Mistyka Garcia’s Picks, Owner & Lead Designer:
THIS FALL SEASON MY DÉCOR IS ALL ABOUT BURLAP, WELL . . . AND PAINTED PUMPKINS! I AM DOING RUSTIC AND SOUTHERN THIS THANKSGIVING AND KEEPING IT CLOSE TO MY TEXAN ROOTS!
I am using this burlap runner (adorned with painted pumpkins, of course!) near the dessert buffet and asking family and friends to write what they are thankful for this Thanksgiving. To make it a bit more playful and fun, I am collecting a unique set of colored pens and markers to choose from. My runner was premade, however, you can purchase a plain runner and stamp your own words or even use it on your dinner table, and stamp your guest’s names to have it double as place cards.
I am not responsible for setting the table this year, but I will try and convince my cousins to use these gilded pumpkins as our place cards. It’s a simple yet stunning detail! Send me a photo if you use pumpkins as your place cards!
Banana Pudding Pie
Ingredients
1 (12-oz.) box vanilla wafers, divided 1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large bananas, sliced
Vanilla Cream Filling
4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
Set aside 30 vanilla wafers; pulse remaining vanilla wafers in a food processor 8 to 10 times or until coarsely crushed. (Yield should be about 2 1/2 cups.) Stir together crushed vanilla wafers and butter until blended. Firmly press on bottom, up sides, and onto lip of a 9-inch pie plate.
Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack, and let cool 30 minutes or until completely cool.
Arrange banana slices evenly over bottom of crust. Prepare Vanilla Cream Filling, and spread half of hot filling over bananas; top with 20 vanilla wafers. Spread remaining hot filling over vanilla wafers. (Filling will be about 1/4 inch higher than top edge of crust.)
Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves. Spread meringue evenly over hot filling, sealing the edges.
Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and let cool 1 hour on a wire rack or until completely cool. Coarsely crush remaining 10 vanilla wafers, and sprinkle evenly over top of pie. Chill 4 hours.
Marianne Weiman-Nelson’s Picks, Sr. Producer & Designer:
SO MUCH PREPARATION GOES INTO THE FOOD THAT SOMETIMES WE CAN FORGET ALL ABOUT THE COCKTAILS! THESE RECIPES ARE PERFECT FOR THANKSGIVING AND THE FALL SEASON.
Apple Amaretto Sour
Ingredients
1.5 fl. oz. amaretto liqueur
1 cup all natural apple cider (chilled)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Slice fresh lemon
1 cinnamon stick
Instructions
Add the amaretto to a glass filled with ice. Top off with apple cider and the lemon juice and stir. Garnish with lemon slice and cinnamon stick. Enjoy!
Boozy Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or chopped) 2.5 cups milk (I used 2%)
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 ounce Kahlua or 1/2 ounce Bourbon
whipped cream and caramel for topping (optional)
Instructions
In a saucepan over low-medium heat, melt the chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of the milk, whisking often (about 3 minutes).
Once melted, add the rest of the milk, the pumpkin and the pumpkin pie spice and stir vigorously to incorporate.
Pour a small amount of the hot chocolate into two serving glasses, add one ounce of Kahlua OR one-half ounce of bourbon (bourbon is much stronger in taste). Top off with hot chocolate, stir and then top with whipped cream, caramel sauce and more pumpkin pie spice (optional).
The Fall Harvester
Ingredients
1 pear
3 1/3 ounces (100 ml) Green Apple Liqueur
1 tsp brown sugar
Cinnamon, to taste
2 apple slices
Lemon
Sugar
Instructions
Prepare the glasses by squeezing the lemon along the rim of the glasses. Dip the rims in sugar.
Peel and cut the pears. Blend until pureed.
Add the apple liqueur, cinnamon, brown sugar and pear puree to a shaker filled with ice. Shake until blended. Pour the cocktail into the rimmed glasses and decorate with a slice of apple.
Bill Lindquist’s Picks, Sr. Production Manager:
THIS YEAR I AM TAKING RECIPE INSPIRATION FROM ONE OF MY FAVORITE LA RESTAURANTS, CROSSROADS KITCHEN. THEY HAVE A FANTASTIC THANKSGIVING MENU THIS YEAR!
Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Pecans and Maple Syrup
Ingredients
1/2 cup pecans
6 slices bacon
2 pounds brussels sprouts, halved
(stem and ragged outer leaves removed)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2-1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil.
Place pecans on the prepared baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on them, as they can burn fast. Transfer the pecans to a cutting board and chop coarsely. Set aside.
Turn the oven heat up to 400 degrees. Lay the bacon strips out flat on the same foil-lined baking sheet, leaving space in between so they don’t overlap. Roast for 12-20 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back midway through, until the bacon is crisp (cooking time will depend on thickness of bacon). Transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towels; pour rendered bacon fat into a small dish and then discard aluminum foil. When bacon is cool, finely chop.
