Thanksgiving prep - American . . . .and anyone nationwide who likes turkey

anyone working diligently on dishes/desserts, etc for thanksgiving?

we're actually joining another family this year - so the stress is off me - i'm just making a bunch of side dishes and a few desserts. 'cause desserts are what i'm best at.

i made an italian cheesecake this weekend - froze it for now
tomorrow i'll make
caramel apple crumb topped cheesecake
blueberry 'filling' or topping for aforementioned italian cheesecake
a gluten free crust for the apple pie - the filling i made back in oct when apples were awesome and froze - pulled it out of freezer tonight so it'll be thawed by tomorrow sometime when i get around to that pie
deviled eggs
some pumpkin pies with coconut crusts

i think that's it. i might mix up some cookie batter to bake later this week. i bake a dfferent variety of cookie each week and freeze them - then pull them out for serving trays when we need them. it's an easy way to have desserts at a moment's notice. there's also some cheesecakes in the freezer, too - all different kinds - i chop them into quarters so i have enough at one 'block' to serve 4-6 people (we're a family of 5).

so share what you all are planning! i'll update and check in as i accomplish stuff. let me know if you want recipes. most everything i make i put on a blog for future reference.

oh yeah, forgot to mention - the stuff i like to eat, i make sure is made gluten free as i'm a celiac. my family members have different allergies than that (fish, shellfish, soy, peanut, tree nut, avocado, peach, banana.). so many of the cookies, etc i bake, are actually not eaten by me. which works for keeping my bottom manageable sized and how they manage to survive in the freezer w/o being eaten by the one person who knows they're there. although, i think my family is catching on. it was only a matter of time. and i think it's the 2yr old who has caught on first.

this morning, she told me to go to the downstairs freezer, then she told me she wanted chocolate and yum yum cake (that's her name for the italian cheesecake). so i think she's on to me.

Mmmmmm...all that sounds really yummy BettyAnn.
I only have to bring one side and a dessert to T-day dinner.
I am hoping to make a cheesecake (preferably a pumpkin cheesecake) but I also have a cappuccino cheesecake that I like as well and I haven’t decided yet.

did you know you can bake TWO cheesecakesin the oven at the same time?

i do it all the time. now you know my secret on how i keep my freezer stocked with cheesecakes. *girn*

i bake one to give away and one i chop up into quarters and freeze.

i've also baked 2 different varieties at once.

the secret is to check the timings - they will all bake ok at same temp but some are a little more dense than others - so mix up the batter for the longest cooking one and toss that in and then work on the second one. usuallly takes about 15 minutes from start to oven (incl pan prep - freezing empty pan, melting butter, then slathering with butter and dusting with cornstarch) before pouring in crust/batter.

set a timer for 30 minutes and turn the pans 1/4 turn - or 1/2 turn - depends on what your oven is doing heat wise and they'll bake nicely for you.

i use a HUGE old pan of mine filled with boiling water on the bottom rack to put lots of good moisture in the oven - i never ever put my cakes actually in the water bath - way too dangerous and i'm lazy - i put the water in when i start mixing up first cake.

i can fit up to 2 10" pans in my oven at once - before you do this, check the pans in the oven before proceeding. adjust the recipe slightly down if you need to downsize the pan - or fill little custard dishes for a snack with the 'extra' batter. *smile*

your actual kitchen time won't change any really to do them both.

gosh i'm such an enabler! (keep in mind i'll be serving pumpkin cheesecake, my caramel apple cheesecake, and an italian cheesecake with blueberry topping). so i'm all about the cheesecakes. oh yeah, and i regularly freeze most of my cheeescakes to use later on. so i'm not overwhelmed iwth baking a bunch the day before an event.

i freeze them in the springform AFTER they're chilled to fridge temp. then pull out of springform - they unmold perfectly every time. then wrap in parchment paper (or waxed paper - as long as it's frozen solid it'll thaw fine in either and will not fall apart on you and look icky) and then i wrap a few times in heavy alum foil. finally i wrap in a couple layers of cling wrap. date and refreeze. thaw when you wnat them. a quarter of a cheesecake on the counter will thaw in less than 2 hours - basically start dinner prep and by dessert, that is ready to serve - but cut when frozen - you'll get clean cuts that way. when it's room temp cheesecakes get soft and don't cut as cleanly and you have stuff on the knife you feel the need to lick or wipe or something.

can you tell i'm passionate about cheesecake? *grin*

so go make your cheesecakes!

now i am hungry for pumpkin cheesecake. .. but i will resist. . . i am not to eat the cheesecake in the freezer. . .LOL

Thanks so much, Betty Ann, for sharing all of the secrets for the perfect cheesecake.

