Thanksgiving is Early this Year

At least this virtual Thanksgiving. Thanks to Phyl, we are celebrating Thanksgiving ‘together’ separately. Got an email the other day, from Phyl, asking for favorite or traditional dishes with which to do a Thanksgiving Round-up. How could I say no. Salad. Sides. Turkey by the host. Dessert. At the time I didn’t know what I would bring to the party. But I did say I would be there.

So here I am.

With dessert!!
Of Course!!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Whiskey Pecan Sauce

This is not the first time Phyl has brought us together for a group cook/bake. Pumpkin was the theme for the October get-together so I made a Pumpkin Yeast Bread. It was a good bread, but not a great bread so I threw it into the freezer and promptly forgot about it. Until this week.

Using a recipe from Smitten Kitchen (who got it from Gourmet) I made the Bread Pudding using said loaf of Pumpkin bread.

1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of ground cloves
5 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old baguette or crusty bread
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Whisk together cream, pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs, yolk, salt, and spices in a bowl.

Toss bread cubes with butter in another bowl {following SKs lead I melted the butter in a large measuring bowl and tossed the cubes in THAT bowl}, then add pumpkin mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish and bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.

Pecan Whiskey Sauce
Melt 1/2 cup butter in the top of a double boiler hot, not boiling, water. In a small bowl, beat together 1 large egg and 3/4 cup sugar. With a wire whisk, stir egg mixture into melted butter and cook until if forms a custard. Remove from heat and stir in 1/3 cup whiskey and 1/3 cup toasted pecan pieces.

WHEW!!

Maybe I should have left some of the whisky out of the pudding or out of the sauce, but WOW!! it was good!!!And it was something I wanted to try so I could add it to our TG dessert buffet. It WILL be on the table!!!!

I hope you will join us for our Virtual Thanksgiving Feast. Phyl should have the round-up posted in a few days so check over there and see what was on the table.

 

{Simply Southern} Red Beans and Rice

While I LOVE Indian food The Hubs is not a fan. So on the nights I cook ‘weird’ food I make him something he really likes that I am not a fan of.

Like this:

Red Beans and Rice

The last time I made this I was newly married and no chldren. That was 38 years ago. Therefore I have no go to to recipe. The search was on. I found several recipes. I went first to Deep Dish South where I found Mary’s Shortcut recipe using canned beans. I also picked up a few other ideas there. Then I went over to the All Recipes Site and picked up a few more tips. And on to My Recipes where I found a recipe using the slow cooker. I had enough tips and ideas to make the beans I wanted. Here goes. My recipe to suit The Hub’s taste.

1/2 Tbl oil
3 cans kidney beans, undrained {Many recipe used dried, and you could, but you need to soak them for hours before hand}
5 slices bacon cut into medium pieces
8 oz (or so) Andouille Sausage, sliced. {Halve each slice if you like}
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
Chicken broth, enough to cover beans in slow cooker + a little.
1 tsp celery salt {You could also use 1/4 cup chopped celery}
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet or pot, over medium high heat, add the Andoullie sausage and cook until browned. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

In the same skillet, add the bacon and cook until soft, but not browned. Add the onion, and celery salt or celery if using. Cook until soft. Add the garlic. You do not need to add ANY SALT because canned beans contain plenty of salt.

Place all the cooked ingredients into the Slow Cooker along with the undrained beans and enough chicken broth to cover the beans with about 1″ over the top of the beans.

Cover and cook on Low about 6 hours or High for about 4. Or until the beans reach the consistancy YOU like.

Serve over rice.

Hubs said they were good. That’s all I needed to know I can make them again. Just like this.