Homemade Crispy Crunch Crackers! And a Welcome to Thanksgiving Planning!

"The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things..." (an excerpt from one of my all-time favorite verses) Of turkeys, and stuffing, and cranberry sauce, of pies and napkin rings!

It is finally time to shove off into the beautiful seas of Thanksgiving planning! I am so very excited about everything: the shopping, the planning, the grocery list, the table layout, the hors d'oeuvres and aperitifs, the courses, the desserts, the laughter and happiness that I always associate with this time of year. Although my hair will be sticking out every which way from running around and getting in and out of the oven, I'll be exhausted from 2-3 days of straight cooking, and I might be driven to insanity to get everything to the table in a timely manner--I still can't tell you a time of year I am more alive. Can you tell I thrived in the restaurant environment?

I am also happy to have my sidekick for most of the Thanksgivings I have hosted, my darling roommate. If you have a kitchen helper/someone to share the load, this holiday will go wonderfully. I must admit, I am not the easiest person to share the kitchen with because I love to do everything myself--anytime you are watching someone prep food, you always think you can do it faster, even if they are going at it samurai-style. It's just human nature. My sous chef and I work perfectly together, knowing each other's needs without saying them, and taking care to warn of sharp objects/hot pans "comin' at ya". Also, she is the baker and I am the cook, so she can worry about the sweet and bread aspect (lots of prep the night before to free up the oven), and I can take care of the turkey, sides and drinks. Perfection.

However, never fear if you are on your own--I did it last year when I hosted Thanksgiving for my family in Spain. The challenge of finding American ingredients abroad, getting English measurements, and serving a hungry family of 10 was exhilarating! They even found a turkey for me in November in their village... the most beautiful and delicious turkey ever! I know, you can see my eyes twinkling just by thinking of the great memories this holiday has made!

Well, this multi-part Thanksgiving extravaganza is going to start with some simplicity just to get you off your feet. In chronological order, we'll start with the hors d'oeuvres. Your appetizers need to be very light...we're talking about the biggest meal of the year here! But, in order to save your sanity as the host, you need to have some munchables to buy some time for the grand meal to come together. Plus, apps are nice to set out next to some punch or your drink selection-- so when people walk in they can take care of themselves, and you can give a quick peck on the cheek to greet them and return your food-covered hands to preparing greatness.

Let's talk about some possibilities: You should get your hands on some nice quality nuts and toast them up. This would be a great time to roast those chestnuts up and serve them warm in the shell (like they do in Europe in those newspaper cones...tears...), or hazlenuts, almonds, pecans, etc. You can also choose to candy the nuts and serve those as well--I put the candied nuts on the Thanksgiving table to serve on top of salads and the potato dishes, for you can't indulge enough on this holiday.

Also a cheese plate would be useful. Many of the cheese shops have a basket of the "nubs" or the parts of the cheese left over when they've portioned the rest--these are gold my friends...buy all kinds and your guests can try different varieties. Try to keep the name though, for some reason people don't like to try what they don't know the name of...weird, right?

Alternatively you have a smorgasbord of options with your basic pastry dough: wrap asparagus with it, bake it with salami, put roasted butternut squash in a pastry cup (break out the muffin tin), press parmesan cheese in it-cut it into strips and bake cheese straws...really, the possibilities are endless and this is a great way to dress up anything you have kickin' around in the fridge.

Finally you can take this time to break out those preserves and jams that you made at the end of summer. This is a celebration of the harvest so take out your tomato jam, green tomato chutney, refrigerator jams (plum, peach, apple, whatever), apple butter, pumpkin butter, and display them in those nice rammekins you never use or the berry bowls you never knew were berry bowls, and set them with your cute little serving spoons or knives on a table with some sliced fruits and vegetables, or just a mountain of crackers...

What? Crackers!? Can I make those homemade too? I really like the idea of a homemade Thanksgiving with everything from scratch! Why, so do I my intelligent friend, and yes, yes you can make incredible crackers in your own home oven. Dozens of them...right here...so take a look!

Homemade Crispy Crunch Crackers

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

3 C Flour 

(you can half and half with semolina and all-purpose)

1/3 C Extra-virgin olive oil

1 t Sea salt

1 C Warm water

Optional: Spices, sesame seeds, other toppings

Easiest thing in the world. Whisk the salt and flour together, you could probably sift this if you are into that, but it isn't necessary. Make a well in the middle and pour in both the water and the olive oil. If you want to use your electric mixer to knead, this is a time to use the dough hook and knead for about 5-7 minutes. You can do so by hand just as well, and the dough is so soft and luxurious and warm it is an absolutely pleasure to smoosh around for a while. 

You're looking for a soft dough that has a bit of stick left to it. When you've reached that point, separate it into 12 similar-sized pieces. Roll the pieces into balls, brush with a little more olive oil and let sit covered in plastic wrap on a plate for 30-60 minutes...depending on the temperature in your kitchen. The hotter it is the less it has to wait, but no less than half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450º and prepare two baking sheets either with parchment paper, flour dusting, or cornmeal.

Then you roll out the balls as thin as you can manage and cut them into the shapes you want. I have a handy-dandy pastry roll slicer for that. I just cut them into rectangles, but get fancy if you want. You can also make those comically large crackers that they have in the gourmet section--hey, less work! 

