Dear friends,
While many are eager to celebrate the holidays with family again, I’m feeling kind of hermit-y. I love my family but I’ve seen them. I kind of liked having Thanksgiving and Christmas in solitude last year, with no one to please but myself, my husband and my dog. If someone needs me (a possibility) I’ll be there but otherwise, I will be happy to stay home.
That doesn’t mean I’ll be scaling down dinner. Heck, no. My love of turkey and Thanksgiving burns bright. I will smoke a big turkey in Tony’s bargain yard-sale smoker and surround it with all the fixings — stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, pumpkin pie. Maybe some of those pillowy homemade yeast rolls I made last year. Definitely some Champagne or Chardonnay.
My Thanksgiving recipes haven’t changed much in a decade because they’re the best I’ve found. I have shared them more than once. The exception is the stuffing recipe I’ll make this year and a chocolate pie I’ll throw into the mix. The stuffing was actually a recipe I developed last year for the pastry-wrapped turkey breast I featured in my newsletter. It was patted onto the rolled turkey breast before wrapping with puff pastry, but I loved it so much I made a big pan of it for my own Thanksgiving.
The chocolate pie is a gooey chess pie with a crackly top. It is variously called “molten chocolate pie,” “chocolate chess pie,” and “crackle-top chocolate pie” in recipes I’ve seen. The one I’m sharing is from the blog Halfbakedharvest.com.
I hope you have a joyful Thanksgiving, whether your table is expansive or small.
MUSHROOM-CRANBERRY DRESSING
12 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped onions
Salt, pepper
4 cups soft, coarsely chopped bread crumbs
2 cups coarse-crumbled cornbread
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 tsp. dry crumbled sage
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup toasted, broken walnut pieces
2 beaten eggs
1 cup turkey or chicken broth, or enough to moisten
Note: The mushrooms may be chopped in the food processor if just a few mushrooms are chopped at a time. Pulse to produce coarse pieces.
Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter with the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat (the oil prevents the butter from burning). Add mushrooms and onions and sauté until mushrooms are cooked and onion is very limp. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
Melt remaining butter with the mushrooms and onions. Set aside.
In a very large bowl combine the chopped bread and cornbread crumbs with the thyme and sage. Add the mushroom mixture and stir until everything is coated well with fat. Stir in the cranberries and walnut pieces. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
Beat the eggs into the broth, then drizzle over the stuffing while tossing. Add more broth as needed until crumbs are very moist but not soupy. Transfer to a greased 9-by-12-inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer or until the stuffing is steaming hot. Makes 8 servings.
MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CRACKLE PIE
1 unbaked pie shell
1 egg, beaten with a fork
Coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. instant coffee granules
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
10 tbsp. salted butter, melted
1 tbsp. hazelnut liquor (optional)
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in lower third of oven. Fit the pie dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Brush the fluted edge of the crust with the beaten egg, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Lightly prick the bottom of the pie shell with a fork. Line with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights. Freeze for 10 to 15 minutes.
Bake until the crust is set, 20 minutes, Remove weights and parchment and continue baking until crust is golden, 5 minutes. Remove from oven and lower temperature to 350 degrees.
Meanwhile, whisk together the four eggs and sugar until well combined. Add the cocoa powder, instant coffee, and salt. Whisk in the melted butter, hazelnut liquor, and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into the baked crust.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the pie is puffed on top but still wiggly in the center. The longer you bake, the more set your pie will be. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 to 30 minutes, then serve the pie warm, dolloped with whip cream. Or chill and serve chilled with whipped cream.
GUT CHECK
What I cooked recently:
Beans on toast; pepperoni pizza from Big Star in Copley (twice); apple tart; chicken teriyaki over steamed rice (Tony); Cuban black bean soup; no-knead bread; chorizo-pumpkin soup and salad with blue cheese, walnuts and pears; beans and weenies.
What I ate out/carried in:
Borscht, chicken paprikash soup, lobster bisque, chebureki (meat pies with horseradish sauce), pirogi, french fries with crispy pork belly and garlic aioli, short rib sliders, with friends (we shared bites) at Olesia’s Taverne in Richfield (loved the food, atmosphere); green salad, ham loaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, sugar-free apple pie at Das Dutch Haus in Columbiana; a hamburger happy meal from McDonald’s; a BLT with avocado and tea at Mustard Seed Market Cafe in Highland Square; fried plantains and a cheese arepa at Latino Bar and Grill in Green; eggs over easy, grits, bacon and biscuits at Cracker Barrel.
THE MAILBAG
No questions or comments came in the mail in the last two weeks. I’m going to assume all of you are happily cooking away, storing up topics for email chats with me. I can’t wait to hear from you.
See Jane Cook 