This is the time of year for cookies.  Holiday cookies run the gamut from very simple to complicated.  I don’t have a real preference, though I do enjoy the challenge of the more involved cookies.  What can I say?  I just love to play in the kitchen.  There is certainly a time and place for the fancy schmancy treats, and there is also a time and place for plain and simple.  For example, when you are taking call from home and worried the pager may go off at any moment but you really, really want to bake something.  That’s what these cookies were for me.  I had all the ingredients on hand and the dough was ready in minutes.

Even better, in my personal ranking of favorite cookies, oatmeal white chocolate cranberry cookies ranked second only to the best chocolate chip cookies ever.  And now, this is the version that earns second place because it has all those other things and it contains pumpkin.  The pumpkin puree contributes a pretty orange hue, a light chewy texture and a subtle pumpkin flavor.  Lots of my favorite ingredients all in one cookie – tough to resist, if you ask me.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
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Yield: about 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
¾ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
Dash of allspice
½ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1½ cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices and salt.  Whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Blend in the egg and vanilla.  Beat in the pumpkin puree until well incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Beat in the oats until combined.  With a rubber spatula, fold in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries until evenly mixed.

Drop in small scoops (about 1½-2 tablespoons) onto prepared baking sheets, spaced 2-3 inches apart.  Bake 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned, rotating the sheets halfway through baking.  Allow to cool on the sheets about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

Source: slightly adapted from My Baking Addiction

So the big feasting holiday has come and gone.  I hope everyone had a wonderful time with friends and loved ones, and enjoyed great food!  Our Thanksgiving was a blast and everything went very well.  Being together with so many family members makes me so grateful for all the blessings in our life.  Of course, in the wake of the holiday I find myself craving lighter, healthier foods.  I created this Greek chicken salad recently and was thrilled with the result.  It is light and healthy, yet filling, and combines the flavors of some of my very favorite foods like chicken gyros and cherry tomato salad.  The addition of olives and a sprinkle of feta on top give a nice salty counterbalance to the cool, creamy tzatziki.  Served on homemade wheat pita, this makes an awesome lunch or dinner.  So there you go – I thought I had better share at least one healthy meal before I start in on all the holiday baking :)

Greek Chicken Salad
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Yield: about 4 servings
Ingredients:
1½ cups cooked chicken, coarsely chopped or shredded
½ cup cucumber, diced
¾ cup tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/3 cup red onion, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp. sliced black olives (or Kalamata olives)
1 cup tzatziki sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pita, for serving
Crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
Combine the chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, olives and tzatziki sauce in a medium bowl.  Stir well to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serve as desired over pita bread, topped with crumbled feta cheese.

*Note: Readers frequently ask if they can use Greek yogurt rather than buying plain yogurt and straining it.  You absolutely can do that, but I prefer to strain my own yogurt because it is simply much cheaper than buying an equal amount of Greek yogurt.

Source: Annie original

Mark me down as another one of those who, for many years, was only familiar with the can-shaped jelly known to so many as cranberry sauce.  Do not count me, though, as one who liked it.  I thought it was a little revolting.  This stuff is more my style.  A very basic recipe with few ingredients makes a pretty great sauce – still thick enough to be jelly-like, but not so much that it molds to its container.  Definitely more on the tart side but with just enough sugar and citrus to balance out the berries.  I’m pretty excited about tasting it with my turkey, and also hoping for leftovers to stir into my yogurt for breakfast afterward :)

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving prep is coming along nicely and things are going according to plan.  So far I’m still on schedule and feeling pretty calm about the whole thing.  This is where all that advance planning pays off!  It actually just feels surreal that there is a turkey in my fridge and the brine is ready to go.  Have a wonderful holiday with your loved ones.

Cranberry Sauce
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Ingredients:
¾ cup water
1 small orange, zested and juiced
2/3 cup sugar, plus more to taste
12-16 oz. fresh or frozen cranberries

Directions:
Combine the water, orange zest and juice, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved.  Stir in the cranberries and bring the mixture to a boil.  Lower the heat and let simmer uncovered, about 15 minutes, until the cranberries have popped and the sauce is thickened.  Remove from heat and let cool completely.  Sauce will thicken as it cools.  Store in the refrigerator and let come to room temperature before serving.

Source: adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

As long as I can remember, my favorite dishes at the Thanksgiving table have been rolls and mashed potatoes.  Forget the turkey, I really just want the carbs.  These honey yeast rolls will probably always hold the number one spot in my heart for perfect dinner roll, but for the sake of variety I like to serve another option at Thanksgiving as well.  Enter these multigrain rolls.  With wheat flour, oatmeal, oat bran and flax seeds in the dough, they certainly earn their title – but not in a bad way.  All these ingredients plus the seed-salt sprinkle on top combine to make these hearty rolls taste great and provide some nutritional value.  I made them this weekend in preparation for the holiday.  We taste-tested one on its own and enjoyed it, but I felt it was missing something.  Then I tried it with a dab of honey butter and my oh my, it was just the thing.  The slightly sweet and rich honey butter is an ideal compliment to this soft, earthy roll.  I am glad both the rolls and butter are already wrapped up and stored for Thanksgiving, otherwise I might be in trouble.

Note: I know because I mentioned it that someone will ask for my honey butter recipe.  Truth is, I don’t use one.  I just mix room temperature, unsalted butter with honey and a pinch of salt until it tastes delicious.  Fancy!

