Sunday Runday: OC Turkey Trot Gobble Wobble Kids Dash

This year Thatkid has been requesting a lot of races.  One of those races was the turkey trot he did last year.

The great thing about this turkey trot is that it has kids races,  divided by age.  Which means I didn't have to drag him through 5 miles.  Since there was a separate division for 2 and under I signed Thatbaby up to run too - his first actual race he would run himself!

We arrived early,  and it's a good thing we did,  because the race was much more crowded than last year with lines backed up trying to get in the parking lot.  The nice thing about doing a race near where we would spend Thanksgiving is that we missed all traffic getting there.

All the trouble getting in,  and the extra crowds meant that many of the racers started late,  which meant there were too many on the course to start the kids races on time.

We kept the kids occupied as best we could with the photo booth,  but even that lost its Allie and they got antsy.

Finally it was time to line up.  Except the divisions were totally different than what we registered for. Instead of 2 and under , Thatbaby was placed with the 2-4 year olds.  Which made him very overwhelmed and he turned to me and said "mama you run with me?"  And so I did.

When he finished, we hurried over to see Thatkid off as he started his race.

Success for both my little turkey trotters.

Success and pie.

Crave Wednesday: Southwest Salsa Burgers

Did you have a phenomenal Thanksgiving?  Do you smile thinking about the food and family?  Me too!  So let's relive it!

Thatkid usually helps me out in the kitchen on a regular basis.  So when it came time to make a pumpkin pie for his class party, it only made sense I would put him in charge of it

He did a fantastic job of making the crust, the filling, and combining the two.  (I did the heavy lifting of putting it in and out of the oven).

Normally we head up to Thatmom's the day before Thanksgiving.  But since she was in London this year, we got to wake up at home.  I went for an early morning run with friends, then came home in time to shower and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Thatkid.  Which also marks the day we break out the hot chocolate.

The night before, Thatkid had informed me that for Thanksgiving you have to dress up like a pilgrim. Ever one to please, we made him a pilgrim hat while we watched the parade.  After he decided Thatbaby needed a hat too.  Since Thanksgiving is supposed to symbolize the friendship between the pilgrims and native Americans, I thought it fitting to recreate the symbolism at home.  By the way, once you have a toddler, owning construction paper is a must.

We headed up to Repro and Nissan's home and got to spend Thanksgiving with family, despite Thatmom's absence. Which made it a Thanksgiving success, because I love spending time with my family.  I especially love the fact that my now-adult cousins spend so much time playing with Thatkid.  I remember when they were just little guys themselves!

I brought up the idea of making our own Thanksgiving at home with Thatboy, but he quickly shot down that idea.  That's a lot of work.  And you've probably figured out by the fact I'm blogging about Thanksgiving in January, time is not a luxury I have lately.  Most of our meals are thrown together very quickly.  I've really hit my stride when it comes to that.  Because I just don't have time to spend in the kitchen when I have a million other things to accomplish.

Burgers are such an easy weeknight staple, and there are enough variations that it's hard to get bored.  I'm on a very spicy kick lately, so this burger plays into that very well.  If you're not as into heat, you can easily sub in regular Monterey Jack.  And the salsa can be as hot or mild as you like it.  I definitely recommend some fresh, refrigerated salsa versus the jarred stuff you find in the chip aisle.  But I would recommend the same to go with your chips.

Southwest Salsa Burgers (From Cooking Light)

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots

3/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground chipotle chile pepper

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 lb 90% lean ground sirloin

1/4 cup salsa

cooking spray

4 slices reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers

4 boston lettuce leaves

4 hamburger buns, toasted

1. Combine first 5 ingredients and 2 Tbsp salsa in a medium bowl.  Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2 inch thick patty.  Press thumb in center of each patty, leaving a nickel-sized indentation.
2. Heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add patties to pan, cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Top each patty with 1 cheese slice; cook 1 minute or until cheese melts.
3. Place 1 lettuce leaf on bottom half of each bun, top with 1 patty, 1 1/2 tsp salsa, and bun top.

