Thanksgiving Breads Recipes

It's not Thanksgiving without biscuits at our house. Sure, it may seem redundant to have yet another carb when there are already plenty of others on offer.

I'm a big fan of quick breads for Thanksgiving and biscuits in particular. Drop biscuits, like the Cranberry-Walnut Drop Biscuits I shared yesterday make a great choice, since you mix the ingredients together, plop them onto a baking sheet and stick them in a hot oven. Very simple.

Biscuits that are rolled out and cut are a little more work, but offer a more uniform look and a really nice texture. The Butter-Flaky Biscuits pictured at top are one of my favorites. The buttery dough is rolled out and folded several times, creating layers of buttery goodness. Rosemary, Onion and Black Pepper Biscuits pack a lot of bold flavors into a savory biscuit. Similarly, I love Cheesy Scallion-Corn Biscuits, especially with a Homemade Compound Butter spiked with fresh chives.

For something with a bit of smoke and sweetness, I recommend Butternut Squash, Pecan and Bacon Bread (pictured above), which comes together quickly if you roast the squash in advance. Lastly, although I usually make cornbread to cube into stuffing, Simple Cornbread is pretty amazing on its own as well.

Thanksgiving Central
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Butter-Flaky Biscuits

The principles of cooking are rooted in science, that much we cannot dispute. Yet there are a few ingredients out there that seem almost magical. Yes, we can dissect their physical properties and talk about how they accomplish different things when hot vs. when cold, how their proportion of fats, protein and sugars affect the results. Yada yada yada. 

But there's something else that anyone who cooks cannot dispute: butter is magical. It just is. It makes pretty much any dish better. Got a bland pasta? Elevate it with butter. Want to unify fish and its seasonings? Add butter. Want flaky, amazing-tasting pie crust? Use butter.

Butter is amazing ingredient not only because of what it can do physically but because it makes just about anything taste better. It's that special combination of fat, liquid and milk solids--the dairy bits that get left behind--that make it an amazing thing. You gotta be careful with butter: it burns faster than oils, goes rancid if left unrefrigerated and it can pick up other flavors if not stored right. But treat butter right and it's one of the most powerful weapons in the kitchen arsenal.

Layering butter is a key method of forming flakiness in pastries. It's what makes pie crust and croissants flaky, and it can work in your Thanksgiving biscuits too. 

The method here is similar to lamination: folding and rolling a butter-rich biscuit dough to multiply the layers of butter in the dough (with lamination additional butter is spread between the layers). As the dough is rolled out, the pieces of butter in the dough are elongated, and with each fold, the number of butter-layers doubles. Knowing that this could produce irresistibly flaky biscuits, I went in search of a recipe.

And I found this excellent one from Serious Eats by Melissa Sertich Velie. Here, the dough is shaped into a rectangle, then folded into thirds, rolled out again, and folded into third again. With each folding, the layers of butter in the dough are tripled. The results when baked are obvious, as the biscuits separate a bit on the side, revealing wonderful layers of buttery goodness. 

These biscuits were incredibly good. The perfect vessel for enjoying your favorite berry jam, a little apple butter or just swiping through the streaks of gravy on your Thanksgiving plate.

Butter-Flaky Biscuits
Adapted from Super Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits recipe by Melissa Sertich Velie for Serious Eats

3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 large egg
2 1/4 cups (13 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and kept refrigerated

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, cream and the egg.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and toss the butter cubes until fully coated with flour. Working quickly, use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour to form marble-size pieces (alternatively, Velie suggests you could pulse the mixture 2 to 3 times in a food processor). Transfer butter-flour mixture to a large bowl.

3. Add the buttermilk mixture to the bowl and mix with a fork until just combined. The mixture will be quite clumpy (see photo above). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and, using your fingers, lightly press and fold the dough to bring it together into a large rectangle (avoid handling the dough roughly). Fold the dough into thirds (see photo above). Using a rolling pin, roll it out into roughly the size of the original rectangle, then fold it again. Roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness. Chill the dough again in the refrigerator for another 10 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 400 F.

