I've been experimenting with my Not Ketchup fruit ketchup sauces for more than a year now. One of the things I discovered last Thanksgiving and Christmas is that Not Ketchup added a ton of flavor - with very little corresponding work - to my holiday menus.
I've compiled some of my favorite holiday recipes into The Not Ketchup Holiday Recipe eBook, a free ebook that I'm delighted to share with you. It includes six delicious, gorgeous, ultra-simple recipes:
Smoky Date Sweet Potato Fritters - light, smoky puffs that work equally well as a pre-meal snack or an unusual side dish
Spiced Fig Glazed Ham - one spiral-cut ham plus one bottle of Spiced Fig Not Ketchup equals one fantastic centerpiece for your holiday meal
Blueberry White Pepper Stuffing Muffins - single-serving cornbread dressing studded with dried blueberries and drizzled with Blueberry White Pepper Not Ketchup
Smoky Date Brussels Sprouts - with bacon, slivered dates, pistachios and Smoky Date Not Ketchup, these are Brussels sprouts even a vegetable hater will adore
Cherry Chipotle Turkey Tostadas - leftover turkey turned into a post-holiday lunch
I hope you enjoy this free ebook as much as I enjoyed putting it together. I'm already making notes for next year's edition!
Pulse freeze-dried blueberries in a food processor to make the blueberry "dust" that decorates this smooth, creamy pumpkin soup (photo: Karen Ard)
My mother told me the other day that she likes my recipes because they're always so simple.
I told her it's because I'm a lazy cook.
And it's true. I hate separating eggs. I rarely sift. I will never use two pots if one will do.
Part of the reason I write simple recipes is because I am often making large numbers of dishes for large numbers of people. That's exactly why this pumpkin soup led off A Very Blueberry Thanksgiving, the blueberry-themed Thanksgiving dinner I made for a couple dozen food bloggers a few weeks ago.
Nothing could be easier: Cook onions in olive oil, add canned pumpkin puree and chicken stock, a few seasonings, a little milk, and you're done. It's a great way to start a festive meal like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, especially when served in small glasses as a walking-around appetizer.
Because A Very Blueberry Thanksgiving was sponsored by the U.S. Blueberry Council, each of the 10 dishes I served included fresh, frozen, or dried blueberries. See the purple "dust" on the pumpkin soup shooters in the photo above? Take freeze-dried blueberries and blitz them briefly in a food processor. The tartness of the blueberries combines beautifully with the fragrant pumpkin soup. And it looks gorgeous too, don't you think?
Note: Freeze-dried blueberries are hard and crunchy; don't use the dried blueberries that are chewy and have the consistency of raisins. The ones you're looking for shatter when you bite into them.
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Pumpkin soup shooters with dried blueberry "dust"
by Erika Kerekes November-22-2013
There's no better way to start a festive holiday meal like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner than with this smooth, creamy soup. Freeze-dried blueberries take a spin in the food processor to make the blueberry "dust" that decorates the top of the soup.
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 29-ounce can pure pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 quart chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup freeze-dried blueberries
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.Add the onion and saute about 4 minutes, until the onion is translucent.Add the pumpkin puree, chicken stock, and nutmeg. Stir the pumpkin mixture and bring to a boil.Turn down the heat and simmer the soup about 30 minutes, until the onions are very soft.Puree the soup in the pot with a hand-held immersion blender, or transfer the soup to a countertop blender and puree until very smooth.Add the lemon juice and salt. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Stir in the milk.Put the freeze-dried blueberries into a food processor. Pulse in 2-second intervals until the blueberries look powdery.Ladle the hot soup into small juice glasses or demitasse cups. Sprinkle each serving with a large pinch of the ground dried blueberries. Serve immediately.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 10 servings
Add this pumpkin blueberry trifle to your Thanksgiving dessert table (photo: Karen Ard)
When I started planning the menu for A Very Blueberry Thanksgiving, the twist-on-tradition Thanksgiving dinner I hosted last weekend for Los Angeles food bloggers, I had no trouble pairing blueberries with pumpkin soup, turkey, roasted butternut squash salad, sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts.
(Yep, that was the twist - every one of the 10 courses served included fresh, dried, or frozen blueberries.)
But I couldn't decide on dessert. I wanted to do something with pumpkin, but pumpkin pie with blueberry sauce felt underwhelming.
It was Julie Stas, the lovely woman who leads the public relations team for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (one of the event's sponsors), who suggested a trifle. I'd never made a trifle before, but it sounded like a good idea: cake or cookies, fruit, custard, whipped cream. Pumpkin blueberry trifle. Sure. Why not?
