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Parties That Cook’s Holiday Game Plan: Top Ten Holiday Recipes

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in Entertaining, Menus & Recipes November 22nd, 2011 @ 5:06 pm

This Thanksgiving, instead of showing up to Aunt Ethel’s house empty handed, show your family that You Can Cook. We’re bringing you the best options for each Thanksgiving course – straight from the Parties That Cook recipe library! Here are the Top 10 Holiday Appetizers, Sides and Desserts from our private cooking parties and corporate team building events! The best part about this list is that each crave-worthy recipe can be completed in an hour or less – leaving you plenty of time to enjoy the day and maybe even catch the turkey day (Niner) game.

Appetizers: Minimize the likelihood of a revolt against the oven by allowing guests to nibble on something before the big meal. Be the one to bring snacks before the bird is ready, and you’ll be a Thanksgiving hero! With appetizers this good, there’s no such thing as spoiling your appetite.
–Mini Apple, Roquefort and Caramelized Onion Pies with Honey
–Sweet Potato and Bacon Galettes with Sage Creme Fraiche
–Oven-Roasted Figs Wrapped in Prosciutto with Melted Gorgonzola Centers

Sides: There’s more to a holiday spread than mashed potatoes. The larger your group, the more options you can incorporate into the meal. For those who don’t want to stray too far from the traditional Thanksgiving staples, we’ve included our recipe for Apple, Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing!
–Lobster and Crab Macaroni and Cheese
–Sweet Pumpkin and Apple Cider Soup with Sage
–Apple, Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing
–Roasted Asparagus Bundles with Fontina and Prosciutto

Desserts: You’re in charge of dessert. No big deal. These recipes will help you impress Thanksgiving fundamentalists, while still mixing things up. Looking for a break from Pumpkin altogether? Have we got the Rosemary Caramel Nut Bar recipe for you!
–Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
–Mini Pumpkin Roulade Filled with Ginger and Cream Cheese Frosting

Parties That Cook Reinvents the Thanksgiving Pie: Mini Apple, Roquefort and Caramelized Onion Pie Recipe

Let’s reexamine the Thanksgiving meal. In the last ten years, how many times did your turkey day dinner include pumpkin pie? Be honest. Six times? Nine?? Ten?! Geeze. This holiday season, give pumpkin pie a rest and try this delicious, simple and savory mini pie recipe at your next holiday party! This recipe is just one part of the mouthwatering menu for our upcoming Thanksgiving Appetizers cooking class in Chicago!

To prove we don’t have anything against pumpkin, we’ve also posted this delicious alternative to the usual pumpkin desserts: a Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger-Cream Cheese Frosting – YUM!

Mini Apple, Roquefort and Caramelized Onion Pies with Honey Recipe
This recipe can also be found in our Appetizer Recipe Library!

Ingredients
Pastry:
1 1/2 cups AP flour + more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
9 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces, frozen if possible
1/3 cup ice water
2-inch round cookie cutters
24-cup mini muffin tins

Apple, Roquefort and Caramelized Onion Filling:
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 cup water
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, halved and cored
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, plus thyme leaves for garnish
3 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled
2 Tablespoons honey

Methods/Steps
Preheat oven to 400°F

Make Pastry: Place the flour, salt and butter into the bowl of a food processor. Run the machine for 30 seconds or until the mix looks like pea size crumbles. Add the water and pulse just until a dough ball starts to form. A tablespoon or so more of ice water may be needed. Do not over work the dough or the crust will be tough. Gather all of the dough and press into a disk. If you are not rolling the dough immediately, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use.

Roll and Cut Pastry: Place the dough disk onto a well floured surface. With a floured rolling pin, roll dough to about a 1/4-inch thick. With a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut 24 rounds from disk of dough. You cannot re-roll this dough so cut the rounds carefully and without wasting space between cuts. Gently press dough rounds evenly into the cups of a 24-cup mini muffin tin. Bake crust for 15 minutes. When pie shells come out of the oven, they will have puffed. Gently use a spoon or a fingertip to tap shells back down.

Cook Onion/Apple Mixture: In a sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat until it is hot and beginning to brown. Add the onions and salt to the pan. Stir to make sure all the onions are coated with oil. Add the water to the pan, reduce heat to low and cover for 10 minutes to allow the onions to soften.

Dice Apples: Dice the halved apple into 1/4-inch cube. Once the onions are softened, add the diced apples and continue cooking, uncovered, until the apples are soft and the onions are golden brown, approximately 15 minutes. Stir to prevent burning. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add the chopped Thyme and Roquefort.

Assemble and Bake Tartlets: Place a heaping spoonful of the filling into each pie shell. Bake in the oven until the cheese is bubbling, about 5 minutes.

Serve: While still hot, drizzle the mini pies with honey and garnish with the thyme buds.

Serves/Makes
Makes 24 mini pies

Recipe adapted by Parties That Cook www.PartiesThatCook.com from Parties That Cook Lead Chef, Mick Dimas

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