6. Place the dough on the work surface. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out biscuits as close together as possible and place on a baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Gather remaining scraps and cut out more biscuits (Velie recommends discarding any remaining scraps, but I just formed them into a final biscuit, albeit a bit misshapen).

7. Bake until the biscuits rise and turn a light golden-brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the biscuits cool about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool further. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Related

Apple Butter

Rosemary-Onion and Black Pepper Biscuits

Cheesy Scallion-Corn Biscuits

Thanksgiving Central

Sausage Cornbread Stuffing

This is it. This is the one. My absolute favorite stuffing.

Honestly, I'm not sure why I haven't shared this recipe up until now. This is the stuffing my mom would make when I was a kid. Technically, this wasn't the stuffing we had at Thanksgiving. The holiday was spent at Grandma's house, and she made a non-cornbread stuffing. But around that time of year, my mom would also make stuffing at our house. This is what she made, and I absolutely loved it.

I've made a few very minor changes from what my mom did. Instead of using seasoned bread crumbs, I use plain dried bread cubes and add my own fresh herbs--specifically fresh sage and thyme. I also sometimes toss in a large handful of dried cranberries.

Sausage Cornbread Stuffing

1 lb. regular pork sausage, casings removed
2 medium (or 1 large) yellow onions, diced
2/3 cup diced celery ribs
4 cups dried bread cubes
1 tbsp. salt
2 large eggs slightly beaten
2 2/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 cups crumbled corn bread (see recipe below)
¼ cup chopped fresh sage
2 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Cook sausage over medium heat in large skillet, breaking up with wooden spoon. Transfer sausage to a large mixing bowl. Drain excess grease off, reserving 2 tbsp.

3. Sauté onions and celery in reserved sausage drippings for about 8-10 minutes or until tender. Transfer onion and celery to mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients to bowl and mix well.

4. Transfer mixture to a 9 X 13 baking dish coated with oil cooking spray. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes until dressing is lightly browned on top and heated through.  Stir every 10 min. to avoid burning. Serve warm.

Corny Cornbread
Adapted from Cornbread by Mark Bittman

Note: the freeze-dried corn bread boosts the corn flavor of the bread. If you can't find it or choose not to use it, just add an additional 1/2 cup of cornmeal.

1/2 cup ground freeze-dried corn
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal (finely ground)
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Separately, whisk together the egg and buttermilk, add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

3. When oven is hot, put an 8 x 8 inch baking dish in the oven. Remove after a couple minutes when the baking dish hot and add the butter, put back in the oven and let it melt (be careful not to let it burn, as butter will scorch at this temperature).

4. Remove hot pan with melted butter from oven and pour batter into pan. Bake for about 30 minutes until top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool a bit, but serve warm.

Indian-Spiced Nan Bread Stuffing

Last week, when I shared the Indian-inspired Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Honey-Curry Yogurt recipe, I talked about using Indian spices as a way to inject new and surprising flavors into the Thanksgiving menu. That's also the idea behind this dish, a fairly straightforward bread stuffing (or dressing, if you want to be technical about it) flavored with ginger, cumin, garam masala and turmeric. A touch of cayenne pepper adds some spice too.

Indian nan bread

Additionally, I used a traditional Indian bread, nan, as the foundation. Nan, also spelled as "naan," is an East Indian flatbread traditionally baked in a tandoor oven. I found nan at my local supermarket (Giant). If you can't find it, you could look for a recipe and make it yourself or substitute a similar flatbread. I cut the nan up and toasted it to dry it out, just as you might for any other bread for stuffing.

Indian-Spiced Nan Bread Stuffing

1 lb. nan bread (about 4 pieces), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 lb. mild Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced
2-3 celery ribs, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Olive oil for greasing the baking dish

1. Preheat oven to 300 F.

2. Spread nan cubes in an even layer on a large baking sheet. Heat in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the nan starts to dry out and brown a bit on the edges. Remove from oven and set aside to cool and further dry out.

