This ended up being a less complicated menu that others I've created. There have been years when we've had to go to several different grocery stores to get special ingredients and then spend two days cooking. This year I made the pie the night before and then I only needed several hours to do the rest of the cooking. I went to a German store for their good tofu, Kenny got nice rolls at the neighborhood bakery, and I found the rest of the ingredients in my pantry or the Commissary.
Menu:
Honey-Glazed Tofu on Pumpkin Seed Couscous
Cranberry Relish
Sweet Potato Souffle
Caramelized Green Beans with Pine Nuts
Luxurious Mashed Potatoes
Maple Pumpkin Pie
Honey-Glazed Tofu on Pumpkin Seed Couscous
This entree went together really fast and it looked pretty. Both pluses for a Thanksgiving meal. The texture of the pumpkin seeds was somewhat unpleasant with the rest of the dish. I will probably try almonds next time.
Serves 6
Honey-Glazed Tofu
2 10-ounce packages extra-firm tofu
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
Pumpkin Seed Couscous
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat couscous
12/ cup toasted unsalted pumpkin seeds
To make Honey-Glazed Tofu: Place tofu between two plates and set heavy pot on top. Drain 10 minutes, and pat dry. Cut tofu into 3/8-inch-thick slices. Combine pepper, thyme, and salt in small bowl. Coat tofu slices with pepper mixture, and set aside.
To make Pumpkin Seed Couscous: Bring broth, carrots, edamame, olive oil, and salt to a boil in covered saucepan. Remove from heat, stir in couscous and cover. Let steam 5 minutes, then fluff with fork.
Meanwhile, heat oil and honey in large skillet over medium-high heat until bubbling. Place tofu in pan, and cook 3 minutes. Turn, and cook 3 minutes more, spooning thickening sauce over tofu.
To serve: Stir pumpkin seeds into couscous. Spoon onto plates, and top with Honey-Glazed Tofu.
Cranberry Relish
My friend Jen posted that she was making this on Facebook. I bought cranberries thinking I would make cranberry sauce but I decided against it thinking I would make muffins instead. After making the muffins I still had cranberries leftover so I went ahead and made this relish. It was great! I served it on crackers with cream cheese for a post workout snack earlier in the day. I had it on a veggie turkey sandwich for lunch. I had it with mashed potatoes for dinner. Finally I put some on top of my pumpkin pie for dessert. It is a very versatile relish!
Makes 3 cups
2 cups washed raw cranberries
2 skinned and cored tart apples
1 large, whole (peel on) seedless orange, cut into sections
1 to 2 cups granulated sugar
Pulse cranberries, apples, and orange in a food processor until finely chopped, but taking care to not over process.
Mix in the sugar. Let sit at room temperature until sugar dissolves, about 45 minutes. Store in the refrigerator.
Sweet Potato Souffle
Souffles can be tricky to make. You want them to rise nicely and have everyone see it before it falls. I made sure my family was sitting at the table ready to eat when this came out of the oven. The souffle turned out great. The hard part was finding a souffle dish. I looked all over my town for one and finally found a store that carried one after being given a tip from a very skeptical woman at another store. She said it would be hard to find. Guess I got lucky.
Makes one 8-cup souffle.
unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans
4 pounds sweet potatoes or yams
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon orange zest
Butter an eight-cup souffle dish well and coat with chopped pecans, and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap each potato in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until extremely soft.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Once sweet potatoes are cool enough to touch, split down the middle and scoop out the insides. Place them in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Insert the chef's whisk. Be sure to discard any dark or discolored spots. Turn to speed 4. Mix for about 2 minutes. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and turn to speed 4 for another 2 minutes, until sweet potatoes are completely mashed.
Separate the eggs. Place the whites in a separate mixing bowl and add the yolks one at a time to the sweet potatoes with the stand mixer running on speed 2. Add the remaining ingredients in the order listed mixing on speed 3 until all of the ingredients are completely incorporated.
Transfer sweet potato mixture to a separate large mixing bowl. WAsh and dry both the mixing bowl and the chef's whisk thoroughly.
Place egg whites in mixing bowl. Insert the chef's whisk. Turn to speed 9 for about 30 seconds. Increase to speed 12 until stiff but not dry, just until whites no longer slip when bowl is tilted, about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 minutes more. Remove bowl from stand mixer.
Fold the whites into the sweet potato mixture in 3 additions, using a large rubber spatula.
Pour sweet potato mixture into prepared souffle dish. Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for about 45 minutes until the souffle is lightly browned on top and puffed over the edge of the souffle dish.
Serve immediately.
Caramelized Green Beans with Pine Nuts
I always want to do something fancy with vegetables for holidays, but Kenny usually tells me that he just wants his vegetables steamed with butter. This recipe was our compromise this year.
Serves 4
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds green beans, stem ends removed
2 tablespoons pine nuts
coarse salt and ground pepper
In a large skillet, heat butter and oil over medium-low. Add green beans; partially cover, and cook tossing occasionally, until green beans are tender and browned in spits, up to 30 minutes. Add pine nuts; cook until nuts are toasted, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Luxurious Mashed Potatoes
This my go-to special occasion mashed potato recipe. I only make them on special occasions though because they have about 440 calories for one inadequate serving. Crazy! For Christmas last year I made this for just the three of us and we had very little left over. The recipe serves 6! This year I doubled the recipe against my better judgement.
Serves 6
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, warmed (I add a little at a time until I get the consistency I want)
In a large pot, cover potatoes by 2 inches with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Drain thoroughly and pass potatoes through a ricer or food mill into pot. (I used my stand mixer this year to do the mashing and whipping.)
Over low heat, add butter and stir until melted. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until potatoes are stiff, about 1 minute. Gradually add cream, stirring constantly to combine. Using a rubber spatula, pass potatoes through a fine-mesh sieve. Season with salt and pepper.
Maple Pumpkin Pie
Kenny came home with a can of pumpkin a week or so before Thanksgiving. This was thoughtful of him since we've noticed pumpkin shortages at the Commissary in the past. I took the gesture to mean that he would like pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner.
Serves 8
Basic Flaky Piecrust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for rolling the dough
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
In a food processor, pulse the flour, butter, sugar, and salt until the mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size clumps of butter remaining.
Add 2 tablespoons of the water. Pulse until the mixture holds together when squeezed but is still crumbly (add more water, a little at a time, as necessary). Avoid over processing, which will make the dough tough.
Place the still crumbly mixture on a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape it into a 1-inch-thick disk, using the plastic wrap to help. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. (The dough can be frozen at this point for up to 2 months.)
Place the disk of dough on a floured piece of parchment or wax paper. Using your knuckles, make indentations around the perimeter of the dough (this will help prevent cracking when you roll the dough out).
With a floured rolling pin, rill the dough into an 11-inch circle (work from the center outward, and use the parchment to rotate the dough). Flour the rolling pin, parchment, and dough as necessary to prevent sticking.
Loosen the dough from the parchment and carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Fit the dough into the plate (avoid stretching). Trim the dough to a 1-inch overhang and tuck it under itself to create a thick rim.
With the index finger of one hand, press the dough against the thumb and forefinger of the opposite hand; continue around the perimeter of the crust. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days before using.
Pie
1 piecrust fitted into a 9-inch pie plate
2 large eggs
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Set an oven rack in the lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the pie plate on a foil-lined baking sheet.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and cloves.
Pour the pumpkin mixture into the crust and bake until the center is set, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving. The pie can be prepared and refrigerated, loosely covered with plastic wrap for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
