On actual Thanksgiving I went to my friends Eric, Karen, and Anders house for a festival of people who couldn’t or didn’t go home for the day. All in all I think there were about 17 people, each who brought something delicious to the food table.  For these festivities I made  butternut  Squash and Goat Cheese Gratin, Roasted Garlic & Herb Mashed Potato, Pumpkin Tart, and a crazy cheese terrine. There were certainly a few highlights including but not limited to, a garlic soup meant to be a soup but turned into a delicious gravy, and cranberry cheddar cheese with whole wheat and sunflower bread.

For the first time in a long time, I decided to follow a few recipes to the t to see how I could do. With the exception of a few budget-friendly changes in cheese selection, I first went with this recipe for a cheese terrine. Although I did not find it particularly yummy, others did. The concept of adding more butter to cheese is a little strange, and kind of gross. It was fun, however, learning a new skill, and I will probably apply a similar technique in the future to make cheese delicacies. Above is a picture of my terrine, as you can see from that link, the Bon Apetite cooks have had more success…

The last two weeks my farm box has been overflowing with food. So much so that I have a back-up of things like pumpkin, squash, and potatoes. I had two butternut squash staring me down! It only seemed logical to try this recipe for a butternut squash & goat cheese gratin. Again, I think theirs came out looking a bit more appetizing, however, this was one of the more delicious food items I have ever had, ever, ever.

Now for the recipes!

I was in charge of the traditional-ish sides this year: mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Wednesday night I roasted my pumpkin, and roasted my garlic. Come Thursday morning, I realized I don’t own a pie dish. My brain went a-twittering for solutions to my predicament.  Ah-ha! Tart pan. All in all it worked out quite well, but I made the crust a bit to thick for a tart pan, but I think I have mastered my pie recipe of the future!

pumpkin tart
for the crust:
make a pastry crust of your choosing, but add some cinnamon and a pinch of sugar.

for the filling
2 cups pumpkin puree
cinamon
nutmeg
pomegranate molasses
2 eggs
1/2 c sugar
salt
1-2 T flour, to stiffen

for the whipped cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 t vanilla extract
1 T cinnamon

Method: Prepare crust and set in refrigerator. Blend the pie filling ingredients together in a food processor, adding the eggs last, and 1 at a time. Roll out dough and press into tart pan. Pour filling over crust and bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Allow to cool slowly and set. Whip cream, serve on top. Enjoy! It might also be nice to put some candied walnuts on top of the crust, before you pour in the filling, and on top, with come drid cranberries, cherries, or other dried, sweetened fruit. Cheese, also never hurt anybody.

roasted garlic & herb mashed potatoes
1 large bag of Potatoes
3 heads of roasted garlic
1 T chopped sage, thyme, & rosemary
salt
heavy cream
butter

Method: Roast Garlic. Boil large chunks of Potato. Combine ingredients to your liking.

Veggie Homefries
The ingredients vary depending on how many i am feeding and whats in my fridge but the staples are: unpeeled red or golden potatoes-medium diced, onions-diced, assorted colored peppers-diced, mushrooms-chopped, garlic-minced, red pepper flakes, olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, fresh thyme, oregano and parsley.
I also prefer to mix sweet potatoes with the regular but don’t always have them on hand

• Put diced potatoes in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil, drain once potatoes are al dente (they will continue cooking in the pan, if overcooked it will turn into hash-which is still yummy but not always desired)
• Heat butter and olive oil in a saute pan and add drained potatoes, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Saute on medium high until they start to get brown
• Once potatoes start forming an outer crust add onions, after another five minutes add peppers, mushrooms, garlic, thyme and oregano
• When all has reached your desired crispiness, remove from heat and add fresh parsley
  

Not My Daddy’s Shepherds Pie
1 lb ground beef (available at Harvest, JP)
1/4 onion, chopped
5 to 10 mushrooms, chopped
large bunch chard, chopped
stove top creamed corn (recipe below)
3 large yukon gold potatoes
1 large sweet potato
fresh parsley
1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
butter, cream and stock (optional)
1/2 a beer (whatever the chef happens to be enjoying at the time)
olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

• Stove Top Creamed Corn: Pour a packet of frozen corn kernels into a sauce pan, add a mixture of cream and vegetable stock* to cover the corn half way, a couple dollops of butter and some salt and pepper. Simmer this mixture for 20-30 minutes, near the end start breaking up the corn kernels with the back of a spoon.
• Peel potatoes, cut into chunks and bring to a simmer in salted water. Once fork tender mash together with desired amount of butter, cream or stock, salt pepper and fresh chopped parsley.
• Saute onions and mushrooms in a large pan, once onions are translucent add beef and break up into small chunks. When beef is almost cooked through add half a beer and let simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.
• Saute garlic in a saucepan with some olive oil, add chard, salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes, simmer until just wilted.
• Coat a casserole dish with olive oil spray, add beef mixture, then creamed corn, chard, and top off with mashed potatoes
• Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes, then let rest 10-15 minutes before digging in.

* If you want to cut back on using cream or milk, substitute with vegetable stock or use a mixture of the two.