Turn the oven heat up to 425 degrees, and line the baking sheet with fresh aluminum foil. Using a rubber spatula, toss the brussels sprouts with the rendered bacon fat, olive oil, salt and pepper directly on the baking sheet. Roast, stirring midway through with rubber spatula to promote even browning, until brussels sprouts are tender and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and maple syrup and toss to coat evenly. Taste and adjust seasoning, then transfer to a serving dish. Right before serving, top with chopped pecans and bacon. Serve hot or warm.
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 heaping tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter
2 to 4 tablespoons milk (depending on the moisture of the potatoes)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate, large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes and butter. Add the flour mixture to the potato mixture and mix to make a soft dough. Then add milk a tablespoon at a time to mixture and continue to cut in. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and toss lightly until the outside of the dough looks smooth. Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits on a greased pan and coat tops with melted butter. Bake for about 15 minutes. (Watch your oven: If the biscuits are browning too fast, lower the temperature.)
Laura Alvarez’s Picks, Event Production and Marketing:
PREPARING THANKSGIVING DINNER CAN BE A LOT OF WORK! SINCE MY SISTER WILL BE HOSTING THIS YEAR, I PLAN ON CONTRIBUTING WITH TWO VERY SIMPLE IDEAS THAT CAN BE DONE QUICKLY AND YET STILL RETAINS THE THANKSGIVING TRADITIONS.
Pumpkin Pie Bites
Ingredients
2 refrigerated ready-to roll pie crusts
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice Pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter Optional
1/2 cup chocolate morsels
vegetable oil
re-sealable plastic bags
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Use cookie cutter to cut 12 pumpkin shapes from each pie crust. You will need to roll the dough thinner than it comes out of the box.
Press dough shapes into a 24 cup mini muffin tray. (Make 12 at a time, alternating cups to make sure pie crusts don’t overlap each other.)
Apply egg whites from one egg to the top edges of each pie.
Mix cream cheese, sugar, canned pumpkin, remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice together until thoroughly combined.
Spoon mixture into each pumpkin-shaped pie crust.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Remove pies to cool and repeat with second pie crust. Place the muffin tray in the freezer to cool it quickly for re-use.
Makes 24 pies. Keep refrigerated.
To decorate, melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave on medium. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Add a little vegetable oil to make the chocolate more fluid. Transfer to a re- sealable plastic bag and cut the corner off. Drizzle or draw leaves or pumpkins on pies.
Minimalist Thanksgiving Utensils Envelope
Make a Word document putting a few lines on the upper side, center it, or use a ruler instead if you don’t have a printer. Print out/make as many as you need and stamp them individually, or print out one, stamp and then just make copies. Fold about 3/5 of the paper under and back. Fold back the sides of the paper, then place a napkin and the utensils inside; you may use a double sided tape to secure the edges.
Alison Shiry’s Picks, Account Executive:
MY MOM HAS BEEN MAKING JELLO MOLD SINCE I WAS A LITTLE GIRL. NOW MY DAUGHTER MADDIE LOVES JELLO, SO I AM EXCITED FOR HER TO TRY IT THIS YEAR!
Jello Mold
Ingredients
Orange jello-large
Lemon jello-large
Black raspberry or cherry jello-large
6 oz frozen undiluted orange juice
can sliced peaches
can mandarin oranges
frozen sliced strawberries
water
Instructions
Orange jello, can of undiluted (6 oz.) orange juice, 2-1/2 cups water, peaches (cut into pieces)
Lemon jello, sour cream,2-1/2 cups water, mandarin oranges
Black cherry or raspberry jello,3-1/2 cups of water, sliced strawberries
Danielle Gazley’s Picks, Production Assistant:
I’M A GLUTTON FOR POTATOES AND BACON – CAN’T GO WRONG WITH BACON!
Momma’s Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
4 Average sized potatoes (peeled or not, your preference) 1 Package of bacon
2-3 Tablespoons cream cheese
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 Cup of sour cream
1 oz package of shredded cheese (cheddar is preferred)
1 Cup of chopped scallions
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
While your large pot of water comes to a rolling boil, start by slicing your potatoes into fourths. Once the pot has come to it’s boil, toss the potatoes in and cook for 20-25 minutes or until fork tender.
Next, bring out your bacon and chop into small pieces (it’s much easier to do this before cooking) and drop them into a heated pan on medium low setting(unless you like bacon grease allover your stove and you). Cook until they have reached desired crispiness.
By this time your potatoes are nice and tender so drain them in the sink and pop those bad boys back into the pot. Add your cream cheese and butter, then mash away!
Combine the rest of the ingredients into the pot and let sit covered for about 5-10 minutes to cool and give the flavors a chance to meld together.
Finally, put your delicious creation into your beautiful serving bowl and place it on your Thanksgiving table for all to enjoy!
Last step, sit back and relish in the compliments you will surely be receiving.