I bought the pan last year, but never could get my nerve up to try one.

I have my nerve up now.

Just waiting for Jennie to share that cappuccino cheesecake recipe! lol

Betty

betty - cheesecakes are truly one of the easiest things EVER to bake.

i swear there's a conspiracy out there *grin* to keep folks buying them and not baking them.

the secret is patience. most cheesecakes take an hour to bake.

and all ingredients need to be at room temp. so for example, i pulled all the ingredients i need for my apple cheesecake and they're on the counter. after breakfast is cleaned up, i'll start working on it - in an hour or so.

first up, boil a bunch of eggs for deviled eggs - 2 dozen giong in the pan as soon as i get my act together - i'm drooping this morning - and there's the kids - so need to serve breakfat - hot cooked oatmeal, toast, fruit and hot cocoa. i think everyone's dragging this morning - breakfast should have been finished by now. . sigh. .

We're eating at DD's this year so the cooking pressure is off me - it feels weird, though. DD is making a crown roast of pork, (our family never does turkey -too many of us who get migraines,) - and I'm bringing chicken 'n' dressing. I made a double batch of dressing last week and took one to our church T'giving potluck, and froze the other one for the trip to Texas.

DD is also making baked sweet potatoes, green bean bundles, cranberry sauce, and for dessert she is making three pies - pecan, apple, and my grandmother's pumpkin pie. (Hm, I should post that recipe on the forum.) She has invited friends who are bringing salad and mashed potatoes and gravy.

I'm really looking forward to our meal, but I hope I can resist some of those carbs or I'll be waddling away from the table. :drunken:

yum - YES !!!!

pls share recipes!!!

eggs are all boiled andpeeled.

also slight change of plans - apparently i ate all the remaining gingersnaps that were glutenfree so i need to bake more today - will do that after the morning appts.

ended up baking a batch of fudge cupcakes for oldest kid - he asked me yesterday to make him those cupcakes you buy in the store that are cream filled (onlyhe wants cream cheese filling) and chocolate frosting topped - so i got them done. made up a new batch of cream cheese frosting/filling and will fill the cupcakes later when i return as well - then i'll make up a chocolate frosting.

well, gotta scoot for now.

youngest kid needs another change of clothing before we scoot.

I have 2 objectives for Thanksgiving Dinner. First, I don't want to blow my diet. Second, we are hoping that if the driving is safe, we want to take the trailer to a beach, Fort Casey on Whidbey Island keeps coming up, so it has to be easy to transport. With the look of the reports, looks like we will be eating at home.

I already posted the menu on my blog....
http://musicofrain.wordpress.com/2010/11/21/since-im-making-dinner-on-thanksgiving/

Lavender Debs, would you be willing to post the recipe for your avocado-green goddess salad dressing? That sounds wonderful.

Loooooooove cheesecake...especially a pumpkin swirl cheesecake. With the gluten-free gingersnaps for the crust, it is perfect pie substitute for my son-in-law (the one with celiac disease). I do make it with the lower fat Philly (Neufchatel). I'm saving my calories for stuffing.

pattipan

patti - you should try making a crust with coconut flakes and melted butter for your traditional pumpkin pie. it's just lovely! and gluten loving folks will EAT your crust! i never could get why folks would eat the pie and leave the crust - 'cause most crusts are actually real bland. switch it up to coconut and you have happy palates. ..

there's a lot of gluten free folks i see. very cool!!!

and pumpkin swirl - oh yeah!

BettyAnn, would you share your recipe for the coconut flake crust? My husband's cousin has just been told to switch to gluten-free diet and she is looking for recipes.

