Gingered Pumpkin Bisque a lovely first course for Christmas meals

Our orange Thanksgiving pumpkin had brightly cheered us during the entire fall, but the time had arrived to put it out to pasture and to claim its succulent insides for some pre-Christmas meals.

A recipe for a pretty Gingered Pumpkin Bisque had leaped off the page at me as I first surfed my Taste of Home resource. I was glad I now had the fresh puree (after we carved and boiled the aforementioned pumpkin) to cook this delicious soup.

The recipe called for 1/2 cup whipping cream or half-and-half. I recoiled at this and wondered whether the bisque would be just too, too watered down if I made it with only skim milk.

Not to obsess about this at all—the skim milk worked just fine, so I could dine in good conscience. Processing a portion of the well-drained batch in the blender, as the recipe directs, makes the soup thick and rich, so the substitution worked just fine. The recipe (from Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe Cards) said this made enough for four servings, but Hubby and I used it as a main course, so in our giant soup mugs we found none left over after the two of us consumed it readily.

This would be a great first course at a sit-down Christmas dinner. Guests would think you were utterly amazing if you tantalized them with a bowl of this special delight.

Gingered Pumpkin Bisque

1/3 cup chopped shallots

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup apple cider or apple juice

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin (or fresh pumpkin puree)

2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup (I used the sugar-free variety)

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon pepper

dash ground cloves

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream or half-and-half cream (I used skim milk)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

additional whipping cream, optional

fresh thyme sprigs, optional

(I dusted the top with a little cinnamon.)

In a small saucepan sauté the shallots, onion, and ginger in oil until tender. Stir in flour until blended; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Gradually stir in broth and cider. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the pumpkin, maple syrup, thyme, cinnamon, pepper, and cloves. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly. In a blender process soup in batches until soup is smooth. Return all to the pan. Stir in cream and vanilla; heat through (do not boil). Drizzle individual servings with additional cream. If desired garnish with thyme sprigs. Makes 4 servings.

Festive Spiced Pears a divine idea for Thanksgiving side

Although today’s feature, Spiced Pears, resembles the recipe in Friday’s blog, it’s definitely not the same. This dish was so amazing and was such a great idea for a Thanksgiving side, I just had to include it even though it, at first glance, looks as though it might be a re-run of that marvelous Cranberry Orange Relish from last week.

Spiced Pears was included in my Taste of Home Thanksgiving recipe cards in which I’ve found all sorts of treasures. The description (by recipe contributor Ruby Williams) stated that this was a change of pace from the typical Thanksgiving sides and that it was easy to fix and looked festive on the table.

It consists of six pears, two oranges, and a can of whole berry cranberry sauce. I had a bag of fresh cranberries on hand, however, so I boiled them until they were soft and measured 14 ounces of them in a cup (same amount as in a can of cranberry sauce). So everything in my recipe was fresh.

The sliced, cooked pears taste absolutely wonderful aswirl in the cooked cranberries and oranges. Added spices give the mixture a nice perk-up. Hubby wouldn’t get near these Spiced Pears at first because he thought they contained strawberries, his nemesis, but when I assured him of the contents, he waded in for a bite . . . and then more and more. And our little grandmunchkin, while he was staying with us over the weekend, went nuts over this dish, so if you’re looking for a Thanksgiving dish that will appeal to the kiddos and all other ages as well at your table, look no further!

Spiced Pears

1 (14-ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce (or fresh cranberries

cooked to measure 14 ounces)

1/3 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

6 medium pears, peeled and sliced

2 medium navel oranges, peeled and sectioned

In a large saucepan combine the cranberry sauce, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and ginger. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in pears and oranges; simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until pears are tender.

This simple, beautiful Cranberry-Orange Relish has star quality

My fall recipe binder contained this note alongside Cranberry-Orange Relish: “Star of the 2010 Thanksgiving table”. Now, when you think about it, that’s quite a compliment. Consider the competition: pecan pie, turkey, dressing, scrumptious casseroles. A small little dish of relish trumps these other glories of the holiday? Amazing.

However, Cranberry-Orange Relish is not just any relish. Fresh whole cranberries mixed with orange juice, orange sections (could be from fresh oranges such as the ones that grow in our son’s back yard or from canned Mandarin orange segments), and crystallized ginger make a tasty combination. Chilled to let the flavors co-mingle and then served in my mother’s pretty glass dish—I do remember it being a divine little number. Enough inspiration to make Cranberry-Orange Relish again for this year.

Clipped from the pages of a Family Circle magazine of bygone days (no date of publication remained on my well-worn clipping), this relish is crazy-easy and requires no tedious chopping. Let the cranberries, sugar, and orange juice boil on the stovetop for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens and most of the berries pop open. Stir in the orange segments and it’s ready to chill until serving time. Star quality!

Cranberry-Orange Relish

1 (12-ounce) bag fresh whole cranberries (can also use frozen)

1 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger (buy this in the spice section of your grocery)

1 (15-ounce) can Mandarin oranges or 1 3/4 cups chopped fresh orange segments, drained

In a medium saucepan combine cranberries, orange juice, sugar, and ginger; mix well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil, uncovered, 5 minutes, or until mixture has thickened and most berries have popped. Remove from heat; stir in oranges. Transfer to bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of relish; refrigerate until chilled. Makes 3 cups (1/4 cup per serving).

"Tastes like Thanksgiving!" No better compliment for Chicken Squash Casserole

Back to that fabulous new cookbook from Calvary Baptist Church in Little Rock. Still prowling through it I encountered a squash casserole that was different than any I’d ever seen (and I’ve been around the block a few times where squash casseroles are concerned.)

As its basic elements, this casserole combined squash, cornbread stuffing, and cubed chicken (new to me in a squash casserole). I already had in my possession a box of cornbread stuffing and a container of the chicken. With a brief trip (I should say, with Hubby’s brief trip) to the grocery produce section for a little fresh squash, I was in business.

Other than the small amount of time necessary for slicing the squash and chopping the small onion, this was an amazingly easy prep. Stir-ins of cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and seasonings completed the assemblage. I couldn’t resist sprinkling a little Cheddar cheese on top. I mean, to me, a squash casserole just doesn’t look right if it isn’t crowned with a smattering of orange. Only about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cheese was all I added, but the effect was achieved.

“This tastes like Thanksgiving!” Hubby gushed when I plunked some Chicken Squash Casserole on a plate and set it before him last night. Genius! That’s the general idea. After all, ’tis the season. Another winner from Calvary Culinary Creations (and from this recipe’s contributor, Adrian Self).

Chicken Squash Casserole

2 pounds yellow squash, sliced

1 box cornbread stuffing mix

1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken soup

8 ounces sour cream (I used fat-free)

1 small onion, chopped

2 cups cooked and cubed chicken

salt (or salt substitute) and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan cover squash and onion with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook until squash is tender. Drain. Stir in salt, pepper, soup, stuffing mix, chicken, and sour cream. Pour squash mixture into greased 2 1/2-quart casserole dish. Bake for 35 minutes. Serves 6.

Hold on to your tastebuds to make way for the pie of the century—Blackberry-Apple with White Cheddar Cheese Crust

I had mentioned that my second birthday goal, besides making yesterday’s veggie casserole, was to bake myself a birthday pie. I’m pleased to report that that was accomplished in fine fashion and that it was a colossal success. I don’t think I’ve ever had such an amazing dessert. The photo of Blackberry-Apple Pie with White Cheddar Cheese Crust drew me in when I first saw it in the Thanksgiving issue of Southern Living. I don’t know how the one SL baked as its “model” could have tasted any better.

This called for six apples (a combination of Granny Smith and Braeburn) and 2 cups of blueberries (the recipe said frozen could be used, but Kroger had some packages of fresh ones, so I went for fresh all the way). The apples were cooked until tender and the blackberries stirred in before they were added to the crust.

Now for the awesome crust! I’ve never blended anything into a piecrust mixture except the traditional water, butter or shortening, and flour. But this called for 1 1/2 cups shredded white Cheddar cheese to be part of the mixture. I know lots of folks love big slices of cheddar atop apples pies (I remember seeing this on pies in cafeteria lines), but I never considered actually making the cheese a part of the pie itself. How would this work?

The cheese is added after the butter is cut into the flour mixture so that it resembles small peas. After the cheese, water is drizzled onto the mixture until the dough can stick together to form a ball. Shaping the mixture into two flat disks, wrapping it in plastic wrap, and allowing it to chill (from 2 to 24 hours) is essential. By that point (I think I waited 6 hours) the dough is firm. It never stuck to the rolling pin or to the pastry board a single time during the rolling-out process. Lattice strips are cut from the second crust and woven over the top of the fruit. Again the pastry strips, cut from the chilled dough, were easy to work with and didn’t fall apart during the weaving process.

After having been brushed with a beaten egg, the crust is prone to brown speedily. The recipe directs that after 45 minutes, you cover it loosely with foil and bake a remaining 25. I had to cover mine before 45 minutes; I actually covered the edges with aluminum strips after about 10 minutes of baking because they were an over-browning disaster waiting to happen. After 75 minutes of baking the pie’s insides were bubbly; the outside, having been protected, was golden.

After Hubby and I returned from our promised birthday run both ways over the Two-Mile Bridge (over Lake Ray Hubbard), our daughter had arrived at our house to bring a balloon and birthday greetings, so we considered that to be our occasion to dig into the waiting pie. It became my birthday lunch. (I don’t suggest having pie for lunch every day, but on one’s birthday, living a little is surely sanctioned!) Absolutely stunning! The fruit combo of apples and blackberries and the from-scratch cheesy crust was a once-in-a-lifetime treat. On a birthday, Thanksgiving, or anytime table, Blackberry-Apple Pie is a memorable winner.

Blackberry-Apple Pie

3 pounds Granny Smith apples

3 pounds Braeburn apples

1 1/2 cups sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter

1 (12-ounce) package frozen blackberries (I used 2 cups fresh blackberries)

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Peel apples and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges; toss with sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add apple mixture and sauté 15 to 20 minutes or until apples are tender. Remove from heat. Cool completely (about 1 hour). Toss blackberries with 1 tablespoon flour and stir into apple mixture. Use immediately.

White Cheddar-Cheese Crust

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut into pieces

1 1/2 cups (6-ounces) shredded white Cheddar cheese

1/2 to 3/4 cup ice water

1 large egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute), lightly beaten

1 Tablespoon sparkling sugar

In a large bowl stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles small peas. Stir in cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup ice water over flour mixture. Stir with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened and dough is crumbly but forms a ball when pressed together. Add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary, up to 1/4 cup. Divide dough in half. Place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Shape each dough half into a flat disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap; chill 2 to 24 hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place 1 dough disk on a lightly floured surface; sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Roll dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Starting at 1 edge of dough, wrap dough around rolling pin. Place rolling pin over a 9-inch pie plate; unroll dough over pie plate. Press dough into pie plate; trim off excess crust along edges. Spoon Blackberry-Apple Pie Filling into crust. Mound filling slightly in center. Roll remaining dough disk to about 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough into 9 (1-inch-wide) strips. Arrange strips in a lattice design over filing; gently press ends of strips into bottom crust; crimp edge of crust. Brush lattice with egg; sprinkle with sugar. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees on lower-oven rack 45 to 50 minutes. Cover loosely with foil to prevent excess browning. Bake 25 more minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Apple Muffins—savor now or save for Thanksgiving week

For me, a new cookbook with untried recipes inside operates as though it were a giant magnet pulling me into its pages. I start purposing to try out each suggestion and to write my comments in the margins after the item is prepared. The fresh-produce recipe book from the Southwest Chili Peppers Nutrition Task Force (mentioned last week) is one such lure. The highly basic nature of the recipes—designed to help people learn to cook produce in the most elemental manner—appeals to me.

I wanted to try its recipe for Pear Muffins but had only apples (of course!) and not pears in my produce bin. So I merely subbed 1 cup diced apples (about 2 medium ones) for the 1 cup diced pears it called for; for a little spiced-up flavor I also added 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. The zest of 1/2 orange (you also could use the zest of 1 lemon or 1/2 grapefruit, the recipe says) plus 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans) are nice additions. I think its flexibility is the thing I like most about the recipe—it allows for various adaptations. If you don’t have a particular ingredient on hand, try similar one that is available to you.

Tempting to devour all of these now, but they were soon spirited away to the deep freeze to save for Thanksgiving week. Apple-y and spice-y, they represented an easy way to put a little fall away for some family time later.

Apple Muffins (adapted from the recipe for Pear Muffins)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1 cup milk (I used skim)

1 egg beaten (I used egg substitute)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

zest of 1 lemon, 1/2 orange, or 1/2 grapefruit

1 cup diced apples (about 2 medium apples, peeled)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat together milk, beaten egg, oil, and zest of lemon (or orange or grapefruit). Mix apples and nuts into flour mixture. Gently stir milk mixture into dry ingredients. Batter should be lumpy and not smooth. Do not over mix. Spray muffin pans with nonstick spray. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until tops are browned. Remove from pan immediately; serve warm. Makes 12-14 muffins.

A salad so splendid, it instantly nets "Thanksgiving-worthy" label

“Thanksgiving-worthy!” That was the pronouncement of both Hubby and me when we began sampling Apple-Pear Salad with Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing, a new dish I’d put on the table to go with our Turnip Green Stew from a few days back.

After you take a few bites of this combination, you’ll think you’ve been transported to the most elegant multi-fork restaurant on the planet. This truly was one of the best salads I’ve sampled in a long, long time. That’s why we immediately assigned the recipe to accompany the holiday bird—one menu item that I can say without a doubt will be found on our Thanksgiving dining table.

Thinly sliced apples and pears are tossed with dried cranberries and romaine (I subbed with spinach for the greens). A smattering of cashews (what recipe can go wrong if it has cashews in it?) and shredded Swiss cheese are added. The Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing is divine and makes enough to be stored and be poured over additional salads.

The instructions, furnished by myrecipes.com and listed as springing from a March 2007 Southern Living issue, state that some grilled chicken could be added to transform this salad into a main course.

Thanksgiving, we’re marching toward ya! Only 20 more cooking days left until that dinner of dinners! Gotta get busy.

Apple-Pear Salad with Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing

1 (16-ounce) package romaine lettuce, thoroughly washed (I used spinach pieces)

1 (6-ounce) block Swiss cheese, shaved

1 cup roasted, salted cashews (I used unsalted)

1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1 large apple, thinly sliced

1 large pear, thinly sliced

In a salad bowl toss together all ingredients. Serve with Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing (recipe follows). Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing:

2/3 cup light olive oil

1/2 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds

2 teaspoons finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

Process 2/3 cup light olive oil and remaining ingredients in a blender until smooth. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 1 week; serve at room temperature. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

A dish you don’t see every day—Stuffed Patty-Pan Squash

Patty-pan squash had always fascinated me. I had seen the little round, scalloped, somewhat flattened veggies on display at farmers markets and was curious about them. What would they taste like? How did one cook them? I heard various versions of how-to’s described but never had tried any out.

Then at the most recent outdoor farm stand we visited, I finally succumbed. Two varieties were present—one, a pale yellow-green and another, deep golden with green flecks. They just looked so . . . well, like fall. I knew that with a little online help, I could turn up some cooking instructions.

Cooks.com helped me out with this recipe that used a filling of chopped onion and celery, tomato soup, and crushed cheese crackers, plus the cooked innards that have been chopped and stirred back in. Hubby and I snack on lots of Ritz Hint-of-Salt crackers, so we always have those around. The key was cooking the patty-pans until they were soft enough to scoop out but not so soft that they cratered and couldn’t hold up to the stuffing process (think the doneness of a green Bell pepper just before the meat mixture goes inside).

The recipe didn’t say to, but to me, almost anything tastes better with a little cheese on top. Some shredded Italian-blend cheese worked just fine dusted atop the baked patty-pans. The two different colors of squash made a unique contrast in the dish. Crumb topping and the cheese made the patty-pans look appealing and taste like one’s own personal squash casserole. Mixing in the touch of tomato soup gave them a good flavor.

I was really pleased with myself for pursuing this original recipe and thought Stuffed Patty-Pan Squash would be a nice addition to a Thanksgiving table (and prompt an exercise of “name-the-vegetable”). It’s definitely a dish you don’t see every day.

 

Stuffed Patty-Pan Squash

6-8 patty pans

2 tablespoons butter

3-4 tablespoons chopped onion

3-4 tablespoons chopped celery

4 tablespoons tomato soup

salt (or salt substitute) to taste

10-12 cheese crackers, crushed (I used Ritz Hint-of-Salt round crackers.)

