.

Baking with Pumpkin and Squash

 We love things baked with pumpkin. These are some of our favorite cookies. They are healthy. Sort of.

 PUMPKIN COOKIES

1 c. butter      

1 c. white sugar       

1 c. brown sugar         

2 eggs                   

2 c. pumpkin              

1 tsp. vanilla

3 ½ c. flour        

½ tsp. baking soda           

1 tsp. baking powder           

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice     

½ tsp. salt      

2 c. oats

3 c. choc. chips  

1 c. chopped nuts

1 c. raisins (optional)      

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in pumpkin and eggs. Add dry ingredients. Stir in chips and nuts. Drop on ungreased cookie sheet (or cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray).

Bake at 375˚ for 10-12 minutes. About 3 dozen light fluffy wonderful cookies.

Just a note about baking: when it says butter - I use butter. Really. I don't use butter on toast or muffins or vegetables, but when the recipe says to add butter, I add butter. I love the texture and the taste that butter gives to baked goods.

 

 

Another note: when something calls for flour, I use at least half whole wheat flour, sometimes more. It does change the texture, but for the better. And I like having unrefined whole wheat flour. I also add flax seed to most baked goods - for the texture and for the omega 3 fatty acids, B-vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants. I add 1/3 to 2/3 c. to most recipes.

While we're at it: I use a lot of honey. When a recipe calls for sugar, I try to substitute at least a part with honey. Again, it pays to stay away from too much refined flours and sugar.

Final note. I promise. I use Penzey's Spices (see the link on the right). I don't buy dried herbs or spices at the store - they've been on the shelf too long. You might have another source, but I really like Penzey's. Their spices are fresh and flavorful, and they have a great variety. Who knew fresh grated nutmeg could be so absolutely decadent.

Ok - back to baking. Here are two variations on pumpkin bread – both are delicious!

PUMPKIN STREUSEL BREAD

Topping:          ¼ c. chopped pecans        

2 tbs. sugar

1 ½ tbs. butter 

¼ tsp. cinnamon      

Combine and cut in butter till crumbly

Bread:

2 c. flour      

½ c. sugar             

½ c. raisins    

1 tsp. baking soda          

1 tsp. salt               

½ tsp. cinnamon            

½  tsp. cloves  

½ tsp. nutmeg 

1 c. pumpkin  

½ c. plain yogurt

½  c. honey     

¼ c. oil       

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg, beaten

Combine dry ingredients. Combine pumpkin, and rest of ingredients. Make a well in dry ingredients, add pumpkin mixture. Stir till moist. Spoon into 9x5“ loaf pan coated with cooking spray and dusted with flour. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or so. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan.

PUMPKIN BREAD

3 c. sugar (or part sugar and part honey)

1 c. vegetable oil (or use less oil and more pumpkin)

4 eggs, lightly beaten

16 ounces canned unsweetened pumpkin (or 2 c. pureed)

3 ½ c.flour

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp.cloves

2/3 cup water  

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray with cooking spray, then flour 2- 9 by 5” loaf pans. Stir together sugar and oil. Stir in eggs and pumpkin. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl. Blend dry ingredients and water into wet mixture, alternating. Divide batter between two loaf pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool. 

This next makes a great Sunday dessert. It doesn’t use too much pumpkin, so you could adjust the pumpkin/banana ratio. 

Vegan Pumpkin Banana Bread Pudding
Servings: 10

6 c. whole wheat bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1 lb)
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 ¼ c. vanilla soy milk
¼ c. pumpkin
3 tbs. corn starch
½ c. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Brown sugar 

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with softened margarine. Place cubed bread in a large bowl. 

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup soy milk and the cornstarch until no lumps remain. Add 1 1/2 cups soy milk to the mix and then the maple syrup, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice and whisk to combine. Pour mixture over cubed bread and stir to coat every piece. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes so the liquid can soak into the bread. Mixture will be mushy and wet. 

Mash together bananas and pumpkin. Fold them into the soggy bread. Pour mixture into loaf pan, patting down to make an even top. Tasting is optional (and highly encouraged). 

Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Bake for 30 minutes until the top is slightly browned. Allow to cool slightly before serving. If you’re eating this later on, warm it in a 200° oven until you’re ready to serve.

Nutrition Info (per serving):
Calories: 230; Total Fat: 3 grams; Saturated Fat: 0 grams; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 260 milligrams; Carbohydrates: 46 grams; Fiber: 5 grams; Sugar: 27 grams; Protein: 6 grams

And you should have at least one of these every fall. This is the best pumpkin pie recipe I’ve tried:

PUMPKIN PIE

2 eggs slightly beaten      

2 c. pumpkin           

3/4 c. sugar      

½ tsp. salt     

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk         

1 tsp. cinnamon       

½ tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. cloves 

1/4 tsp. nutmeg    

1 pie shell (bake at 425° for 10 minutes before adding filling) (I use Ree Drummond's pie crust - see link at the right)
This makes lots of filling - make in a deep dish pie plate.