3. Increase oven to 400 F.

4. Heat a large sauté pan over moderately high heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned. Remove sausage from pan and set aside.

5. Melt butter in pan, then add the onion, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add the spices (cumin through black pepper) and stir to combine. Add back the cooked sausage and cook another minute to reheat and blend with the spices.

6. In a large bowl, combine the toasted nan bread cubes, the cooked sausage-vegetable mixture, eggs, cream and chicken broth. Transfer mixture to a greased (with olive oil) 9 X 13 baking dish. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir the ingredients. Bake for another 15 minutes until the mixture is lightly browned on top. Allow to cool sightly before serving.

Related

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Honey-Curry Yogurt

Thanksgiving Central

Butternut Squash, Pecan and Bacon Bread

I'm sure you've heard of pumpkin bread, but butternut squash bread? That was a new one for me. After making a loaf, it's a shame we've been strangers until now.

The spark for this dish was lit during a recent Washington Post Food section chat, where I asked if there were any particular trends among this year's Thanksgiving recipes. Another chatter piped up that the big trend in recipes this year was butternut squash. I surveyed the dishes I had planned for the month thus far and...there wasn't a butternut in sight! So I wanted to add something, but I wanted it to be different. I've roasted butternut squash and tossed it with grains. I've pureed it into an appetizer crostini topping. I've even turned it into a cocktail (for more ideas, check out this recent 8-2-Eat on butternut squash recipes). I didn't want to repeat any of those things.

Instead, at that Washington Post chatter's suggestion, I made bread. A search online uncovered an AllRecipes.com recipe that was exactly what I was looking for. This recipe enhances the bread with walnuts and raisins. I went a different route: pecans and...bacon. Yes, bacon in bread! Why not? It's in everything else these days. I also cut the recipe in half to have just one loaf; you could certainly double it back if you want to make two. You'll just need two loaf pans.

A word on prepping butternut squash. You can buy butternut squash already peeled, seeded and cut into large chunks at the grocery store. This makes turning it into smaller cubes for roasting quite simple. However, you can also start with a whole squash, which isn't as hard to deal with as you might think if you follow these directions that explain the steps in the picture above. Either way, the end result should be cubes about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide (the smaller the size, the quicker it will roast).

Since this is a "quick" bread--i.e. one that is leavened with baking powder and baking soda and thus rises while it cooks rather than the longer process of a yeast bread that requires kneading and rising time--it doesn't take very long to make, especially if you've roasted and pureed the butternut squash in advance. If you roast cubes from a whole squash, you'll have plenty leftover that you could freeze and later use for any of the roasted squash recipes I've mentioned here (see related links below too).

Butternut Squash, Pecan and Bacon Bread
Adapted in part from Boltonlane's recipe for Autumn Spiced Butternut Squash Bread on AllRecipes.com

Note: This recipe makes leftover roasted butternut squash, as it seems a waste to roast only enough needed for this recipe. I froze the leftover roasted squash to save for another purpose, like tossing into a grain bowl.

Equipment: 9 X 5 loaf pan, stand or hand mixer, bowls, baking sheet

16-20 oz. peeled and seeded butternut squash, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (to make 1 cup roasted butternut squash puree)
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 oz. bacon (to yield about 1/3 cup bacon bits)
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the baking pan
2 large eggs
1/3 cup water
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/3 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 425 F with rack in middle position.

2. Add butternut squash cubes to a large bowl. Drizzle with vegetable oil and toss to coat the squash evenly with oil. Spread squash in an even layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 20-25 until tender. Set aside to cool. Add a heaping cup of the roasted cubes to a food processor and turn it on. Add a little water (start with a tablespoon; you can add a little more if necessary) if the squash is too thick to puree smoothly. The end result should be 1 cup of pureed squash. Add a few more cubes of squash and puree again if you fall a little short of 1 cup.