I thought they were finished at about 10 minutes, but you really have to keep an eye on them. You want them golden but not burnt, and a difference in two minutes could mean the difference between a decent cracker and charcoal.

*If you are going to season these, you can press your seasonings in before you bake them. Alternatively, you can put the seasoning in the dough when you're kneading for more even distribution. I chose to press my seasonings on top and I made three different varieties: sesame seed (I had some gorgeous black and white sesame seeds), thyme and sea salt, and sea salt with fresh ground black pepper. This recipe yielded 100 crackers for me, so you have the freedom to experiment!

Thyme & Sea salt, Sea salt & Pepper, and Sesame crackers served with chipotle hummus, green tomato chutney, and cornichons

Enjoy and start thinking about what you want to serve with them! I'll pass on some more tips and a full menu in the coming days! 

Happy Thanksgiving Prep my friends!

12 Cups of Breakfast: Delicious Homemade Granola

We are brought back yet again to Martha's Vineyard, where I was working at a Bed and Breakfast during my summer before studying abroad in Austria. One of my favorite things to do was to help make the awesome granola that we would mix up and bake in huge batches for the hungry guests. I loved the smell of the granola, and I never even thought of making it myself before that lovely summer. Let me tell you, it is worth every second.

The best thing about homemade granola is its pantry-emptying qualities. You can throw in any amount of nuts and dried fruits and other toastables like coconut and seeds. I used a base recipe from Saveur, from their Pistachio-Coconut Olive Oil Granola. The secret to granola is the oil and honey mixture that creates that awesome crunch and protects the oats and other ingredients from burning while they toast to perfection in the oven.

In addition, this is a great way to prepare homemade gifts. The granola keeps for up to three weeks (without preservatives, what up!) and would be adorable if stored in an interesting canister or in mason jars with a nice ribbon around it. I'm thinking housewarming, get well, Mother's or Father's Day, a host/hostess gift for Thanksgiving (as if you needed to bring more food), Christmas (with a gorgeous red bow), and the list goes on. Plus, this recipe is nothing more than combining the ingredients and tossing it around in the oven a few times. I'd rate it on a very easy level. Let's get on with it!

Homemade Cozy Granola

2-1/2 C Rolled oats

1 C Rice Krispies

1 C Nuts 

(I used pistachios, but almonds, macadamias, walnuts, pecans would work splendidly)

1-1/2 C Coconut flakes 

1/2 C Flax seed (whole)

1 C Dried apricots

1 C Craisins

Allspice

Cinnamon

1 tsp. Fleur de Sel (I used rose fleur de sel)

1/2 C Tasty olive oil

1/2 C Honey (you can also sub agave nectar)

First, you should get a big, clean mixing bowl down from the cabinet. Then you should measure out all of the dry ingredients. Mix well so that everything is evenly incorporated and set aside. Now turn on your oven to 300º on bake and go on preparing your pan. I had a relatively large glass baking dish, so I just threw some parchment paper in that and went on my merry way. However, if you have smaller pans, you should prepare two with parchment paper (it makes mixing and clean up soooooo much easier!) and set aside. 

Now you can prepare the wet ingredients: the oil and the honey. This time I actually used a mixture of honey and agave nectar just because I thought it would be a good idea. To be honest, it just depends on what you have available, so feel free to mix and match the two, you just need a good sticky and viscous substance to mix with the oil. Here's a special tip: whenever you are measuring out honey, it is a good idea to put oil in the measuring cup first, then the honey will come out completely without sticking a single molecule to the measuring cup (in this recipe you can measure out the olive oil first and then the honey in the same cup)!! Combine the honey and olive oil in a small saucepan on the stove and turn the fire on low. When it starts to heat up, take a whisk out and whiz it around the saucepan until the honey and oil become homogenous--by this point the mixture should be hot, but not boiling (low heat helps that out).

Distribute your beautiful honey-liquid over the dry ingredients and incorporate well with a wooden spoon. The mixture will be hot, so don't thrust your hands in there just yet. Take your granola mixture and distribute it evenly in the baking pan. The thinner the layer, the faster it will cook, but you also have to be a little more careful about stirring. After you put the pan in the oven, you need to take that wooden spoon out again and stir it up about every ten minutes. This will ensure that every happy morsel gets evenly toasted and nothing burns. I had to cook mine for about 50 minutes to an hour, and I think that is perfect. The trick to knowing that the granola is finished is to gauge the amount of toasting you want...the more toast, the crunchier it will be...but don't burn it! After they have cooled completely, you will see that they harden up and the toastier it is, the more you will have to break up the pieces. I like a few really crunchy and a few chewy, so I stopped at 50 minutes. Keep your eye on it!

This recipe is very evolutionary, so you can put any combination of nuts or seeds or dried fruits. I will probably try raisins, dried cherries, flax, and sunflower seeds with cinnamon and nutmeg for a more autumnal flavor combination. As we get closer to Christmas, black currants, chestnuts, and hazelnuts will probably be making an appearance. Really it is up to you...also the measurements are pretty flexible, just as long as you make the ratios more or less equal, you can up the amount of oats or krispies if you are going to add more fruits, nuts, or seeds. Please experiment! It is the spice of life!

Let me know what your granola combinations are! I'd be interested in trying some new combinations myself!

Start your day off right with a bowl of granola and yoghurt next to your tea or coffee.