Happy Thanksgiving: French Silk Pie

We all love pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. Not only is it tradition, but its delicious; warm or cold, with whipped cream or without. This Thanksgiving why not introduce another kind of pie? (along with the pumpkin, of course) French Silk Pie is delicious yet light because of it's airy and silky inside. 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted

3 large eggs, room temperature

Whipped cream, topping

Chocolate curls, garnish

Yields 1 9-inch pie

Directions:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie crust dough into a 14-inch round. Wrap dough lightly around rolling pin and transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Gently press dough into the bottom and sides of the pan. Trim the dough to allow a 1-inch overhang. Pinch dough between thumb and forefinger to make an edge around the rim. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C).

Using a fork, prick a couple dozen holes into the bottom of the crust to prevent the dough from rising. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before filling.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat together the room temperature butter and sugar until smooth and light in color, about 5-6 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract and melted chocolate. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating for 5 minutes between additions to add height to the chocolate filling.

Spread the chocolate filling into the cooled pie crust and chill for at least 2-3 hours before serving to set the filling and develop the flavor.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of chocolate curls.

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DIY: Giving Thanks

Give thanks inside a thanksgiving fortune cookie! Have them at the table tailored for specific guests, or have people fill them out and read them all as a group later in the evening. The creative options are endless! Download the Thanksgiving leaf template here. 

Keep the kiddies (and crafty adults) busy with making paper headbands. Cut out all of the necessary pieces, set up a table with glue sticks, staplers and paint, and let the creation begin!

visit made, fiskars, and mermag for more fun crafting ideas!

 A great way to chronicle the year that has passed is to print out instagram photos that you and your family have taken, and create fun displays and centerpieces with the photos. Check out the typoinsta app to add fun words and effects to your photos!

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Food For Life

Today we are going to take a slight detour on our Food For Life road and discuss the importance of the ever so wonderful Holiday libation. That's right, cocktails for everyone! One of the best parts of getting together with family and friends is sitting back, putting your feet up and enjoying a delicious adult beverage. Here are some ideas you can cheers to this Thursday.

Pear Essence Cosmopolitan 

What you will need:

2 anjou pear slices

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1 oz. of cranberry juice

1 to 2 oz. of citrus vodka

1/2 oz of triple sec

3 cranberries for garnish

To make:

In a mixing glass, muddle pear slices, lime juice and cranberry juice

Add in vodka and triple sec

Add ice to tin and shake well

Double strain into glass

Cran-Limoncello

What you will need:

1/2 cup of seltzer

1/4 cup of limoncello

2 tablespoons of unsweetened cranberry juice

Ice

lemon peel and cranberries for garnish

To Make:

Stir together the seltzer, limoncello and cranberry juice. Pour into a glass filled with ice, garnish. 

Apple Cidercar

What you will need:

5oz. of apple cider concentrate 

5oz. of water

3oz. of Brandy

3oz. of Cointreau or Triple sec

2oz. fresh lemon juice

Apple

To Make:

in a cocktail shaker, stir together the apple cider concentrate and water. Add the brandy, cointreau and lemon juice. Fill the shaker with ice and shake well. Pour into sugar-rimmed cocktail glasses, garnish with an apple slice. 

The Normandy

What you will need: 

9 fresh cranberries

2 thin slices of green apple

1 tsp of packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of simple syrup

1/4 cup of good quality Calvados

Ice

To make:

In a cocktail shaker, muddle 6 cranberries, 1 apple slice, the brown sugar and lemon juice.

Add in the simple syrup, Calvados and a few ice cubes. Cover and shake well

Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice

Drink recipes and photos courtesy of Yumsugar.com

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Food For Life

Thanksgiving is only nine days away! It's hard to believe it's gotten here so fast! Sticking with clean, vegetarian/vegan eating around holidays like this can be very difficult, but with the proper planning and a few great recipe ideas, you can be sure that no one at your table will be upset that there is no turkey. Here are three ideas that we will be trying out next week, and you can visit VegKitchen.com for many more ideas for your holiday feast!

Sweet Potato Soup:

What you will need

2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 large celery stalk, sliced
handful of celery leaves
6 cups of peeled and diced sweet potatoes
2 bay leaves
2 tsp seasoning blend (Mrs. Dash)
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup of rice or coconut milk
salt and pepper

Add oil, onion, carrots and celery to a soup pot and sauté until onion is golden

Add the celery leaves and sweet potatoes and add enough water to cover all but about 1 inch of the vegetables. Bring to a simmer, then stir in the bay leaves and seasonings. Simmer gently, covered until the sweet potatoes and vegetables are tender (about 25 minutes). Remove the bay leaves.

With a slotted spoon, remove the solid ingredients and transfer to a food processor, with about 1/2 of a cup of the cooking liquid. Process until smooth, and return to the pot.

Add in the rice or coconut milk to give the soup a slightly thicker consistency and season with salt and pepper.

Mixed Greens with Apples, Carrots, and Pickled Beets:


What you will need

6 to 8 oz. of mixed baby greens
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium granny smith apples, thinly sliced
8oz jar of pickled beets, well drained
a handful of walnuts or almonds
extra virgin olive oil as desired
balsamic or red wine vinegar to taste

Combine everything into a large salad bowl, toss and dress with oil and vinegar.

Hearty Vegetable Pot Pie:

What you will need

8 medium potatoes
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, quartered and finely chopped
3 cups of diced veggies of your choice
2 tablespoons of white flour
1 cup of vegetable stock
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tbsp of all purpose seasoning
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup of minced fresh parsley
salt and pepper
Two 9-inch pie crusts
1 cup of bread crumbs
paprika for topping

Cook potatoes in their skins until done. Peel and dice four of them and coarsely mash the other four. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion until golden. Add in veggies, and a little bit of water and cook until just tender. Sprinkle the flour into the skillet and then pour in the vegetable stock. Add the yeast and cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly until the liquid thickens. Stir in the diced and smashed potatoes, and heat through gently. Stir in the seasoning bled, thyme and parsley, and season with slat and pepper.

Pour contents into pie crust and pat in. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over each pie and and top with paprika. bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until crust is golden.



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