3. Adjust oven temperature to 350 F.

4. Cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat until browned and crisp. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to cool, then transfer to a cutting board and chop into bits.

5. Combine sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) and blend on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the butternut squash puree, eggs and water and blend into the mixture on low speed.

6. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Add to the butter-sugar-squash mixture and blend on low speed until just combined. Stir in the chopped pecans and bacon bits.

7. Grease a 9 X 5 inch loaf pan with butter. Pour the batter into the pan so that it is even distributed in the pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour. Set pan on a rack to cool for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the loaf from the pan and set the loaf on the rack to cool completely. Slice in 1/2-inch slices to serve.

Related

Wheat Berry Salad with Butternut Squash, Hazelnuts and Sage

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Crostini with Crispy Shallots

Cocktail: Hot Butternut Rum

8-2-Eat: Fall into Butternut Squash

Thanksgiving Central

Spaghetti with Tomato-Turkey Ragu and Garlic Bread

Last weekend was pretty rotten as far as D.C. winter weekends go. It was cold, but not freezing cold and it was raining. That's pretty much the worst kind of winter weather around here. It's not so cold that it's snowing (like it did yesterday). With the just-above-freezing kind of cold and rain, if you step outside, you get wet, then you get wet and cold, and it's just the worst feeling. Couple that with the fact that my husband picked up the other type of cold, and it was pretty much a recipe for a bummer of a weekend. Cold outside and a cold inside. Time for some comfort food.

Spaghetti with a tomato-meat sauce with a side of garlic bread is about as comforting as food can get. This is the kind of pasta dish my mom--and I imagine many other moms--made when I was a kid. It's the kind of recipe that everyone has a slightly different variation of, and in fact, I've made it several different ways myself (see, for example, here and here).

For this variation, I had bolognese on my mind, but not the all-afternoon cooking time bolognese needs. So I improvised something that's a bit like bolognese and a bit like the Spaghetti with Meat Sauce I've made before. It's not a super-quick dinner: it took about an hour and a half. But it's not an all-afternoon meal either. Even if you've had a busy Saturday, this is a perfect way to end the day.

I started with mushrooms, which I sautéed in a little olive oil. Then I browned the ground turkey and added diced onion and garlic. From there I did a step that's common to bolognese: simmer the meat in a little milk. Although bolognese is usually made with beef and pork, the technique still works to add tenderness and richness to ground turkey. In her Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, Marcella Hazan advises to cook the meat in milk before adding wine and tomatoes to protect the meat from the latter ingredients' acidity. I'm not sure about the science behind that, but I am sure that Ms. Hazan knew what she was doing.

For the wine, you can use a white or red wine. I've done both, but opted for red for this dish. Although I love to drink cabernet sauvignon, I wouldn't recommend it for pasta sauce, since its tannins, when concentrated, can add bitterness. I still opted for a fairly bold wine though, the Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Red Blend, which is mostly syrah and merlot.

To go with the spaghetti, I made garlic bread. This is the old-school kind of garlic bread that accompanies large bowls of pasta at no-frills Italian restaurants. It's warm but not toasted and coated generously with salted garlic butter. Although you could use a fancy baguette for this, I recommend the simple grocery-store variety that are more likely labeled as "French bread." Once it's out of the oven, you can keep it wrapped in foil to stay warm, although from my experience, it doesn't stick around long.

Spaghetti with Tomato-Turkey Ragù

3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
8 oz. white or cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
Salt, to taste
1 1/4 lb. ground turkey (dark meat preferred)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup whole milk
2/3 cup dry red wine (I used Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Red Blend)
28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
15 oz. can of tomato sauce (note: because I had it on hand, I used leftover homemade pizza sauce in about the same quantity)
6 oz. can of tomato paste
1 tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Pinch of red chili pepper flakes
1/2 cup water (or more if needed)
1 lb. dried spaghetti
Grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushrooms, season with a small pinch of salt and sauté until the mushrooms have given up their liquid and browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms from pot.

