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Posts Tagged ‘thanksgiving’

Pecan Crunch Tart

Posted in Holiday, Recipes, tagged , , , , on November 16, 2011 | 3 Comments »

Seriously, how is Thanksgiving in one week? I don’t know about you, but my 2011 flew by in the blink of an eye. I suppose this shouldn’t come as too much of a shock, since “Time flies when you’re having fun,” and 2011 has been jam-packed with tons of fun, new experiences. Still, I’m hoping time slows down a little for these last six weeks of the year so we can soak up all of the enjoyment the holiday season has to offer.

Like baking, for one. Anyone who read my blog through last year’s holidays knows the role cooking, baking in particular, holds for me and my loved ones in how we celebrate this time of year. And since the week leading up to Thanksgiving is going to consist of work, school, trailing, traveling, and (hopefully) sleeping, that leaves little time for baking! The solution? Well, I last Saturday, I made a tart. And I froze it. Fingers crossed this actually works out…

But since my Frangipane Apple Tart held up so well in the freezer for, oh, four weeks after I made it, I have high hopes for this Pecan Crunch Tart, which shares the same sweet buttery crust and a similar fluffy, nut-based filling. Not to mention that the aroma wafting out of the oven while this tart baked leads me to believe  it can be nothing short of delicious. And then there were those small morsels I sampled… Yes, my hopes for this tart are sky-high.

The recipe for Pecan Crunch Tart is a marriage of a fool-proof Pate Sucree (translation: “Sweet Paste”) pie crust, and a caramel-y, pecan-heavy filling that comes from AllRecipes.com – where over a thousand (!) home cooks deemed this pie worthy of four-and-a-half stars. I’m particularly loving the addition of chopped pecans right in the pie filling (rather than just on top) to add more pecan flavor and extra crunch in each bite! So, yeah. I was pretty psyched giving this a whirl at home.

Standard disclaimer: I haven’t actually tried a piece of this pie yet (of course not, its frozen solid in my freezer as my stomach growls in anticipation). But, given my prior experience with (eating) Pate Sucree crust, and a thousand other people’s experience with this pecan filling, I feel fairly confident in recommending this recipe to you for your Thanksgiving dessert spread this year! Are you up for the challenge?

Pecan Crunch Tart – Makes one 9-inch tart (or pie)

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients for Pate Sucree Tart Crust (makes enough for one 9″ tart)

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose Flour
  • 1 Tbsp white sugar
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 8 Tbsp (1 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten plus ice water to equal 1/4 cup
Ingredients for the Pecan Filling
  • 1 cup of light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup of white sugar
  • 1/2 cup of butter, melted
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp milk
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of chopped pecans, plus extra for decoration
Method
Start by preparing the Pate Sucree: Combine your dry ingredients – flour, salt and sugar – in a bowl. Cut cold butter into 1/2 inch cubes and add to dry ingredients. Using the paddle attachment of a standing mixer, a pastry cutter, or your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until you reach a cornmeal consistency (small granules, no flakes or lumps). Slowly mix in the egg mixture until the dough comes together and is smooth. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a disk, about an inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use (note: dough can be frozen for up to 3 months).
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
When you’re ready to make your tart, role Pate Sucree out in a circle to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness. The dough should be around an inch larger than your tart tin on all sides. Roll the dough over your rolling pin to transfer to tart tin, and gently lay dough over the tin. Then, press the dough down into the corners of the tin to form a flat base and straight sides. Trim off the excess dough, leaving an extra 1/4 inch. Then, use your fingers to straighten the excess dough to make the sides of the tart slightly taller.
To make the filling, in a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in melted butter. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and the flour; mix well. Last add the milk, vanilla and nuts. Pour into the unbaked tart shell.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until done. About 10 minutes before tart is done, remove from oven and decorate top with whole pecans. Serve with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream!

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Thanksgiving Thoughts

Posted in Holiday, Just for fun, tagged , , , , on November 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Well, it’s that time of year again. The air is crisp, the leaves have finally begun to change from green to deep jewel hues (after being smothered by snow last weekend!), and Halloween’s jack-o-lanterns are firmly behind us. It’s full steam ahead into the foodie-ist holiday of them all – Thanksgiving!