Happy Thanksgiving: Irish Coffee

I mentioned yesterday that the best part of Thanksgiving is that it heralds in the holiday season.  And that wasn't entirely fair.  Thatboy and I were discussing the fact that Thanksgiving is usually bypassed in favor of the more glamorous Christmas. 

A local radio station has been playing Christmas music for weeks.  All month houses have been decorated in lights.  Stores are loaded with Christmas items and decorations.  And it's not Christmas-time!

It makes me a little sad.  Thanksgiving is a holiday which celebrates community and family.  It transcends race and religion (for the most part.  I mean, I would imagine that I would have different feelings if I were Native American).  And although Christianity remains the majority religion here in the states, Thanksgiving embraces a much larger percentage of the population. 

I really love the family aspect of Thanksgiving.  For as long as I can remember, it has always been a time when we opened our doors and the house was filled with warmth and laughter.  Part of the delight is that I am lucky enough to have an amazing family.  There is very little family drama, no crazy drunk uncle, or senile grandparent.  Everyone genuinely likes each other.

Even within my own immediate family, Thanksgiving has some of my favorite holiday traditions.  Thatkid has been asking for about a week when we get to drink cocoa and watch the parade.  Because Thanksgiving is the first day of the year I break out the hot cocoa. 

It's also the time of year to start with the festive holiday drinks.  Many of which contain alcohol.  Like mulled wine or egg nog.  Irish Coffee is a fantastic way to stay warm during the holiday season.  I make mine with decaf coffee because drinking caffeine in the evening means less sleep than I'm already getting! 

Irish Coffee

1 shot of Irish Whiskey

1 tsp sugar

1 cup coffee

whipped cream

1. Put the Irish Whiskey in the bottom of a mug.
2. Stir in the sugar and add piping hot strong coffee.
3. Top with whipped cream and serve immediately.

A Homemade Life: Cranberry Chutney with Crystallized Ginger and Dried Cherries

I should probably change the name of this blog to something along the lines of "complaints about the weather" because I feel like I do that a lot.  But today, I'm going to do the opposite.  The weather has been phenomenal this week.  A bit of a chill in the air in the mornings, and a welcome reprieve from the scorching heat we've had this summer.  

I love this kind of weather, although it's not predicted to stay this way for long.  The heat is expected to return this weekend.  And the problem with the heat is that when you have a 3 year old, you can't exactly just hang out at home in the air conditioning.  

Not long ago we braved the heat and headed out to Leo Carrillo Ranch.

The ranch was built by famed actor Leo Carrillo and at one point in time functioned as a working cattle ranch.  Now it remains a historic site where you can roam through the casitas and grounds.

The oppressive actually seemed fitting, making it feel a bit like the wild wild west, sometime around high-noon.

When we pulled into the parking lot, tons of toddlers were pouring out of their respective family cars, because there's a special feature at Leo Carrillo Ranch which is a big draw for the younger set.

Peacocks! 

Lots and lots of peacocks.

And not just peacocks, but also peahens, complete with their tiny babies!

Seriously, how cute are these little guys?  Have you ever seen baby peacocks before?  It was my first time.

The peafowl weren't exactly friendly.  There was no petting or cuddling with the birds.  But they were accustomed enough to the many visitors that they were willing to come up quite close.  This one wanted to check and see what was going on when Thatkid was working on his (terrible) peacock imitation.

We drank a ton of water while we were there and left before lunch to try to avoid being out in the hottest part of the day.  Because that's what you do when the temperatures climb.  But right now I'm trying to take advantage of the cooler temps and planning our fall schedule. 

