This Thanksgiving was a day of many firsts. My first American Thanksgiving – I’ve been celebrating a lifetime of Canadian Thanksgivings until I got married to my American hubby, and this year was the first time we were able to celebrate it. It [...]]]>

This Thanksgiving was a day of many firsts. My first American Thanksgiving – I’ve been celebrating a lifetime of Canadian Thanksgivings until I got married to my American hubby, and this year was the first time we were able to celebrate it. It was our first Thanksgiving celebration together since we’ve been married and had our own place (our very first Thanksgiving was on the road somewhere in Malaysia, I think).

It was also my first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner on my own. I know right – first American Thanksgiving, first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner – aren’t you asking for trouble here, Camilla? Fortunately I have very understanding friends who praise all my efforts no matter how they taste.

And not only was it my first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner, but it was also my first time roasting a chicken in a toaster oven. Yes, you heard me, a chicken! I suppose it might be possible to find a turkey in China, but my Chinese isn’t yet good enough to ask for and bargain for a huo ji. Plus, I don’t think I could fit a turkey in my little toaster oven. So a chicken it was.

Now before you think I totally copped out by doing a chicken instead of a turkey, consider this – I cooked two pies, a roast chicken, two vegetable side dishes, stuffing, chicken wings, mashed potatoes, and cornbread muffins, ALL using two toaster ovens, a single electric hot plate, and a rice cooker. Well? Well?! WELL?!?! Isn’t that a little something to be proud about?

The best thing, of course, was being able to eat the meal with our friends. It was nice to have some traditional Thanksgiving tastes while living as expats in China.

And you know what? I’m thankful to be in China. Often it frustrates me, sometimes it irritates me, and sometimes I think I just can’t take it any more…but I’m thankful for the wonderful people I’ve met, and the experience of living in a country where you just don’t know what might happen next.

Classic Spiced Pumpkin Pie
This pie, adapted from one on Epicurious.com, isn’t too heavy, and puréeing the pumpkin with some whipping cream in a blender creates a fluffy, smooth texture for the filling. It really is one of the best pumpkin pies I’ve ever had, if I do say so myself.  The spice mixture is nicely balanced, though I didn’t add ground cloves (didn’t have any) and used nutmeg instead.

One pie crust (make your own or storebought)
2 cups pumpkin purée
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¾ cup golden brown sugar, packed
¾ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
1/3 tsp ground nutmeg
3 medium eggs (or two large)
pinch of salt

Bake the piecrust at 350F for 20 minutes, lined with foil and weighted with pie weights, rice or beans. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes, flattening any bubbles with the back of a spoon.

Blend the pumpkin and the whipping cream in a blender until smooth.

Whisk the sugar, spices, salt and egg together in a large bowl. Whisk in the pumpkin/cream mixture until smooth and creamy. Pour into piecrust.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 325F and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until pie filling is puffed and set. Allow to cool thoroughly (the filling will deflate and flatten out beautifully) before serving.

About a week ago, I decided to try making my own pumpkin purée and then a pumpkin bread recipe.  When you live in China, keeping Western seasonal traditions alive (such as making pumpkin recipes in the fall around Halloween and Thanksgiving) seems much [...]]]>

About a week ago, I decided to try making my own pumpkin purée and then a pumpkin bread recipe.  When you live in China, keeping Western seasonal traditions alive (such as making pumpkin recipes in the fall around Halloween and Thanksgiving) seems much more important for some reason.

So first, I peeled a Chinese pumpkin, cut it into chunks, and roasted it in my toaster oven.  Then I mashed it up with a fork, and threw it in the blender for a few whirls to smooth it out. Then, I looked up a pumpkin bread recipe on Epicurious.com, and came up with this Walnut-Cranberry Pumpkin Loaf.

The resulting loaf turned out pretty good – very moist and dense, and pretty much everything pumpkin bread should be.  We enjoyed it, shared it with friends, and it was gone within a day.

But then, a few days later, I made these pumpkin muffins. I needed to use up the leftover pumpkin purée that I had in the fridge, and an easy quick-bread recipe was up on the Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen site.  Quick breads are awesome when you don’t have an electric beater – made with oil instead of butter, you can mix the whole thing up with a wooden spoon in next to no time. So I sort of blended this recipe and my own favorite banana bread recipe (which is amazing and I will tell you about it soon, promise).

The resulting pumpkin muffins?  Tender, fluffy and light, but still rich and moist.  So different from the pumpkin loaf I made earlier, but so, so good.

So the verdict is… dum dum dum…

The quick-bread recipe was faster, easier, and the muffins stayed moist longer.  I think it wins as my go-to recipe for something simple and fast.  The recipe also worked well for a muffin (light and fluffy), and we like the portability of muffins.

The cranberry pumpkin bread was good too, if you like a denser, more rustic loaf, but took a little more elbow grease (creaming butter and sugar together without an electric mixer).  This recipe is a little too dense for muffins, I think, but who’s to stop you from trying?

Quick-Bread Pumpkin Muffins
adapted from Tracy at Tasty Kitchen

1 ½ cup flour
pinch of salt
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup pumpkin
½ cup oil
2 eggs
¼ cup buttermilk
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¾ tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 F or 175 C. In large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, eggs, buttermilk, sugars, salt and spices.

Measure out one cup of flour in a dry measuring cup, and level the top with a knife.  Dump this on top of the wet ingredients.  Then measure the remaining ½ cup flour, and mix the baking soda into the flour, right in the measuring cup.  Add this to the wet ingredients too.  Mix everything together until smooth.  (Look!  A one-bowl recipe!)

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about an hour or until a wooden pick inserted into cake comes out clean. If you’re making muffins, you’ll probably just need to bake them for 20 to 25 minutes.  Check at the 15-minute mark, and continue checking every few minutes after that.  Don’t overbake them or they may be dry.

Pumpkin Cranberry-Walnut Bread
Adapted from Epicurious.com

I have adjusted the level of spices for this recipe, as most reviewers said the original recipe didn’t have enough flavor.

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon, 1.5 tsp ginger, ¾ tsp nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar (or mix of brown and white sugars)
2 large eggs
1 generous cup baked fresh pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a loaf pan and line with parchment if you wish.

Mix dry ingredients – flour, spices, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl.

Beat butter in a separate bowl until fluffy. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating until pale yellow and incorporated. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.  Mix in pumpkin and vanilla.

Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk. Fold in cranberries and nuts. Scrape batter into pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon white sugar.

Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool for about 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely (this is why lining the pan with parchment paper is a good idea).