Vegetarian Thanksgiving

Although a bit unorthodox, a vegetarian Thanksgiving can still be a very satisfying meal. All of the traditional flavors can be incorporated into the menu. Here is what I am serving today:

Simple starter-
Kenny's Cranberry Cheese from KY, seeded wheat crackers and green grapes

Dinner-
Fennel Salad with Goat Cheese and Pomogranate dressing (Martha Stewart)
Braised Root Vegetables with Lentils and Red Wine Sauce (Deborah Madison)
Mashed Potatoes
Cranberry Fruit Conserve (Barefoot Contessa)
Macaroni and Cheese
Garlic/Rosemary Sweet Potato Bread

Dessert-
Apple Tart
Pumpkin Caramel Ice Cream
Peanut Butter Pie
Port Wine

Peanut Butter Playdough

I started making peanut butter playdough when my oldest son, now age 11, was a toddler. His younger brother still asks me to make it every now and then when a friend comes over. I make the playdough, put out cutting boards and give the kids kitchen utensils to manipulate the dough with. This includes small rolling pins, mallets, garlic press, cookie cutters and bench scrapers.

I can usually count on this to be at least an hour long activity. At the end, the kids eat the dough, so snack is taken care of too.

Peanut Butter Playdough

1 1/2 cups Creamy peanut butter
1/2-1 cup Powdered milk
1/2 cup Powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients together until the peanut butter is dry and can be manipulated. Add more powdered milk or sugar if necessary.

Thanksgiving cutout cookies

I made these one year for my son's Thanksgiving play. Truly a labor of love!

BonBonerie Cut-Out Cookie Recipe

I got this recipe years ago when I took a class at Williams Sonoma from Richard Prince, the pastry chef at the BonBonerie in O'Bryonville. I make these cookies for just about every holiday you can think of. There is a photo gallery of decorated cookies on the BonBonerie website that I refer to all the time. You will need a Kitchen Aid mixer and a kitchen scale for these recipes.

Butter Cookies for Cutouts
from Richard Prince, Pastry Chef at the BonBonerie

Cream 3 minutes:
1 lb unsalted butter
1 lb sugar

Beat in:
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla

Sift and add one cup at a time:
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1lb 8oz. all purpose flour

Do not overmix dough.

Note: This recipe requires a stand mixer (5 qt Kitchen Aid).

This dough can be rolled out immediately, cut and baked. Or you may find it easier to chill the dough before rolling. Roll to thickness of 1/8 in. to 3/16 in.

Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes. Bottom of cookie should be lightly browned.


Milk Fondant Icing

Bring to boil:
½ cup whole milk
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp light Karo corn syrup

(It is convenient to microwave this mixture right in a glass measuring cup.)

Add to:
1lb 4oz powdered sugar (sifted)

Mix smooth with hand whisk. Do not overbeat, you don’t want a lot of air bubbles in icing.

Flavor with:
4-5 drops of lemon oil (optional)

Note: Dip baked cookies in icing to coat the top. Dipped cookies will dry to touch in 1-2 hours. Allow 6-8 hours or overnight to set completely.


Decorating Buttercream
(for piping details)

Cream until smooth:
6oz butter (room temperature)
1lb powdered sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pure vanilla

Add:
1 tbsp evaporated milk (you may need more)

Beat briefly until light and smooth.

After piping on dipped cookies, this icing should set 6-8 hours or overnight. This icing does not dry hard but will “crust” so cookies can be handled.

Do not refrigerate cookies decorated with this icing but do serve them within 4-5 days.

Be My BFF

Want to be my best friend forever, just stop by with some pistachio macaroons from Frieda's bakery in Madeira. That is what my BFF Delphine did last week. She actually brought an assortment of macaroons: pistachio (my fav), raspberry, hazelnut, lemon and chocolate.

I love these little multi-colored cookies. I was in Paris the first time I had them. My husband and I were wandering the city one day when we happened upon Laduree. This is a magical place. They have a display case full of all different flavors of macaroons. They are just so absolutely beautiful. I love how they are crisp on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside.

I have only made macaroons once. I must put this on my to do list for the winter. Actually, I think they would make a great holiday cookie.

New Word of the Day: Autolyse

One of the greatest things about cooking is that there is always something new to learn. Last night, I was a student assistant at an artisan bread class at the Midwest Culinary Institute taught by Sara Schuk and Mark Frommeyer of Blue Oven Bakery. Because my husband Jeff is the real bread baker in our house, I was given instructions to bring back all of the information that I learned to him.

Sara and Mark are a wealth of information. This was the first bread class that they had ever taught. They shared recipes for 3 seed and whole wheat loaves. When I first walked into the classroom, Sara was making the 3 seed dough. She told me that it was autolysing. She swears by this step, where you mix only the flour and water together and let the mixture rest for 20 minutes. Then you add the other ingredients and knead.

Jeff had heard of this technique, but had not tried it. He consulted his Bread Baker's Apprentice book by Peter Reinhart and sure enough there it was. I'm not quite sure that I understand all of the implications of autolyse, but it has something to do with promoting hydration and helps cut down on kneading or overworking the dough.

Other tips I learned from Sara:

*Always mix bread dough on lowest speed of mixer even if a recipe says medium speed, just mix it longer
*Add water to your mixing bowl first, then add flour (then autolyse!)
*Bread dough should be somewhat sticky, a dry dough will yield dry bread
*Add salt at the very end
*Taste your dough to make sure it has enough salt
*When shaping, create as much surface tension as you can
*Score bread right before baking using a lame (a thin sharp blade used for baking)
*If baking on a pizza stone, preheat on your oven's highest setting for at least an hour
*Use ice cubes in a pan under the stone to create steam in the oven

You can find Blue Oven at Findlay Market on Saturdays and at Awakenings Coffeehouse in Hyde Park Square on Sunday mornings in the winter. From June through October, they are a regular vendor at the Hyde Park Farmers Market on Sundays from 9:30-1:30.

Local Foods on WVXU's Impact Cincinnati Thursday

Great line up of local food experts! Jolene was my teacher this summer for Introduction to Food Sources. Val was our resident canning expert at the Hyde Park Farmers Market. And Susan and I participated in a local foods discussion together at the public library.

From WVXU:

With Thanksgiving almost here, cooks are preparing menus and making shopping lists, getting ready to share a wonderful meal with friends and family. This year a growing number of people are looking close to home for their Thanksgiving dinner ingredients.

Join Impact Cincinnati, Thursday, November 19 at 9:20 am, as we discuss the local food movement.

Guests include: Midwest Culinary Institute Instructor and local cooking teacher Jolene Struebbe , founder and moderator of the Cincinnati Local Foods Group and local foods blog Cincinnati Locavore, Valerie Taylor and co-founder of the Central Ohio River Valley Local Foods Initiative which produces an Eat Local Guide, Susan Miller-Stigler.