Fall always gets so busy with the Jewish holidays, Thatkid's birthday, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.  I'm running into the dilemma of feeling that it's too early to worry about Thanksgiving and the thought that it's only 2 months away, and this year Thatmom isn't hosting!  Which means I need to get on my game with planning.  Luckily I've picked up a couple recipes over the year that will make my life easier.  Like this cranberry chutney.  I love using cranberries during the holidays - especially in my baked brie.   I usually make my own version of cranberry chutney which involves sugar and cranberries.  This is a more complex flavor than mine, and I'm excited to sub it in.  It also works really well as a cranberry sauce substitute for things like leftover turkey sandwiches.  And if you want something easier than baked brie, there is little easier than placing some goat cheese and this chutney on an endive leave.

Cranberry Chutney and Crystallized Ginger and Dried Cherries (From A Homemade Life)

 24 ounces apricot preserves

3/4 cup raspberry vinegar

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 cup grand mariner

2 bags fresh cranberries

1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

1 1/4 cup dried tart cherries

1. Combine apricot preserves, raspberry vinegar, salt, cloves, and grand mariner in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until it has thickened slightly.  Stir regularly to keep from scorching.
2. Reduce the heat to medium add the cranberries and cook until they are soft, but not popped.  
3. Add the ginger and cherries and stir well. Remove from heat.  Cool completely before serving.

Thanksgiving Recap: Individual Shepherd Pies

Better late than never, right?  We spent Thanksgiving with Thatmom, driving up Wednesday night after dinner, so Thatbaby would sleep in the car.  He did.  After singing a round of every song he knew.

He woke at his usual bright and shiny time of 5:50am, which gave us plenty of time to have breakfast and play with some new Chanukah presents until the Macy's Day Parade started.  I got to introduce him to one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions - sipping on Hot Cocoa while watching the parade.

This was Thatbaby's first hot cocoa.  To say he was a fan would be an understatement.  Whenever we give him some sort of treat, he takes his time, lingering over it.  The cocoa was no different.  He sipped on it for at least half the parade.  And then asked for more.  

After the parade, was lunch and nap (for Thatboy and Thatbaby) and time for me to get ready.  The boys were still in the process of getting dressed following that nap when the guests started to arrive.

And arrive.

And arrive.

We sure had a bunch of friendly faces this year!

Our Thanksgivings are always potluck.  Thatmom makes the turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and candied yams, and the rest of us provide all the trimmings.

So what do you serve for a Thanskgiving dinner that is also a Channukah celebration?  Well, turkey of course.

Along with latkes and kugel.

And how did everything taste?  I'll let Thatbaby fill you in:

After dinner we gathered to light the menorah.  I know it's silly, but I kind of love that my brother took the lead on this one.  He's the youngest in my immediate family, so he's not often in the role of "leader" but I do like him as the "man of the house."

And then there was the crazy gift exchange.  I didn't get any pictures of this because I was running around distributing gifts, but it was fun to watch everyone dig into their piles.  Especially Thatbaby who got a very special Chanukah gift which he is currently obsessed with.

Thatboy has wanted to get Thatbaby a skateboard for over a year now.  I told him I wanted to wait until  Thatboy was over 2....so this is the holiday where Thatbaby got his first skateboard.  Which he wants to ride every waking moment.  And carry around.  And sit on.

We let Thatbaby stay up a little late to spend time with his cousins, but pajamas were a must.  And as the guests started filing out, we put his little self to sleep.  That's a lot of tradition for one day.

The only problem with spending Thanksgiving at someone else's house, is no leftovers to play with for the rest of the week.  So instead of a repurposing of your turkey or cranberry relish, this is the kind of thing we're eating right now.  Technically shepherd's pie is made with lamb, but this version with ground beef may be a little more accessible (and cheaper!).  Wrapped in puff pastry, the crust to filling ratio can't be beat.  And they're easy to freeze and reheat, or pack in a lunch, which makes them great for those of you inundated with holiday craziness already.