If you, like me, subscribe to a plethora of food blogs and follow every food magazine on Twitter, you’re quickly realizing that all talk has turned to Thanksgiving menus, from the best desserts to the hottest new Turkey roasting trend to most portable Thanksgiving sides for those who won’t be hosting. It’s easy to get overloaded on all this information, but the fact is, it’s also quite contagious, and hard to avoid the pre-planning, recipe scouring, and ingredient hunting that basically defines the month of November for any cook and Thanksgiving lover.

Take last year, for example. Last year I, without actually getting the permission of my parents (small technicality), offered to host a Thanksgiving for my whole family at their house. I mean, we had actually begun toying with the notion of not having Thanksgiving, for crying out loud! I couldn’t let that happen. This was a serious matter. So I offered up their home, kitchen, and hospitality for the event. And with that, my mother immediately declared that she would be spending all of Thanksgiving morning sitting on the couch, watching the parade, and I could do all the cooking.

This was pre-culinary school, though, and I was taking all the cooking I could get my hands on. The idea of preparing a several course meal in my parents’ kitchen, which is considerably larger than my own, sounded delightful, and I even took the Wednesday beforehand off work to prepare. But the preparations didn’t stop there. Oh no. I dove headfirst into planning mode and decided to create a Google Doc presentation of my recipes and plan to share with the whole Family. At the time I thought this was pretty normal (okay, not really).


I should have known then that culinary school was inevitable, but enough about that… Point is, last year’s Thanksgiving went off without a hitch because I had plenty of time to plan, cook, and even a little wiggle room for mistakes (I may have had to ride my bike to 711 for heavy cream at one point). So many delicious recipes, like this Pumpkin Ginger Pie, and just unforgettable cooking moments came out of that day, and it helped me fully understand why hosting Thanksgiving is such a joy for so many people.

This year, I won’t be hosting a Thanksgiving feast, but rather, be a guest at one.  It really is for the best, as Thanksgiving 2011 is bookended by class, work, exams and weekend trips. Still, like any good guest, I refuse to arrive empty-handed, and have already begun plotting what I should bring. Perhaps the unbeatable Apple Frangipane Tart that we made in Pastry class at ICE? Or maybe the amazing cranberry sauce that I died a little bit for last year. Either way, I’m excited for the planning and preparing, whatever it winds up being!

What are you most excited to make (or eat) this Thanksgiving? Are you hosting, or guesting?

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Sky Full of Pumpkin-Ginger Pie

Posted in Holiday, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on November 30, 2010 | 4 Comments »

Some will argue that summer is the pinnacle of pie season. All that fresh fruit… blueberries, raspberries, rhubarb – you could make pies galore! But for many, autumn will always spell the beginning of a pie time of year, when the weather is cold and a rich, flaky pastry crust filled with a creamy, sweet confection finally feels just right.

Pumpkin Pie epitomizes this sentiment, from the moment it is conceived in the weeks leading up to Halloween when the deep orange pumpkins of fall just start to ripen. Then, as November arrives and Jack-O-Lanterns are discarded, pumpkins find a new purpose in our meals, as they are pureed into soups, mashes, breads, muffins, and pies. Hundreds of years ago, Native Americans brought the finest pumpkins of their harvest as gifts to the New World settlers, and in the present-day now, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a pumpkin pie missing from your table on Thanksgiving. But after trying this Pumpkin-Ginger pie recipe from Locanda Verde’s pastry chef Karen DeMasco, you’ll want this pie front and center of your dessert buffet for every holiday party, Christmas dinner, and New Year’s celebration that’s to come this year. Because nothing says decadence quite like a classic pastry with a modern twist – and that is what this pie is all about.

To start, you’ll need to spend a little time at your local grocery store, gathering all sorts of magical ingredients. You’ll need:

INGREDIENTS for the Crust:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
  • 1/4 cup lard, cold

INGREDIENT for the Filling:

  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup dark-brown sugar
  • 1 tbs. finely grated ginger
  • 1 3/4 cups fresh pumpkin (or 15-oz. canned pumpkin purée)
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. fresh nutmeg
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt

Then, get to work making your own pie crust. Sure, you could go store-bought, but why? I promise, this takes less than 20 minutes to make, and is way easier than any pastry-making trials and tribulations you may have heard in the past.

