Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

We did it. I can’t believe it’s true, but we planted two pecan trees in our yard. We spotted them at Lowe’s in late September and selected a Sumner Pecan and a Stuart Pecan. We are slightly north of the growing zone for the Sumner, but our area has mild winters so it should do well. Pecan trees need another variety nearby to produce, and we planted these within 30 feet of each other. They got a little dry at one point and we were worried we might lose them, but it looks like they have taken to their new home. They don’t look like much right now, just a couple sticks about five feet (152 cm) tall since they lost their leaves, but they are full of promise, I can feel it. We have hopeful visions of harvesting pounds and pounds of pecans in about eight years. Yes it will be a long wait, but if the trees produce then my dream to grow our own pecans will be fulfilled. Read more

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast and Gravy

Christmas Day is one day out of the year that we really like to relax with the kids and still have a traditional meal while keeping it easy. Ham with all the trimmings is a Christmas Day meal for my family, while Michael’s family does turkey. This year our compromise was to do turkey on Christmas Day and ham on New Year’s Day.

In keeping with the easy and relaxing theme, we decided to cook a whole turkey breast in the slow cooker, which gives a tender and juicy bird and keeps the oven available for baking rolls or pie or whatever else might be on the menu. My inspiration for this recipe comes from Elise’s mom, who makes a great turkey. We’ve used her recipe the last two Thanksgivings with success, and I adapted it for a slow cooker turkey breast.

On Christmas morning I walked out to the garden and cut some sage, thyme, parsley, and oregano, all of which flavored the bird and the gravy. Read more

Cranberries with Orange Zest and Port

Every year we look forward to Thanksgiving day and start planning well in advance. The boys are still only slightly interested in the holiday, though they seem to enjoy turkey more than they used to. One of my favorite parts of the holiday meal, even more than the turkey, is the cranberries, but you would never know if you came to our home for Thanksgiving dinner. Every year I make cranberry chutney or some kind of cranberry side dish, and about half the time I forget to serve it along with dinner. It remains in the refrigerator, forgotten and forlorn while everyone dives into the turkey, potatoes, gravy, beans, salad, and rolls.

This year I promise myself that I will remember to serve it, especially since I tried a new recipe with port. Sipping a glass of port while making it was half the fun, and I may have to make another batch on Thanksgiving day because I doubt this one will last until then. It’s technically a side dish, but it’s dessert, too, and I can easily imagine spooning this over cheesecake.

It’s an easy make ahead side, just store covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. Makes about 4-1/2 cups.

[Updated November 15, 2009.]

CRANBERRIES WITH ORANGE ZEST AND PORT

Adapted from Food & Wine, 1998.

Equipment

large deep skillet with lid

Ingredients

1 cup (240 mil) ruby red port
6 cups fresh cranberries (1-1/2 pounds/680 g), picked over and rinsed
1-1/2 cups (263 g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fine orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. In a large skillet, bring the port to a boil over high heat. Add the cranberries and cook, stirring, until they begin to pop, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the sugar, orange zest and salt and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture returns to a simmer, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool before serving. Garnish with strips of orange zest.

More Dishes for Thanksgiving

More Cranberry Recipes From Around the Blogs

Pinch My Salt – Buttermilk Cranberry Scones

Karina’s Kitchen – Cranberry Crumble

Kitchen Parade- Cranberry Chutney

Sweetnicks – Cranberry Conserve

New Favorites for Thanksgiving

My plan to blog yesterday fell by the wayside as this Thanksgiving was as busy as ever. Though we stayed at home and had a small celebration with our little family, it seems that we’re still stuck in the mode of struggling to get meals on the table while trying to manage the three-ring circus, aka our three little boys. I did manage to continue my tradition of forgetting to serve the cranberry chutney. Last year was the first time in three years that I actually remembered to serve it, and I promised myself that I would remember this year, but once again it sat in the refrigerator forlornly while we enjoyed the turkey and the rest of the trimmings. Oh well, it will taste good with turkey sandwiches for the next few days!

In a departure from our tradition, we roasted a whole turkey this year rather than just a turkey breast using Elise’s method for roasting the bird breast-side down and Food & Wine’s recipe for shallot butter with Madeira thyme gravy. The breast meat was so tender and juicy it was falling apart as we cut it, and the flavor of the gravy was a real winner. I will never roast a bird breast-side up again because it was *that* good. After picking off all the meat for a turkey pot pie, the carcass went into a stockpot to make some good, rich stock for turkey noodle soup. Read more

Roasted Winter Squash Soup with Croutons

What can be more comforting than a bowl of creamy soup on a cold day? When the weather starts to turn a little chilly, I start making soups and this was my first one this month. Roasting the acorn and butternut squash brings out a wonderful sweetness that is tempered by the leeks, herbs, and garlic. After roasting the squash, saute the leeks and garlic, then add the stock, the mashed squash, and the herbs. Let that cook for a while, then puree it in a blender to get that smooth texture. This can easily be a vegan soup just by using vegetable stock and soy milk, and you can use gluten-free bread if you want to.

The croutons, which mirror the herbal flavors in the soup, are great for dipping in the soup or floating on top. The Gruyère can be a bit pricey, but you can substitute with Swiss. If you are making this for a quick weeknight meal, you could skip the croutons and enjoy the soup with a plain crusty baguette, but if you are serving this as a soup course for Thanksgiving or another special occasion, by all means make the croutons because they complement the soup very well. You can also make this one day ahead and then just gently warm on the stove while making the croutons. Read more

Sage-Roasted Turkey Breast

We had a small Thanksgiving celebration this year with just the five of us. This wasn’t a good year for us to travel for big family gatherings, what with the new baby and all, so we stayed at home and had a quiet, simple celebration. I roasted a turkey breast since we didn’t need a whole turkey, and it’s something I really should do more often throughout the year. I tried a new method, and it was fast and easy.

Most turkey roasting recipes have you cook for a long time at a slow temperature, but this one recommends a high temperature—450° F—and the bird is done in just 60 to 90 minutes, depending on weight. It worked great! The skin was crispy and flavorful, and the meat was moist and tender. The recipe calls for a 5 pound breast, but we used an 8 pounder which cooked in just over 90 minutes. Read more

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