thanksgiving: cranberry relish

I liked this more than the normal cranberry relish we have at Thanksgiving. First of all, I am not a huge fan of the skin on the cranberries and the texture that it gives the relish, and I think that cooking this down a bit made it all softer and more palatable for me. Also, obviously, the sugar and cinnamon helped make it sweet and yummy. Even my mom and grandma liked this little departure from the norm.

1 package cranberries
1 medium orange, seeded and cut into small wedges
1 cinnamon stick/1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Put the cranberries and orange pieces in a food processor (or your grandma's old hand crank food mill).

In a saucepan on the stove on low heat, cook the cranberry/orange mix with the sugar and cinnamon (I didn't have a stick, so I just put some cinnamon in) until it is warm throughout (about 5 minutes). Serve warm or cooled. 

thanksgiving: chocolate pudding pie

My second pie mainly happened because I only realized after making the pie crust recipe that I had enough for two single crust pies, not just the one (pumpkin). So I looked up another single crust recipe that sounded good and stuck with SK cause she always does me right, and I found this. It tasted pretty good, and it was overall easy to make but it does take a fair amount of time if you factor in making the pie crust dough, baking the crust, making the filling, and then letting it all chill. Is it hard? Definitely not. But do plan accordingly for the time.

Pudding filling:
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk [I used reduced fat]
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao), finely chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chilled heavy cream

Bittersweet chocolate shavings for garnish (optional)

Prepare pie dough: 
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 11-inch round, then fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp edge decoratively. Prick bottom and side of shell all over with a fork, then chill shell 30 minutes. While shell chills, preheat oven to 375°F with a baking sheet on middle rack. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. [For pie weights, I just poured a bag of dried beans in the foil as my grandma told me to do, as shown in the picture. It worked well as far as I can tell.]

Bake on baking sheet until pastry is set and edge is pale golden, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil, then bake shell on baking sheet until pale golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool shell.

Make pudding filling: 
Whisk together cornstarch, 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk [tips alert!] in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, two minutes (mixture will thicken). Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth.

Pour filling into cooled shell and chill, its surface covered with wax paper (if you want to prevent a skin from forming), until cold, at least two hours.

Nutritional information (for 1/8 of filling, with reduced fat milk)
183 total calories
8g total fat
27g total carbs
4g protein

thanksgiving: pumpkin pie

As mentioned, I made the pies this year. First up was pumpkin pie, the ol' traditional. I used an SK recipe for the crust, which was heavenly (both as dough and baked), and posted it here. As for the pie filling, I just followed the recipe on the Kroger pumpkin pie can. Yes, it tasted delicious, and I loved the pie. For the whipped cream, I just whipped 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 3 tbsp sugar, and it was perfect. You could also add a bit of vanilla to that if you wanted.

Trying to crimp the edges of my pie. 

It worked in the dough, but didn't make it through baking. Next time!

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk [I think I may have only used 1 cup since I didn't pour in the whole can]
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Combine filling ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well. Pour into pie crust.

Bake 15 minutes at 425°. Reduce oven temperature to 350° and continue baking 35-40 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool pie before cutting. Refrigerate any leftovers.

*you can substitute 1 (12 oz.) can Evaporated Milk plus 3/4 cup granulated sugar for the Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Nutritional Information (1/8 of filling recipe)
180 calories
4g total fat
29g total carbs
6g protein

thanksgiving: pie crust

I was in charge of pies for our Thanksgiving dinner this year (I'll say it now, and I'll say it again - my first one home after 4 years away!), and I made a pumpkin and a chocolate pudding pie. For both, I used a recipe for a pie crust I found on SK that was AMAZING. I mean, buttery, a little sweet, flaky. And I'm definitely no pie crust aficionado. In fact, I really haven't ever made it before for a sweet pie. It was easy and delicious and foolproof, pretty much. I would note that it is a good idea to put a baking sheet below the pie in the oven because it will drip, and my mom mentioned that it is good to fold the crust over the pie pan to make sure it doesn't shrink up, which did happen to me with crust #1.

Makes enough dough for one double-, or two single-crust pies.

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces, 16 tablespoons or 1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold


Gather your ingredients: Fill a one cup liquid measuring cup with water, and drop in a few ice cubes; set it aside. In a large bowl — I like to use a very wide one, so I can get my hands in — whisk together 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt. Dice two sticks (8 ounces or 1 cup) of very cold unsalted butter into 1/2-inch pieces. Get out your pastry blender.

Make your mix: Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and begin working them in with the pastry blender, using it to scoop and redistribute the mixture as needed so all parts are worked evenly. When all of the butter pieces are the size of tiny peas — this won’t take long — stop. Yes, even if it looks uneven; you’ll thank me later.

Nutritional information (1/2 of recipe or 1 crust)
1335 total calories
92g total fat
122g total carbs
16g protein

Nutritional information (1/16 recipe, or 1/8 of a single crust pie)
167 total calories
11g total fat
15g total carbs
2g protein