Multigrain Rolls
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Yield: about 16 rolls
Ingredients:
For the dough:
½ cup oat bran
¼ cup flax seeds
½ cup boiling water
1 cup warm milk (105-110˚ F)
2¼ tsp. instant (rapid rise) yeast
¼ cup honey
2 large eggs
2/3 cup old-fashioned (not instant) oats
7 oz. (1¼ cups) whole wheat flour
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. salt
15 oz. (about 3 cups) all-purpose flour
Oil, for greasing the bowl

For the topping:
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. mixed seeds (poppy, sesame, fennel, etc.)
Coarse salt, for sprinkling

Directions:
Combine the oat bran and flax seeds in a small bowl.  Pour the boiling water into the bowl and mix to moisten.  Let sit until the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the milk, yeast and honey; mix briefly to blend.  With the dough hook and the mixer on low speed, mix in the eggs, oats, wheat flour, pepper, salt and oat bran mixture until combined.  Slowly add enough all-purpose flour, ½ cup at a time, to make a soft, slightly sticky dough.  Continue to knead on medium-low speed, about 3 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball.  Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1½-2 hours.

Brush a baking dish lightly with oil (I used a 10-inch round baking dish).  On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and divide into 16 equal pieces, about 2½ ounces each.  Form each portion into a ball and place the dough balls in the baking dish, spaced slightly apart so they have room to grow together.   Cover and let rise until puffy and nearly doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolk and water.  Brush lightly over the proofed rolls.  Sprinkle the unbaked rolls with the seed mixture and coarse salt.  Bake until the tops are golden, about 26 minutes.  Let cool 10-15 minutes before removing from the pan.

Source: slightly adapted from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook

Sugar cookies one of the things I make so often, I know the recipe by heart.  I love my favorite sugar cookie recipe so much that I find it difficult to even try new variations.  This weekend since I was working on Thanksgiving favors, I decided to try a fall-inspired variety that includes brown sugar and fall spices.  I am pleased to say, these taste absolutely wonderful.  They are a really nice seasonal change and this recipe is a keeper.

I was feeling pretty skeptical when mixing and rolling out the dough, as it was slightly drier than my usual recipe.  Thankfully, these cookies have a lovely texture when all is said and done and are definitely not dry.  Even though there is no maple flavoring included, my first taste of these conjured up the flavor of a maple glazed doughnut.

These cookie designs were inspired by the Operation: Give Thanks printables I found over at Hostess With the Mostess.  (I wanted to use the printables for my Thanksgiving but they are not cooperating for me, so I am just improvising.)  If you have never worked with royal icing before but would like to give it a try, see my royal icing tutorial for tips and tricks.

Spiced Brown Sugar Cut-Out Cookies
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Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp. allspice
½ cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
16 tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium bowl; whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, brown sugar and butter.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the egg and vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Form the dough into a ball or disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Chill until firm, at least 30-60 minutes.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about ¼-inch thickness.  Use cookie cutters to form desired shapes and transfer to the prepared baking sheets.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  Let cool on the baking sheet a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Decorate as desired.

Source: barely adapted from Bake at 350

Earlier this summer I did a step-by-step post on how to make pie dough.  This was quite well received and I hope it helped some readers tackle their fear of pie crust.  It’s not as hard as people say!  Since pies of all sorts are the traditional Thanksgiving dessert, I thought I would do a quick post on how to do a lattice crust and take your pie to the next level.  This really is as simple as weaving together strips of paper like we all did in elementary school at some point.

Start out with pie plate lined with the bottom crust (seen in the background.)  Roll out the second disk of pie dough to about a 12-inch round.

I use this fun little tool to cut my strips of dough, but it’s certainly not required.  A pizza cutter would work well, as would a paring knife (just be sure not to cut or scratch your work surface!)

Go ahead and slice the round of dough into even sized strips.  Don’t worry too much if they aren’t all exactly the same size, or perfectly parallel lines.  Once the pie is baked these small imperfections won’t be noticeable.  You can make them any width you like, thick or thin, just depending on the type of lattice you are going for.

Fill the bottom crust with filling.

Lay several strips of dough over the filling parallel to each other.

Fold every other one of the dough strips back, at about the middle of the pie.

Lay a strip of dough next to the folded back strips, perpendicular to the rest of the strips.

Unfold the strips so that they lay over the new strip.  Now, fold back the other strips (those that run underneath the newly placed strip).

Lay down another strip in a perpendicular fashion and unfold the folded strips so that they lay over the newly place strip.

And repeat, laying down a strip at a time and weaving as you go.

Until the whole lattice is finished!

Trim off the excess at the edges and pinch into a decorative fluted pattern.  That’s it!

And, FYI, this is why a baking sheet underneath your pie plate is so important.  You do not want that on the bottom of your oven!

Still undecided on what pies to serve for Thanksgiving?  Or maybe you are looking for something slightly different that the traditional choices.  Look no further, this pie has got you covered.  The moment I saw this in November’s Bon Appétit, I began searching for an opportunity to make it.  Blueberry pie is already my very favorite type of pie so adding cranberries to the mix sounded like a deliciously genius idea.  My Thanksgiving menu was already planned and there was no room (or time) for another pie to be added to the list.  Thankfully we had friends over for dinner this weekend so I jumped at the chance to give it a try.

The steeping of the filling with cinnamon sticks and sprinkling of grated nutmeg over the assembled pie, in addition to the cranberries, put a perfect seasonal spin on this classic summer pie.  And in case you’re worried about the fact that blueberries aren’t exactly in season right now, don’t worry because this recipe calls for frozen berries.  The filling was just as awesome as I had hoped – very juicy, but it still stayed intact when the pie was sliced.  Not too sweet or too tart but just right as Goldilocks would say.  And bonus – all the cranberries and blueberries means this pie is full of antioxidants.  Certainly still not health food but hey, extra antioxidants are never a bad thing.  Keep in mind that both the filling and the crust can be made in advance and then assembled when you are ready to bake, so that provides some flexibility in this recipe.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a step-by-step lattice crust tutorial.  If you have been afraid to attempt it before, fear no more!  It’s easy as *pie* (sorry, couldn’t resist!)