2. Add remaining 2 tbsp. olive oil to pot and, when hot, add the ground turkey. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is browned. Add onion and garlic and stir to combine. Cook until the onion has softened, about 10 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine, then add the milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has mostly absorbed or evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine has been mostly absorbed or evaporated, about 5 minutes.

3. To the pot with the turkey, add the cooked mushrooms, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, thyme, bay leaf, red chili pepper flakes, water, and salt and pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium-high. When the mixture bubbles, reduce heat to simmer, uncovered, while the pasta cooks.

4. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta one minute less than package directions for al dente (i.e. the pasta will be quite chewy). Drain the pasta, then add it to the pot with the simmering sauce. Stir the noodles into the sauce and cook for an additional minute or two. Remove the bay leaves.

5. Serve the pasta and sauce in shallow bowls topped with grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.

Garlic Bread

1/2 loaf of French bread (baguette)
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened (but not melted)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (finely ground)
Pinch of kosher salt
Dash of sweet paprika (optional)
Dash of dried oregano (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Split the baguette down the middle like a giant sandwich. In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic powder, salt, paprika and oregano. Spread evenly on the cut sides of the bread. Place the loaf back together, then slice the loaf three times to create 8 pieces of bread. Leave the loaf together and wrap it in aluminum foil.

3. Bake the wrapped loaf in the oven for 5 minutes, then open the foil and back for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven but keep wrapped in the foil to keep warm.

Related

Cook In 101: Spaghetti with Basic Meat Sauce

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Lasagna, Bolognese Style

Cornbread Stuffing with Sausage and Fennel

A common question this time of year: What's the difference between "stuffing" and "dressing"?

The simple answer is that "stuffing" is literally stuffed inside the turkey. The same dish prepared in its own roasting pan is considered "dressing."

The more complicated answer is that it depends on the preference of the speaker.

Earlier this year, I wrote a series of articles on language and food, including a review of the book The Language of Food by Dan Jurafsky. I've also have the pleasure of working with a linguistics student for the past few months. So I've thought more than usual lately about language. And that includes the so-called "rules" of language that we are supposed to adhere to but often break--generally because other people break them. Once the rule-breaking reaches a tipping point, the rule is pretty much worthless.

And that seems to be the case with "stuffing." Those adhering to a strict definition of the word will say you shouldn't use it for a bread-and-vegetable mixture that was baked outside of the bird. Others, including me, like the term for this dish no matter what. To me, "dressing" evokes salad dressing, which this definitely is not. It could be the influence of the Kraft Stove Top people, who market a "stuffing" food product that is easily enjoyed without preparing it inside a bird. Furthermore, I've read that in the South, they call either version "dressing." So the distinction just isn't that meaningful.

Thus, hence fore, if you prefer to call a savory baked Thanksgiving mixture of vegetables, bread, herbs, broth and other flavorings "stuffing," then you're a-okay in my book.

Cornbread Dressing with Sausage and Fennel
Adapted from a recipe by Tim Mondavi for Bon Appétit

8 cups of 1/2 cubes of cornbread (see recipe below)
1 lb. breakfast sausage (casings removed if using links)
10 tbsp. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the baking dish
1 fennel bulb, diced, plus fronds for garnishing
4 celery stalks, diced
8 scallions, white and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bosc pears, peeled, cored and diced
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
1 tbsp. chopped fresh marjoram
1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp. chopped fresh sage leaves (note: the original recipe called for 1 tsp. dried leaves)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Dive cornbread cubes between two rimmed baking sheets. Baking for 40 to 45 minutes, tossing occasionally until the bread cubes dry out and begin to brown in spots. Set aside.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage until well browned, breaking up with a spoon as it cooks. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a plate.

