Trick or Treating Savories

It's not all about the candy!  Before the trick or treating, it's equally festive to have savory snacks to fuel the big night.  I teamed up with Jenni Kayne and Amy Blessing to make a pumpkin themed party with a menu perfect for a holiday gathering.  While my family tradition is chili on Halloween, it was fun to do a twist with pumpkin soup.  The kids carved out their pumpkins to use as bowls and then picked from an array of toppings: avocado, corn chips, pepitas & dried cranberries.  To compliment their soup, I made ghost toasts (with the kids placing currants for eyes) and pumpkin and almond butter tea sandwiches.  Nothing quite says fall like apples which were served in the forms of spiced cider and caramel covered.  It turns out, eating pumpkin soup is really just a transaction a child will make when promised the reward of the sweet caramel covered apples (my recipe, featuring maple syrup can be found here).  Amy and Jenni, both masters of making all things chic and beautiful, created pretty decorations to make the day special.  Check out all of my recipes and more photos of Amy and Jenni's festive table on Rip Plus Tan.  Happy Halloween!!

The Menu

Sips

spiced cider

Snacks

apple slices

ghost toasts

almond butter & pumpkin butter tea sandwiches

pumpkin soup with 

cranberry, pepitas, corn chips & avocado

Sweet

caramel apples

caramel corn 

Happy Thanksgiving: Turkey Three Ways

Greg and I hosted our first Thanksgiving this year and I couldn't have had more fun doing it.  Our menu planning revolved around how we were going to cook the turkeys: all three of them.  The decision was to roast one ala Canal House, after a three day dry brine, with lots and lots of sage butter.  The other two were divided into legs and breasts; Greg smoked the breasts and I made turkey confit with the legs (following Suzanne Goin's recipe from Bon Appetit).  I loved all three.  Amy set a gorgeous table and printed invitations, menus & place cards with a wish-bone motif (not to mention, acted like a total show-off with her magazine-worthy fancy pies).  While I played with new ways to make the bird, I stuck with three of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions from growing up.  I look forward to going around the table and saying what we are grateful for, as well as my great grandmother's pumpkin praline pie.  But my biggest thanks and gratitude goes to all of my friends who indulged me with a serious game of Celebrity, followed by the late night crew's round of Apples to Apples.  More than football, my family was all about the board games and I'm lucky to have good friends who are also game to play along.  Hope you all had Happy Thanksgivings as well...looking forward to keeping it rolling throughout the Holiday Season!!

 The Menu

sips

negronis

spiced cider margaritas

snacks

cheese platter with accoutrements

crudites & relish platter

savory

roast turkey with sage butter

chili smoked turkey breast

turkey confit

rich gravy

gingered orange cranberry sauce

fennel sausage, kale & squash sourdough stuffing

mushroom, leek & cornbread stuffing

buttermilk mashed potatoes

amelia's sweet potatoes

brussel sprouts with pork belly

winter greens with cider vinaigrette

amy's country rolls

sweet

amy & david's pumpkin pie, double apple pie, coconut cream pie & chocolate cream pie

 jessica's pumpkin cheesecake

my great grandmother's pumpkin praline pie

Thanksgiving Cocktail: A Harvest Margarita

When my friend Marina requested an apple cider margarita for her party, I was dubious.  My brain flashed to an apple martini (how tacky!) and something far too sweet for my tastes.  But leave it to my husband to know just what I like.  Greg's version is the perfect blend of tart, spice & smoke with just a touch of sweet.  Our friend Jenna has coined it "The Harvest Margarita" which makes it the perfect cocktail to serve for Thanksgiving!  As always, prepare a pitcher (or two, or three) in advance, so that nobody has to play bartender while watching football or cooking the bird.  You can even steep the fresh cider with cinnamon, cardamom & cloves a day or two in advance.  And in the fashion of my mom, I'll also set out a tray of champagne glasses with frozen cranberries & bubbly.  It just wouldn't be a holiday without some tradition!

The Recipe

makes a pitcher of drinks, about twelve

the ingredients

24 oz fresh apple cider

10 cinnamon sticks

15 cardamon pods

a teaspoon or so of cloves

18 oz repesado tequila

6 oz fresh lime juice

3 oz cointreau

3 oz water

a couple of pinches of fine sea salt

ice

to make the spiced cider:  combine cider, cinnamon sticks, cardamon & cloves in a stock saucepan on the stove and bring to a boil.  cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  remove from heat, strain and let cool completely.  

to make the cocktail: stir spiced cider, tequila, lime juice, cointreau & water in a pitcher.

to serve:  pour 4.5 ounces over ice.  enjoy.

tips: apple cider & lime juice can be prepped a day in advance and refrigerated.  the cocktail can be made the morning of and refrigerated.

Honorable Mention: Pumpkin Praline Pie

Thanksgiving is all about traditions, and I can't imagine turkey day without pumpkin praline pie. I always refer to my mom as my entertaining mentor, but it was really my great grandmother Francis who set the tone for gardening, canning, cooking & baking in our family. She wallpapered the walls of her kitchen with old covers of Gourmet magazine and coined the phrase, "Always make enough for the uninvited guest." I guess it's in the genes. This pumpkin praline pie is her creation and it won honorable mention at the first annual Pillsbury Bake-Off at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Grand Ballroom, in 1933. A pretty big deal, and our family's culinary claim to fame!! This pie kills two birds with one stone. You have a creamy spiced pumpkin pie, with a thin layer of chewy pecan crunch between the custard and the crust. My great grandma lived on her own until she was 97 and continued to 'learn something new every day,' --a real inspiration. I miss her and each year this pie is a reminder of her graceful, stubborn spirit.