A little about the pie crust: I make up a big batch then freeze individual pie crusts. It's a very tender crust so it's best to roll it out partially frozen. I also use 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flour. When you bake it for the 10 minutes before filling it, cut out a bit of parchment paper and lay it on the bottom of the pie. Fill with beans (I use some old pinto beans and just keep them in the cupboard for this purpose). This is the hardest part of this whole pie.

Then just pour the beans into a bowl till they cool and put them away for next time. Do make sure you cut the parchment paper big enough to pick the beans up and dump them back in the bowl without spilling back into the crust (those little hummers are a pain to pick out of the bottom - just sayin').

Mix spices and salt with sugar - that way the spices aren't in little clumps when you add the liquids.

Add all ingredients.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then 350° for 30 minutes. Sprinkle on topping.

Bake 15 minutes. Cool.

Topping: 

½ c. flour

1/3 c. packed brown sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon

Mix together. Cut in:

¼ c. (½ stick) butter

 

 

Stir in:

½ c. chopped pecans or walnuts

½ tsp. vanilla

Sprinkle on pie last 15 minutes of baking.

This is the richest, crunchiest, most lovely pumpkin pie. I'm going to eat this now. Whipped topping? No way. Just give me the pie.

So bake away - fill your house with the smell of spices and fall.

Pumpkins and Squash

One of the last things we harvest every year is the pumpkins and winter squash. They spend the summer out in the Three Sisters Garden (more on that at another time) with the dry beans and corn.

Much of that time, they’re hidden. But in late September or early October, with the corn harvested and the first frost shriveling their leaves, they shine like big gold nuggets.

We harvested the pumpkins and winter squash right before we went elk hunting.

It’s like hunting for Easter eggs – we’re always surprised with the bounty we find, and we look forward to it every year. We got about 50 pumpkins and nearly that many squash.

We grew four kinds of squash this year: Buttercup, Butternut:

Acorn:

and Kabocha:

The butternut were non-starters – we only got one little butternut – but they’ve done better in the past. Buttercup do well and are lovely to roast in the oven. The acorn did ok as far as number, but did not get really big. And the kabocha are a fabulous shade of orange. They have a texture reminiscent of buttercup squash – a little waxy, and wonderful roasted.

We grew three kinds of pumpkin: Jack-o’lantern, New England pie, and Baby Bear. All did great! I’ve grown the Rouge Vif D’Etampes in the past – they are beautiful, but I don’t like the texture as well. The Kobacha squash are just as pretty and have a better texture.

I pick varieties that will mature early for both squash and pumpkin. I plant them directly into the garden. I’ve found that to start them early, then transplant, just sets them back too far. They do just fine started in the garden. We plant them with the corn and dried beans – they provide the shade and weed suppression in that garden.

The pumpkin garden is away from everything else – pumpkin vines like to travel! They can grow up to 15 ft. long so they need lots of room.

As the fall progresses, we have squash by itself, or pumpkin alone, but our favorite way is to cook a couple squash and a couple pumpkins and puree them all together.

Cut them in half. You can either scoop out the seeds now if you want roasted pumpkin seeds later, or you can just leave them in.

Lay them cut side down on a roasting pan. Fill the pan with about an inch of water. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size or type of squash or pumpkin. When they come out of the oven, let them cool a bit.

Scoop out the seeds.

I usually put everything in a food processor first and puree.

Some are easier to scoop out than others.

When I'm done pureeing (is that a word?) in the food processor, I pour everything into a large pot. I cook it over low heat till it gets to the consistency I want. Be careful at this stage! It plops as it cooks and can be extremely hot. So I keep a lid part way on the pan and stir carefully. Towards the end, I get out that wonderful little immersion blender and blend for a few minutes.

I package the mixture in quart freezer bags but only put in 2 cups in each bag. Most recipes call for a can or 2 cups of pumpkin. When you freeze them, sort of mash them flat and they will stack better in your freezer.

This makes a smooth, rich mixture that can be used in many recipes. The texture is different from a can of pumpkin - it's not as thick, so you might need to adjust cooking times or the liquid you use.

Yesterday, I cooked down about 1/5 of our harvest and got about 20 cups of pumpkin/squash puree. That’s a lot of pumpkin pies. Or bread. Or cookies. Or soup. Or casserole. Or…

You might think pumpkins are great for Halloween or for pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving. However, the main reason to grow pumpkins is this little recipe right here. Now, this might be hot chocolate, but it’s healthy. It’s got squash, right? Fiber? And milk. And I usually double this because you can’t get too much of a good thing. That way, I’ve got half a pitcher left for the next day.