Give it up for Julie. She is a genius. This pumpkin blueberry trifle came together easily, looked absolutely stunning in the bowl, and tasted heavenly. The warm spices in the pumpkin bread played perfectly off the tangy blueberry sauce and the smooth, creamy vanilla pudding.
And while a decade ago this dessert would have been impossible to pull off at Thanksgiving because fresh blueberries were nowhere to be found, now we can get excellent fresh blueberries from Chile and other South American countries from October until March. The blueberries I bought at my local grocer to top this pumpkin blueberry trifle were plump, juicy, and sweet. Click here to learn more about winter blueberries.
Add this pumpkin blueberry trifle to your Thanksgiving dessert list - you'll be glad you did.
Note: I made my own pumpkin bread (recipe included below), but feel free to use a prepared loaf from your favorite bakery or grocery store.
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Pumpkin Blueberry Trifle
by Erika Kerekes November-16-2013
Spicy pumpkin bread and fresh blueberries make this traditional English trifle a delicious and impressive Thanksgiving dessert.
Ingredients
2 cups pure pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 cup grapeseed or canola oil
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 32-ounce bag frozen blueberries
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 pint heavy whipping cream
4 cups vanilla pudding (buy prepared or try this recipe)
2 cups fresh blueberries
Instructions
Make the pumpkin bread: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, 2 cups sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Sprinkle the salt, flour, baking powder, and baking soda on top of the pumpkin mixture, then stir with a large spoon just until combined. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and pour in the batter. Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool, then crumble the pumpkin bread into large chunks with your fingers. (Alternatively, you can buy a large loaf of prepared pumpkin bread.)Make the blueberry sauce: Put the frozen blueberries, remaining ½ cup sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer about 1 hour, until the sauce is thickened and glossy. Remove from the heat and let cool.Just before assembling the trifle, whip the cream with an electric mixer (or by hand if you’re sturdy) until it is fluffy and glossy.Assemble the trifle: In a large glass bowl, put down a layer of pumpkin bread crumbs, a layer of pudding, and a layer of blueberry sauce. Repeat once more, ending with a layer of crumbs. Pile the whipped cream on top and scatter the fresh blueberries on the whipped cream. Let sit at least 2 hours before serving to give everything a chance to meld.Note: Trifle can also be made in small glasses for individual servings.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 12 servings
A colorful autumn salad for your Thanksgiving table (photo: Karen Ard)
Last weekend I hosted a group of food bloggers for A Very Blueberry Thanksgiving, a pre-holiday celebration sponsored by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and Wines from Rioja. I made a huge traditional Thanksgiving feast with one big twist: Every dish on this Thanksgiving menu included fresh, frozen, or dried blueberries.
If you've only thought about blueberries as dessert, it's time to consider their savory side. I particularly love the combination of blueberries with balsamic vinegar, as in this autumn salad. I layered roasted cubes of butternut squash, caramelized red onions, toasted pumpkin seeds, fresh blueberries, and crisp green lettuce in a large bowl, then poured over a thick vinaigrette made with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and dried blueberries.
Turkey, schmurkey: Say it's because we're Californians, but this salad was one of the bloggers' favorite dishes at our Thanksgiving celebration.
Here's some good news: Fresh blueberries are getting easier to find in the fall and winter due to thousands of acres of cultivated blueberries recently planted in Chile, Argentina and Mexico. The blueberries we had at A Very Blueberry Thanksgiving were plump, juicy, and sweet. Look for fresh blueberries from the southern hemisphere to add to your Thanksgiving menu - you'll be glad you did.
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Blueberry Butternut Squash Salad
by Erika Kerekes November-15-2013
A layered green salad with roasted butternut squash, caramelized red onions, fresh blueberries, and toasted pumpkin seeds with a blueberry balsamic vinaigrette. Serve this colorful, healthy salad at Thanksgiving for a twist on tradition.