Individual Shepherd Pies

1 lb ground beef

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp crushed ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 onions, chopped

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp garam masala

1 potato, boiled

2 tbsp ketchup

4 sheets of puff pastry, cut into quarters

1 egg white

1. Preheat oven to 400.  Heat oil over medium heat.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add the ground beef and cook until browned.
3. Mash the potato and add it to the beef along with the onions, coriander, garam masala, and ketchup.  Cover the pan for 15 minutes so the steam from the beef softens the onions.  Cool.
4. Place a tablespoon of filling on the right side of a quartered puff pastry.  Fold one side of the pastry over the filling, then roll the pastry to seal.
5. Score the top of the puff pastry and brush with the egg white.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Happy Thanksgivukah! Caramel Ice Cream

I can't even believe how ridiculously early Chanukah was this year.  Typically we do a majority of our holiday shopping during Black Friday - at least when it comes to small Chanukah gifts for each other, but that obviously wasn't going to work this year.

This also meant that in addition to my usual Thanksgiving prep, I was doing Chanukah prep.  Because while we gather round to give thanks, we'll also get the chance to celebrate Chanukah with all our family.

Thatmom requested that I make a Challah, which isn't really a Chanukah food, but I aim to please.

I also spent the weekend making truffles for all our family members as part of their Chanukah gifts.  Something I've learned from years of doing Christmas with TBIL's extended family is that when you're doing gifts for a huge amount of people, pairing inexpensive gifts with homemade treats is the way to go.

Thatbaby also helped me make Chanukah gingerbread cookies - menorahs, "twinkle twinkle little stars" (magen davids), and dreidels.

I also did my tradition of ice cream.  I always make 2 different kinds, the first being the fudge swirl that Thatdad made every year.  This year it came out more chocolate, less swirl.

And my Thatgirl contribution this year was a caramel ice cream.  Mostly because Thatmom was making an apple pie and I thought caramel ice cream sounded like it would be really good with apple pie.  Thatbaby helped me make both ice creams, just like I used to help Thatdad.  I'm pretty excited to be able to pass that tradition on.

Caramel Ice Cream

3/4 cup sugar

1 qt heavy cream

1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla

1. Heat half of the sugar in a pan, swirling, as sugar melts and caramelizes.
2. While the sugar is caramelizing, heat the heavy cream in a large saucepan.
3. Add the caramelized sugar to the cream, along with the remaining sugar and vanilla.  Heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved into the cream.
4. Let cool completely, and then process in your ice cream maker.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  I hope yours is filled with family, friends, and lots of good food.

A very long weekend

Last week was so mellow.  I had the office to myself, which meant Monday I got to head to the beach for a run and Wednesday I got some holiday shopping out of the way and left work early to get in another run before the holiday weekend.

I even had a whole blogging schedule planned.  Which involved me setting up posts to automatically post while we were away - Thursday would be all about Thanksgiving, Friday was dedicated to Thatboy's birthday.

But, life got in the way of preparation.  Thatbaby is going through an awful separation anxiety phase right now that involves lots of screaming and crying and very little is getting done at home.  The place is a mess, and Wednesday instead of setting up my posts Thatboy and I were busy juggling "baby duty" (which often involves Thatboy trying to wrangle away Thatbaby from me and Thatbaby escaping and hysterically coming to find me so he can cling to my leg and beg to be picked up) with packing up our stuff for our upcoming trip.  So instead I will combine our Thanksgiving and Thatboy's birthday into one combo-post.  More for your money!  2 for one!  It's Cyber Tuesday!

The holiday weekend started out so well.  We decided to travel at night, after Thatbaby was all ready for bed.  Which meant he slept almost the whole way up, and stayed asleep once we arrived.  It also meant we didn't hit any holiday traffic, since most people had already hit the road.

Thanksgiving itself went as well as could be expected.  It was much easier last year when Thatbaby wasn't doing much but sleeping.  This year I wasn't nearly as helpful, because of constant screaming and hysteria.  Have I mentioned he won't sleep past 6am anymore?  Last year he could be passed from family member to family member, but the separation anxiety this year meant I didn't get to do nearly as much mingling as I would have liked.  The food was delicious though, and we had nearly a record number of attendees this year, requiring 3 tables! 