MAYAN HOT CHOCOLATE

1 small squash or pumpkin or 2/3 c. pureed squash or pumpkin or a mixture

2 ½ c. milk (whole, 2%, 1% or fat free), divided

6 oz. or ¾ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ tsp. cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of cardamom

Or go hot and add pinch of cayenne 

If you are doing this from scratch: oven 375°. Cut squash/pumpkin in half. You can take out the seeds now if you want to roast them. Or place halves, cut sides down in a roasting pan. Fill with water up to 1 inch. Bake 30 minutes or till tender. Scoop out and discard seeds. Scoop out squash pulp and puree in food processor. Measure out 2/3 cup (if you have leftovers, put them in your pancake batter next time you make pancakes – add some pumpkin pie spice too. Or make pumpkin shake. Or put in it your morning smoothie. Or just make more hot chocolate!)

Puree squash in blender with ½ c. milk. Heat the chocolate chips in the microwave till melted, or in a pan on the stove with the rest of the milk, stirring constantly.

Pour milk, melted chocolate and any spice combination you like into the blender with the squash. Blend till frothy.

Stir. Taste. Adjust the seasoning. I use about ¼ tsp. cayenne, but I like things on the hot/spicy side. Pour it in a mug. Your favorite mug.

You may need to heat it just a bit more in the microwave (Warning: for some reason, this hot chocolate likes to cook over in the microwave when you reheat it. To avoid losing half of the cup of hot chocolate and having a chocolate-filled microwave, watch it carefully. When it starts to boil up, stop the microwave – it doesn’t take long).  Add a homemade marshmallow (more on that later). Get your favorite book. Sit in your favorite chair. Breathe deeply and enjoy.

We also add pumpkin/squash puree to our morning smoothies – lots of fiber and good things for you. Or you can make this shake which is one of the most wonderful fall drinks ever:

(The comments are by the author of that recipe)

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Recipe by Our Best Bites
1/3 c. pumpkin, canned or homemade
1/4 - 1/2 C milk
¼ tsp. vanilla
½  tsp.cinnamon
1/16 tsp. cloves (just use a 1/8 tsp. measure and fill it half way, or do a pinch)
1/16 tsp. nutmeg
2 tbs. brown sugar
2 c. vanilla ice cream
a few graham crackers

Pop it all in a blender. Start with 1/4 C milk and then slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all. I used somewhere between 1/4-1/2 C.

A note about blenders: Here's the problem with making thick, diner style milkshakes at home: A lot of times you have to add so much milk to the thing to get the blender to process that it turns into a milk-slushie instead. Or you have to blend and plunge, blend and plunge, etc. You know the drill, right? So if you have any trouble with your blender, I would recommend blending everything but the ice cream first and then mashing it into the ice cream by hand (well, with a hand. Holding a fork or spoon :) If your scooped ice cream sits out at room temp while you measure the other things and get them all ready, then by the time you mash it all together it should be a good consistency.

Sprinkle with crushed graham cracker crumbs before serving.

FYI: I used a 2-lb. pumpkin and it yielded 1 3/4 C puree. And if you are trying to gauge- One 15 oz. can equals 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree and one 29 oz. can (the biggie) equals 3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree. So my 2lb pumpkin was almost exactly equal to one can.

Now when you cook these pumpkins, you have pumpkin seeds. You can either pitch them or make:

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds (also from Our Best Bites)
½ c. Pumpkin seeds, clean and dry
½ tbs. butter
¼ tsp. olive oil
¼ tsp. celery salt
¼  tsp. onion
1/8 tsp. garlic
1/8 tsp. paprika
pinch cayenne
Kosher salt
By the time I got my pumpkin mess cleaned up and the seeds cleaned and ready to cook, my pumpkin was almost done cooking. So I took it out and turned the oven up to cook the seeds. However, if you wanted to, you could cook your seeds at 350° right along with your pumpkin and it would just take a little longer.
Let's get on with it...

Rinse seeds until clean. Boil in salt water 10 minutes (some people don't do this step, but I think it helps when you are eating them). Preheat oven to 400°. Melt butter and add olive oil to it. Place seeds in a small bowl and toss with butter and seasonings (except kosher salt).

Lay in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. (You can, of course, use any seasoning mix you want--be creative!)

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Give one a try and sprinkle on kosher salt if needed.

Or if you make pancakes or waffles,

add some pumpkin for the liquid, and spread with:

PUMPKIN BUTTER

½ c. softened butter

½ c. pureed pumpkin

¼ c. powdered sugar

½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Beat together. Chill at least 3 hours. Let soften 20 minutes before serving. Makes about 1 cup.

 

We'll do the things you can bake in the next blog. But this will get you started now that all this fall bounty is here.