Our son had a wheat allergy when young and I used to make coconut macaroons for him. Is your crust anything like those?

don't laugh - you'll be amazed at how SIMPLE a coconut crust is!

take a bag of flaked coconut - hang on let me get a bag - i need to get it out anyway for the pumpkin pie i'll be baking later today

this bag is from aldi - 14 oz coconut sweetened and flaked. (any brand will do - but stay away from walmart brand - seems like they lick the floor with every allergen when you read the label - but as always, check the ingredients - because suppliers change.)

add a 1/2 stick to a whole stick of butter softened to that bag (well dump it in a bowl, lol) and mix it with a fork or pastry blender til it's all blended. lumpy but blended.

press into pan. you can prebake or not. but when you put batter in it, POUR THE BATTER SLOWLY!! or the coconut will float off the bottom and get mixed in batter and you'll lose your crust. don't worry if it happens. tastes good anyway. (learned that the first time i did that).

i like to read cookbooks. the older the cookbook the better and i saw that in one for some recipe for something (don't remember when or where, lol) and at the time, thought, how brilliant and simple!

squashes taste lovely with coconut so it makes sense for blending coconut crust with pumpkin pie (actually my family prefers coconut milk in their pumpkin pie instead of cow's milk - my husband made that request after i baked a gluten free, dairy free, egg free pie when i had a friend come over for dinner. we use eggs normally but energ e egg replacer works fine in pumpkin pie. just follow instructions on boxd for liquid conversion.


being dx'd with allergies is not as difficult now to live a safe lifestyle as it used to be. the law of jan 2006 made life a lot easier - because the top ten allergens need to be listed in the package.

BUT!!!!! you need to check every time with the manufacturer when you see modified food starch as an ingredient. could be gluten based. many are corn based but you never know until you ask.

we have many allergies here that when asked to list for friends overwhelms them. i actually forget at times that it's not usual to pay attention to labels and ingredients, so if you're newly dx'd, you will have to educate your friends and/or plan on bringing your own food.

there are a few places a celiac can eat - i love chipotle! and i go there, get my burrito bowl and take it to pizza places, etc when my family wants to eat out. if a restaurant doesn't have safe food - or you're worried about contamination - (how can a pizza place offer a truly gluten free pizza when all the flour is flying about??) i've learned they're quite nice - i always explain i'm a celiac and can't eat their food 0- but we tip real well (at least 20% and I order a soda or other beverage in addition to my regular water - so i am a diner. just cheap on their tab - but trust me, my family makes up for it - they eat and eat and eat! *grin*)

sure did ramble on.

now you know my secret coconut crust recipe. as i think about it, i bet i got that from one of the original fannie farmer cookbooks or something like that.. . tweaking the proportions to work in today's purchasing - size of package/cups/whatever.

has a caramel apple crumb topped cheesecake in oven now

has sliced all the boiled eggs in half and will mix up the yolk batter into filling as soon as i finish clearing/cleaning the kitchen from breakfast mess. (baking mess was cleaned as i went - but i needed to refresh the soapy water anyway, so figured i'd pop in ofr a minute.

after that, i will have to go take care of my tooth - it's severely abscessed so i'm not sure when i'll be back - depends on how bad it is - so i wanted the priority items taken care of. the pies i can do in my sleep but piping eggs i like to do with a steady hand esp since i have young kids who like to help.

and poof, i'm off.

ps if you don't own one of these:

http://www.kitchencollection.com/Temp_Products.cfm?sku=01089048&RankThis=Y&Searched=apple%20slicer&

you need one! we can do a bushel of apples in minutes - and the KIDS do it! they take turns - all i do is mount the apple for them - they do the actual 'work' - and it's FUN! and you get consistent results. .

ander217 wrote:snip .....would you be willing to post the recipe for your avocado-green goddess salad dressing? That sounds wonderful.

It isn't mine; I found it in the December 2010 issue of Fine Cooking magazine on page 41. Looks like an Ellie Krieger creation. The caption claims that it can be made up to three days ahead, kept air-tight in the fridge. It looks so easy that I’m not sure you would need to make it ahead, except that it is always impressive to have something ready for your guests. Usually avocado dips can only be made a few minutes ahead.... but maybe that is because I cannot keep my chips out of it.
This is where the potatoes will happen at my Thanksgiving table. I have some red fingerlings from the SFG that I will boil and serve cold on the veggie and dip platter.

