If you run with a gourmet crowd, here’s a suggestion for a first course that’s easy to make, yet impressive and unique. It is especially elegant when you use a ring mold to create a free-standing tower. However, an easy alternative is to layer the ingredients in a dessert glass or juice glass.

You can find many more special recipes at VermontCreamery.com.

RECIPE: GOAT CHEESE SWEET POTATO PARFAIT

Ingredients
 
For The Parfait

 
For The Crème Fraîche Sauce

For a sophisticated first course: sweet potato and goat cheese parfait. Photo courtesy Vermont Creamery.

 
Special Equipment

 
*White peppercorns are black peppercorns with the outer black skin removed. They lose some of the heat and flavor, which is contained in the skin. In the halls of haute cuisine, this was done to prevent black flecks of skin from marring the perfect whiteness of a sauce. However, today we live in a much more relaxed culinary society and are not bothered by black flecks.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Season the apples and sweet potatoes with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

2. INDIVIDUALLY WRAP the sweet potatoes and apples in aluminum foil, and place them in the preheated oven. The apples will be tender in about 20 minutes; the sweet potatoes will need about 35 to 40 minutes of cooking time. Once they are tender, remove them from the foil. When the apples and sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and dice into ¼-inch pieces and set aside. While the apples and sweet potatoes are cooling…

3. COMBINE the parfait ingredients, the chèvre and and the crème fraîche in a bowl and mix completely. Stir in the shallot and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve in the refrigerator.

4. MAKE the crème fraîche sauce: Mix the crème fraîche, shallots, parsley, chives and lemon juice in a stainless steel mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Twenty minutes before serving, remove the chèvre mixture from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.

5. PLACE a ring mold in the center of each plate and spread 1 tablespoon of the chèvre mixture in the bottom. Top the chèvre with the diced sweet potato, then add another dollop of chèvre, then the diced apple, another dollop of chèvre, then the diced sweet potato. Finish with a layer of chèvre.

6. TOSS the celery leaves, slices of celery, black olives, and lemon together. Drizzle with lemon juice and lemon oil and season with salt and pepper. Top each parfait with a bit of the celery salad, and then remove the mold. Place the parfait in the middle of a plate and drizzle the crème fraîche sauce around the plate and decorate with celery. Serve immediately.

The Italian mother of a friend always serves pumpkin lasagna and pumpkin risotto at Thanksgiving, along with the turkey. In addition to combining traditions, they offer a bonus: enticing vegetarian options for people who won’t eat the turkey.

This pumpkin risotto recipe is from Zabars’ late, great creative director, Andrea Watman. For a vegetarian dish, use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

Andrea makes the recipe memorable by serving individual portions in scooped-out small pumpkins, but you can go the traditional route and bring the risotto to the table in one serving bowl—or scoop out one larger, prettier squash like a buttercup or kabocha (see the photo below and check out the different types of squash).

In terms of the pumpkin cut up for the risotto, Andrea suggests that you can use a jack-o-lantern pumpkin, cheese pumpkin pumpkin or butternut squash. (But for pies and desserts, The New York Times’ Melissa Clark tested different pumpkins and squash and gave a hands-down recommendation to butternut or acorn squash. Here’s the full article.)

The risotto can be made as a main course, you can add mushrooms and even sausage meat (for a non-vegetarian version). Andrea’s recipe is easy to make. “Get ready to take a bow,” says Andrea, “because this is a crowd pleaser.”

Here’s a more complicated pumpkin risotto recipe from Pom Wonderful, which uses pomegranate juice and arils.

RECIPE: PUMPKIN RISOTTO

Ingredients For 6 Servings

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 325°F.

2. NEATLY CUT the tops off of the six serving pumpkins; remove the seeds and fibrous strands. Place the serving pumpkins and the pumpkin tops on a baking sheet. Lightly coat the inner flesh with olive oil (we used olive oil spray). Bake for 15 minutes; the skin will begin to wrinkle. Don’t overbake the pumpkins or they won’t hold their shape.

3. BRING a large pot of salted water to boil. Cut up the medium pumpkin, remove the seeds and fibrous strands and peel the outer skin with a vegetable peeler. Cut into cubes and add to the boiling water. Cook as you would potatoes for mashing, about 20 minutes.

4. DRAIN well; mash with 1 stick of butter. Do not add salt or pepper.

You can use a larger squash such as kabocha (shown) as a serving bowl. Photo courtesy Berlucchi ‘61 Franciacorta.

5. HEAT the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan and sauté the chopped onion, garlic and mushrooms until tender. Do not brown.

6. ADD the rice and stir with a wood spoon until the rice is coated. Then add 1 cup of white wine and 2 cups of stock, stirring continuously (or as often as possible) until all liquid is absorbed. Add the remaining wine and 1 cup more of stock and keep stirring. Once the liquid is absorbed add 1 more cup of stock, stir until absorbed and add the remaining stock if necessary. You want the rice to be cooked but not mushy.

7. REMOVE from the heat and stir in the mashed pumpkin. Return the pan to the heat and stir in the remaining stick of butter and Parmesan. The rice will be almost creamy. Taste, and if you need to add salt or pepper, do it now.

8. SPOON into the small pumpkins or a serving dish. Top with pumpkin seeds and optional sage; serve immediately.
  

EDITOR’S NOTE 2020: Alas, this wonderful company disbanded operations in 2018.

