Thanksgiving 2011

It seems fitting that we decided to start this blog the week of Thanksgiving- perhaps the truest celebration of family, friends, tradition, and food.

All attendees to the Bristow Thanksgiving contributed wonderful dishes to the feast. There was visiting, drinking, cooking, football watching: all the necessary trimmings of the holiday. Oh and a first....live-tweeting of the day which connected us with our family celebrating #arthursthanksgiving on Long Island.

As for the food, I'll add the recipes I made with hopes that others will post theirs. I was on appetizer duty (which I looove) and based on this handy chart, I also brought a dessert (sans pecan).

Smashed New Potatoes with Goat Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roast new potatoes with salt and pepper and olive oil for 25 minutes

Allow to cool, cut in half, smash flat and top with goat cheese.

Mexican Tortilla Cups with Guac

I combined this recipe for braised mexican beef (minus the serrano chiles) with this one for tortilla cups (lightly salt the cups before baking) and topped them with my recipe for guac: 3 avocados, 2 lime wedges worth of juice, minced garlic, little bit of onion minced, splash of tabasco, and salt to taste.

Spiced Carrot Lettuce Wraps (aka feast of the rabbits)

This is adapted from one of my favorite food folks: Jamie Oliver and his recipe for Roast Carrot and Avocado Salad with Orange and Lemon Dressing.

Ingredients:

4 carrots, sliced into bit size pieces
2 level teaspoons whole cumin seeds
1 or 2 small dried chiles, crumbled
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled
4 sprigs rosemary
Extra-virgin olive oil
white wine vinegar
1 orange, halved
1 lime, halved
Romaine lettuce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Get a pestle and mortar (or cutting board and ulu) and smash up the cumin seeds, chilles, salt and pepper. Add the garlic and thyme leaves and smash up again until you have a kind of paste. Jamie's idea is to build up the flavors.

Parboil the carrots in boiling, salted water for 10 minutes, until they are very nearly cooked, then drain and put them into a roasting pan.

Add enough extra-virgin olive oil to generously cover the chile, garlic, herb paste you just made, and add a good swig of vinegar. Stir together, then pour over the carrots in the pan, coating them well. Add the orange and lime halves, cut side down. These will roast along with the carrots, and their juice can be used as the basis of the dressing. Place in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden.

Remove the carrots from the oven. Carefully, using some tongs, squeeze the roasted orange and lime juice into a bowl and add the same amount of extra-virgin olive oil and a little swig of white wine vinegar. Season, and pour this dressing over the carrots. Mix together, have a taste and correct the seasoning. Serve wrapped in romaine lettuce leaves.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Who else would have a more fabulous recipe for pumpkin cheesecake than good ole Paula Dean?

Ingredients

Crust:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:
In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place in oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Photos from #bristowthanksgiving: