Thanksgiving Day Desserts

Thanksgiving Day is fast approaching! The traditional Thanksgiving dessert is pumpkin pie. There are other desserts that are traditionally served, but these often vary from family to family as well as by region of the country. For those of you looking to spice up your dessert table this year, check out these contest winning recipes we found in FROM THE QUEEN'S COOKBOOK. Permission to reprint the recipes has been granted by Adobe Milling in Dove Creek, Colorado.

SOUR CREAM APPLE PIE (Blue Ribbon 1984 by Bev Young)
Filling:

• 1 EGG
  
• ½ cup SUGAR
  
• 2 Tbsp. FLOUR
  
• ¼ tsp. SALT
  
• 2 Tbsp. LEMON JUICE
  
• 1 cup thick SOUR CREAM
  
• 4 cups peeled, sliced APPLES
  

Topping:

• ¼ cup FLOUR
  
• 1 tsp. GROUND CINNAMON
  
• ¼ cup BUTTER
  
• ½ cup BROWN SUGAR
  

Filling: Beat together egg, sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice, then beat in sour cream. Place apples in shell. Pour sour cream mixture over apples and bake in a preheated 400° oven for 15 minutes. Topping: Combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. Reduce oven to 350° and bake about 35 more minutes or until apples are tender.

CHEESE CRUST THREE FRUIT PIE (White Ribbon 1989 by Beverly Young)

• 3 tsp. SHARP CHEESE
  
• 4 cups thinly sliced APPLES
  
• 1/3 cup CRANBERRY SAUCE
  
• 2 Tbsp. grated ORANGE PEEL
  
• 1 Tbsp. CORNSTARCH
  

In your favorite pie crust, add cheese and fill with all other ingredients. Dot with butter; cover. Dot top crust with butter. Dust with sugar and bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until brown.

PUMPKIN CHEESY BARS (Blue Ribbon 1990 by Genevieve Wells)

• 1 cup ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
  
• 1/3 cup packed BROWN SUGAR
  
• 5 Tbsp. soft BUTTER
  
• ½ cup finely chopped PECANS
  
• 8 oz. CREAM CHEESE
  
• 1 tsp. VANILLA
  
• ¾ cup SUGAR
  
• ½ cup PUMPKIN
  
• 2 beaten EGGS
  
• ½ tsp. SALT
  
• 1½ tsp. CINNAMON
  
• 1 tsp. ground ALLSPICE
  

Combine flour and brown sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter to make a crumb mixture for topping. Stir in nuts. Set aside ¾ cup for top. Press remaining mixture into bottom of an 8 x 8½ inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool. Combine cream cheese, sugar, spices, pumpkin and vanilla in a large bowl. Blend until smooth. Pour over baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved topping. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool before cutting into bars. Make bars 1 x 2 inches.

Happy Thanksgiving to You & Yours!

Happy Thanksgiving!

In the fall of 1621, the religious separatist Pilgrims held a three-day feast to celebrate a bountiful harvest, an event many regard as the nation’s first Thanksgiving. It eventually became a national holiday in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a national day of thanksgiving. Later, President Franklin Roosevelt clarified that Thanksgiving should always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month to encourage earlier holiday shopping, never on the occasional fifth Thursday. (US Census Bureau)

271 million - The preliminary estimate of turkeys raised in the United States in 2008. That’s not statistically significantly different from the number raised during 2007. The turkeys produced in 2007 together weighed 7.9 billion pounds and were valued at $3.7 billion. Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

13.8 pounds - The quantity of turkey consumed by the typical American in 2007, with a hearty helping devoured at Thanksgiving time. Per capita sweet potato consumption was 5.2 pounds. Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Tables 212-213

3 - Number of places in the United States named after the holiday's traditional main course. Turkey, Texas was the most populous in 2008, with 456 residents, followed by Turkey Creek, La. (361) and Turkey, N.C. (272). There are also nine townships around the country named Turkey, three in Kansas. Source: Population estimates

117 million - Number of households across the nation -- all potential gathering places for people to celebrate the holiday. Source: Families and Living Arrangements: 2008

The Pumpkin Pie recipes that we've elected to share this month are from "The Pumpkin Lovers Cookbook" by Betty B. Gabbert. Permission to print granted by Golden West Publishers, Phoenix, AZ 85014.

DELICIOUS PUMPKIN PIE

• 4 lbs. FRESH PUMPKIN (3¾ cup)
  
• 1 (14oz) can SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK
  
• 2 EGGS
  
• 1 tsp. CINNAMON
  
• ½ tsp. NUTMEG
  
• ½ tsp. GINGER
  
• ½ tsp. SALT
  
• PASTRY for 9 inch pie (see recipe below)
  
• ½ cup PECAN HALVES
  
• 3 Tbsp. DARK BROWN SUGAR
  
• 3 Tbsp. WHIPPING CREAM
  

Combine 3¾ cup pumpkin, milk, eggs & seasonings in processor bowl. Pulse just until blended. Fit pastry into pie plate, pour pumpkin mixture into pastry shell. Bake at 375° for 50-to-55 minutes or till knife inserted halfway between center and edge of pie comes out clean. Cool slightly. Sprinkle chopped pecans around outer edge of pie. Combine sugar and whipping cream in small pan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes; let cool 5 minutes. Spoon over pecans. NOTE: 2 cans pumpkin may be substituted for 3¾ cup fresh pumpkin.