Wash and trim squash. Drop in boiling water and simmer until squash are about half done. Drain and cool. Spoon out centers. Leave shell of about 1/2-inch in thickness. Do not cut through to bottom. Chop removed centers and set aside. In skillet melt butter; sauté onion and celery until they are soft. Add chopped centers, tomato soup, salt, and pepper. Mix and then add enough crushed cheese crackers to thicken filling (thick enough to stuff). Fill shells with mixture. Sprinkle a handful of crushed cheese crackers over tops. Bake at 350 degrees until squash is done (about 20 to 30 minutes). (I topped the baked patty-pans with about 1 cup Italian-blend shredded cheese.) Makes 6-8 servings.

Be thinking of your Thanksgiving sides: add Brussels Sprouts with Apples to the list

How unfair to Hubby was this? I returned home from the hairdresser and had a new perm; I then immediately began stirring up my new dish—Brussels Sprouts with Apples. As if the pungent aroma of the fresh perm solution wasn’t enough (Hubby’s super sniffer detected it the minute I walked in the door), the odiferous brussels sprouts almost sent him reeling while they were cooking. Double-trouble for him.

But that night, when he dined on Brussels Sprouts with Apples and thought the dish was amazing, he decided I hadn’t enacted such a harsh treatment after all. The recipe was from www.myrecipes.com (it originally appeared in November 2002 Southern Living) and continued my quest of finding wondrous ways with apples while we’re yet in apple season. This called for a large diced Red Delicious apple, sliced water chestnuts, golden raisins, and lemon rind. Three tablespoons fresh lemon juice stirred in with the fresh brussels sprouts pretty well banished the objectionable smell while the dish simmered.

The brussels sprouts (cut in in half to make more bite-sized pieces) cooked up to taste a lot like baby limas; the water chestnuts gave the veggie side dish an appealing crunch; the diced cooked apples and addition of sugar substitute made it all taste slightly sweet. A good candidate—and a very healthy one—for a Thanksgiving side dish, for sure. Hubby said for me to note that as with many other dishes, it tastes even better the next day.

And the odiferous perm solution? After 48 hours (even guys remember the take-away line from Legally Blonde) it washed out of my hair without a trace. Hubby was happy.

Brussels Sprouts with Apples

2 1/2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts, halved

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons salt (or salt substitute), divided

1/4 cup butter, divided

1 medium onion, diced

1/4 cup apple juice

1 large Red Delicious apple, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon sugar (or sugar substitute)

1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1/2 cup golden raisins

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

In a saucepan bring to a boil the brussels sprouts, lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and water (just enough to cover). Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 t0 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and keep warm. In a large skillet over medium-high heat melt 2 tablespoons butter; add onion, and sauté 15 to 20 minutes or until the onion is caramel-colored. Add apple juice and cook 2 minutes; stir to loosen browned particles. Add apple, garlic, and sugar; cook, stirring constantly, 5 to 6 minutes or until apple is tender. Add water chestnuts, next 4 ingredients, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes. Gently toss in brussels sprouts. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Is your week slightly upside down with busyness? This upside-down apple cake makes a great, quick Thanksgiving-week breakfast

We all know about pineapple upside-down cakes, but here's a new wrinkle—an apple upside-down cake. In my recipes that call for fresh apples was this little gem called Spiced Apple Cake that sounded just perfect for the Thanksgiving season. Although Spiced Apple Cake probably was designed to be a dessert, we ended up dining on it for breakfast for several mornings in the past few days. Looking for a great breakfast item to serve company who still might be in your house for the holidays? You can't beat this one.

One-and-a-half cups of peeled apple slices (any variety) go on the bottom of a nonstick pan that has had butter melted in it and sugar sprinkled over the apples. Then spray the sides with nonfat cooking spray. Trust me—this preparation is sufficient to guarantee that the cake will turn out of its pan without hassle—even in a pan that's not of the nonstick variety (the kind I had on hand to use, by the way). When the dessert emerged from the oven, I approached the removal of it with great trepidation, but I let it cool for about five minutes, ran a spatula around the edges, and used the spatula to dig underneath the cake a little to be sure all was loosened. Holding my breath I turned it over on a cake plate and voila! a perfect unfurling of a perfect cake, with all the apple topping in place!

