Kitchen Gadget Girl Cooks

Tomorrow, I will be bringing 4 pies, two side veggies, an appetizer and a cocktail. I do this every year and love it. Since blogs were designed to be online journals, I am going to document my progress, so that next year, I can find all the recipes! Each year, I recreate the wheel by choosing new recipes, when it would be so much simpler to use tried and true, especially pie crusts and such. In fact, let’s start with the pies.

Mini Mincemeat Pies, from Epicurious.com

• Very easy to make, I used green tomato mincemeat I canned a couple years ago. Made the crust the night before, rolled and filled this morning.

Pumpkin Pie from How To Cook Everything

• I like this new cooked version of pumpkin pie, I think it makes a smoother, silkier pie. I used sugar pie pumpkin puree from pumpkins roasted last week. Made two pies, and used 4 cups of puree, 2 cups of cream, 1 can of evaporated whole milk and nonfat milk to make 4 cups. Fresh nutmeg (wow, that does make a difference!)

Pecan Pie, also from How To Cook Everything

Apple Cranberry Currant Pie with French Topping, from Sunset Magazine

• This is my wild card pie slot – each year, I try to make something different.

Ok, so that is the pies. BTW, I used the crust from Sunset, modified slightly. Here was how I did it:

Basic Pie Pastry

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup shortening (I used Spectrum in a tub, put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes, then scooped it out)
• 1/4 cup cold butter

Whirl flour, salt and sugar together in food processor. Drop the shortening and butter in, pulse and blend until fat is incorporated into the flour. Add 3 tablespoons cold water, blend until dough comes up into a ball. Remove from food processor, form into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
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I also put together the appetizer for tomorrow, Pickled Salmon, from a cookbook about Oregon. The recipe was shared with me by my Italian neighbor down the street. Looks beautiful in the jar!

Pickled Salmon

• 2 pounds salmon, skinned and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 4 cups distilled white vinegar
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 1/2 cup pickling spices (from Penzeys!)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 large fresh rosemary sprigs
• 2 large fresh dill sprigs
• 2 jalapenos, split lengthwise, seeds removed

Place salmon in single layer in glass baking dish. Sprinkle salt over the top, covering evenly. Set aside for 45 minutes at room temperature. Rinse and drain salmon.

Place salmon in large saucepan and add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to low simmer over medium heat, then remove pan from heat and allow salmon to sit 5 minutes. Drain off poaching liquid.

In a large crock or glass jar, mix remaining ingredients. Add salmon and toss gently. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Pickled salmon will keep up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

With Pickled Salmon, I plan to serve Pomegranate Martinis and a dry sheep’s milk cheese from Italy.

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Tomorrow morning, I will put together the side veggies:

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage and Fennel, from Epicurious

• This will probably not go that quickly on the Thanksgiving table, but I believe in a little color at dinner!

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Pistachios, also from Epicurious

• Yes, I realize that I am bringing two cabbage-related side dishes, but I think it will all work out just fine

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I will be back later this week with a recap of how all this went. JJB takes care of the important things – turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes – and so it is bound to be an excellent feast. Hope your Thanksgiving is just as wonderful!