Avocado Green Goddess Dip
1 ripe avocado
2 scallions (green and white) thinly sliced
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. fresh tarragon
1/4 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbs. sliced fresh chives
2 Tbs. white wine vinegar

Put everything into a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste, (do I need to add the next part?) serve.

i bet it's because of the vinegar added that you can keep it several days. the acidity... .

that does look like it would be pretty and taste good to those into avocado. my husband would probably LOVE it - but i am allergic to avocado, as is myoldest kid so we don't use the stuff.

i'm experimenting with a gluten free crust right now it's in freezer chilling so i can get it off the parchment paper, lol.

here it is:

1/4 cup coconut flour
1 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup + 1/8 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup + 1/8 cup cornstarch

1/2 t salt
2/3 cup shortening

blend together with pastry blender. chop ball in half - create two pastry circles. use add'l cornstarch for 'dusting' when i'm transferring it to my glass pie shells - (that's where i'm at now - they're in freezer with the parchment paper on them - need to remove that paper so i can crimp and trim the pastry shells for loading with filling) - then i'll mix up another batch for the cutout top.

i used parchment paper for under and over and rolled it out that way. there's no way a person can roll out gluten free flours happily and easily - at least, i've not had luck - so i cheat and use parchment paper.

then i chuck it in the freezer so i can get it off the paper easier.

because of waht my goal is in a pastry pie crust, i think the blends i used will achieve that effect.

we'll find out tomorrow.. . i'll have many folks test it out. most are not celiacs - just 'typical' folks so it'll be intriguing to find out responses. i know the pie filling is really good so that will make up for any icky crust issues - and most folks don't eat the crusts of pies anyway - ever notice that? that's always my barometer on if i've 'got it' on the recipe - if there's literally nothing left on the plate when teh person is done eating. it speaks louder than praises. esp in this day of everyone dieting.

BettyAnn, do you have the recipe for the orange-almond cake? Gluten-free, and SO good.

lafee - not me on the orange almond cake. we have severe tree nut allergies here so almonds are banned.

Sorry...I remembered the peanuts, but not the tree nuts.

Lavender Debs wrote:It isn't mine; I found it in the December 2010 issue of Fine Cooking magazine on page 41. Looks like an Ellie Krieger creation.

Avocado Green Goddess Dip
1 ripe avocado
2 scallions (green and white) thinly sliced
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. fresh tarragon
1/4 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbs. sliced fresh chives
2 Tbs. white wine vinegar

Put everything into a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste, (do I need to add the next part?) serve.

This sounds wonderful. Thanks a bunch.

is the orange almond cake your recipe? you should share it!!!!

recipes are fun to read - 'cause you can imagine what they'd taste like all together - all those lovely ingredients. . .yummy!

how's everyone doing with prep for today?

i'm all finished -

pumpkin pies
apple pies
caramel apple crumb topped cheesecake
italian cheesecake with blueberry topping (just finished that a few minutes ago - yum!)
deviled eggs

now i need to go to basement and pull out all the different kinds of cookies and arrange them on a platter.

oh yeah. last night the kids and i decided to make those simple snack dessert - where you take those 'o' shaped pretzels (we saw them at aldi last night so couldn't resist buying a bag) and several bags of hershey kisses and then put the peeled kiss on a pretzel (that's on a parchment lined cookie sheet) and bake at 200*F til the chocolate is shiny - then we put some mallowcreme pumpkins on them and 1/2 the tray has miniature marshmellows on them - you have to put some kind of candy on top of the melted chocolate to smoosh down teh chocolate to fill the ring - we don't eat m&M's here because of peanut allergies so we went rummagin gin the pantry - it was a last minute idea, lol.

they are a huge hit. not sure how many will make it to the party, though - the kids are eating them like they're the best treat ever.

I decided to sit down and eat a bowl of oatmeal and watch the snow fall before putting dinner into gear (it is 7:40 AM PST)

There are a bowl of apples sitting on the counter to cut up for the crepes. They will fry in a little butter with a shot of Apple Jack (American Calvados). Part of the thrill is setting the pot a-flame. When the flame dies down I need to add cider and I have suddenly realized that I did not buy any. I'll need to punt OR make Ray get dressed and go brave the roads and the Safeway parking lot for a bottle.

Lavender-Deviled Eggs are ready to fill
Broccoli-Wild & Heirloom rice dish is ready to put into the turkey bowl (there wasn't any of the grain called for at the co-op BUT it still tastes amazing!)
Avocado Green Goddess Dip is ready for the plate.
Pumpkin Tartlets are waiting to jump into the pumpkin plate.
Sausage w/ Artichoke Dressing only needs to reheat after the bird comes out of the oven.

I still need to cut and season sweet potatoes for Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges
The Bird also needs some time in the oven. I hear Turkey Sushi is not very good.

Deborah.... whose heart goes out to the many families whose electric is out, either because of the storm or because times are difficult this year. God bless your day!