Family Circle magazine of a few years back gets credit for this delightful recipe, which recommends serving it slightly warm with whipped cream. Fat-free whipped topping for us, of course, although without that on hand, we used Hubby's fat-free vanilla yogurt instead. Divine! Boy, were we sorry when this little upside-down dish was gone—good to the very last crumb.

Spiced Apple Cake

11 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups packed dark-brown sugar (can use brown-sugar substitute)

1 1/2 cups peeled apple slices, any variety

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

2 eggs (or egg substitute)

2/3 cup milk (we use skim milk)

whipped cream, if desired (or fat-free whipped topping)

Place 3 tablespoons of the butter in a 9-inch round nonstick cake pan. Coat sides of pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place pan in oven while heating the oven to 325 degrees. When butter is melted, remove pan from oven. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the sugar. Carefully fan apple slices, overlapping in pan. Sift flour, baking powder, cloves, allspice, and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl beat remaining 8 tablespoons butter and remaining 1 cup sugar until sooth. Beat in eggs. Add half the flour mixture, then milk, then remaining flour. Beat until smooth. Pour into pan. Bake cake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Run a think knife around cake; invert onto a plate. Remove pan; replace any apple slices stuck to pan. Serve slightly warm with whipped cream, fat-free topping, or nonfat vanilla yogurt.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes—look no further if you're still digging around for a Thanksgiving sweet-potato recipe

In an earlier blog I mentioned the heretical act of subbing a new green-bean recipe for the time-honored Green Bean Casserole that's typical Thanksgiving fare. I really stepped across the line this year when I also subbed Glazed Sweet Potatoes for the traditional, pecan-topped sweet-potato "candy" that families have used for decades. I love that version—Sweet Potato Casserole that appears in my first cookbook, Way Back in the Country, and that was introduced in our family by my cousin, Jana. But I was itching to try a new sweet-potato recipe this year; we gave a high-five to the outcome.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes is simple enough—prepared with fresh sweet potatoes with a glaze of maple-flavored syrup (we used sugar-free syrup) mixed with brown sugar, butter, and spices. But oh, what a hit! I truly believe it was the star of my "drive-by" Thanksgiving dinner that we pulled together for our family time days ago. I even prepared it twice before Thanksgiving. I had some fresh sweet potatoes left over and decided to create it a second time.

Anyone who wants a sweet-potato dish on the Thanksgiving table but who doesn't want to go to the fuss (although a worthwhile fuss, I might add) of the traditional casserole would be smart to whip this one up quickly. Recipe courtesy Taste of Home magazine. Although he's complimentary of everything, Hubby deep-down likes his sweet potatoes rather basic, so with this dish he was enthralled, to say the least!

Happy Thanksgiving cooking! Today's the marathon day! Enjoy yourselves in your kitchen and relish in the foods of this great holiday.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes

2 pound medium sweet potatoes or 2 cans (18-ounces each) sweet potatoes, drained

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup maple-flavored syrup (I used sugar-free)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used brown-sugar substitute and used only 1/8 cup)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

If using fresh sweet potatoes, place in a kettle, cover with water, and cook covered for 25-35 minutes or just until tender. Drain; cool slightly. Peel and cut into chunks. Place cooked or canned sweet potatoes in a 2-quart baking dish. In a small saucepan combine butter, syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon; cook and stir until mixture boils. Pour over potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until mixture is heated through. Makes 8 servings.

Harvest Chili show-stopper on any Thanksgiving table or for family meals on this week of mega-food prep

Also left over from our earlier Oklahoma roadside stand visit: a large butternut squash as well as a pattypan squash. I knew these were just begging for some wonderful recipe to be included in, but I wasn't really familiar with cooking either. I've always been very "garden-variety" (no pun intended) where squash was concerned—yellow squash and zucchini were the extent of my repertoire. (At the roadside stand Hubby scooped these up because he thought these looked interesting.)

My Celebrating a Healthy Harvest handbook fortunately helped me out in a wonderful way. The recipe for Harvest Chili was a lifesaver. But peeling the extra-tough skin on the butternut squash was a challenge. The recipe didn't say to do so, but I heated up a large pot of boiling water and boiled the butternut until it softened up and peeling was easy.

