Turkey Day Wrap Up

The dreaded Monday morning after a 4 day weekend of stuffing my piehole full of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin (my favorite foods of the holiday), and I must admit, I'm struggling today. After 2 Thanksgivings (one with my family, one with Shaun's), a trip to visit family friends in Connecticut, and a day at Giants Stadium watching the Jets clinch it over the Panthers (let's just pretend Thursday's Giants massacre didn't happen), is there anything worse than having to get back into the regular routine?

The ban on Christmas movies and music has been lifted and I'm already plotting my holiday baking and tree trimming, yet the Turkey Day recovery is still a rough one. So my question to all of you wonderful readers is this: How do you get through the holiday withdrawal? Please leave some love and suggestions in comments to help me get through! Meanwhile, here's a glimpse of some of my holiday fun...

Making friends with my cousin's new puppy, Kaci

 A bird crisped to perfection

 

 The traditional turkey-shaped butter...awaiting the guillotine, aka cousin Matt's butter knife

My mom making her amazing turkey gravy

A well-balanced Thanksgiving dinner...one of the best ever! 

Trying to ignite the chocolate fountain for dessert...yup there were dippers like fruit & pretzels...

My sisters, cousin and me

And after all of that turkey...

Post-Thanksgiving Jets game

Yeah, we have good seats

So there you have it. A quickie on my Thanksgiving and now you can see why depression has set in now that it's over. Looking forward to hearing your tips on dealing with withdrawal!

*Don't forget to check out Robin Hood, the wonderful organization helping to bring holiday meals to the hungry

Give Thanks By Giving Back

I know I write about food - a LOT. And I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford to eat food - a LOT. Unfortunately, for many people in and around New York City (and across the country) this is not the case. That's where a fantastic little organization appropriately named Robin Hood comes in. A non-profit organization working to feed 120,000 hungry New Yorkers this holiday season, Robin Hood has teamed up with Fresh Direct to provide full turkey dinners with all the fixin's (like stuffing, veggies, even cake!) to those in need. For $50, you can purchase a Robin Hood Holiday Meal for 8 to be delivered by Fresh Direct and help a hungry family of 8 have a fantastic meal during the holiday season. Want to know how easy it is to make a difference? Click here, fill out the form, pay your $50 and Fresh Direct handles the rest. For more information visit robinhood.org and find out how you can help hungry families across New York City. Still not put over the top about this? Not only is it a worthy cause, it's 100% tax deductible to boot. 

The Icing On The Cake...Apple Coffee Cake

I've told you all about the successful turkey and side dishes (as detailed here and here), so the only item left to cover is the always coveted dessert. On Thursday, I'll be bombarded with apple tarts, cupcakes, and pumpkin bars galore. For this particular faux-Thanksgiving feast, I wanted something sweet and warm with a hint of Fall flavors. That's why I chose an apple coffee cake for the dessert du jour. Though I may have mentioned that I really wanted a dessert for two, this one just couldn't be chopped. And like a Marc Jacobs handbag, once I noticed it, I couldn't get it out of my head.

Enter Emeril Lagasse's Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping and Brown Sugar Glaze. Though I've never cared for him as a TV personality, he strongly upped my affections by guest starring on Top Chef: New York (in the New Orleans ep). Unlike his incessant bam'ming on Emeril Live!, Top Chef Emeril was a sweet man with nothing but encouragement and a soft spot for the young competing chefs. It was then that he won a place in my heart and I've now been known to even catch an ep of Emeril Green now and again on Planet Green, where E serves up green dishes in a show that I like to call The Most Genius Product Placement of All Time - E cooking in a Whole Foods retailer, using Whole Foods products, and telling his proteges about Whole Foods. Genius, don't you think? (This has been added to the list of things I wish I came up with...)

Anyhow, I had never made an Emeril recipe before the apple coffee cake and I cannot tell you how unbelievably moist and delicious this cake turned out. Though I was supposed to find a dessert for 2, I'm thanking my lucky stars that this recipe called for the full 13x9 baking pan as a baking vessel. Now, I can enjoy the cake all week, share it with coworkers, and make this recipe one for the record books. If you're still on the hunt for a Thanksgiving treat, I highly recommend this fabulous dish. Here's the breakdown:

Emeril's Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping & Brown Sugar Glaze
Cake:
1 stick plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples (make sure you use apples that are baking-appropriate. I went with Rome apples, but do a simple Google search to find a full list of recommended versions)

Crumble Topping:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Brown Sugar Glaze:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter.
- In a large bowl, cream together the remaining stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy (I had a little help from my favorite tool and wonder appliance, my Kitchen Aid stand mixer).

- Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

- Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla.
- Fold in the apples.

- Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

- To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes.

Get your hands dirty for this one...

- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

- To make the glaze (yup, it's necessary in this situation to have a topping and a glaze...trust me), combine the sugar, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly.
- Serve warm and get ready for lots of compliments on your amazing cake.

So there you have it. A fabulous Thanksgiving dessert with plenty of Fall flavor. The best part? It'll make enough for your whole party. What are you making for Thanksgiving dessert this year? I'm always on the prowl for new Fall desserts, so leave some ideas for me!