Holiday classics with a twist

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  Mine featured plenty of delicious food, spending time with members from both sides of my extended family and truly a lot to be thankful for.  November 28th was also the 3rd anniversary (birthday?) of "Two Betsu Bara," and it couldn't have fallen on a more fitting holiday!

As in previous years, I had two opportunities to try out Thanksgiving recipes.  The first was the potluck at work the week before the actual day; wanting something simple and easy to tote to work on my bicycle, I made homemade cranberry sauce.

The recipe I used (from an old issue of Family Circle magazine; I can't seem to find it online) called for chunks of apple and ginger in addition to cranberries and gelatin.  Everything was boiled together in a sauce pot for while and made my whole apartment smell amazing.  There ended up being an abundance of cranberry sauce at the luncheon, but mine was the only homemade one.  While I enjoyed mine and I liked the different textures and addition of the ginger, I don't think I would go to trouble of making it again if I were also responsible for the rest of the meal.  The canned stuff is pretty good, and one less thing to worry about!


For the actual holiday, I got started the weekend before by cooking down my old Halloween pumpkin.  I had never cooked down a pumpkin before, and was a little intimidated by the prospect.  I followed the instructions from The Pioneer Woman and the process ended up being easier than I thought.  The most difficult part was getting it smooth in my blender.  I am sure a real food processor would make the task even easier.



My pumpkin was about 8" in diameter and cooked down to about 3 cups of pumpkin puree.  I used half of it in the pumpkin cheesecake I brought with me to dinner at my aunt and uncle's house.  I made the same recipe last year, and was afraid I might not be let in the door without it this year!  Using homemade pumpkin puree changed the texture (less firm) and flavor (less pumpkin-y) a little bit--note all the fibrous bits stuck to the mixer above--but this year's cheesecake was also well received.  I have one piece left in my fridge; tomorrow's breakfast perhaps?

My uncle also put a twist on one of his holiday classics:  before filling the crust of one of his pecan pies, he added a layer of chocolate chips.  Probably the best pecan pie I've ever had!