3. Reduce heat under the skillet to medium and add 8 tbsp. of the butter (that's a whole stick, FYI). Add the fennel, celery, scallions and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the pears and red wine, then increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

4. Heat the oven to 400 F. Grease a 9 X 13 baking dish with butter. In a large bowl, combine the cooked sausage, sautéed vegetable mixture, fresh herbs, 1 1/2 cups of broth and salt and pepper to taste. Add the cornbread cubes and toss to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes to soak up the broth, then add the remaining 1/2 cup of broth and beaten eggs and toss to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and dot with the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20 to 30 minutes until the top of the stuffing is lightly browned. Scatter the reserved fennel fronds on top and serve.

Easy Cornbread
Adapted from a recipe by Tim Mondavi for Bon Appétit

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups cornmeal
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup whole milk
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing the baking dish

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a square 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda and whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk and milk and whisk together, then whisk the egg mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined (the batter will be a bit lumpy). Stir in the 3 tbsp. of melted butter. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then run a knife around the edges of the cornbread and remove from the pan; transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Other Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving Central (all Thanksgiving recipes)

Southwestern Cornbread Stuffing

Corny Corn Bread

Asian Grain Stuffing

Rye Bread Stuffing

Italian Stuffing

Classic 11-Ingredient Stuffing

Oregon Stuffing

Rosemary-Onion and Black Pepper Biscuits

A few years ago while planning Thanksgiving dinner, I declared that I wasn't going to make any biscuits. We had stuffing, mashed potatoes, pies--seemed like enough carbs to me. Suffice it to say, that suggestion was received about as well as New Coke or Ishtar. 

So every Thanksgiving, I make biscuits, a uniquely American dish that fits perfectly into a typical Thanksgiving repertoire. Of course, there are biscuits to be found in other parts of the world, but they are different, generally thin and crisp and either sweet (what we Americans would call a "cookie") or savory (what we would call a "cracker"). But in the United States and parts of Canada, it's a small baked bread with a browned crust and soft interior.

Last year, I made Cheesy Scallion-Corn Biscuits. This year's Rosemary-Onion and Black Pepper Biscuits are made from the same basic recipe, but with different flavorings. They're closer actually to the original recipe from Bon Appétit for Buttermilk Biscuits with Green Onions, Black Pepper, and Sea Salt.

I didn't caramelize the onions for this recipe, just browned them, but you certainly could if you wanted to take a little more time with them. After cutting out the first round of biscuits, be sure to gather the dough and re-roll it, repeating until you've formed all the dough into biscuits.

At the table, you can serve these biscuits with butter and/or jam, although I really recommend making a batch of Bacon Marmalade to go with them. The smoky-sweet bacon jam with the onion, rosemary and pepper is pretty irresistible.

Rosemary-Onion and Pepper Biscuits

Adapted from Buttermilk Biscuits with Green Onions, Black Pepper, and Sea Salt, Bon Appétit

Makes 14-16 biscuits

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. sugar

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste (at least ½ tsp.)

8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 425 F with rack in middle position.

2. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and onion and sauté until the onion is softened and lightly brown, about 10 minutes. Measure out 1/2 cup of cooked onions (use the rest for something else).

3. In a food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and pepper until combined. Scatter butter cubes across mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Dump into a large bowl, add sautéed onions,  chopped rosemary and buttermilk and stir until the dough has mostly clumped together.

4. Transfer dough to a floured surface. Knead gently to combine into one mass. Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough out to a thickness between 1/2 to 3/4 inches. Cut out rounds with a 2-inch biscuit cutter. Gather the dough scraps, roll out the dough and cut additional rounds (repeat as necessary until all the dough is used). Place the dough rounds 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. 

5. Gather dough together. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead gently just to combine, about 3 to 4 turns. Roll out to 3/4-inch thickness. Using floured 2-inch cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out rounds. Reroll scraps and cut out additional rounds. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.