Cranberry Blueberry Pie
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Ingredients:
For the filling:
16 oz. frozen wild blueberries (do not thaw)
12 oz. fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)
1¼ cups sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tsp. finely grated lemon zest

To assemble:
2 disks pie dough for a double crust pie
Heavy cream, for brushing
Grated nutmeg, for sprinkling

Directions:
To make the filling, combine the frozen blueberries, cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon sticks, lemon juice and lemon zest in a medium-large saucepan.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring to blend, until the mixture thickens and begins to boil, about 12-14 minutes.  Once the mixture reaches a boil, continue boiling for 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.  Transfer the mixture to a bowl or other container and let cool completely before proceeding.

When you are ready to bake the pie, preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Roll out one disk of pie crust on a well-floured surface into a 12-inch round.  Line a 9-inch pie plate with the crust.  Remove the cinnamon sticks from the filling mixture, then spread the filling into the bottom pie crust.  Roll out the remaining disk of pie dough and cut into thin strips.  Use the strips to form a lattice over the top of the filling.  Cut off the excess crust and pinch the edges together, using your fingers to create a fluted pattern.  Lightly brush the top crust of the pie with heavy cream.  Sprinkle grated nutmeg over the crust.

Place the assembled pie on the upper rack of the oven (top-middle position).  Place a rimmed baking sheet on the lower oven rack beneath the pie.  Bake, rotating halfway through baking, until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling, about 60-70 minutes.  If the crust seems to be browning too quickly, loosely tent with foil to prevent over-browning.  Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature.

Source: Bon Appétit, November 2010

Spinach artichoke dip has to be one of the most popular appetizers around, as evidenced by the fact that so very many restaurants include some variation on their menu.  Its popularity is understandable considering how decadent and irresistible it is.  Really, I seem to find myself powerless to its charms.  As a kid I doubt I would have touched it with a ten foot pole since it contained artichokes.  I hope this mentality still holds with some today – more for me!  Whether having it as a “main dish” during a night of drinks with friends or using it as a starter for a full meal, I have no self control around this dip.  I will be serving this as a pre-Thanksgiving appetizer and I am hoping my various kitchen tasks will keep me busy enough to refrain from demolishing it before everyone else.

I used to have a recipe for spinach artichoke dip that was very tasty, but it called for jarred alfredo sauce and since I don’t buy that for any other purpose, I decided to come up with a version that didn’t require a special and somewhat expensive ingredient.  I searched a lot of my most trusted recipe sources first, but none of the versions I found sounded like what I was going for.  This is what I whipped up and after having tweaked it a bit, it’s now ready to be shared and shared often.  If your hips hate me, I sincerely apologize.

Spinach Artichoke Dip
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Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup coarsely chopped canned artichoke hearts
4 cloves roasted garlic*, smashed
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. roasted red pepper flakes

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, Parmesan, sour cream, mayonnaise, spinach, artichokes, roasted garlic, salt and red pepper flakes.  Mix well with a rubber spatula until all ingredients are evenly blended.  Spread into a small baking dish (I used a gratin dish).  Sprinkle additional grated Parmesan over the top if desired.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.  Serve warm with baguette slices, pita chips, crackers, etc.

*To roast individual cloves of garlic, I just throw the unpeeled cloves into a baking dish or pan and bake at 350˚ F for 25-30 minutes.  Let cool before squeezing the cloves from the peels.

Source: Annie original

Danish has long been a favorite breakfast treat of mine, though I rarely indulge in it.  In fact, when presented with an assortment of doughnuts and Danish, I’m bound to choose the danish nearly every time as long as it has a yummy filling.  But I’m also of the school of thought that if you’re going to eat something with that many calories it had better taste amazing, which is why I often find myself disappointed by the Danish served at some coffee houses, etc.  They may look appealing but if the filling is the only good thing about it, why bother?

Thankfully Baking Illustrated brings us this recipe and it is spot on – flaky, buttery pastry, rich filling, and a glaze that helps keep the whole thing moist when all is said and done.  The spiced apples were my own addition and so perfect for fall.  After the dough is made and all the turns are complete, it can be stored in the refrigerator overnight (or maybe longer, but that’s as long as I tried.)  So, this could make for a really impressive breakfast treat if you have company visiting.  Once the dough is made, and fillings can be made in advance too, all that remains is to assemble and bake.  I am looking forward to trying this as individual Danish and with all sorts of fillings.  This was my first time working with a butter square and it was much easier than I would have expected.  I’m glad to have tried this because I’m sure croissants aren’t far off now :)

Spiced Apple Cream Cheese Danish Braid
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Ingredients:
For the Danish dough:
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1½ tsp. instant yeast*
¼ cup sugar
¾ tsp. salt
1/3 cup whole milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

For the butter square:
12 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

For the cream cheese filling:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp. sugar

For the apple filling:
1 tbsp. butter
2 medium apples, peeled and sliced thin (I used Granny Smith)
2 tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

For the glaze:
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 tsp. milk, plus more as needed

For the drizzle:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp. milk, plus more as needed

*Instant yeast = rapid rise yeast = bread machine yeast

Directions:
To make the dough, combine 1¼ cups of the flour in a bowl with the yeast, sugar, and salt.  Place the milk and egg in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and knead until a smooth ball of dough forms, about 7-8 minutes.  (The dough should be sticky but if more dough sticks to the bowl than the dough hook, add the remaining ¼ cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed.)  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the butter square, toss together the butter pieces and flour on a clean work surface.

Smear the butter back and forth using a bench scraper against the work surface…

until they have combined into a smooth homogenous mixture.

Wrap the butter mixture in plastic wrap and use the edges of the plastic to form it into a 5-inch square.  Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour.  Lay the chilled dough on the work surface and roll into a 9-inch square.

Place the butter square diagonally on top the dough and remove the plastic wrap.

Fold the corners of dough over the butter so that they meet in the middle of the butter square.  Pinch the ends of the dough together to seal.

Using a rolling pin , tap the dough from the center outward until the butter begins to soften and become malleable.

Gently roll the dough into an 11-inch square, re-flouring the work surface as necessary to prevent sticking.

Fold the outside edges of the dough in toward the center in thirds, one overlapping the other, like a business letter.

Repeat this process folding the other direction to make a square.  (This completes two turns.)