Adding the fresh corn, fresh tomatoes, and green bell pepper made this a healthy as well as colorful combination—perfect for Thanksgiving week, especially since folks are trying to limit their food intake to make room for that extra amount of Thanksgiving Day dining in which they plan to indulge. Harvest Chili was so enjoyable, we dined on it for both lunch and dinner in the same day for many days.

Also, quick and easy describe this prep—a good idea since most of us are busy readying for Thursday's dinner. The ease of preparation of this Harvest Chili can halt the fast-food-to-go line temptation on this week of (food) weeks, so you can serve your family something nourishing while not sacrificing precious time in the kitchen. Or, thinking outside the box, Harvest Chili would be a show-stopper on any Thanksgiving table.

Harvest Chili

2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 pounds butternut squash (or a combination of butternut and pattypan)

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)

2 cups fresh tomatoes (or 1 14-ounce can, undrained)

1 cup water (If you are using canned tomatoes, omit the water.)

1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

3 large ears of corn, cooked and cut from the cob

1 small can green chilies or 1/2 cup fresh, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Peel and chop squash into 1/2-inch chunks. Heat oil in skillet and add squash, onion, and garlic; cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add tomatoes and green pepper; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover; simmer for 15 minutes. Add corn, chilies, salt, and pepper; simmer covered for 5 minutes or until squash is tender. Uncover and increase heat to high. Cook for 5 minutes or until the liquid is reduced; serve.

Pumpkin-pecan pie is standout at "drive-by" Thanksgiving feast

We called it our "drive-by" Thanksgiving, but we would take a family Thanksgiving observance any way we could get it.

Earlier this week our son who lives in another state was in town overnight for a business meeting. Wish he'd been able to bring his wife and our two faraway grand preciouses with him, but since he couldn't, Hubby and I decided to round up any of our kiddos we could gather and have an official Thanksgiving feast. We decided it would have to do.

Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce—the works—was served at this rushed-up event, but all was wonderful and tasty and memorable. Gave us a chance to play "find the real leaf"—a tradition that has been part of many past Thanksgiving dinners. Hubby went out into the yard and brought in a colorful bit of fall foliage. We interspersed it with the traditional artificial decor leaves that accompany our annual autumn centerpiece. As as been our custom for many years the kids (all adults, but who will always be our "kids") searched until they found the authentic one. Winner got to be the first person to be served dessert. (Believe me, with our daughter, son, and son-in-law as contestants, this gets dog-eat-dog competitive!)

How to pick out a menu for our "drive-by"—since I couldn't cook my entire Thanksgiving recipe file, I zeroed in on the things the kids like best. A traditional pecan pie was there, of course—prepared from my grandmother's recipe that's featured in my first cookbook, Way Back in the Country. To appease Hubby I knew I had to have pumpkin represented. That called for Pumpkin-Pecan Pie, featured in my new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden. It's a blending of the things he likes best. The lower strata of the pie is a pumpkin layer formed from fresh pureed pumpkin. After that bakes for about 25 minutes and starts to set, I pour on a pecan layer. From the surface the finished pie looks similar to pecan, but the pumpkin layer at the bottom forms a surprise. For pumpkin-pie lovers such as Hubby, it's a true Thanksgiving delight.

Adored son blitzed in and out of town; our dinner is history, but we have this unusual Thanksgiving memory to add to our collection. In addition, I've saved and frozen a slice of leftover Pumpkin-Pecan Pie, so Hubby can have his traditional "day-after" pie piece for breakfast on the morning of November 26.

Pumpkin-Pecan Pie

2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

1/4 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/4 cup brown sugar (1/8 cup if using brown-sugar substitute)

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

2/3 cup cooked pumpkin, mashed and drained

2/3 cup milk (I use skim milk)

1 (9-inch) unbaked deep-dish pastry shell

Pecan topping:

2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

2 tablespoons brown sugar (1 tablespoon brown-sugar substitute)

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup pecan halves

In a mixing bowl beat eggs, sugars, flour, pie spice and salt until smooth. Mix in mashed and drained pumpkin. Gradually beat in milk. Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake 15 minutes longer. For pecan topping beat eggs in a mixing bowl until eggs are foamy. Add corn syrup, brown sugar, molasses, flour, vanilla, and salt. Pour over filling. Sprinkle with chopped pecans; cover with pecan halves. Continue baking at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until set. Cool completely. Store in the refrigerator. Makes 6-8 servings.