Friday was Thatboy's birthday! The original plan was to go to breakfast at The Original Pancake House, which is his favorite place ever.  But he selflessly decided to give that up when Toxicesq and China decided they didn't want to get up early to have breakfast and wanted to eat closer to their hotel.  This should have served to foreshadow the disappointment that was this weekend, but we unknowingly pushed on.

The one thing Thatboy really wanted to do was see a movie in the theaters on his birthday.  It's a real luxury for us - the last time we saw a movie in theaters was for my birthday, in June.  So Thatmom and Toxicesq volunteered to watch Thatbaby while we saw Life of Pi, and after we were going to all go out to dinner to celebrate Thatboy's birthday.  Notice I said "were."  Thatboy's birthday dinner never happened. 

While we were at the movie, Thatmom gave TMD and Thatdog a new treat - beef lungs.  Well apparently beef lungs are the best tasting thing in the entire world, because the dogs started fighting over them.  And in the process of separating them, Thatmom put her hand between the dogs' mouths and got bit.  Badly bit.  ER visit with stitches bit.  And that, my friends is what happened to the rest of our weekend. 

There was no birthday dinner for Thatboy on Friday.  Saturday, instead of meeting my friend for coffee or having a makeup breakfast for Thatboy, I was undressing and redressing Thatmom's hand and getting her ready for Thanksgiving with her boyfriend's family.  Saturday night, for Thatboy's birthday, I had planned a nice grownup evening where we could eat dinner without worrying about our 30 inch time-bomb going off, then we were going to head to a hotel where we could have some time away from a screaming-all-the-time-baby.  Where we could sleep until we woke up naturally, not because it was 5:57 and our 30-inch alarm clock was blaring from his bed.  Instead, we had leftovers and took turns trying to get Thatbaby to sleep as he woke every 20 minutes, while Thatmom and her boyfriend headed out for our nice dinner and hotel night. 

Sunday morning we were going to have a nice breakfast, just the two of us, before heading back into the reality that is our life right now.  Instead, I tried to make Thatboy his favorite kind of pancake, which ended up getting burned because I was preoccupied with screaming Thatbaby, while Thatmom called to let me know her and her boyfriend were going to have a nice breakfast before heading to the doctor to check on her hand.

To say I'm bitter about how the weekend turned out is an understatement.  Disappointed only begins to cover it.  Thatboy's birthday will go down as possibly his worst ever, but even more so we both realized that there is no break for us from what is our life right now.  There are no "escape for just one night"s.  We're both feeling fairly isolated, tired, and stressed out, and on top of it all, all three of us are now battling the cold from hell, which doesn't make things any easier.

The only good thing that came out of this weekend, was this cake, which I miraculously managed to put together Friday morning after breakfast while Thatbaby napped.  Thatboy wanted a chocolate cake for his birthday. A chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  A chocolate cake with chocolate frosting that was so rich he could only take a bite or two before being overwhelmed with the chocolateyness of it all.  I found a copy-cat recipe for The Cheesecake Factory's Blackout Cake that certainly fit the bill.  Thatboy made sure we took the cake back home with us when we left on Sunday.