Instead of a chocolate turkey party favor, this year we’re sending our Thanksgiving guests home with a tin of pumpkin spice tea from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea.

Zhena blends caffeine-free rooibos tea (pronounced roy-boss) into a warm, soothing cup that mimics the flavors of pumpkin pie with vanilla, orange peel, and a trio of pumpkin pie spices: cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. The line is organic, Fair Trade Certified and certified kosher by KSA*.

Rooibos is a bush that grows in South Africa. The name means red bush in the Afrikaans† language; the leaves steep into a red-colored brew. Honeybush is a cousin to rooibos, also cultivated in South Africa. It is similar in flavor (slightly sweeter with a fuller body) but its flowers have the aroma of honey; hence the name.

Rooibos is very healthy: no caffeine, high levels of antioxidants and low levels of tannin. Children—even infants—can drink it.

We’ve been fans of Zhena’s since we first reviewed the teas in 2007 (here’s the review).

Zhena Muzyka is a proponent of giving back (a percentage of sales goes to very worthy causes), and was an early champion of sustainable, organic and Fair Trade agriculture. She sells more than 70 Fair Trade blends, which support the mission of providing better wages and working conditions for agricultural workers (more about Fair Trade).
 
PARTY FAVORS & HOLIDAY GIFTS

Airtight tins of 22 sachets are $6.67, with free shipping on orders over $35, at Amazon.com.

For a sampler gift, Zhena’s Harvest Stackable has four tins, each with four sachets of Caramel Apple, Chocolate Truffle, Cranberry Bliss and Pumpkin Spice. They’re $8.99 at Zhenas.com.

 
TEA TALK

Learn the language of tea and be inspired to try different types of tea in our delicious Tea Glossary.
_______________________
 
*Some Zhena products are not certified kosher, however the rooibos teas are kosher.

†Afrikaans is a West Germanic language spoken in South Africa and Namibia and, to a lesser extent, in Botswana and Zimbabwe. It began to develop independently in the 18th century, an offshoot of several Dutch dialects spoken by the mainly Dutch settlers of what is now South Africa.
  

What do you get when you combine Roughly mash potatoes with mellow butternut squash and finish with fresh sage leaves crisped in brown butter? A hit!

This combination will be a crowd pleaser at the Thanksgiving table, as well as for family dinners throughout the fall and winter.

RECIPE: SMASHED POTATOES & BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH BROWN BUTTER & SAGE

Ingredients

1. COOK potatoes and squash: In 3-quart saucepan, cover the vegetable chunks with water; add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat, cover and cook until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile…

2. COMBINE 2 tablespoons of the butter and all the sage in small skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Tilting pan and watching closely, cook about 3 minutes, until the butter foams and begins to brown. Keep warm.

3. DRAIN the cooked potatoes and squash, return to pan and shake 1 to 2 minutes over low heat. Roughly mash with a hand masher, leaving the mixture chunky. Over low heat, gently mix in the remaining tablespoon of butter and enough milk for consistency desired.

4. SEASON with salt and pepper. Spoon into a serving bowl and drizzle with the brown butter and sage.

MASHED POTATOES VS. SMASHED POTATOES

What’s the difference? Unlike mashed potatoes, which ideally are almost as smooth as a purée, smashed potatoes are a rough mash. More rustic (chunky) in appearance, they taste the same and require less labor to mash. A win!
  

Few desserts are more impressive than a towering triple-layer cake. This beauty is paired with raspberries and brandied whipped cream.

While Thanksgiving menus tend to favor pie (apple, mince, pecan, pumpkin, sweet potato) rather than cake, if you set a fancy table, this cake is a fitting ending to your feast.

Prep time is 30 minutes, bake time is 25 to 30 minutes. Assembly time is 10 minutes.

RECIPE: PUMPKIN LAYER CAKE WITH RASPBERRIES
& BRANDIED CREAM

Ingredients For 10 To 12 Servings

For The Cake

 
*TIP: If the raspberries aren’t sweet enough, roll them in granulated sugar.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the pan bottoms with parchment paper (we like these the best—the pre-cut parchment rounds have handles for easy removal of the cake layer). Dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess.

2. SIFT together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.

3. BEAT until foamy, in a large bowl with an electric mixer—on high speed, the granulated sugar, oil and eggs (about 1 minute). Reduce the mixer speed to low. In thirds, beat in the flour mixture, alternating with two additions of the pumpkin. Mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, just until smooth. Spread evenly into the cake pans.

4. BAKE the layers until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan on wire cake racks for 10 minutes (check out this three tier cooling rack). Run a knife around the inside of each pan and invert onto a rack to unmold the cake. Remove the parchment paper and turn right side up. Let cool completely. (The cakes can be individually wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.)

Fresh raspberries. Photo by J. Eltovski | Morguefile.

5. MAKE the brandied cream: Use a medium bowl and an electric mixer on high speed to whip together the cream, confectioners’ sugar and brandy. Whip until the mixture is stiff. The cream can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours. If it separates, beat until stiff.

6. ASSEMBLE. Set one-third of the raspberries aside to garnish the cake. Using a small knife, split the remaining raspberries down their sides so they can be opened flat. Put one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with one third of the cream and add one-half of the split berries. Add a second layer and repeat with another third of the cream and the remaining split berries. Top with the last layer of cake and remaining cream, garnish top with the reserved raspberries. The assembled cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours (then the whipped cream starts to deflate). Serve chilled.