Tag Archives: thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving 2012

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Thanksgiving 2012 was a totally new experience for Sean and I. We’ve never really spent the holiday separated from friends and fam before. I was a litte sad at first, but then I realized we could pretty much make/do what we wanted ALL DAY LONG. That realization turned things around and we had a pretty amazing 2-person feast with leftovers for days. We didn’t have to worry about anyone elses tastes or preferences, or even worry about having a timely meal.

We began the day with sour-cherry champagne cocktails (sour cherry juice boiled down with a vanilla bean and some sugar, reduced by half to make a syrup, plus champagne) and ended it with too many pieces of pie. 

Instead of breakfast I made a cheese and fruit plate–there’s some port cheddar and some super aged (deeelish) gouda. I set the table with our wedding tablecloth–a gift from Sean’s BFF and best man. BFF/Best Man brought us that cloth all the way from Ecuador, PLUS he brought me some palm sugar that he harvested with his own hands. Major. My mom sent me early-Christmas in the form of golden flatware. I am obsessed.

Since we were celebrating couple-style, I wanted to do something festive in regards to being thankful, so we wrote each other cards–that’s what you see on top of our plates. Sean always writes me the sweetest notes, I always write him goofy-crazy ones.

I nuded up part of our turkey by picking it’s skin…it was just so crispy-good! It couldn’t be helped. Those are pumpkin-herb rolls and they made the best leftovers sandwiches. I love pumpkin  but I hate pumpkin pie…that last photo is the top of a black-bottomed banana cream pie: shortbread crust, ganache, bananas, brown-butter pudding, and so much whipped cream…SO GOOD.

This year was different, but great. I got to lounge around with my best pal AND eat AND drink, it was totally merry.

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Updated Green Bean Casserole

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Green bean casserole never graced the Thanksgiving table of my youth. It was one of those things I only ever had at other peoples houses and gatherings. At it’s simplest and most processed, it’s a mix of canned soup, green beans, and canned fried onions…and, I loved it.

Fast forward to adulthood, and I can’t really get with canned, cream-of-whatever soups anymore. They just don’t do it for me–too bland, yet somehow too salty, as well. I can, however, get with those crazy fried onion dudes…so, I made the soup and stuck with the store-bought, french-fried alliums*, and ditched the canned beans for fresh ones.

The soup starts with mushrooms, plus some shallot and garlic for flavor, and is finished with an odd-yet-totally appropriate mix of chicken stock, fish sauce, and a little half & half. I first sweat, then caramelize the mushrooms–which seems counterintuitive, but it makes for little nubs of mushroom that are super nutty and flavorful. The fish sauce adds savory depth and zero fishy-weirdness.

This casserole is a nod toward the original, but with better flavor, layered richness, and a fresher, more vegetal profile from the fresh beans and homemade mushroom soup. The crunchy topping is everything you remember (and love) of the classic version, with a little bit of an update underneath.

*You can go with the OG French’s brand of onions, but there are a number of store-brand options out there. I have, personally, had good luck with the Trader Joe’s version.

Updated Green Bean Casserole

Since the soup part of the original casserole is the sodium-flavored-condensed-variety, I wanted the soup base for this to be super flavorful. My secret addition is a bit of fish sauce for another layer of savoriness–you can leave it out (along with subbing veg stock for chicken) if you want to go vegetarian or don’t have fish sauce on hand. I like to keep a bottle on hand in the refrigerator for asian dishes–a little goes a long way and it keeps well. I also added turmeric–I add it to a lot of things since it’s good for the brain, it just adds a warm color to the sauce and the faintest earthiness, but it’s totally optional here. 

“Condensed” Creamy Mushroom Soup:

2 teaspoons olive oil

8 ounces cremini (brown) mushrooms, cleaned and chopped

1 large shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons butter, unsalted

2 Tablespoons flour

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

salt

pepper

2 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)

1 Tablespoon half and half

Casserole:

1 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 recipe creamy mushroom soup

1 1/4 cups french fried onions

In a medium to large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped mushrooms to the pan and season lightly with salt–the mushrooms should release a good amount of liquid after salting–continue to cook until the mushroom liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms bits begin to take on some caramelized color and turn fragrant, stirring occasionally. Add the shallot and stir, cook until shallot is translucent and beginning to soften. Add the garlic, stir, and cook about 1 minute. Add the butter to the pan to melt, stir in the flour, along with turmeric and cayenne (if using), to make a roux. Cook for 1-2 minutes to cook out the raw-flour flavor. Stir together the chicken stock, fish sauce (if using), and half & half. Begin adding the chicken stock mixture to the mushroom-roux mixture, stirring out any lumps, until all of the liquid is incorporated. Taste and season accordingly with salt and pepper. Continue cooking the soup base until it begins to bubble and has thickened a bit. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook green beans for about 2-3 minutes, until just tender. Drain the beans and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine green beans with the soup base, mix to coat well. Add about 1/4 cup crushed, french fried onions, and mix to combine. Pour the green bean mixture into a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, until the casserole is bubbling. Remove from oven, top with remaining french fried onions, and continue to bake another 5 minutes until the topping is crisp and golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

 

 

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Holiday in Pictures: Thanksgiving 2011

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I have a whole lot to be thankful for…far more than I’d like to lay out here. Instead, I’ll share some Instagram  pics from last weeks festivities (follow me on Instagram @ cindychae).