Blackout Cake (A Cheesecake Factory Knock-off)

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened (plus 2 Tbsp)
3 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract, divided
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 cups flour
3 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/3 cup boiling water
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 9-inch cake pans with baking spray. 
2. Cream 1 1/2 sticks of butter in an electric mixer.  
3. Add sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, 1 at a time, waiting until each is mixed in before adding the next.
5. Add in 2 tsps of vanilla and beat until well blended.
6. Add in melted chocolate and beat 1-2 minutes.
7. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. 
8. Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk.  Beat until well blended.
9. With the mixture on low speed, slowly add the boiling water and beat until smooth.  
10. Pour into prepared pans and bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks and let cool completely.
11.  In a microwaveable- safe glass bowl, combine chocolate chips and heavy cream.  Heat in microwave for 3 minutes on high.
12. Stir in remaining 2 Tbsp butter and remaining 1 tsp vanilla. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour, or until ganache holds its shape and is thick enough to spread on cake.
13. Cover a cake layer with a little more than 1/3 of chocolate ganache. Set second layer on top. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining ganache.  Refrigerate cake 3-4 hours, or until ganache is firm, before serving.

Thanksgiving Recap

I hope all of you had a fabulous holiday - is there any holiday more geared toward foodies than Thanksgiving? I mean, technically every Jewish holiday resolves around the holiday meal no matter what the celebration, but Thanksgiving is nationally recognized as the day about a turkey. If you don't have school aged children do you remember the actual Thanksgiving story?

We discussed the Thanksgiving story at dinner. I remember it being a way for the Pilgrims to thank the Indians for helping them make it through a long winter - but if that's the case, then how could it have been held in November? Before the winter even started?

Whatever the reason, now it is a great time to remember what we are thankful for and to join with friends and family in the beginning of the winter holiday season.

As usual, we spent Thanksgiving at Thatmom's house where the food was plentiful. I took a picture of the beginning of laying out the dishes - which is good, because shortly after this picture was taken I completely burnt all the marshmallows atop the candied yams. Which is especially sad since they're my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal.

We weren't the only ones to make the trek to Thatmom's house - our relatives always know where they'll be spending their holiday. And we always manage to pick up a couple of stragglers in addition.

Thatbaby was so excited to take part in his first Thanksgiving. Although I think next year might be more fun for him, when he can actually eat the turkey.

I completely forgot to take a picture of the dessert table. In addition to my cheesecake, pumpkin pie, and ice cream there was also apple crisp, an ice cream cake in honor of Thatboy's birthday, a cranberry hazelnut loaf, and a 20lb cake.

But Thatmom had also asked me to handle one more thing other than dessert - she wanted me to make a "bread" or, more specifically, biscuits. Eagerly I anticipated making my "crack biscuits" - a drop biscuit loaded with cream and butter. Thatboy and I eat them 2 at a time. But Thatmom didn't want my crack biscuits. She requested baking soda biscuits. Even when I told her that the crack biscuits had baking soda in them, she didn't buy it.

I've never made baking soda biscuits before. They were always Thatmom's thing. And, as always, when I go to make something new I turn first to Fannie Farmer. Thatmom said these exceeded her expectations, and since they were her request that's good enough for me. Although they probably won't replace my crack biscuits. I made some cranberry butter to serve alongside them and loved the flavor it imparted. As a side note, I used the butter on my leftover turkey sandwich the next day which was amazing.

Baking Powder Biscuits (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk

1. Preheat the oven to 425. Grease two 8-inch cake pans. Put the flour, salt, baking powder, cram of tartar and sugar in a bowl.
2. Cut the shortening into the flour with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
   
3. Add the milk all at once and stir just until the dough forms a ball around the fork.
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead 14 times. Pat until 1/4 inch thick. Cut into rounds with a 2 inch cookie cutter. Place touching each other in the cake pans and bake for 15-20 minutes.
   

A new tradition?

Every year during the fall season I end up making a pumpkin cheesecake. I think it goes back to when I was in college. Every fall The Cheesecake Factory would have pumpkin cheesecake as their seasonal menu choice and 2 of my girlfriends and I would mark the date it came out on our calendar. We'd find a way to get to the nearest outpost and indulge.

For some reason, I remember it marking the celebration of some annual event - but given the time of year it could hardly be finals. It might have been midterms. Then again, it might have just been an event to celebrate the annual arrival of pumpkin cheesecake.