Can traditional green-bean casserole be supplanted as TG favorite? My "subcommittee" was open to sesame.

I was sure I was committing some sort of heresy. After all, doesn't everyone serve the traditional green-bean casserole (cream-of-mushroom soup, French-fried-onion topping, etc.) at Thanksgiving time? Would I dare deviate from the norm? Would a lightning bolt zap me in my kitchen?

Yet the cook who submitted Sesame Green Beans to the Family Circle magazine recipe collection vowed that her family members had been diehard green-bean haters before she tried Sesame Green Beans on them. Her blurb attached to the recipe indicated that her loved ones fairly beg for this vegetable now because of the new way of preparation. That moved Sesame Green Beans up to my must-try category. Traditional green-bean casserole got jettisoned for a new experiment (for now).

Unlike most recipes calling for fresh green beans, this one asked the cook to sauté the beans in olive oil rather than to steam or boil them. Garlic in the sauté process amped up the flavor. A brew of light soy sauce and water (sesame seeds added) tenderized the beans for about 10 minutes, with the skillet covered. Although the green of the beans darkened in the cooking process (one family member ultimately asked whether she was being served asparagus because of the darker color), it did nothing to detract from the end flavor result.

One night this week I tried Sesame Green Beans out on a "subcommittee" of the eventual end-recipients of Thanksgiving dinner. Would Thanksgiving magic be the same without my tried-and-true green-bean casserole?

All I know is that the bowl full of green beans disappeared quickly--not a single one remained for next day's leftovers!

Sesame Green Beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed

3 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and tilt pan to coat. Stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add green beans and sauté, about 2 minutes. Pour in soy sauce along with 1/4 cup water. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Reduce heat to medium and cover pan. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking pan occasionally. Uncover and stir beans to coat. Sprinkle a few more sesame seeds over the top. Serve warm. Makes 6 servings.

Brunswick Stew recipe carries me home to "old Virginny"

The grass is always greener. A few days ago I rhapsodized about a taste of home—King Ranch Chicken—which sustained my homesickness for Texas when I lived far away. Today's recipe scratches just the opposite itch--a longing for Virginia, the gorgeous state that was our residence for six years before we moved back to Texas to stay in the year 2000.

That longing calls out to me especially during this time of year, since we spent many a Thanksgiving Day walking up and down the autumn-leaf-strewn streets of Colonial Williamsburg, which in my estimation is one of the best places on the globe to enjoy traditional turkey dinner. Only one hour away from our front door when we lived in Richmond, Colonial Williamsburg was our "therapy spot"—an amazing, closeby getaway that some people travel from from farflung cities to experience.

My taste of All Things Virginia occurs in the form of Brunswick Stew, a typical Virginia dish. Competing claims exist about whether this recipe actually originated in Virginia or Georgia, but most versions are tomato-based and contain chicken and/or pork and various types of vegetables including lima beans, corn, and okra.

In my fall recipe files is a Brunswick Stew recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens website. It was ideal because it was a slow-cooker version and enabled me to use the very last of the okra brought in before the last of our garden's okra plants were felled about a week ago. One big ladleful of this steaming stew and I'm transported back to old Thomas Jefferson's hangout in a city where, for the visitor, time stands still. Thank you, CW, for the Thanksgiving memories!

Brunswick Stew

3 medium onions, cut into thin wedges

2 pounds meaty chicken pieces, skinned

1 1/2 cups diced cooked ham (8 ounces)

1 (14 1.2-ounce can diced tomatoes), or 2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced

1 (14-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce

2 cups sliced fresh okra

1 cup fresh or frozen baby lima beans

1 cup fresh or frozen whole-kernel corn

In a 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker place onion. Top with chicken and ham. In a small bowl combine the undrained tomatoes, broth, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, thyme, pepper, and hot pepper sauce; pour over chicken and ham. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. Remove meat from chicken bones; cut meat into bite-sized pieces. Return chicken to slow cooker; discard bones. Add okra, lima beans, and corn to crockery cooker. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. Cover and cook 45 minutes or more until vegetables are tender. Makes 6-8 servings.