Pumpkin Praline Pie: The Recipe

One prepared pie crust in a 10'' pie pan. Prepare your own or frozen works like a charm, since it's the filling that is incredible. If using frozen, thaw first for a half hour, and then proceed.

Preheat oven @ 450 degrees.

Combine:

3 T. butter, soft

1/3 C. pecans, finely chopped

1/3 C. brown sugar, packed

Combine and press gently into the bottom of the pie shell. Prick sides of crust with a fork. Bake Shell @ 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool at least 2 minutes.

Once you remove prepared shell from oven, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, prepare the Pumpkin-Custard Filling:

3 slightly beaten eggs

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. brown sugar

2 T. flour

3/4 t. salt

3/4 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. ginger, ground

1/4 t. cloves

1/4 t. mace (originally recipe calls for mace, but I skip it)

Combine all of the above, and then add:

1 1/2 C. pureed pumpkin, and then:

1 1/2 C. hot half and half cream

Pour into prepared pie shell, bake @ 350 degrees, for 50-60 minutes, until set. Bake pie on a cookie sheet to avoid oven spills. Cool and serve with whipped cream.

Enjoy.

*Note the filling Pumpkin-Custard filling is enough to fill two pies. I always make two crusts (or use two frozen, as they always come in packs of two!) and then double the pecan-praline mixture for the two shells. Make the filling in one bowl and then divide between the two prepared pie shells.

Remember, Remember...the 5th of Novemeber

Discovery a new holiday feels like winning the lottery, so I was quite thrilled when my new friends--British imports Mike & Bran--introduced me to Guy Fawkes Day, aka Bonfire Night. The day celebrates a failed attempt of the Gunpowder Plot to overthrow the House of Lords, usually with fireworks & bonfires. For their first year in the US, I helped M & B with the food for their 5th of November festivities. We started with British inspired finger foods, with a nod to the jacket potatoes usually associated with Bonfire night: mini fingerlings topped with sour cream, cheddar & chives. Warming soups & stews are typically served at bonfires, so we went with curry (one of Mike's favorites, as well as a sort of Passage to India reference to English food) and steaming parchment wrapped fish. Parchment wrapped fish is a fantastic way to serve fish to a large group. It's nearly impossible to mess up, packets can be wrapped in advance, they can be cooked all together in the oven and no fussy plating is necessary as the seasonings & garnish are already in the packets. Dessert was a mix of sweets from India Sweets & Spices in Atwater Village (an incredible source for Indian party food in LA) & British candies. Please keep me advised on any little-known holidays from afar coming up; I always want an excuse to make a party!

The Menu

sips

Bonfire Vesper

gin, vodka, lillet blanc, lemon peel

Gunpowder

serrano chili pepper infused tequila blanco, basil, mint, lime, gunpowder tea

Milky Chai Tea

cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, black tea, milk, honey

snacks

pappadum

chana crackers

fingerling potato jackets with sharp cheddar and chive sour cream

english cheddar, tomato chutney & mint crostini

smashed english pea crostini with parmesan & basil

dinner

coconut, tumeric, ginger & coriander sole

3 bean curry with butternut squash & tomatoes

basmati rice

chutney 3 ways: mint, tamarind & tomato

cucumber raita

carrot, red cabbage & golden raisin slaw with cumin-buttermilk dressing

sweets

assorted indian petit-fours

assorted cadbury bars, wine gums & jelly babies

sesame snacks & sugar coated almonds

Trick or Treat...Give Me Something Good To Eat

In the current issue of Living, Martha Stewart describes two approaches to holiday meals: sticking to identical menus each year or changing it up. Martha is of the latter camp, aiming to always be "more interesting, more creative, more inventive." While I love experimenting with food year round, when it comes to holidays, I'm a traditionalist, with a slight twinge of Martha. Every year growing up, my mom made beef chili on Halloween, which warmed us up, and curbed the sugar highs. I can't imagine not having chili on Halloween. And while ingredients now come from the farmer's market and the beef may be grass-fed, the model is the exact same (with an expanded toppings bar!). This year, I helped my friend Marina put together a chili buffet for her friends & family before they embarked on trick or treating. There was cookie decorating, spiced cider and plenty of princesses & superheroes (another thing that never changes). As for the desserts, thank god I didn't attempt any spooky creations, or I would've been totally upstaged by Lucy (a Martha in training) with her eye-ball cupcakes & creepily life-like finger cookies. Heading into the holiday season, I'll continue to uphold traditions. I'll play with new menus for dinner parties & bake a new cookie recipe, but Christmas morning will always be that crazy casserole, always with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, possibly seeking an upgrade for the sausage that comes out of a tube...

The Menu

sips

spiced apple cider

snacks

rosemary pumpkin seeds & caramel corn

savory

beef & bean chili

white bean chili with butternut squash

fresh corn cornbread with butter & honey

toppings bar: scallions, sour cream, avocado, jalapenos, cilantro, tortilla chips, sweet onion, red rooster, medium cheddar, sharp white cheddar & fritos

romaine lettuces with creamy lemon dressing

sweets

swapped loot from trick or treating

finger cookies

eye-ball cupcakes