I don't think I've been back to The Cheesecake Factory to sample their pumpkin cheesecake in years - definitely not since college and that was many many moons ago. But once I started living on my own and cooking and baking pumpkin cheesecake seemed to make an appearance despite the fact.

It started out with Peabody's Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake. Which evolved into a version that was less swirl, and more pumpkin. And then a couple of years later I discovered my go-to cheesecake recipe, Ruth Reichl's New York Cheesecake. Over the years I've worked to make a pumpkin cheesecake that was more similar to that than the original.

I don't usually bring a pumpkin cheesecake to Thanksgiving, mostly because it's been made and eaten by that time. But this year has been a little different and I haven't had time to get my pumpkin cheesecake fix in. So I'll be sharing this with family at our Thanksgiving table. For those of you who want something a little different than Pumpkin Pie, this is a great alternative. Although in my mind you can never have too much pumpkin anything, so might as well serve both! After all, pumpkin is certainly cause for celebration.

Pumpkin Cheesecake
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 6 ounces)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese
4 eggs
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups pumpkin puree

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the graham crackers with 1/4 cup sugar and the melted butter and press into bottom and sides of a 9-inch ungreased springform pan. Chill while preparing filling.
3. Beat the cream cheese, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth. Add the heavy cream, flour, cinnamon and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add the mashed pumpkin and blend until smooth. Pour into chilled crust and bake for an hour, or until the cheesecake is set. It should be a little jiggly in the middle.
   

Pie Prepping

Next week is a big week in Thathouse. The most obvious is Thatboy's birthday. I've been prepping for it all week. In fact, today Thatmom came over today to babysit so I could run around picking up presents for Thatboy.

But most of you won't be celebrating Thatboy's birthday (although all presents can certainly be directed here if you're interested in this very important event). For the rest of the nation, the big event for next week is Thanksgiving.

Don't worry - I'm prepping for that too. As usual, I assign myself dessert for our family Thanksgiving. Partly because I've taken over Thatdad's role of making ice cream. Partly because I make the best pumpkin pie.

Every year I try to do a little something different with the pumpkin pie. Last year the request was to make the crust with graham crackers instead of a traditional pie crust. I've done a pumpkin caramel pie and a pumpkin pecan pie. This year I decided to again play with the pie crust. Instead of the traditional pie crust, or even the graham cracker crust, this year I went with a chocolate crust.

Since I don't do a lot of chocolate crusts, I went over my options:
1 - chocolate wafer crust, which is usually what I do for pies. But it's a little dry and not too flavorful.
2 - oreo cookie crust, which seemed like it would be weird with pumpkin pie
3- chocolate shortbread crust, something I've never tried before, but comes from Dorie Greenspan's book and she knows her desserts.

So as you all know, the best time to try something new is when you're making it for a large group of people. This is why you'll see most people decide to host Thanksgiving and make a giant turkey for 50 people and start preparing the night before. Luckily, even though it wasn't a good idea I seem to take this risk every Thanksgiving, so why stop now? New untested crust it is!

Pumpkin Pie with Chocolate Shortbread Crust (adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorrie Greenspan)

• 1 1/4 cups flour
  
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 9 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 oz semisweet chocolate chips
  
• 3 eggs
• 1 can of pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground ginger

1. Make the crust. Combine flour, cocoa, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, confectioners’ sugar and 1/4 tsp salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine.
   
2. Disperse the butter into the mix and pulse until the dough turns into pea-sized lumps.
   
3. Add the egg and pulse until the gets clumpy. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead just until all the ingredients are incorporated.
4. Press the dough into a buttered tart pan. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 375. Cover the crust with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the bottom of the crust. As the chocolate melts, smooth it with a spatula. Let cool while you prepare the filling.
   
7. Whisk the eggs, pumpkin, cream, brown sugar, ginger and remaining cinnamon, ground cloves and salt.
8. Pour into the cooled pie shell and bake for 45 minutes until the filling is set.