To start, place the flour, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and lard, and mix with a pastry blender or fork (or even cut the butter into small pieces with two knives – trust me, you can work with what you’ve got!) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1/4-cup ice water, using your hands to mix the dough together. Then, on a clean surface, shape the dough into a flattened disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Once the dough has chilled in the fridge (and feel free to leave it in the fridge as long as overnight – I did, and it worked out great), roll out the dough into an 11-inch round on a floured surface. Center the dough on a 9-inch pie plate, pressing into the edges, and trim the dough to the rim. Then, stick the dough-covered pie plate back in the fridge and chill for 10 more minutes. In the meantime you can shape the remaining scraps of dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate those too. They’ll come in handy later ;) Oh, and go preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Once your pie crust has chilled out in the fridge, bring it back front and center, and get ready to bake! Line the pie shell with a round of parchment paper or foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Then, fill with pie weights. Or, if you are a normal home cook and are saying to yourself, “Pie-weights, what-now?” go get some dried beans or lentils out of your pantry and fill the parchment-lined pie shell with those. Us home cooks are nothing if not resourceful.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes until the edges begin to turn golden. Remove the parchment and pie weights, er, lentils… And return the crust to the oven to continue baking for about 10 more minutes until it appears to be flaky and golden. You know, like a pastry… Right… Now the crust is done, so set the whole pie plate on the table or a wire rack  and let it cool completely. There’s still a bit to do, so you’ll have plenty to keep you busy while the crust cools.

Now, it’s time to make the filling! This filling is what makes this pie phenomenal – it has a few secret (well, not any more…), irresistibly scrumptious ingredients that kick it up a few (…thousand…) notches and make it the most unique pumpkin pie you’ve ever had.

Now look. By now you’re probably thinking, “This seems like wayyyy to much work on to of everything else I have to cook for this holiday dinner party. Costco’s got a great pumpkin pie and no one has ever complained about a Costco dessert.” I know it’s easy to go out to the store and buy a pumpkin pie. Maybe even a gourmet, special, different pumpkin pie. But, humor me  while I give you a short scenario. A certain family member of mine dug the last, slightly smushed, left over slice of this pie out of the fridge last night, five days after Thanksgiving, the day on which it was made and served, and after a week of hanging out in the not-always-friendly-fridge, the pie was still able to elicit the following response:

“So I finished the last ample slice of pumpkin pie last night, and after the sensory overload subsided, it knocked my socks off! The ginger came fizzing through!”

That’s right – GINGER. Also, maple syrup. Ready to venture onward? Okay – let’s go!

First, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Gather your filling ingredients, measuring cups, measuring spoons, and whisk around a large bowl. Whisk the eggs, cream, maple syrup, brown sugar, and ginger together until well combined and smooth. In a second bowl, mix the pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt until that’s smooth, too; then add the egg mixture in, and whisk to combine.

That’s it! Pour filling into cooled pie shell, and give yourself a pat on the back! The hard part is done.

Now, if you want to get decorative, DeMasco recommends the following: Roll out the refrigerated disk of dough to about 1/4-inch thick. Using a 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out 40 pieces of dough. Once the crust is cool, fan and press the cutouts to form a lip around the edge of the crust. Chill the cooked crust lined with cutouts for 10 minutes.

I went with a festive leaf cookie cutter to make the rim. Despite the aroma and taste of this pie, let’s face it – we’re all visual creatures, so I definitely recommend taking the extra 15 minutes to cut out some holiday pastry shapes and dressing your pie up a bit.

Bake the pie on the center rack of the oven for about 60 minutes (rotating after 30 minutes) or until the center has a slight jiggle. Serve each slice with some freshly whipped cream, such as DeMasco’s brandy whipped cream, which includes 2 cups heavy cream, 2 tbs. sugar, and 1/4 cup brandy, or something simpler, like heavy cream, a dash of confectioner’s sugar, and some vanilla extract.