6. Bake biscuits until golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Other Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving Central (all Thanksgiving recipes)

Bacon Marmalade

Homemade Compound Butter

Cheesy Scallion-Corn Biscuits

Corn Crackers with Brie and Apple Butter

Simple Corn Bread

Triple Smoky Apple-Blue Cheese Crostini

When it comes to a simple appetizer, it's hard to top crostini. Or rather, it's easy to top crostini and that's the point. It's just bread, usually toasted, with something delicious piled on top.

Blue cheese and apples go great together because you get a wonderful combination of pungent and sweet and a mix of textures. Pushing the flavor of these crostini a little further, I made them just a touch spicy and three times smoky by using a smoked blue cheese, cooking the apples with some smoky chipotle chili powder and sprinkling a little hickory-smoked sea salt on top.

Triple Smoky Apple-Blue Cheese Crostini

1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 gala apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin (about 1/8-inch) slices
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 to 2 tbsp. honey
12-14 baguette slices
2 oz. smoked blue cheese (such as Moody Blue or Rogue Creamery)
Hickory-smoked sea salt

1. Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat. Melt butter, then add the apple slices. Season with cinnamon and chipotle chili powder. Cook the apples about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the slices are tender but still keep their shape. Add the honey, stir to combine and cook another minute or two. Remove from heat.

2. (Optional) lightly toast the baguette slices on a baking sheet under an oven broiler until light brown.

3. Gently heat the blue cheese in the microwave to soften it (I did two low-power blasts of 15 seconds eat, stirring the cheese between blasts). Spread an even layer of cheese on each slice of bread. Then pile a few slices (3-5) of apple on top of the cheese. Sprinkle with a little hickory-smoked sea salt. Serve immediately--they are good warm or cooled off.

Roasted Tomato and Ricotta Bruschetta

Yesterday, I wrote about our neighborhood's amazing new bakery, Bread Furst. I've been bringing home samples of their bread every couple days, which means I had to find things to do with it (other than just eat it immediately, which was so tempting). So, of course, one of the things I did was make toast.

Kitchen shears make fast work of chopping (or rather snipping) fresh chives.

Toast is apparently "hot" right now, which might seem strange until you realize that toast offers a lot of wonderful possibilities. You can top it with just about anything, from basic butter or jam to layers of savory goodness.

With a loaf of Bread Furst's dense, flavorful whole grain bread, I decided to make bruschetta, an Italian style of toast that involves garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper, sometimes with other toppings. (Please note that bruschetta is NOT a jar of tomato spread, despite what you may find at the grocery store).

Because this bread is so flavorful and tomatoes available this time of year are not, I decided to roast the tomatoes, which can bring out good tomato flavor even during their anemic off-season (tomatoes are best bought locally July through September). I also used fresh ricotta (not homemade this time) and fresh chives from my herb garden.

Roasted Tomato and Ricotta Bruschetta

7-8 plum tomatoes, quartered
2 tbsp. olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5-6 slices of thick, crusty bread (I used a whole grain bread, but you could substitute other types)
3/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese, softened (you can soften it in the microwave for about 20 to 30 seconds at 50% power)
2 tbsp. fresh chopped chives

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Add the tomatoes to a roasting pan, drizzle with 1 tbsp. of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss with a wooden spoon to coat the tomato pieces. Roast in the hot oven for about 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit, then mash the tomatoes with the wooden spoon until they have a chunky sauce-like consistency.

2. Preheat the oven broiler. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet. Brush or spray with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Broil until the tops of the bread slices are lightly toasted, about 2 minutes, watching carefully to make sure they don't burn.

3. Transfer the toasted bread to a serving plate. Mix the softened ricotta cheese with freshly ground black pepper and spread the cheese on each slice of bread. Then top each piece of bread with a generous spoonful of roasted tomatoes. Sprinkle with fresh chives and serve.