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Roll the dough into an 11-inch square once more and repeat the two turns as before (business letter, then square).

Wrap in plastic wrap again and chill once more for at least 4 hours.  (At this point the dough can be refrigerated overnight).

To make the cream cheese filling, combine the cream cheese, lemon zest and sugar in a small bowl.  Mix well until smooth and blended.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the apple filling, melt the butter in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat.  Combine the apple slices, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and toss well to combine.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the apples are tender, about 15-18 minutes.  Let cool before using.

When you are ready to shape and bake the danish, preheat the oven to 400˚ F.

On a large, very well floured sheet of parchment paper roll the chilled dough into a 14-inch square.  (I’m very serious about flouring the work surface.  Trust me on this – you can brush off excess flour but if you don’t use enough, you’ll experience a lot of difficulty.  I speak from experience.)

Spread the cream cheese filling evenly down the middle third of the dough.

Lay the apples over the top of the cream cheese mixture.

Using a pizza cutter or a paring knife, cut the outer thirds of dough into ¾-inch strips so that the cuts are diagonal to the filling.

Alternating sides, fold the strips of dough over the filling, crisscrossing the strips over the center, until the entire Danish is braided.  (This is where you will be cursing everything if you didn’t use enough flour.  See the sticky dough?  It got even worse.  Good news though – you won’t even notice this after baking, so don’t throw in the towel just because of sticky dough.)

Transfer the braid, still on the parchment, to a baking sheet.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and rise at room temperature until slightly puffy (it will not double), about 30 minutes.

Bake until the braid is golden brown, 22-26 minutes, rotating halfway through baking.

To make the glaze, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.  Add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time as needed to thin the glaze.  Transfer to a cooking rack and brush with the glaze while still hot.  Cool to room temperature.

To make the drizzle, combine the confectioners’ sugar and milk in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.  Add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time as needed to make it a drizzle-able consistency.  Drizzle over the finished braid.  Slice crosswise and serve.

Yummy flaky goodness.

Source: Baking Illustrated

This will be the last installment in the Thanksgiving prep series since next week is the big week, and we’ll all be in the midst of prepping, cleaning, etc.  My last bit of planning involves making a detailed timeline for Thanksgiving day itself.  Any time I host an event with multiple dishes needing to be prepped, assembled, cooked or baked, etc. and get everything finished at the same time, such a timeline is essential.  Even if things get a bit off track or if you get ahead of schedule as I did last year, the timeline helps keep me focused and prevents me from forgetting things.  Especially when guests are in the kitchen talking with you as you prepare the meal, you can get distracted but a quick glance at the list gets you back on course quickly.

I always create my timelines in the same way.  In general, I work backward from the time I want to serve the meal and go from there.  For Thanksgiving, I start out my plan with the two key times of the day on the list: the we sit down to eat, and the time guests arrive.  (Side note: This is my favorite pen and I use it for writing all my lists.  I hate when I can’t find it.  Thankfully it is a freebie from my hair salon so I grab one every time I am there.  Does this make me crazy?  Never mind, don’t answer that.)

With the arrival time in mind, I plan times to have various appetizers ready and list those accordingly with times they should go into the oven, come out of the oven, etc.  You want appetizers to be warm for guests as they arrive, and also not so close to the meal time that people are full.

I use the same principle when planning the various side dishes that need to be on the table when the turkey is ready to be served.  Thankfully the turkey roasts at 350˚ F, which works for all of the sides I have planned.  Even if a recipe indicates a temperature of 375˚, you can certainly bake it at 350˚ without issue, maybe adding a few minutes to the baking time if necessary.  So, once the arrival and meal times have been established, all the side dishes can be filled in around that timeline.  There are still some big gaps which I will surely fill in later as I think of additional small details, but this is the basic framework I use for planning.

Finally, the last list I make for such an event (which I haven’t made just yet) is a list of what bowl or platter each dish will be served in.  You don’t want to be rushing around at the last minute trying to find more platters or bowls, or realize that the dish you just spooned the mashed potatoes into would have been better used for another purpose.  Planning this in advance leaves little to be decided at the last minute, so all you really need to do is stick to the lists and execute the meal plan.

And that’s it.  That’s how I plan my Thanksgiving.  Now it’s almost time to make it all happen.  Don’t forget, the most important thing is to enjoy the day with your loved ones.  If something goes wrong, it will be okay so don’t stress, just have fun!

Other Thanksgiving-related posts:
Thanksgiving Prep Series, Part 2
Thanksgiving Prep Series, Part 1
Roast Turkey
Our First Thanksgiving

I still can’t believe that I used to think I didn’t like snickerdoodles.  I guess they just weren’t snazzy enough for me as a kid when sitting in a bakery case next to a double chocolate or M&M cookie, or even better a giant Rice Krispie treat.  Now that I’ve come to my senses snickerdoodles are definitely a favorite of mine.  Certainly one of the best things about them is the amazing scent that fills the house while they are baking.  These snickerdoodle cupcakes were a coworker’s birthday request and I was thrilled to have a reason to make them.  This is a fluffy cinnamon cupcake topped with seven-minute frosting and garnished with cinnamon-sugar and mini snickerdoodles.  Overall these were wonderful and really did have the flavor of a snickerdoodle.  I think next time I would consider topping them with a regular vanilla buttercream instead of the seven-minute frosting, but otherwise I was happy with the end result.  It also might be fun to hide another mini snickerdoodle underneath the frosting, to add even more of that snickerdoodle flavor.  Yum!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
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Yield: about 28 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups cake flour, sifted
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¾ cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1¼ cups milk

For the frosting:
¾ cup plus 1 tbsp. sugar, divided
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
3 large egg whites, at room temperature

For garnish:
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tbsp. sugar
Mini snickerdoodles*

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  Combine the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl; whisk to combine.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Blend in the vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Beat each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pans about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup in a saucepan with a candy thermometer clipped to the side.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally so the sugar dissolves.  Continue boiling without stirring until the temperature reaches 230° F.