Ingredients
1 cup dried blueberries
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon olive oil, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 large butternut squash
1 large red onion
1 large head green leaf lettuce, washed, torn into small pieces
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
First, make the blueberry balsamic vinaigrette. (This step can be done several days ahead.) Put the dried blueberries and balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer about 30 minutes, until the vinegar is reduced by about a third and the blueberries are plump and rehydrated. Let the mixture cool a bit, then put it in a blender with 1 cup of olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Blend until very smooth. If working ahead, store in the refrigerator until you begin the rest of the steps below.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.Peel the butternut squash with a vegetable peeler and cut the flesh into 1-inch chunks. Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Put the vegetables on a baking sheet and drizzle with the remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Roast in the oven until brown around the edges and very tender, 30-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to just warm.Make a bed of lettuce in a serving bowl or on a large serving platter. Mound the squash and onions in the middle. Sprinkle the blueberries and pumpkin seeds on top. Drizzle the entire salad generously with the blueberry balsamic vinaigrette in a zig-zag pattern. Serve immediately.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 10-12 servings
Looking for a new twist on your traditional mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner? Try these Pumpkin Dutchess potatoes. They come out of the oven all crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, with a smoky overtone from the smoked paprika. And the beautiful orange color is pure autumn.
They look very fancy, but trust me - they're easy. Even for dopes like me who can't get the hang of the piping bag. Notice the variation in the swirls above. And then notice that even the imperfect ones look pretty darn good.
A side benefit: automatic portion control. Unless you're like me and you eat a half-dozen with your fingers before they make it to the serving platter. Then...not so much.
P.S. Yes, Mommy, I am planning to make these for our Thanksgiving dinner.
Beautiful swirls of mashed potato mixed with pumpkin puree, then bathed in butter and baked in the oven until crisp along the edges. A beautiful addition to your table for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any elegant dinner.
Ingredients
2 pounds Idaho® Russet potatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
6 Tablespoons butter, melted, divided
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
freshly ground pepper
Equipment: potato ricer, piping bag with large star tip, pastry brush
Instructions
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil, then spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 425° F.Wash and peel the Idaho® Russet potatoes, then cut into 2-inch chunks. Place the potato chunks into a medium-sized pot and cover with water by 1 inch. Add 1 teaspoon salt to the water.Bring the pot to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer 20-25 minutes, or until the potato chunks are tender when pierced with a small knife or the tines of a fork. Drain the cooked potatoes in a colander, then return them to the hot pot. Shake gently for a minute or two; you will see steam rising as the potatoes dry out.While the potatoes are cooking, into a large bowl add the pumpkin puree, 4 tablespoons of the melted butter, heavy cream, egg, egg yolks, and smoked paprika. Whisk thoroughly, until the mixture is slightly puffy and aerated.For the lightest texture, use a potato ricer. Hold the ricer over the bowl of pumpkin mixture and press the cooked potatoes into the bowl. This eliminates all lumps, making it easier to pipe the swirls onto the baking sheet. (Alternatively, mash the potatoes thoroughly in the pot with a potato masher, then add the mashed potatoes to the pumpkin mixture.) Blend thoroughly with a large spoon until the mixture is uniform. Add the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.Spoon the potato-pumpkin mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe swirls of the potato-pumpkin mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. You can place them fairly close together, as they will not spread during baking. You should get about two dozen swirls.Using a pastry brush, gently dab the potato-pumpkin swirls with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Be careful not to flatten the piped ridges too much.Bake the potato-pumpkin swirls about 25 minutes, until they are hot and the ridges are starting to crisp. Serve immediately, allowing two swirls per person.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 12 servings
Are you thinking about Thanksgiving already? I am.
Our family Thanksgiving moves around, but it's at my house this year. There are some dishes that make a regular appearance on the menu no matter who's hosting: braised red cabbage, my mother-in-law's spinach and mushroom stuffing, green bean casserole, roast turkey.
But I'm a bit of a renegade: I cut my turkey into parts and roast it like chicken. And (don't faint) I don't always make mashed potatoes. I didn't grow up with mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving, so sometimes I just...forget.
Are we still friends?
I hope so. Because I want to tell you about the very easy, very beautiful, very delicious herbed Idaho® mashed potatoes I'm making this year. Creamy, buttery mashed potatoes mixed with a ton of minced fresh herbs. Simple, aromatic, and very green.
I developed this recipe for the Idaho® Potato Commission, which is always looking for creative new twists on mashed potatoes. Thanksgiving dinner can be rich and heavy, but the grassy scent and taste of the mixed herbs in these mashed potatoes cuts right through the richness. I like Idaho Russet potatoes - their dry, fluffy interior soaks up the butter and half-and-half perfectly.
Do you serve mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving? Traditional or twisted? Let's share some mashed potato ideas in the comments below....
