Thanksgiving Recipe Round Up

If you're still stumped on any of your Thanksgiving dishes, here is a round up of some of our favorite new menu inspiration, as well as some standby recipes.

 This is ambitious, but if you're cooking for a smaller group, this turketta is a great alternative to roasting a whole bird.

If you are roasting a turkey, the latest trick is to brine the bird and then cover it in a butter soaked cheesecloth before you put it in the oven.  This method saves you basting time and delivers moist, flavorful meat.

This stuffing recipe is fairly traditional, but has the added twist of jalapeno to give it some heat.

For dessert, we can't wait to try this Bourbon Ginger Pecan Pie.  Plus, we are making our Apple Pie with Crumble Topping to serve alongside.

For some general tips and tricks, check out this advice from some of LA's top chefs.

There's plenty more to cook in our guides from 2013 and 2014.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Recipe: Apple Pie with Crumble Topping

We went apple picking recently and decided to use the apples to make a pie. It turned out really well, although there was quite a bit of topping, which we might not use all of next time...

• Ingredients:
• Crust:
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/4 cup frozen solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 3 tablespoons ice water

• Filling:
• 3 1/4 pounds apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4" thick (this tool is our secret weapon)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• Topping:
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes

• Instructions for the Crust:
  Mix flour, salt, and sugar in large bowl. Add butter and shortening; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Mix 3 tablespoons ice water and vinegar in small bowl to blend. Drizzle over flour mixture; stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.
  

  

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12" round. Transfer to 9" glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2"; turn edge under and crimp decoratively. Refrigerate while preparing filling and topping.

For the filling

• Mix all ingredients in large bowl to coat apples.
  

  

• For the Topping:
  Blend first 5 ingredients in processor. Add chilled butter cubes; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles wet sand.
  

  
• Toss filling to redistribute juices; transfer to crust, mounding in center. Pack topping over and around apples. Bake pie on baking sheet until topping is golden, about 40 minutes (cover top with foil if browning too quickly). Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples in center are tender when pierced and filling is bubbling thickly at edges, about 45 minutes longer. Cool until warm, about 1 hour. 
  

  

  recipe based on this.

Recipe: Berry Pie

This berry pie is a simple, yet tasty way to take advantage of the fresh berries currently in season.

Ingredients:

1 lb. of cherries

1 container fresh strawberries

1 container fresh raspberries

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 pie crusts from your favorite recipe (this is a good one)

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375. Pit the cherries and cut up the strawberries, then mix together in a bowl with the raspberries. Add the cornstarch and sugar and mix together.

Step 2: Roll out the pie crust and put in the pan. Add all of the berry mixture.

Put the second pie crust on top, and pinch together all of the edges. Cut vents in the top crust. Brush with almond milk and sprinkle with a little sugar. Put in the oven on the lowest rack for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes put the pie on the higher rack, so the pie is in the top 1/3 of the oven. 

Bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Let the pie cool slightly, but serve while still warm with vanilla ice cream.