Pumpkin pie from scratch
Begin by cooking your pumpkin. We described several weeks ago our favorite method: baking whole until tender, then scooping out seeds and peeling off skin once cooled (for more details, check our blog recipe archive).
Here’s our favorite pumpkin pie filling recipe (we’ll leave the crust recipe up to the experts—we recommend The King Arthur Flour Baking Companion): Mix 1½ c. cooked and mashed pumpkin, 1/3 c. brown sugar, 1/3 c. white sugar, 1 t. cinnamon, ½ t. ginger, ¼ t. nutmeg, ½ t. salt, 2 slightly beaten eggs, 1½ c. milk, and ½ c. cream or evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake 10 minutes at 450°; then lower heat to 300° and bake until firm (about 45 minutes). For spicier filling, add ¼ t. cloves.
Turkey Soup with Kale/Collards
adapted from The Art of Simple Food
Alice Waters says, ‘This is a good soup to make the day after Thanksgiving!’
Pick all the meat from your leftover turkey carcass. Coarsely chop meat and set aside. Break up carcass and put in a large stock pot with half an onion, peeled; half a carrot, peeled; half a celery stalk, if on hand (or celeriac stalk); 6 thyme sprigs, if on hand; 3 parsley sprigs, if on hand; 1 bay leaf; cold water to cover carcass.
Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, skim, and cook for 2 hours. Meanwhile, heat in a large soup pot olive oil. Add and cook, until very tender: 1½ onions, peeled and diced; 1½ carrots, peeled and diced; salt.
Strain the broth and add to vegetables. Add one bunch kale or collards, leaves chopped, to soup. Cook until tender, 5 to 10 minutes (slightly longer for collards). Add turkey meat. Season to taste. Serve hot.
Celery Root and Potato Puree
adapted from The Art of Simple Food
Alice Waters says, ‘The flavors of celery root (aka ‘celeriac’) and potato combine so perfectly that they form a new flavor all its own.’
Peel and cut into large pieces: 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes (half this week’s share). Cook until soft in salted boiling water. Drain and pass through a ricer or food mill and return to pot. For a chunkier consistency, smash with a potato masher right in the pot. Stir in: 2 tablespoons butter.
Peel, cut in half, and slice fairly thin: 1 medium celery root. Melt in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat: 3 tablespoons butter. Add the celery root with salt. Cover tightly and cook until quite soft, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then. Lower the heat if celery root starts to brown. Pass through a food mill, or, for a smoother version, puree in a blender. Stir into the potatoes.
If the puree is too thick, thin with milk. Taste and add salt or more butter if needed.
Brussels Sprouts Gratin
adapted from The Art of Simple Food
Trim outer leaves and stems from 1 pound Brussels sprouts (the amount in this week’s share). Cook them until tender in abundant salted water (Alice Waters says 10 to 12 minutes, but our sprouts are smaller than average, so check them early and often). Drain sprouts well and chop coarse.
Into a heavy pan over medium heat, put 2 slices bacon or 3 slices pancetta, cut into ½-inch pieces. Cook until crisp. Add the chopped sprouts. Season with salt and pepper. Stir and cook for a few minutes. Butter a gratin or baking dish. Add the sprouts and bacon and spread evenly. Pour over top: ½ cup half-and-half or heavy cream. Sprinkle evenly over sprouts: 1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs. Top with thin shavings of butter.
Bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until crumbs are golden and liquid is bubbling.