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Herbed Idaho® mashed potatoes
by Erika Kerekes October-15-2013
Creamy, buttery mashed potatoes mixed with a ton of minced fresh herbs. A perfect side dish for Thanksgiving dinner. Recipe developed for the Idaho® Potato Commission.
Ingredients
3 pounds Idaho® Russet potatoes
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for serving
4 bunches fresh soft green herbs, e.g. parsley, basil, tarragon, chives, dill
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
Wash and peel the Idaho® Russet potatoes, then cut into 2-inch chunks. Place the potato chunks into a medium-sized pot and cover with water by 1 inch. Add 1 teaspoon salt to the water.Bring the pot to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer 20-25 minutes, or until the potato chunks are tender when pierced with a small knife or the tines of a fork. Drain the cooked potatoes in a colander, then return them to the hot pot. Shake gently for a minute or two; you will see steam rising as the potatoes dry out.While the potatoes are cooking, wash the fresh herbs and dry them thoroughly in a salad spinner or by wrapping them in paper towels and shaking. Chop the herbs finely, discarding any woody stems. You can chop the herbs by hand with a large knife or in a food processor. You may end up with more than 1 cup of chopped herbs, depending on the size of your bunches; save the rest for another use.When the potatoes are almost done, put the half-and-half and 1 stick butter in a glass bowl or Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave on high power about 1 minute, until the butter is melted and the half-and-half is warm.Add the half-and-half mixture to the pot with the potatoes and mash the cooked potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. Add 1 cup of fresh chopped herbs and stir with a large spoon until incorporated. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately, adding more butter on top if desired.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 8 servings
Thanks to Lynne Hemer of Cook & Be Merry for the beautiful photo
There are two kinds of families when it comes to Thanksgiving.
Some families are willing to experiment. I had one friend who used Thanksgiving as a culinary lab. Every year she made something different. Pumpkin soup yielded to chestnut soup turned into carrot soup. One year the stuffing had sausage, the next year oysters. I thought she was nuts and never understood how her family tolerated it.
Most people, in my experience, need their Thanksgiving tables to be just so. Turkey. Gravy. Mashed potatoes. Cranberry sauce. Pumpkin pie. Just the way Mom and Grandma made them. Nothing fancy. No surprises.
The one dish I have to have at Thanksgiving is green bean casserole. I love the creamy sauce wrapped around frenched green beans, the whole thing topped with canned french fried onions. My mom made it the old-fashioned way: canned cream of mushroom soup, frozen frenched green beans, french fried onions. The way it was intended to be. Processed, salty and convenient.
Over the years my tastes have changed. And so has my green bean casserole. Now I do everything from scratch - except for the french fried onions. I probably could fry my own, but I hate the mess of deep-frying. For this one application I can and do live with the canned french fried onions.
I brought this green bean casserole to the Food Bloggers Los Angeles pre-Thanksgiving celebration last weekend. It didn't last long. And, much to my surprise, no one complained about the canned french fried onions.
My secret weapon: Italian porcini bouillon cubes, which give the cream sauce an amazing depth of flavor. Look for them at specialty food stores that carry gourmet Italian ingredients.
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Green bean casserole from scratch (almost)
by Erika Kerekes November-8-2012
Fresh green beans, caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms in a homemade cream sauce make a much better green bean casserole than the classic 1950's canned soup version - even with the canned french fried onions.
Ingredients
2 pounds fresh green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 pound crimini or white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 Italian porcini bouillon cubes
2 cups canned french fried onions, divided
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in the green beans and boil rapidly until softened but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Drain and let cool 20 minutes. When the beans are cool enough to handle, pull them apart lengthwise with your fingers (this is called frenching the beans). This step is optional but it helps the green beans meld with the cream sauce, so I recommend taking the time to do it.While the water is coming to a boil and the green beans are cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until the onions are golden brown and the water from the mushrooms has evaporated completely. Put the green beans, mushrooms and onions into a large mixing bowl.In the same skillet used to cook the onions and mushrooms, melt the butter over medium-low heat and add the flour, stirring to make a paste. Cook the paste about 2 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. Add the milk and whisk quickly to dissolve the butter-flour paste - it's important to do this thoroughly or there will be lumps. Crumble the porcini bouillon cubes into the cream sauce and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Pour the cream sauce over the vegetables in the mixing bowl.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.Add 1 cup of the canned french fried onions to the mixing bowl along with the salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Pour the green bean mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Bake the green bean casserole about 30 minutes, until the sauce bubbles up around the edges. Spread the remaining 1 cup of french fried onions on top of the casserole and bake another 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 8 servings
