Pumpkins. I’m not going to lie, I avoided pumpkin pie for most of my childhood. It just seemed so inferior to pecan pie or blueberry or apple or blackberry or any type of pie really. The appeal of pumpkin pie for me was the spray whipped cream, which I liberally applied to my slice. So delicious that way. As you might be guessing, this recipe is not for pumpkin pie. It is for pumpkin bars. While I have come to love pumpkin pie, these pumpkin bars are a favorite! We do not usually have them on Thanksgiving day because they would compete unnecessarily with the pie, but they are worth mentioning here.

Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients:
For the bars
4 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup oil
1 (16 oz) can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Put first four ingredients into a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread batter into ungreased 10x15x1″ pan (jellyroll pan).
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting.
Try not to eat the whole pan. Really, the max you could eat at once is probably four. Maybe five. Anymore than that gives me a stomach ache.

Enjoy!

This is not necessary a traditional Thanksgiving recipe, but we’ve enjoyed it at Thanksgiving time and it’s just good. It’s also tasty in the summer or the spring. Frankly, I’ll come to your house anytime I know you’re making this. I believe it may originally have been a Pampered Chef recipe, but what do I know? It’s written on a piece of a paper bag here in my kitchen.

Cool Veggie Pizza

1 can (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 teaspoons plain yogurt (or mayo if you must)
1 teaspoon dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of a variety of fresh vegetables cut very finely: broccoli, red, green and yellow bell pepper, carrot, green onions

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Spread crescent roll dough onto a cookie sheet or baking stone and pinch seams together.  Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Blend cream cheese, mayonnaise, dill weed, salt and pepper. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of cooled crust.
Sprinkle layer of each vegetable over pizza. 
Refrigerate before serving.

Makes 8-10 appetizer servings

 Cranberry sauce. It’s another favorite of mine. The recipe we’ve had the last few years is from Dave Lieberman. I maybe had a little crush on him when I discovered this recipe. Then I met Jonathan and stopped trying to figure out how to meet Dave and get him to fall in love with me so we could have a television program together.

 Dave Lieberman’s Fennel Orange Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
8oz fresh or frozen whole cranberries
1/2 navel orange, zested
1 whole navel orange, juiced
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C water
1/2 tsp fennel seeds

Directions:
Put everything into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring frequently until berries burst and water evaporates, 8-10 minutes. Cool before serving.

Confession: this always takes longer than 8 to 10 minutes to cook. And the berries? Maybe they burst because I squish them in impatience. Hey, Thanksgiving isn’t about lying.

Thanks for marrying me Jonathan. You’re hotter than Dave Lieberman!

Next week is Thanksgiving. I’m oh SO VERY excited. It’s my favorite holiday. MY FAVORITE! Here’s why: no unattainable expectations. Just food, hanging out, yelling at the television while we watch football in the afternoon, eating delicious things like turkey and cranberries and pie and sweet potatoes (or yams) covered in marshmallows and remembering that we have so many reasons to be thankful. I also enjoy watching “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” to cap off the night and ring in the Christmas season. Oh Thanksgiving.

I’d like to share a few of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes with you over the next few days.

Toasted Pecan Dressing (or Stuffing, if you prefer)
~from the Seattle Times at some point

Ingredients:
2 Cups chopped pecans
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, finely diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 pears, cored and diced
1 Granny Smith apple, cored, peeled and diced
1 T lemon juice
2 t ground sage
1 T fresh thyme
1 12oz box cornbread stuffing crumbs (I have never been successful in locating this in the Seattle area so I either use a preseasoned box and omit the above seasonings or just plain bread cubes)
1/2 t salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
2 eggs
1 cup apple cider or juice concentrate
1 cup chicken broth

1. Toast the pecans in 325 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add celery and garlic, saute for 5 more minutes. Add pears and apple, lemon juice, sage, thyme, cook for 5 more minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Add the pecans, bread crumbs, salt, peper and parsley to the sauteed vegetables. Whisk together the eggs, apple juice and broth. Pour over stuffing, mixing until all moistened.
4. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray. Transfer stuffing to dish and cover with foil. Cook in 325 degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
**Can be prepared in advance and refrigerated until ready to cook. Should be mixed the same day as it is cooked. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
Serves 10.

Sometimes I put this into two smaller dishes because then there are more crunchy/crispy bits. We’ve also made this without the egg and with vegetable broth to accomodate vegetarians in our family and it works just as well.