In the meantime, while the sugar mixture is heating, beat the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whisk on medium-high speed until medium-soft peaks form.  As soon as the sugar mixture reaches 230° F, remove the pan from the heat.  With the mixer on medium-low, pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow steady stream until it has all been added to the bowl.  Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whisk until the bottom of the bowl is completely cool to the touch and stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes.  Use immediately.

Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired.  (I used an Ateco tip #829 to frost these cupcakes.) In a small bowl, whisk together the ground cinnamon and sugar.  Sprinkle a pinch of the cinnamon-sugar on top of each frosted cupcake.  Garnish with mini snickerdoodles.

*To make the mini snickerdoodles, I used a half recipe of regular snickerdoodles (and didn’t even use all of the dough) and rolled the dough into tiny balls, about ¾-inch diameter.  I reduced the baking time to about 8-10 minutes.

Source: Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

Changes, they are a comin’ here at Annie’s Eats.  The longer I blog and as my readership continues to grow, I realize it is time for a new look and some changes to make the site even more user-friendly.  Since I am the opposite of tech savvy and have neither the patience nor the time to do this myself, I have found a fabulous designer to help make this vision a reality.  I can’t say for certain what day the new site will go live, but it should be within the next couple of weeks and I can’t wait to share it with you all!  In the meantime, here is a sneak peek at my new logo and the new blog design.

Huge thanks to Ryan of 2nd Street Creative.  You have been truly wonderful to work with and I don’t know what I would have done without your help!

I’ll admit I have never been a huge fan of sweet potatoes myself.  I have found a few ways that I do consider them edible, but the bottom line is that they will probably never be a favorite food of my own.  However, I know that lots of people are crazy about them and they are a very popular side dish, so I wouldn’t think of hosting Thanksgiving without serving them.  I know a lot of people like to serve them with a sweeter topping like brown sugar or marshmallows but I prefer the savory route, so I tried this version with a sage butter crumb topping.  It was a really big hit and several of the guests declared it as their favorite dish of the whole meal.  Even I thought they were decent, so I guess that’s saying something.

Of course, looking at the recipe again, I am reminded that the potato puree can be made up to two days in advance and topped with the bread crumb mixture just before baking.  I’ll have to add that to my advance prep timeline

Sweet Potatoes with Sage Butter Crumb Topping
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Ingredients:
2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
1-2½ tbsp. minced fresh sage, divided
1½ cups warm milk
Salt and pepper
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Directions:
Combine the sweet potatoes and Yukon gold potatoes in a large stockpot.  Cover with water, season with salt, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and continue to boil until the potatoes are tender, 10-14 minutes.  Drain well and mash potatoes with a ricer or an electric mixer.  In a saucepan, melt 8 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 7 minutes.  Remove from the heat and mix in 1-2 tablespoons of the sage.  (I prefer to go a little light on the sage.) Mix the sage-butter mixture and the warm milk into the potatoes; mix well to blend until smooth.  Transfer the mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish.  At this point, the potato mixture can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  In a small bowl, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.  Mix in the remaining ½ tablespoon of sage and the bread crumbs; season with salt and pepper.  Toss well to combine.  Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the sweet potato mixture.  Bake uncovered until golden brown and bubbling, 30-40 minutes.  (Cover loosely with foil earlier if breadcrumbs brown too quickly.)  Serve warm.

Source: Martha Stewart

Bloomington, Indiana – my hometown, my college town, and in my opinion, one of the greatest little towns in the midwest.  I could never even begin to name all the things that make me love that place so much.  Thankfully since our families still live there and it is only an hour away, we visit frequently and try to work in trips to our favorite restaurants whenever possible.  One that belongs near the top of that list is Mother Bear’s Pizza.  They have all sorts of wonderful gourmet pizzas, as well as fantastic breadsticks that make the best snack ever after a night out at the bars (not that I would know anything about that ;)), but of all their pizzas Ben and I will always love spinoccoli best.  This is a pizza with a white sauce, plenty of cheese, topped with spinach and broccoli.  It may sound like an odd combination to some, but we think it is the best.  In fact, this has been my birthday dinner of choice with my family for the past few years.

The more comfortable I become in the kitchen, the more confident I am in my ability to recreate a restaurant dish at home.  However, sometimes the restaurant version is just so darn good that I am afraid to even attempt it, because I am sure whatever I make will fall far short of the real thing.  That was the case with spinoccoli.  But after we had a recent date night at Mother Bear’s, I decided enough was enough – I should at least give it a shot.  Because if it worked, we could have spinoccoli at home, which would be heavenly.  I always wondered if they did precooked the veggies in any way before adding to the pizza.  One benefit of being from a small town is that our family knows the owner of Mother Bear’s.  My brother was on a softball team with him this year and asked that very question.  We learned that no, they don’t do anything to the veggies.  So with that knowledge, I set out to make my best approximation of spinoccoli at home.  And guess what?  It totally worked.  With my first bite I was blown away with just how close my version came.  In fact, Ben and I both agreed that the only real difference we could taste was the crust because I used my usual favorite and we like it better anyway.  Otherwise, this was right on.  I’ll definitely still order spinoccoli whenever I’m in B-town but it is a revelation being able to make it at home as well.

Spinoccoli Pizza
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Ingredients:
For the white sauce:
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. flour
¾ cup heavy cream or half-and-half
1 clove garlic, smashed
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the pizza:
Pizza dough
Olive oil, for brushing
½ cup packed baby spinach leaves, torn
1 cup very small broccoli florets
2 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
Grated Parmesan

Directions:
To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until bubbling and light golden, about 1 minute.  Whisk in the heavy cream and garlic, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and bubbles.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the grated Parmesan until completely melted and smooth.  Discard the garlic clove.  (Note: This will make a bit more sauce than you need for the pizza, but with a little extra cheese it makes a great dipping sauce for crust.)