Sewing napkins

Thanksgiving Eve Pizza
Lemon Coffeecake Breakfast
Banana Cream Pie Prep
Cheesecake to be baked
Green Bean trimmings
Just a couple of Carrots
Brussels Sprouts
Setting the Table
Gin + Cranberry-Gingerale
Gingerbread Place Cards
Cranberry + Hard Cider Jelly
The Feast
Browned Butter Banana Cream Pie + Cheesecake with Sour Cherry-Orange Sauce
Cheesecake!
Trimming the tree with two of my favorite childhood ornaments–glass + glitter ice cream cone and elf cookie bake-shop.

We ate, drank, gave thanks, and were joyful. Afterwards there was napping/lounging, and on Friday we decked the halls. How was your Thanksgiving?

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Recipe: Graham Crackers

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It’s a week from Thanksgiving and I am super excited! I love, love, LOVE the holiday season.  All of it. I love the decorations, the camaraderie and spirit, the cozy evenings, and, of course, the food and drink! For me, Thanksgiving is all about food and family, whereas Christmas is all about the gift giving…I’m one of those people that relishes in finding the perfect gift. I L-O-V-E it…but we’ll talk about that later. Let’s talk Thanksgiving now.

This Thanksgiving is a totally different scenario for Sean and I. It’s the first year that we aren’t going to be with our families back in Nevada. We’re feeling lucky and excited though, because my brothers-in-law and father-in-law are all traveling out to Michigan to spend the holiday with us! I usually don’t do a lot of cooking during the major holidays, especially with my family, since there are always plenty of people to take over those duties and there are a lot of favorites dishes that are the territories of moms/aunts/grandmas. This year, though, I’m doing all of the menu planning and cooking! Yee! I’m going to employ Sean to be my kitchen helper and I’m sure at least one of his three brothers will help too.

There’s turkey and hard cider gravy, mushroom stuffed pork loin, dried cherry and sausage dressing, shaved brussel sprouts with walnuts, caramelized green beans, mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, scalloped corn, and homemade cranberry jelly, on the menu. Also, lots of bread-y things like pumpkin-cheddar muffins and copious amounts of dinner rolls, as well as a coconut-banana cream pie AND a cheesecake. The menu is way more than enough to feed 6 people with huge appetites, but I don’t think Thanksgiving is even worth the effort unless there are piles of leftovers…I’m all about crazy, Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches!

I made these graham crackers in anticipation of next week, because I need crumbs for cheesecake crust. Duh. I certainly could have purchased graham crackers, like I usually do, but I’m excited for this crazy, homemade Thanksgiving, so I made my own. I get a little overzealous that way. These grahams are great. Like, really, really, really great. They don’t contain graham flour, which is odd, but they taste like the real deal. Only better. They have undertones of honey and dark brown sugar, a snappy crunch, and wholesome nuttiness from a little whole wheat. I left them unadorned of a cinnamon-sugar topping, since I just plan on grinding them up for crust anyway, but if I were making them to snack on and spread with pb or frosting, I would definitely sprinkle away.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? I’m curious to know, are you cooking or contributing a dish? And, what is it?! Are you leaving the cooking to someone else and just eating? If so, what’s your favorite dish?

Homemade Graham Crackers

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

So, I totally didn’t have the 1/3 cup of honey for these grahams, I only had about 3 tablespoons. To make up for it, I used a combination of maple syrup and honey. These things happen, it all worked out. 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons, whole wheat flour

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed lightly

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons butter, cubed and frozen

1/3 cup mild honey (or a combination of honey and maple syrup)

5 tablespoons whole milk

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

In either a food processor fitted with a steel blade or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attatchement, combine flours, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, pulse or mix to combine. Add cubed butter and pulse or mix on low until you get a coarse meal.

In a measuring cup stir together honey, whole milk, and vanilla. Add the milk mixture to the dry mixture and pulse or mix until just combined. The dough will be quite sticky. Wrap the dough loosely in plastic and pat into a 1 inch rectangle. Wrap well and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.

Working with half of the dough at a time (keep the other half refrigerated), roll out dough, using flour as needed, into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into crackers, either with a knife, pastry wheel, or cookie cutters. Re-roll scraps once for more crackers. Place grahams on parchment lined baking sheets, about 1 inch apart, and chill until firm. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 15-20 minutes until crackers just barely yield to the touch and are dark brown, but not burnt, in color. Remove from the oven, cool slightly on the cookie sheet, and remove to cool completely on a cooling rack. The crackers will crisp as they cool. Store in an airtight container.