Spork or Foon?

Thanksgiving Central

 

Oftentimes, I go onto websites such as Epicurious.com or MyRecipes.com around the holidays and am bombarded by huge, flashing letters stating (Insert Holiday Here) Central.

Who made them Thanksgiving Central?  Christmas Central?  Presidents Day Central?

It's a little presumptuous, no?

Well, I am declaring Spork or Foon this year's Thanksgiving Central.  I may not have many Thanksgiving recipes in my archive, but if you are looking to have a Thanksgiving dinner comprised of 1 side dish, some rolls, and two pies, then this is the place to be, people. 

We all know my love for the Chocolate Pumpkin Pie (photo above).

But did you see the mess that was my Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Chocolate Almond Bark and Toffee Sauce from last year?

 

Please hold your laughter, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  And I was using flash under yellow lighting with my point and shoot before I knew how to take photos.  

Or how about my butterhorn rolls.  These were pretty as a peach. They didn't taste like anything, because I forgot to put salt in the dough. But I gave Pillsbury a run for his roly-poly money right here. 

I remember being very happy with this photo last year. But then Tastespotting and Foodgawker both rejected it and rained on my Thanksgiving Day Parade.

 

And finally, the most amazing Thanksgiving side that ever existed in the history of man. This sweet potato casserole.  Words cannot express the wonder that is this casserole. I am making two this year because one is not enough.  

May I present to you the Sweet Potato Casserole with a Cinnamon Cashew Streusel. Heaven in a casserole Dish. This was finished in about 5 minutes at my house last year. 

Again, don't judge my poor photography skills from 2008.

 

So there you have it, folks!  Happy Thanksgiving and you're welcome! 

 

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

I didn't get to talk much about the desserts I posted in the Halloween Desserts post.  The pumpkin spice cupcakes were fantastic, the lollipops were fun to make (although slightly stressful), the cookies soft, sugary and delicious.  But one dessert really stood out: this chocolate pumpkin pie.

Chocolate and pumpkin are a beautiful marriage, albeit on that can raise eyebrows if people are not familiar with the combination.  

I saw this cake in Martha Stewart's Halloween Issue and doggy-eared it to make. And I actually made it and didn't lost it in a pile of other doggy-eared recipes!  

First thing is first.  I am IN LOVE with this chocolate tart recipe.  Sweet,tender, with hints of spice, it is topped off beautifully with a layer of melted bittersweet chocolate that adds the perfect, unexpected layer of chocolate delight.  The tart is a perfect vessel for the creamy, spicy pumpkin pie, the recipe of which is my favorite recipe to date. I did not use the Martha Stewart Recipe, as I did not have sour cream on hand, so I found a recipe on Joy of Cooking, and yes, it was a joy to cook this. 

Bad joke? OK. Sorry. 

Let me tell you a little secret: I had never even tasted a pumpkin pie until last year, because throughout my childhood pumpkin pie seemed unnatural to me. Pumpkins were for carving on Halloween, not for eating! You all must be mad, I thought! Actually, the whole concept of pie seemed unnatural to me. Why have pie when you can have cake, I thought?  And why have cake when you can have Carvel Ice Cream Cake?  It has crunchies in the middle!

But I digress. I do now love pie (although I still prefer Carvel Ice Cream cake. Seriously. I have no shame). And I do love this pie. It was perfect for Halloween, decorated with a festive chocolate spiderweb (my first successful spiderweb decoration!).  But sans spiderweb, this will make a fabulous Thanksgiving dessert. Unless you have some weird Scary Thanksgiving theme going on.  If so, web away. 

Click here for the pie recipe.  Click here for the tart recipe. 

TWD: The Creamiest Lime Meringue

I've done it. I've taking this food blogging thing too far.

We've all told people not to bite before a photo.  We've all shouted at guests to back-off and get out of our light.  But have we turned an empty office at work into a live photo set?

Before I left DC, I brought in a slew of desserts that I had cooked, this being one of them.  I had a tough time with the meringue, as I had never made meringue pie before. 

