Tis almost the season!

You may be interested in checking out this current thread about favorite fall dishes to prepare:

http://www.cheftalk.com/forum/thread/62086/what-is-your-favorite-fall-dish-to-prepare

Around here Turkey season means Thanksgiving though some are known to make turkey for christmas as well.  I'm a late bloomer when it comes to Thanksgiving because for years I did not like turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberries etc.  Thankfully my mom always provided me with plenty of side dishes I did like such as ham and pasticcio.

But now due to long distances I haven't spent a thanksgiving in my Mom's house for over 10yrs.  Been going to other people's houses who don't make any special side dishes just for me so I've learned to eat the traditional thanksgiving fare.  I've only grown to like all these ingredients after experimenting with them myself.  I still can't eat traditional stuffing, not if it has bread in it, I make it with rice rather.  I love homemade cranberry jam but don't give me the stuff from a can.

But no worries, I love love love pumpkin pie.  The house we go for the holiday though never serves whipped cream which seems an abomination to me so this year I'll whip some up myself and bring it over.

Turkey is a Christmas thing in the UK (we don't have Thanksgiving holiday(s)) - but in my family we rotate with roast goose.  We have all the traditional trimmings, stuffing (sage and onion, also sausagemeat) - both cooked outwith the bird, I HATE wet stuffing, roasted parsnips, French turnips, potatoes (never mashed at Christmas),  bread sauce (only a couple of the family like it, but everyone likes to moan about why it's on the table!), cranberry/orange sauce, homemade - or Cumberland sauce for the goose, game chips, carrots, petit pois (the only frozen veg I use), Brussel sprouts with pancetta and lashings of red wine gravy.

Puddings:  home made christmas pud with hard sauce and vanilla custard or double cream, Tipsy Laird (Scottish variant of an English trifle) or fruit salad.

Last year, my family literally gaped in astonishment as I hand-whisked cream into topping for pumpkin pie.  They had always used a can or (horrors!) a tub of Cool Whip and had never seen this.  It was great entertainment while dishes were cleared and coffee was prepared.  I snuck in a little cardamom and it was like parting the Red Seas. Everyone will enjoy your contribution.

PS  When my dad was alive, he thought the pumpkin pie was the abomination-why not just serve whipped cream? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitchenshrink 

Last year, my family literally gaped in astonishment as I hand-whisked cream into topping for pumpkin pie.  They had always used a can or (horrors!) a tub of Cool Whip and had never seen this.  It was great entertainment while dishes were cleared and coffee was prepared.  I snuck in a little cardamom and it was like parting the Red Seas. Everyone will enjoy your contribution.

 

PS  When my dad was alive, he thought the pumpkin pie was the abomination-why not just serve whipped cream? 

I agree, I like whipped cream just as much as what it's topping. 

I make mine with a little booze, vanilla extract, and a few dollops of mascarpone cheese.  It's awesome!!
 

Whipped cream is really one of those crazy things. For those of us who make our own, doing so is a no brainer. But, and this always surprises me, most other people think it's difficult. And time consuming.

Last time my son and his wife visited I served a panna cotta for dessert, topped with some cinnamon-flavored whipped cream. Just before serving I went into the kitchen and whipped the cream. My DIL said, "I wish I knew you were doing that, because it's something I've always wanted to learn."

Duh???? Let's see; you take some cream, and a little sugar, and any other flavorings, and a cold bowl, and a whisk (or electric beater for those so inclined). Not exactly rocket science.

But maybe I'm being too hard-nosed. If you're the kind of "cook" who thinks whipped cream comes out of an aerosol can, then I guess making your own is difficult.

Haha that reminds me of the time I had one of my close friends for a very casual pizza dinner.  I cheated for dessert, bought a lemon pound cake from an excellent local bakery.  Topped it with some berries (blue, black, straw, and rasp) that were cooked for 3 minutes in a sauce pan with a little sugar and a dash of raspberry liquor - then then placed in the fridge to cool and become syrupy.  Assembly was a slice of pound cake, a spoonful of berries, and topped with mascarpone whipped cream. 

So I asked my friend after dinner to help me with dessert.  I told her that her job was to whip the cream.  I gave her the whisk and told her to get busy.  The whole time she was like "are you sure this is right?"  Lo and behold a couple of minutes later she had whipped it into a beautiful cream, and this from a person who doesn't even boil water.  She was so proud of herself and refers to it constantly when I see her.  She's making it for herself now and can't wait to dazzle everyone at thanksgiving with her whipping talent.  I swear, if people only had a clue about how easy some things are they'd be a lot less inclined to reach for fast food and processed junk.

I usually do a pre-Thanksgiving turkey along about now. This is the turkey where I'll experiment with different things as the family requires a traditional turkey for the holiday. But I make one turkey now so I can try new things but, more importantly, so I'll have turkey stock in the freezer for the big day. Having the real thing helps out a lot compared to chicken stock and other shortcuts.

I recently smoked a pibil style turkey breast that came out very good. The marinade is quite versatile with naranja agria, achiote, garlic, oregano and so on.