FOOLPROOF PIE CRUST

• 2 cups UNBLEACHED FLOUR
  
• 1 tsp. SALT
  
• 2/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. melted MARGARINE
  
• 1 Tbsp. CIDER VINEGAR
  
• 1/3 cup cold WATER
  

Mix dry ingredients, cut in melted margarine. Mix vinegar and cold water, add to flour mixture tossing and stirring as you add. Stir vigorously with fork until mixture holds together well, then form into ball. Roll out between wax paper sheets, as needed.

Happy Thanksgiving to You & Yours!

Vegetarian Bean & Pumpkin Chili

The recipe that we've selected is from Tasty Eats at Home, a food blog created by Alta Mantsch. Permission to publish the recipe has been granted by Alta.

For the chili:

• 1 1/2 lbs mixed variety of DRIED BEANS (I used yellow eye, African red beans, and flageolet – but I would think a mix of black, kidney, and pinto beans would work well)
• 28 oz can CRUSHED TOMATOES
• 1 15 oz can PUMPKIN PUREE
• 2 SERRANO CHILES, minced
• 3 CHIPOTLE CHILES in adobo, minced
• 4 cups VEGETABLE STOCK
• 1-2 cup WATER
• 1 ONION, chopped
• 3 cloves GARLIC, minced
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. CUMIN
• 1/2 CINNAMON STICK
• 2 tsp. ground CORIANDER
• 2-3 tsp. SALT (taste)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. CHILI POWDER
• Several dashes of TABASCO

Garnishes:

• SHREDDED CHEESE
• CILANTRO
• SOUR CREAM
  

Rinse the beans, and soak overnight. Rinse again and place beans in slow cooker. Add rest of ingredients and stir well. Cook on low for 8 hours or until beans are tender. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve topped with desired garnishes. Serves 8.

LABOR DAY BBQ W/TEQUILA!

The recipes that we've selected for this mouthwatering Labor Day barbecue are from "The Tequila Cookbook" by Lynn Nusom. Permission to print granted by Golden West Publishers, 4113 N. Longview, Phoenix, AZ 85014.

This book is a compilation of recipes using tequila, a distilled liquor made from one of 400 species of agave plant. The blue variety agave is successfully grown only in the Mexican state of Jalisco, and in portions of Michoacan & Nayart. The town of Tequila is in the latter, near Guadalajara.

To qualify as tequila, the liquid must pass the following four tests established by the Mexican government:

1. It must be made from the juice of the blue agave.
   
2. It must come from one of the areas mentioned above.
   
3. After being fermented, the agave juice must be distilled twice.
   
4. The final product must contain at least fifty-one percent distilled agave juice and no more than forty-nine percent can be the result of distilled cane sugar.

GRILLED MUSTARD STEAKS

• 4 (6 - 8 oz.) SIRLOIN or RIB EYE STEAKS, approx. 1/2" thick
  
• 1 tsp. coarse ground BLACK PEPPER
  
• 2 Tbsp. HONEY MUSTARD
  
• 1/2 tsp. WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
  
• 1 cup TEQUILA
  
• 1 tsp. PEQUIN CHILE FLAKES

Place the steaks in a shallow dish. Mix pepper, mustard, Worcestershire, tequila and chile together and pour over steaks. Marinate in the refrigerator for 3 - 4 hours, remove and let stand at room temperature for 1/2 hour. Remove the steaks from marinade and grill over hot coals to taste, basting twice with the marinade. Discard the remainder of the marinade. Serve the steaks with potato salad and whole onions roasted over the barbecue. Serves 4.

"MAKE YOU PROUD" POTATO SALAD

• 2 lbs. WHITE POTATOES, peeled, boiled & diced
  
• 3 - 4 ribs CELERY, diced
  
• CELERY TOPS, diced
  
• 4 - 5 GREEN ONIONS, diced (include greens)
  
• 1/2 cup BLACK OLIVES, pitted & sliced
  
• 1/2 cup GREEN OLIVES with pimentos, sliced
  
• 1 Tbsp. fresh CILANTRO or PARSLEY
  
• 1/2 cup SOUR CREAM
  
• 1/2 cup MAYONNAISE
  
• 1/4 cup TEQUILA
  
• 2 Tbsp. DIJON MUSTARD
  
• 1 Tbsp. LEMON JUICE
  
• 1 Tbsp. fresh DILL WEED (or 1 tsp. dried)
  
• 1/2 tsp. ground BLACK PEPPER
  
• 1/2 tsp. SALT
  
• 1 tsp. crushed RED PEPPER FLAKES (Pequin)

Put the potatoes, celery, celery tops, onions, olives and cucumbers in a large salad bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss lightly. Garnish with sliced olives and sprigs of cilantro or parsley. Serves 8 - 10.