To make the pizza, preheat the oven and a pizza stone at 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes.  Roll out the pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round.  Lightly brush the perimeter of the dough with olive oil.  Spread a thin layer of the white sauce over the crust, leaving a border clear around the edge for the crust.  Sprinkle the torn spinach leaves over the white sauce.  Evenly distribute the broccoli florets over the dough.  Layer evenly with the shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheeses.  Finish with additional grated Parmesan, if desired.  Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Source: Annie original, inspired by Mother Bear’s Pizza

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving plans are coming along nicely.  This was a slow week for me as far as prep tasks are concerned.  With the menu already planned, I just did a couple of minor organizational tasks.  Now is a good time to take stock of what sort of containers you have available for guests to take home leftovers, and replenish the supply if needed.  Everyone knows one of the best parts about Thanksgiving is the leftovers, and guests shouldn’t be left out just because they aren’t hosting.  I have a variety of containers from Garnish which should do nicely.

It is a good idea to give your fridge, pantry and freezer a thorough cleaning and reorganization sooner than later.  If you are hosting a large meal, you will need somewhere for all the ingredients to go and you don’t want to have to worry about reorganizing once you get home and your counters are covered in groceries.  I took the time to do that this past weekend and I am so glad that I did.  It really doesn’t take very long to give each area some attention, and when you are finished there is so much more space and order to things.

Now that all the home and kitchen-related tasks are mostly taken care of, it’s time to focus on the food.  Namely, the timeline.  I make two separate timelines for each and every event or party I host.  One is a general timeline, planning out the specific tasks that can be done in advance to spread the work out over several days, or nights in my case.  The other is the specific day-of timeline, but I’ll discuss that more next week.

The first thing I do to get the advance prep timeline together is analyze my menu and figure out what can be made in advance (fully or at least partially).

The things I can do in advance are:
Make puff pastry, apple compote for baked brie
Make snack mix
Make, freeze spinach artichoke dip
Make, refrigerate stuffing
Chop broccoli, shred cheese for gratin
Cut butternut squash and brussels sprouts
Make, freeze multigrain rolls
Make honey butter, compound herb butter
Make cranberry sauce
Make most desserts (3 pies, 2 cookie varieties)
Make, decorate favor sugar cookies

Then, starting up to one week before Thanksgiving, I divvy up these tasks so that I can do a few things each day and not be too overwhelmed or busy on one day.  Here is how my breakdown ended up:

I will definitely end up entering this into my Google calendar because it keeps me on task, and I love checking off the boxes.

Stay tuned for next week when I’ll share my strategies on creating my day-of timeline.  Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!

Other Thanksgiving-related posts:
Thanksgiving Prep Series, Part 1
Roast Turkey
Our First Thanksgiving

These cupcakes are not for the faint of heart.  If you like butterscotch, you’ll like these a lot, but if you’re one of those that often finds desserts to be “too rich”, run away and don’t look back.  This is a true butterscotch lover’s dream – butterscotch flavored cake, frosting and drizzle.  I am definitely a major lover of butterscotch, and I have quite a few friends who feel the same way.  Add butterscotch to a baked good and I’m bound to try it eventually.  One of my coworkers also falls into the butterscotch lover group, and triple butterscotch cupcakes were her choice a couple of weeks ago.  Excellent choice, if I do say so myself.  I had been dying for someone to choose these.

The original recipe is for a triple layer cake.  I have now adapted it just slightly to yield cupcakes and an appropriate amount of frosting.  The frosting is definitely the richest part about these cupcakes so go easy when applying it.  I tried to use a lighter hand than normal and I still thought it was a little overwhelming.  It may be a bit too runny for piping just after mixing, so try chilling it in the refrigerator for a little while before proceeding – I think I chilled mine for about 30-45 minutes.  Now I have a squeeze bottle with lots of left over butterscotch sauce in the fridge.  Oh, the possibilities…

Triple Butterscotch Cupcakes
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Yield: about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
15 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1¾ cups plus 2 tbsp. dark brown sugar, lightly packed*
1½ tbsp. canola oil
3 large eggs
1½ tbsp. dark rum
2½ tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sour cream

For the frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
½ cup heavy cream
¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. dark rum
1-1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

For the butterscotch sauce:
6 tbsp. dark brown sugar
3 tbsp. butter
¼ cup light corn syrup
Pinch coarse salt
¼ cup heavy cream

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Blend in the oil until well combined.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Blend in the rum and vanilla.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk to blend.  With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl and beat just until incorporated.  Blend in the sour cream.  Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, again mixing just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared liners.  Bake 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it turns deep golden brown and fragrant, about 6-9 minutes.  Add the brown sugar, cream and salt, whisking thoroughly until the sugar dissolves.  Bring the mixture to a boil and continue boiling, whisking constantly, for 3 minutes more.  Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until the bowl feels cool to the touch, about 8-10 minutes.  Blend in the rum.  With the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining butter 1 tablespoon at a time until each addition has been incorporated.  Continue beating until smooth and creamy.  Blend in the sifted confectioners’ sugar.  If the frosting is not firm enough for piping, cover and chill for 30-60 minutes until the consistency is correct for frosting.  Pipe onto cooled cupcakes as desired.

To make the butterscotch sauce, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves.  Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove the mixture from the heat and gradually whisk in the heavy cream (be careful, as the mixture may bubble up!)  Return the saucepan to the heat and cook for 2 minutes more.  Remove from the heat and let cool until room temperature.  Drizzle the cooled sauce over the frosted cupcakes.

*Note: I don’t routinely keep dark brown sugar on hand, and don’t like to buy it just for one recipe here and there.  You can get the same effect by using an equal amount of light brown sugar plus 1 tablespoon of molasses per cup.  Works for me!

Source: adapted from Peanut Butter and Julie

Without a doubt the thing that most intimidated me about hosting my first Thanksgiving was cooking the turkey.  I mean sure, I’ve roasted chickens before, but no chicken is as large as the 23 pound bird we brought home from the butcher.  To be honest, before last year I never even liked Thanksgiving turkey.  In my experience it always seemed dried out and bland, but somehow it was still the centerpiece of the meal.  Drowning it in gravy didn’t seem a good solution either – I mean, why even eat it at all if it doesn’t taste good?

