Happy Turkey Day

It's the day after Thanksgiving, so obviously I had a bowl of turkey, stuffing, and gravy for breakfast. At our house, the Thanksgiving spread is pretty similar every year--Alton Brown's brined turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, green bean casserole, cranberries, rolls, plus/minus one new test dish. I'm usually in charge of dessert (this should not come as a surprise to anyone).

This year I decided to try a couple new dishes. I have never tried to make a pecan pie, though it is one of my favorite holiday desserts. I found a recipe online for a pecan pie with a little twist--a splash of bourbon and a sprinkle of chocolate chips really round out this dish. To be honest, there is only 1/4 c bourbon in this dish, but that may have been a little too much. The alcohol did not completely bake out of the pie creating a lingering burning taste in the sugar layer. If I were to make this again, I would definitely decrease the amount of alcohol or use an imitation flavoring.

Many people know, my sister is deathly allergic to nuts (including pecans), so I had to create another non-IgE activating dessert. I found a recipe for Jacque's Pepin's apple tart. It seemed simple enough and absolutely delicious. It has a really easy crust and the apples are placed to make the tart look really fancy. I think I liked this dessert better than the pecan pie. The crust is really buttery, like a shortbread, and it isn't too sweet (a total of 3 Tbsp of sugar in the entire recipe). The pan was completely empty by the end of the night.

These dishes are really simple to make and they look and taste fantastic.

Black Bottom Pecan Pie
from Saveur

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. fine salt
7 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup light corn syrup, such as Karo
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

1. Combine flour and 1 tsp. salt on a work surface. Using your fingers, rub butter into flour until there are no remaining pieces larger than peas. Make a well in the center and pour in 1/4 cup cold water. With your fingertips, mix water into flour. Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Roll dough out to a circle 12" in diameter. Fold dough over rolling pin and unfold over a 9" pie pan. Ease dough over bottom and into sides of pan. Trim off overhanging dough with a small knife and refrigerate pie dough for 30 minutes.

3. Heat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, whisk together the bourbon and cornstarch until dissolved. Whisk in eggs, corn syrup, sugar, melted butter, and pecans. Spread chocolate chips evenly over bottom of pie dough and pour filling on top. Bake until browned and bubbly, 1 hour. Transfer to a rack and let pie cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

Maman's Apple Tart

from Saveur, by Jacques Pepin

1 1⁄4 cups flour

3 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt

5 tbsp. unsalted butter,

 
   cut into 1⁄2" cubes and chilled

3 tbsp. vegetable shortening

2 tbsp. milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 large Golden Delicious, Empire,

 
   or Cortland apples, peeled, cored,

 
   and cut into 8–12 wedges

2 tbsp. apricot preserves or jam

1. Heat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1 tbsp. sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add 3 tbsp. butter and the shortening and, using your fingers, rub into flour mixture to form coarse pea-size pieces. Add milk and egg and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Bring dough together with your hands. Transfer dough to a 9" glass pie plate and, using lightly floured fingers, press dough into bottom and sides; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Arrange apple wedges side by side on bottom of pie plate like the spokes of a wheel, pushing gently into the dough as you go. Halve remaining apples and put in middle of tart. Sprinkle apples with remaining sugar and dot with the remaining chilled butter. Bake until the crust is golden, about 45 minutes. Using a pastry brush, brush apricot preserves over the tart and bake for 10 minutes more. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.