33: Thanksgiving!
Published by Emily,
Hope you all had a marvellous Thanksgiving! We didn't get that festive during the holidays when I was growing up... so, we sort of go all out when the holidays roll around nowadays to make up for all of the feasts we missed out on in the past. Besides the oven-roasted, free range Turkey that stole the show, my sister-in-law also prepared a honey glazed ham, some mashed potatoes, a Shallot and Brussels Sprout compote, Spicy Spinach and Mascarpone, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and gravy. I was responsible for dessert, and was given the option of buying dessert, but I stubbornly insisted that you just can’t “cheat on dessert". Not on Thanksgiving. I also thought it’d be fun to make some freshly baked bread. Needless to say, our Thanksgiving spread this year would’ve impressed the pilgrims that started this glorious tradition. You know what else is glorious? The week’s worth of leftovers that follow the feast.
I was pretty nervous about my dishes because this was my first attempt at a traditional pie, and the crust, while pretty straight forward to make, is hard to perfect. I’ve also been kind of intimidated by the amount of patience required to make breads. But I managed to pull both off (successfully, judging by the rave reviews) within 3.5 hours.
The bread recipe I followed produced two beautiful, aromatic Rosemary sea salt loaves. I paired the bread with some whipped butter (it’s too easy to warrant a recipe. Just add 3 tbsp of butter to 1 tbsp of milk and fluff it with an electric mixer). The flavour profile was simply lovely. I think this might be the start of my homemade bread obsession.
Rosemary Sea Salt French Bread Recipe
makes 2 loaves
Ingredients:
2 pouches Fleischmann’s active dry yeast2 1/2 cups of warm water~6-7 cups of flour1 tbsp butter, melted1 tbsp salt2 sprigs of fresh Rosemary, stemmed and chopped1 tbsp sea salt (to sprinkle)
Mix the flour, butter, and 1 tbsp of salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped rosemary leaves and mix until evenly incorporated.
Combine the yeast and flour mixtures into the larger mixing bowl and mix with a spoon for about 3 minutes. Next, knead the dough on a floured counter.
Grease the large mixing bowl (with olive oil) and place the dough into the bowl. Flip it over to grease both sides. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise for an hour. It should double in size.
Remove the dough once it has risen and punch it down on a floured surface. Divide the dough in half and roll them out.
Form two rectangles with the rolled out dough and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the pan with a towel and let the bread rise for another hour.
Pat a small amount of water on the surface of the breads and sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake for 25 minutes at 425F. Remove from oven and enjoy!
The Apple pie was a bit of an adventure. After sifting through multiple apple pie recipes, I noticed a lot of the popular ones recommend store-bought readymade pie crusts. I ended up having to combine a promising pie crust recipe from allrecipes.com with a highly pinned apple pie filling from Pinterest. I’m not sure what it was - maybe my pie pan was too large, or the Perrier bottle I used in lieu of a proper rolling pin was too asymmetrical to properly roll out the dough - but I ended up with a bit of a pie crust shortage. My sister-in-law was super stressed out because we started preparing the feast a bit late, and had 9 things cooking simultaneously. By 6pm, we only had 2/9 things ready. When she heard that there was a pie crust shortage, she had the audacity to suggest I “Forget the pie!!! Worry about the ham!!! OR MAKE AN OPEN FACED PIE!" Of course, I didn’t listen to her madness - I’m fairly certain throwing out dessert is some kind of Thanksgiving sin. Somehow, we managed to get everything done (and fully cooked) by 7. I was really thankful for our two-oven range. The feast also turned out super tasty (yes, even the pie!)... I kept having to remind myself to breathe while devouring my meal. The Thanksgiving Gods must’ve been watching over us because despite the lack of pie dough, the crust turned out flaky and delicate and perfectly balanced out the delicious pie filling. Sure, the presentation’s a bit off on the lattice-top, but the pie was phenomenal!
Even after 10 months and 33 (excellent) dishes, I can’t help but hold my breath every time I watch people try my creations for the first time. I’m always shocked when they say it’s amazing and suspect they’re lying because I’m staring them down as they’re eating. I think after years of burning toast and screwing up quick mix cake/cookie recipes, I’ve subconsciously dismissed every positive outcome in the kitchen as a fluke. I always have a weird feeling that I’m due for a really, really disappointing dish. I guess I need to stop underestimating my cooking abilities!
Amazing Apple Pie Recipe
Pie Crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1/4 cup ice water
Pulse the flour and sea salt in a food processor until they’re combined. Next, add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add the ice cold water, one tablespoon at a time and pulse until the mixture starts to clump together when pinched. Many recipes suggest adding water until the mixture rolls into a ball in the processor. Don’t do this as you’ll run the risk of over processing the dough, which leads to a less flaky crust.
Roll the dough into a ball, pat with flour and divide into halves before forming two flattened disks. Wrap both disks in plastic wrap, then place the dough in the refrigerator and proceed to make the filling. You may also make the dough a night in advance.
Pie Filling (adapted from allrecipes.ca)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tbsp water
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 Macintosh Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
Preheat the oven to 425F
Melt the butter in a small sauce pan and add the flour to thicken the butter.Mix in the water, sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg and bring to a boil, then simmer.
Roll out one of the refrigerated dough disks until it is slightly larger than your pie dish (leave about an inch around the circumference of the pie pan). Then, gently press the dough into the pan. Careful not to stretch the dough out.
Pour some of your filling into the crust and then fill the pan with apples. Pour the rest of the mixture over the apples.
Roll out the other disk and either place a complete pie top over the apples or create a lattice top by cutting strips from the dough.
Place the pie into the preheated oven. After 10 minutes, lower the heat to 350F and bake for 35-45 minutes until apples are soft. You may brush on an egg wash (beat a whole egg or just the egg whites if you want a less golden, shiny finish) midway through baking to finish off the pie top!
Serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and bask in the glory of your homemade pie!!
ENJOY!