So, there you have it! A quick and easy (okay, so not really at all, but really, what good things in life are?) Pumpkin-Ginger-Maple-Brandy-Heaven-like-presents-under-a-fresh-pine-tree-Christma-hannuk-kwanza-practically-perfect-in-every-way Pie (in the sky). But who needs superlatives? The proof is in the pudding (read: pie filling), and in the smiles of pure bliss that will surely overcome your guests’ faces when they dig into a slice of this goodness this holiday season.

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These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things…

Posted in Holiday, tagged , , on November 27, 2010 | 3 Comments »

As we enter December, we have one wonderful food-filled holiday right behind us, and another just a few weeks away. And in this rare moment of calm before the Holiday Season unfolds, I want to take a moment to say how truly thankful I am for all the amazing love, luck, and happiness I have in my life, thanks to my amazing family, friends, and random moments of joy that manage to sneak their way into my life when I least expect it. I hope that on the heels of Thanksgiving, this December provides the opportunity for all of us to find new ways to be grateful, and thank those people we love most by sharing with them great experiences, great food, lots of love, and of course, making new memories.

This year, I am so thankful that I had the amazing opportunity to spend two days creating exciting dishes and experimenting in my parent’s kitchen in order to create the Thanksgiving spread for my family. I’m also extremely thankful that everyone in my family are such fabulous chefs, and that we all were able to collaborate bring something unique and outstanding to the table this year. From the Sweet Potato casserole topped with candied pecans, to the stuffing packed with sweet Italian sausage, butternut squash, and cranberries, to the sweet, moist cornbread that was full of whole kernels of tender corn, this year’s feast felt very much like the real first Thanksgiving, with everyone traveling with their own special dishes to join together and give thanks for a beautiful meal.

With that, I’d like to share with all of you some of my favorite culinary memories that came out of the Krupin kitchen this Thanksgiving.

Fresh, thick, bubbling heavy cream – one of the essential ingredients in Locanda Verde’s Pumpkin-Ginger Pie.

Gleaming, scrubbed white button mushrooms are just waiting to be stuffed with a savory, buttery, cheesy filling and eagerly devoured by the entire family.

Mix flour, butter, lard, and sugar. Chill, roll, and relish in the ease of making your own homemade pie crust.

The extra scraps of dough find a new home as dainty autumn leaves of butter and sugar, which will create a festive ring around this pie.

Nothing brings me back to my childhood more than the captivating aroma that rises from a cast iron pan full of garlic and shallots sweating in a bath of hot olive oil.

Christine’s Words to Live By: There are few things in life that cannot be made better by the marriage of sage and butter. Thanksgiving Turkey is surely one of them.

A classic French Pissaladiere finds a new home at our Thanksgiving table, where the flavors of basil, tomato, soft onions, tart olives, and sweet sun-dried tomatoes flew right off the table and into hungry mouths.

Smoky pancetta, garlic, and shallots caramelize in the hopes of soon coating crisp, aldente green beans and toasted slivers of almond for Green Beans Almondine.

Finally complete are the stuffed mushrooms, an absolute staple for all holiday functions.

A homemade cranberry sauce was the star of this year’s spread. Cranberry juice cocktail, whole fresh cranberries, dried cranberries, dried tart cherries, lime pulp and zest, currant jelly, allspice, cinnamon sticks, an orange peel, and a sprinkle of brown sugar make the best cranberry sauce you’ve ever eaten. Great on turkey, ice cream, or plain with just you and a spoon.

Stuffed with rosemary, onions, and garlic, and smothered inside, outside, and under the skin with a creamy sage butter, this bird was ready to roast.

The finished Pumpkin-Ginger Pie topped with freshly whipped Madagascar Vanilla Cream, a dessert that will get you through to springtime.

And finally, our turkey emerged from its steamy oven (owed in large part to the pan of Sauvignon Blanc that joined it in the oven to keep it moist), with crisp, buttery skin and moist, tender meat. This bird proves that brining isn’t always needed for a great Thanksgiving turkey.

Happy Holidays to All!!

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