Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Granini's Thanksgiving Timeline

 


Granini's Thanksgiving Timeline

When to make what for Thanksgiving Dinner
and when to put it in the oven

Several years ago I started to prepare a Thanksgiving Timeline. I wanted to make as much stuff as I could ahead of time, so that on Thanksgiving Day, I could whirl around the kitchen like a crazy person, but not feel quite as frantic.

And THEN I had this brilliant idea.

Why not create a fancy spreadsheet, so that I could simply refer to it every year, rather than try to recreate the same list year after year after year??

And so I did.

 I make a LOT of food for Thanksgiving. AND, I make a lot of pies.
So I made spreadsheets.

I also have spreadsheets for grocery lists.

It sounds insane, but it has helped me immensely with preparing an entire feast by myself two separate times in one week. Yes, that's right. I make Thanksgiving twice, each year. Once on Thursday, and once again on Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year, I made Thanksgiving a third time (last Saturday). Yes, I'm that crazy.

I do not give myself a lot of extra time for each item, as I have made every recipe hundreds of times, and I know how long it takes me to make everything. You may wish to add more time to each item if you are a beginner cook, or if you're not as adept at cutting, dicing, and mixing. But for me, these timelines are divine. And they even allow me a quick nap, a good rest period to watch a bit of football and put my feet up, as well as time to eat breakfast and an hors d'oeuvre filled lunch. This year my goal is to add in Drinkies to the list -- Holiday inspired Cocktails. Delish!!

So, for those of you who would like to see them, here they are.

I hope that they help you immensely on the BIG DAY OF DAYS.


The day before Thanksgiving

  

Thanksgiving Day




 




Friendsgiving (smaller Thanksgiving dinner)


 


I'll gather up my grocery lists and post those too if you're interested!!

Links to my Thanksgiving Recipes:

Appetizers and Other Tasty Savory Treats

Spinach Artichoke Dip
Granini's Stuffed Mushrooms
Cream Cheese Red Pepper Dip

Turkey

Roasted Turkey
(or what I like to call bathing a turkey in butter in a toasty oven)

Side Dishes
Cornbread Stuffing / Cornbread Dressing
Bacon Beer Cheese Dressing (recipe to follow shortly)
Gravy
Creamed Corn Casserole
Cheesy Creamed Corn Casserole (recipe to follow shortly)


Additional Recipes you may want to peruse:

Cornbread
Spaghetti Sauce (for the Ratatouille)
Chicken (or Turkey) Pot Pie for the days after Thanksgiving





Pies!
(What to make with the leftover pie crust)

OR, if you prefer to drool over recipes with pictures, see below:











Dutch Apple Pie with homemade caramel sauce










Appetizers and Other Tasty Savory Treats

Spinach Artichoke Dip
Granini's Stuffed Mushrooms



Links to all Granini's Desserts and Sweet Treats




* * * * *

Find other tasty Thanksgiving Dinner dishes here:


And tasty pie recipes here:



* * * * *

I not only bake and cook, I write murder mysteries too!

Both books are available in paperback and kindle versions

Diamonds for Diamond 
(Book 1 in the Jack Diamond Mystery series)
and
No One Noticed
(Book 2 in the Jack Diamond Mystery Series)


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The Week of Pie (2020!)

 




Granini's 
The Week of Pie!



So last year at Thanksgiving, I started a new tradition.

The Week of Pie!

Each year on Thanksgiving day, I eat (and eat and eat and eat) so much food that by the time dessert rolls around, I'm too darned stuffed to eat any pie. And that's just sad.

So I started thinking, what if we had pie every night for a whole week leading up to Thanksgiving? And what if it was a different pie each night?
That way, all of us would get a chance to eat our favorite pie, and none of our favorites would be omitted due to lack of space in the fridge, or room in our bellies.

It was a huge hit!

So here we are, year two, and I've compiled a list of my pies in one location for all y'all to enjoy.

Happy Week of Pie!

(More recipes to come!)

Pies
Pie Crust recipe & instructions
Traditional Apple Pie
Dutch Apple Pie with homemade caramel sauce
Blueberry Pie Recipe
Cherry Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie
Chocolate Eclair Pie
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Coconut Cream Pie
Dutch Apple Pie
(Chocolate) French Silk Pie
Grasshopper Pie
La tarte aux sauterelles chocolate
( Chocolate Mint Pie - I just made up the recipe!)
Lemon Meringue Pie
Mincemeat Pie with hot rum sauce
Pumpkin Pie
Snickerdoodles recipe & instructions

Pie Crust recipe & instructions


Snickerdoodles recipe & instructions




Traditional Apple Pie and
Caramel Sauce

        
Dutch Apple Pie with  caramel sauce




* * * * *

Find other tasty Thanksgiving Dinner dishes here:


And tasty pie recipes here:



* * * * *

I not only bake and cook, I write murder mysteries too!