I woke up at 6 am to complete the pie, thinking it would be the perfect amount of time to go for a run, get back, bake the pie, let it cool, and take some photos.

I followed Dorie's directions to a T. Unfortunately, I followed the wrong directions. Where Dorie said "put the pie under the broiler until the tips are browned slightly and let cool for 15 minutes", I read as "Put the pie under the broiler for 15 minutes."

Well, 7 minutes in, something didn't smell right. I opened the oven and was greeted with meringue that was burnt to a crisp. 

After a silent tear fell down my cheek (not really, but it could have happened, as I am an emotional person), I gathered my thoughts and thought fast.  I decided that this meringue would not get the best of me. I tore off the top layer and was relieved to see the rest of the pie was salvageable. I made some more meringue to cover the top, baked it again - this time for only 2 or 3 minutes, and removed the pie.

Great stuff, but it was now 8 am and I had to go to work with the pie. 

So what did I do? I brought my camera to work and shot photos in a former co-worker's empty office who had the biggest windows, naturally. 

I tried to be discreet, but I am sure we all know that DSLRs are not exactly the quietest of electronics. So the Senior Vice President of my company walked in, head cocked to the side, face twisted with curiousity, laughing.

As a little background - many of my coworkers did not know I have a blog.  They knew I love to cook, they enjoyed the fruits of my labor, but I hadn't mentioned it to them in my time there. I have no idea why. 

So you can imagine my embarrassment as I tried to come up with a reason for why I was in the former CFO's office taking photos of a half-eaten pie (which they had loved).

"Uh... I have to take pictures of all of my food", I stammered.

That was seriously the best I could come up with.  No further explanation, no mention of a blog, just "I take pictures of my food."  Brilliant.  I felt like Bridget Jones.

The SVP laughed even harder and walked away.

I guess he didn't question it much because of how much my co-workers loved this one. And man, is it good. I reduced it by AN ENTIRE STICK OF BUTTER (seriously. Two and a half sticks? Is that necessary?) and it was still as light and creamy as ever.  I couldn't taste the ginger at all, however, so next time, I'll up the ginger content. 

This pie will always hold a special place in my heart. It the first time I actually had no shame as a food blogger and did what needed to be done to get the right photo.  

For the love of the food.

Check out for the recipe and check out TWD for some more pie!

Apple Crumb Pie

My family has a German Shorthaired Pointer. His name is DeNiro. He is 9 years old. 

Throughout his life, DeNiro has been known to steal food from places. Left a jumbo-sized bag of Twizzlers on the bed?  Sorry, Twizzlers are his favorite.  Did someone eat half a tray of cookies on the dining room table in 15 minutes?  DeNiro!  Havea box of Lucky Charms lying around?  Don't be surprised if you find rainbow colored poop in the backyard.  I'm sorry, did you want that half of a sandwich that you left on the counter?

But this time, DeNiro crossed a line. He brought a new meaning to the term "crumb snatcher". 

On Thanksgiving, as I was prepping my food, I prepared crumble topping and, for some reason, inadvertently left the bowl on a dresser in the guest room down the hall from the kitchen.  I was in the kitchen preparing the rest of our massive dinner and catching up with my cousins.  I prepared the rest of the pie, and when I went to retrieve the crumbs, they were gone. Not only were they gone, but the bowl was shining from being licked clean.

There were two possible suspects.  My dog, an Australian Shepherd named Remy (who never steals food unless it is salmon) and DeNiro, the notorious food theif.  My boyfriend did a breath check. Remy's smelled like fish (like usual, unfortunately).  DeNiro's smelled like cinnamon and sugar he had an oddly happy look on his face.

Case closed. 

I love making this Apple Crumb Pie. It is my father's favorite dessert and I try to make it for him whenever I get the chance.  Pre-cooking the apples with the cider and applesauce really give this filling a fantastic texture. I use Dorie Greenspan's pie crust recipe and omit the nuts from the topping.

What can I say? The dog has good taste.

Recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspan and Epicurious

FOR A 9" SINGLE CRUST:
1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
3⁄4 tsp. salt
1⁄4 sticks (10 tbsp.) very cold (frozen is fine) unsalted 
   butter, cut into tbsp.-size pieces
2 1⁄2 tbsp. very cold (frozen is even better) vegetable 
   shortening, cut into 2 pieces

For the crust: 

Put flour, sugar, and salt into a food processor; pulse to combine. Drop in butter and shortening; pulse to cut into flour. What you're aiming for is to have some pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Pulsing, gradually add about 3 tbsp. ice water—add a little water and pulse once, add some more water, pulse again; keep going that way. Then use a few long pulses to get water into flour. If, after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn't look evenly moistened, pulse in up to 1 tbsp. more ice water, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. Shape dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Filling

• 3 3/4 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 10 medium), peeled, cored, thickly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons apple cider
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup applesauce

Topping

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
•   

• For filling:
  Toss apples and lemon juice in medium bowl. Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Add apples; sauté until coated with cinnamon butter and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk cider and cornstarch in small bowl. Add to apples. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Transfer apple mixture to large bowl. Mix in applesauce. Cool completely. (Crust and filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover crust; let stand at room temperature. Cover and chill filling.)

  For topping:
  Preheat oven to 350°F. Using fingertips, rub all ingredients in bowl until moist clumps form.

  Place filling in crust. Sprinkle topping over apples. Bake until topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. 

Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Chocolate Almond Bark and Toffee Sauce

This was probably the hit of the night on Thanksgiving and will make it onto my Thanksgiving Menu for all of eternity. I couldn't get a good photo of this if my life depended on it, but let's say that this pie is not only one of the easiest things I have ever made ie, but one of the best ice cream cakes I have ever eaten.  

Go on. Just say it.  You won't be wrong.

Via Epicurious

Crust:

              12 whole graham crackers (about 7 ounces)
      1/4 cup sugar
      7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

·            1 cup canned pure pumpkin
·         3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
·         1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract
·         1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I quadrupled this)
·         1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (Again, quadrupled)
·         1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (Doubled)
·         1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (Quadrupled)
·         1/4 teaspoon salt
·         2 quarts premium vanilla ice cream

Bark, sauce, and topping: (Don't skip out on the sauce! It is amazing!)

·          Nonstick vegetable oil spray
·         6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
·         1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped
·         1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
·         1/4 cup dark corn syrup
·         3 tablespoons water
·          3 tablespoons unsalted butter
·          2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
·          1 teaspoon vanilla extract
·          1/8 teaspoon salt
·            2 tablespoons sugar

 Preparation

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind graham crackers in processor. Mix in sugar. Add butter; mix to blend. Press onto bottom and up sides of 10-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Bake until light brown around edges, about 12 minutes. Cool completely.

For filling:
Whisk first 9 ingredients in medium bowl. Slightly soften ice cream in microwave in 10-second intervals. Measure 1 cup ice cream; cover and freeze (reserve for another use). Spoon remaining ice cream into large bowl. Working quickly, add pumpkin mixture and fold just until swirled into ice cream (do not blend completely). If ice cream begins to melt, freeze until almost firm. Spoon ice cream filling into cooled crust, cover with plastic, and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. DO AHEAD:Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen.

For bark, sauce, and topping:
Line baking sheet with parchment paper; spray with nonstick spray. Stir chocolate in bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Pour onto baking sheet. Using offset spatula, spread chocolate in even layer into 12x9-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with nuts. Place in freezer until hard, at least 30 minutes. Invert onto work surface. Peel off paper. Coarsely chop. Place DO AHEAD:Chocolate-almond bark can be made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen.

Bring brown sugar, corn syrup, 3 tablespoons water, and butter to boil in heavy medium saucepan, stirring until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium and boil until dark brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Carefully stir in 1/2 cup cream, vanilla, and salt (mixture will bubble vigorously). Boil 1 minute longer. Cool slightly. DO AHEAD: Sauce can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm before serving.

Using electric mixer, beat 1 1/2 cups cream and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until peaks form. Spoon decoratively over pie. Sprinkle chocolate-almond bark over. Cut pie into wedges and serve, passing warm sauce alongside.