Thankfully good old Alton Brown gave me all the confidence I needed in tackling the task.  Have you seen the episode of Good Eats about roast turkey?  If not, you need to.  It is always played numerous times throughout the month of November, but in case you don’t catch it, check it out here.  According to Food Network, this has been their most popular recipe for six years running and it is obvious why.  Thanksgiving is a big holiday, and the turkey is a big deal.  Let’s do it right!  As Alton explains in the episode, brining makes for a wonderful turkey by locking in moisture and flavor.

For me I think the biggest issue of making the turkey was logistics.  Namely, what sort of container is large enough to hold the bird and all the brine without making the level of brine so shallow that it doesn’t come close to covering the turkey.  This is harder than it may sound.  My best advice from last year is to figure out what container this will be early on.  Everything we had available – cooler, various large storage containers, etc. were either way too big or a few too small.   Ben ended up running out to the hardware store the day before Thanksgiving and found a perfect size galvanized metal cooler that was exactly what we needed.  Also consider where you will be able to store the bird once it is in the brine.  If your fridge is full of various side dishes for the following day, you’ll need a plan B.  I fully intend to purchase a second refrigerator for our garage some day but for now, the chilly Indiana nighttime works just fine.

One final entertaining tip is to plan some sort of garnish to go around your finished turkey.  Last year I happened to have some leftover green and purple kale from another recipe, so it worked well.  I think a combination of greens and fruit looks great, but whatever you do, at least use something.  After you spend all that time making a lovely, perfectly browned bird you want to present it well.

Roast Turkey
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Ingredients:
1 (14-16 lb.) fresh turkey*

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
½ cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tbsp. black peppercorns
1½ tsp. allspice berries
1½ tsp. choppe candied ginger (I omitted)
1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
½ onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Directions:
To prepare the brine, combine the salt, brown sugar, vegetable stock, peppercorns, allspice and ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the solids.  Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate until ready to use.

The night before you plan to serve the turkey, combine the brine and ice water in a 5 gallon bucket (or larger for a bigger bird).  Place the thawed turkey (innards removed) breast side down in the brine.  If necessary, weigh down the bird so it is fully immersed.  Cover and refrigerate or set in a cool area for 8-16 hours, turning once halfway through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500˚ F.  Remove the bird from the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water.  Discard the brine.  (Be sure to clean out your sink well after this step!)

Place the bird on the wire rack inside a roasting pan.  Pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick and  1 cup water in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Add the steeped aromatics to the cavity of the turkey along with the rosemary and sage.  Tuck the wings underneath the bird and brush the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on the lowest rack of the oven at 500˚ F for 30 minutes.  Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and lower the oven temperature to 350˚ F.  Set the thermometer alarm, if available, for 161˚ F.  (A 14-16 lb. bird will take about 2-2½ hours.)  Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving and serving.

*You can certainly make a larger turkey with this recipe.  I made a 23-pounder last year.  It will obviously take longer to cook through, and an instant-read thermometer is absolutely essential for knowing when the bird is properly cooked.  You also could use a frozen turkey, but I wouldn’t recommend it.  For one thing, many frozen turkeys are injected with a salt-laden preservative that will cause your bird to be overly salted after brining.  And plus, it’s Thanksgiving!  Go for the best quality ingredients available – fresh tastes better.  If using frozen, thaw in the refrigerator 2-3 days before roasting.

Source: Alton Brown via Food Network

Sometimes I’m a little hesitant to try recipes that are knock-offs of popular restaurant dishes.  I suppose I just don’t expect them to live up the the restaurant version.  Of course, the more of a foodie I become, the less I eat at the various chains that inspire these knock-offs in the first place.  This particular dish is based off of one by the same name at Maggiano’s, more commonly known as Rigatoni D.  We’ve been to Maggiano’s a few times and I may have even ordered this once, but I didn’t remember it that well so I don’t have much case for comparison.  That’s fine though, this can just stand alone as a great pasta dish.  It has grilled chicken, mushrooms and a light wine cream sauce (light in taste and texture, not calories – sorry!)  This is a lovely meal and, bonus!  Another use for that bottle of Marsala wine in the fridge besides chicken Marsala.  Ben particularly enjoyed this dinner.  I believe his exact words were, “Hey, cooking lady!  Outstanding.”  I guess we’ll be having it again :)

Rigatoni di Gregorio
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Yield: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:
8 oz. rigatoni
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup chopped yellow onion
4 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. dry white wine
¼ cup Marsala wine
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream (or half-and-half)
2 tsp. minced fresh basil
2 tsp. minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. butter

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Once boiling, cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken breasts to the pan and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.  If necessary, turn down the heat to medium-low so the outside doesn’t brown too quickly.  Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.  When cool enough to handle, cut into bite-size pieces.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan with the heat on medium-high.  Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.  Add the mushrooms to the pan and continue to cook until most of the liquid has been released and the onions are softened, about 5 minutes more.  Mix in the garlic and sauté just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the wines, scraping with a spoon to deglaze the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Whisk in the chicken broth.  Return Bring to a simmer, lower the heat to medium and continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half.  Stir in the cream and cook until heated through.  Add in the herbs, Parmesan and butter; mix until well blended and the butter is completely melted.

Add the cooked rigatoni to the pan and toss with the sauce.  Serve immediately with additional grated Parmesan as desired.

Source: adapted from Pennies on a Platter, originally from RecipeLink

This recipe is not new to the blog, but since it is one of my favorite breakfast treats I decided it deserved a reintroduction.  This seems the perfect time of year to be reminded of it, with cranberries in the stores again and turkey day on its way.  These have the kind of texture I love in a scone – light and buttery inside with a slightly crisp crust on the outside.  The tart cranberries and the addition of citrus zest gives these scones an ideal flavor for fall.  I tend to prefer lemon zest in my scones but orange zest would also be wonderful choice here, since it pairs so well with cranberries.