Both books are available in paperback and kindle versions

Diamonds for Diamond 
(Book 1 in the Jack Diamond Mystery series)
and
No One Noticed
(Book 2 in the Jack Diamond Mystery Series)


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Saturday, November 21, 2020

Granini's Pecan Shortbread Cheesecake Pumpkin pie

 


It's time once again for 

THE WEEK OF PIE!!!

Thanksgiving is once again upon us, and Covid be darned, we're going to have the week of pie anyway.

This year's week of pie begins with this year's new favorite:

Granini's 
Pecan 
Shortbread 
Cheesecake 
Pumpkin 
Pie

Unbelievably delicious!

This recipe involves a pecan sandy inspired shortbread crust, a creamy cheesecake layer, a homemade pumpkin pudding layer, topped with whipped cream. The result is an incredibly flavorful, surprisingly light and delicious dessert with multiple textures and flavors with each layer. Delish!!!

I adapted this recipe from a pumpkin lasagna dessert by omgchocolatedesserts, and created this delicious and decadent treat. I have been craving it ever since I made it last month for a friend's Covid birthday party. She got a picture of the pie, and we ate it on her behalf. 
Not that we're counting, but we won.

Ingredients:

For the pecan shortbread crust:
(which in our opinion tastes like pecan sandies)
1 cup flour
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup toasted and chopped pecans
½ cup butter, very cold

For the cheesecake layer:
1 cube cream cheese (8 ounces), softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 cup Cool Whip

For the pumpkin layer:
⅓ cup sugar
2 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups half and half
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 small can Libby's pumpkin, 15 ounces

For the topping:
1 cup Cool Whip
¼ cup toasted pecans

Directions:
      1. Make the pecan shortbread dough for the crust. Preheat the oven to 350℉. In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar and salt. With your fingers, gently mix the pecans through the sifted ingredients. Using a cheese grater, grate in the cold butter. Gently work the dough together until the dough mostly holds together, without overworking the dough. Plunk the dough into a pie pan, and spread across the bottom of the pan and up the sides a bit. Bake for 15 minutes, and then place on a wire rack to cool completely.
      2. Make the pumpkin pudding layer. You will make this pumpkin pudding layer and allow it to cool while you make the cheesecake layer. The cheesecake layer will go on top of the crust layer, but by making the pudding layer first, you will allow it to cool while the rest of your dessert is being prepared. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Whisk in ⅓ of the half and half until smooth. Then whisk in the rest of the half and half. Cook over medium heat (if using an electric stove, you may need to go up to medium high), stirring constantly, until thickened (about 5 minutes). Reduce heat to low and continue stirring gently and slowly until the mixture begins to simmer. Cook 1 more minute, not stirring, then remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. By the spoonful, add in the full can of Libby's pumpkin. Stir to mix completely. Then place in the fridge while you make the cheesecake layer.
      3. Make the cheesecake layer. In a mixer, mix the cream cheese until smooth, light and fluffy. A little at a time, and on low, add in 1 cup of powdered sugar until the cream cheese mixture is very light and fluffy. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides, and whip up the mixture again. Fold in 1 cup of Cool Whip.
      4. Assemble your dessert. Spoon the cheesecake layer on top of the cooled pecan sandy shortbread crust. Spread evenly across the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides. Gently spoon on the pumpkin pudding layer, again, evenly spreading across the bottom of the pie plate and slightly up the sides. Top with a generous scooping of Cool Whip, and sprinkle the top with pecans. Place in the fridge if not eating immediately. 
For those of you who like pictures:

The baked pecan sandy shortbread crust.

The pumpkin pudding is really just homemade vanilla pudding with cinnamon in it...

And then add in a can of Libby's pumpkin.

Creamy cheesecake layer. Mmmmmm.

The heaven in a pie plate dessert extravaganza.

Sooooooo gooooood.


Enjoy!



For OTHER pie recipes, please click here:


Enjoy!

* * * * *

I not only bake and cook, I write murder mysteries too!

Both books are available in paperback and kindle versions

Diamonds for Diamond 
(Book 1 in the Jack Diamond Mystery series)
and
No One Noticed
(Book 2 in the Jack Diamond Mystery Series)

Posted by at No comments:
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