Thanksgiving Minimalist Style (and Other Easy Menus to Inspire)

Turkey Day!

Halloween is over and next up, Thanksgiving. Last year, we were first-time hosts of the mosts for the family, obsessing over the menu, how we were going to seat everyone, and all the details entailed with Turkey Day.

2009 Thanksgiving Menu Chez Nous:

Sage Butter Roast Turkey with Gravy
Stuffing with Pancetta & Parmesan
Bacon-Dill Smashed Potatoes
Green Beans in a Lemony Vinaigrette
Patsy’s Spicy Corn Casserole
Sarah’s Cranberry Orange Sauce
Great Grandma’s Southern Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
a la mode or with whipped cream
Coffee & Tea

The spread

This year, we’re letting someone else take charge and only worrying about housewarming gifts.

For those of you cooking, here’s some Rx. First and foremost: Mark Bittman does it again with his take on Thanksgiving. This is definitely a clip-n-save. He calls it 101 Head Starts on the Day (with the caveat that these would take more than the 10 minute recipes he’s known for in the Times). If I were the Master Chef of the day, I’d be thinking of the Ginger-Apricot Chutney as a fresh sub for cranberry sauce, the shredded Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan for my salad, and Bittman’s take on an Apple-Cranberry crumble. Mmmm.

Elsewhere, I found a great low-stress menu from Real Simple that would serve 6-8 (“Your Stress-Free Thanksgiving”), and though I might skip the braised fennel (not my thing), the rest looked do-able and delicious (chocolate silk pie anyone?).  Epicurious offers a menu (“A Beginners Thanksgiving”) for eight courtesy of Rick Rodgers (the man who brought the world Thanksgiving 101) with a tab that will download your shopping list!

In the words of Ina Garten, how easy is that?

So good luck, chefs! We look forward to sitting at your table. Let us know what we should bring.

Mark Bittman: A Busy Parent’s Summer Kitchen Hero

Some of the best, most useful, food articles ever created — in our opinion! — are the summer “101″ lists from Mark Bittman, written for his “Minimalist” column in The New York Times. Why? The recipes are quick-cooking, with few ingredients and fewer steps, and the one hundred-plus variations Bittman offers in each article give you plenty of ideas (mix and match with whatever you have on hand) to chose from. A boon to weary parents at the end of the day looking for something delicious, but not time-consuming, to cook for dinner (or take to a picnic, or bring to a party).

Recipe of the Week: Mark Bittman’s Banana Paletas

Ice, ice baby!; Groovy Pop Molds, amazon.com, $10

As Chrissy mentioned, we are off on vacation. (And not a moment too soon.) But I thought I’d put up a post while we’re away. Wouldn’t want you to miss a Recipe of the Week!

Up now: Mark Bittman‘s Banana Paletas.

What they are: essentially, pureed banana popsicles; they’re “sweet ice pops,” popular in Mexico

First time we tried them: last summer; we got the recipe from Mark Bittman‘s column in The New York Times

Why we like them: they’re a super-easy summer treat — so easy, toddlers can actually be a help; and they require few ingredients — likely ones you’ll routinely have on hand

Special equipment: popsicle molds; here are some cute ideas from alpha + mom on the best ones out there; and here are recs for molds that are BPA-free, via nature moms blog

Reaction: Jasper talked about making these with mama, and eating them, all winter long.

Thus, they’ve been in frequent rotation in the freezer this summer.

Here’s the recipe:

2 medium bananas, about 3/4 a cup

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar

1. Puree all ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Pour into 4 to 6 molds (or more, depending on size) and freeze until solid.

2. Unmold by first running a little cold water outside of molds (actually, I find it’s easier with a little warm water!), then gently pulling the sticks.

Yields: 4 to 8 servings, depending on size of molds. Here’s a link to the ones pictured above.

Enjoy!