I’ve mentioned it many times before but scones can be frozen after shaping and then baked straight from the freezer simply by adding a few extra minutes onto the baking time.  In case you will be having overnight guests for Thanksgiving, I highly recommend stocking your freezer with some of these scones now.  I certainly don’t feel like getting back in the kitchen and making a mess the morning after such a big meal, so freezer scones with yogurt, homemade granola (premade, of course) and fresh fruit make a really nice breakfast for guests that requires next to no effort.

Cranberry Scones
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Yield: 8-10 scones

Ingredients:
1½ tbsp. freshly grated lemon zest
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup plus 3 tbsp. sugar, divided
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1¼ cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk1 cup heavy cream
Additional sugar for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a food processor*, combine the lemon zest, flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder and salt.  Pulse briefly to blend.  Add in the cold butter pieces and pulse again briefly until the mixture resembles coarse meal and the butter pieces are no larger than peas.  Transfer to a medium mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, toss together the chopped cranberries and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar.  Stir this into the flour-butter mixture.

In another small bowl or a liquid measuring cup, combine the egg, egg yolk and heavy cream; whisk to blend.  Add the liquid ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula or wooden spoon just until all the dry ingredients are moistened.  Knead gently to be sure the dough is evenly mixed, being careful not to overwork the dough.

Place a 2½- or 3-inch round biscuit cutter on the lined baking sheet.  Scoop some of the dough inside the cutter and pat down gently to form a 1-inch thick round.  Repeat with the remaining dough, placing the rounds 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheet.**  Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar.

(To freeze before baking, flash freeze at this point.  Place the baking sheet with the shaped scones into the freezer and chill until frozen.  Transfer to a freezer-safe plastic bag and store until ready to bake.)

Bake in the preheated oven until light golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.  (If baking from the freezer, add approximately 5 minutes to the original baking time.)

*Note: A food processor is not required for this recipe.  You can achieve the same result using a stand mixer, a pastry blender, or even just two knives.  I like the food processor because it is quick and easy, but all methods work equally well.

**Note: There are many different ways to shape scones.  You can pat the dough into one large disc and slice into triangular wedges, roll it out and cut with a biscuit cutter, use a dough scoop and simply make drop scones, etc.  Do whatever you prefer.  I like this method for this particular scone dough because the dough is sticky and this prevents overworking.

Source: adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Halloween is over and suddenly, it’s November and Thanksgiving is just weeks away.  Last year was my first year ever hosting turkey day and I had an absolute blast.  For me, hosting has given this holiday new life.  I used to not really look forward to it much, but having family in our home and cooking the meal myself makes it so much more enjoyable.  Keep in mind I work full time right up to the day before Thanksgiving (as well as the day after – booo) so planning and working ahead is what makes this manageable.  I thought I would share a few posts about my strategies and timelines.  I’m going to do this as a three part series over three weeks.  This week I have focused on general planning and home/kitchen preparations.

First things first – make a guest list.  Depending on how formal you want your event to be, you could even mail out invitations.  Our family is definitely not that formal so I just called or spoke to everyone and made sure they were planning on coming.  If possible get RSVPs within the week or so, that way you can have a head count in mind when making all your preparations.

When planning your guest list, be sure to keep in mind how much seating you have available.  If you don’t have enough seats, make arrangements to accommodate everyone.  (Throwing together a couple of card tables with a tablecloth over them never hurt :) )

Make sure you have enough serveware available for all guests to have plates, glasses, silverware, etc.  Now is the time to figure out what is missing so you have plenty of time to obtain extras.  Also think about tablecloths or table runners, place mats, napkins, etc.  Finally, be sure you have enough serving platters, large bowls, bakeware and such for all the dishes you plan to serve.  If you don’t want to purchase new items, borrow what you need from family members.

Table decor can really help set the tone of the meal and pull an event together.  Start thinking about what sort of table decor you might want – vases of flowers, candles, small pumpkins and gourds, greenery, etc.  Place cards are also a really nice touch.

Also consider any other sorts of home preparations that might be necessary.  If any of your guests will be staying overnight, be sure guest bedrooms and bathrooms are clean and put together.  I just had our kitchen tile and grout as well as our carpets professionally cleaned.  This is yearly maintenance that should be done anyway, and just before hosting Thanksgiving is a perfect time to do it.

And of course, since this is a holiday that centers around food, start planning your menu.  If possible finalize it, though that may only be possible after you have a firm head count on guests.

Finally, order your turkey.  I always try to cook with quality ingredients but in the case of a turkey where it is the main course and centerpiece, this is essential.  A fresh turkey that has not been frozen is best – I’ll discuss the turkey in more depth later this week.  I order our turkey from our local butcher shop and we pick it up the day before Thanksgiving.  One perk of speaking with a butcher is that they can recommend the right size bird for your needs (including how much you want for leftovers!)

Here is my menu as of now:

Thanksgiving 2010
Appetizers:
Baked Brie en Croûte with Apple Compote
Homemade Party Snack Mix
Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip
Roasted Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce

Main Course:
Roasted Turkey with Cider Shallot Gravy

Side Dishes:
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes with Sage Butter Crumb Topping
Stuffing
Broccoli Gratin
Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash with Bacon Vinaigrette
Honey Yeast Rolls and Multigrain Rolls
Honey Butter and Compound Herb Butter
Cranberry Sauce

Desserts:
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Cookie Platter with Chocolate Turtle Cookies, Cinnamon Stars and Cranberry Crumb Bars

*I only post recipes that I have tried before and would recommend, so any of the recipes on the menu that are new to me will not be shared prior to Thanksgiving.  I will be sharing some of the recipes from last Thanksgiving in the upcoming weeks.

Finally, you might want to make some plans for post-turkey day relaxation.  I scheduled myself a massage for the Saturday after Thanksgiving :)