Sherry Yard's Tasty Thanksgiving Treats

Nov. 21, 2007 — -- Thanksgiving is only days away. As you finalize your menu and fret over the turkey's cooking instructions, don't forget about the meal's conclusion. For some the desserts are the best part of the holiday season. With Sherry Yard's tempting recipes, you can turn your dinner's final course into a finale everyone will appreciate. Check out the recipes for her tasting treats below.

Triple Silken Pumpkin Pie

Makes One Nine-Inch Torte, Serving Eight to 10

This incredible triple-layer creation is a grown-up twist on pumpkin pie. It consists of one layer of pumpkin custard, one layer of whipped cream, and one layer of caramel pumpkin mousse. The pie requires some thinking ahead and a bit of work, but what you end up with for Thanksgiving is well worth the effort. It became a tradition at Campton Place. (For a simpler version, you can also double the pumpkin custard layer and omit the other layers.)

Dough for single-crust Pâte Brisée (see below)

For the Pumpkin Custard Layer

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 large egg

½ cup packed dark brown sugar

6 tablespoons plain canned pumpkin (not pie filling)

¼ cup sour cream

6 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon brandy

For the Whipped Cream Layer

¾ cup heavy cream

½ cup crème fraîche

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons maple sugar (available at whole foods stores)

For the Caramel-Pumpkin Mousse Layer

½ cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons water

2 ¼ teaspoons (1 package) powdered gelatin

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

¾ cup plain canned pumpkin (not pie filling)

3 large egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Whipped cream for garnish (optional)

1. Roll the dough out to a 16-inch circle, 1/4 inch thick; you will need only about two thirds of the pastry. Freeze the rest for later use. Press the pastry into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-x-21/2-inch springform pan. The extra dough on the sides will compensate for shrinkage. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Remove from the freezer and trim away the excess dough from the rim of the pan.

Prebake, following the directions on the recipe below, until golden brown. Allow to cool completely on a rack.

2. MAKE THE PUMPKIN CUSTARD LAYER: Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, ginger, and cinnamon. Add the egg and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the brown sugar, pumpkin, sour cream, heavy cream, and brandy. Pour the mixture into the springform pan. Cover the pan with a sheet of buttered aluminum foil (buttered side down) and bake until the custard is just set, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. (The recipe can be prepared to this point up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated.)

4. MAKE THE WHIPPED CREAM LAYER: Combine the cream and crème fraîche in a large bowl, and using a hand mixer, beat until it starts to thicken. Add the sugar and maple sugar and continue beating until stiff. Spread in an even layer on top of the cooled or chilled pumpkin custard and refrigerate.

5. MAKE THE CARAMEL - PUMPKIN MOUSSE LAYER: Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use. Place 2 tablespoons of the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Stir, then let it bloom (soften) while you prepare the caramel.

6. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl and set aside. In a heavy saucepan, combine the 3/4 cup sugar, the remaining 1 tablespoon water, and the lemon juice and cook over high heat until the mixture turns a deep amber color, at about 335°F on a candy thermometer. This will take 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

7. Remove the caramel from the stove and wait until the bubbles subside. Stir in the brown sugar mixture. Add the softened gelatin and stir to dissolve. Whisk in the canned pumpkin and set aside.

8. Using the hand mixer, beat the egg whites until they foam. Add the cream of tartar and 1 tablespoon of the remaining sugar and beat. Continue to beat, adding the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a slow, steady stream. Beat until the egg whites are stiff and shiny, about 2 minutes.

9. Lighten the warm caramel-pumpkin mixture by folding in one third of the beaten egg whites, using a whisk, preferably a balloon whisk. Pour the remaining egg whites over the top and carefully fold them into the pumpkin mixture using a rubber spatula. Fold in the chilled whipped cream.

10. Carefully pour the caramel-pumpkin mousse mixture over the whipped cream layer and smooth the top. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until set. (The pie can be made up to a day in advance.)

11. To serve, gently remove the springform ring from the pie and set the pie on a plate. Garnish with additional whipped cream if desired.

Pâte Brisée

Flaky Pastry

Makes Two Nine or 10-inch Pie Crusts

This is my standard pie dough. It is marvelously flaky and extremely easy to work with.

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

About ½ cup ice water

½ teaspoon champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

1. Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place it in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.

2. TO MIX WITH A STAND MIXER: Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the partially frozen butter. Turn the machine on low and beat for 2 minutes, or until the butter is broken down to the size of walnuts. Stop the machine, and by hand, pinch flat any large pieces of butter that remain. In a small bowl, combine the ice water and vinegar. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the liquid all at once. Beat just until the dough comes together, about 15 seconds. The dough should be tacky but not sticky (see Note).

TO MIX BY HAND: Sift together the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the partially frozen butter, and using a wire pastry cutter, incorporate it into the flour until the butter is broken down to the size of walnuts. Or use your fingers, rubbing and pressing the butter and flour between your thumbs and first two fingers to create flattened broken walnut-sized pieces. Combine the ice water and vinegar and add the liquid all at once; mix lightly with a fork until the dough just comes together.

3. Remove the dough from the bowl, divide into 2 equal pieces, and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Do not squeeze the dough together or overwork. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before rolling it out. (The well-wrapped dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 weeks. If I am going to freeze the dough, however, I prefer to roll the 2 pieces of dough out into circles, place them between pieces of parchment paper, wrap them airtight in plastic, and freeze. You can also line the lightly sprayed pie or tart pans with the pie dough, wrap airtight, and freeze.)

4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface and line two lightly sprayed 9- or 10-inch pie or tart pans or a 9-inch springform pan.

5. TO BLIND-BAKE (PREBAKE) A PIE SHELL: Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F.

6. Prick the bottom of the pastry a few times with a fork. Line the pastry with parchment paper or large coffee filters. Fill the lined shell to the rim with dried beans, uncooked rice, or pie weights and gently press the "faux filling" into the corners. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350°F and bake for another 7 minutes. (If you are prebaking the dough in a springform pan, increase the amount of weights so that they reach the top of the rim.)

7. Remove from the oven and remove the weights and the liner. Return to the oven for 10 minutes, until the center turns golden and looks dry. There should be no sign of moisture. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.

NOTE: The amount of water can be variable. It is better to have a slightly wet/tacky dough than one that is too dry; add a little water if your dough seems dry.

Apple-Butterscotch Grunt

Severs Six

A grunt is an old-fashioned American dessert. The name suggests the noise one makes after eating an entire dessert, which you might be tempted to do here. You'll see when you make it that grunt is another word for a crumble or crisp. I like to use BlackJonathan apples for this; I get them at the farmers market. Other apples that work well are Granny Smiths and Pink Ladies.

For the Crumble Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup almond flour (available at whole foods stores)

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ teaspoons blackstrap molasses

For the Filling

2 ounces (½ stick) unsalted butter

1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out and reserved

½ cup sugar

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses

1½ pounds apples, such as Black Jonathan, Granny Smith, or Pink Lady, peeled, cored, and cut into eighths

¼ cup Calvados (apple brandy)

¼ cup apple juice

¼cup fresh lemon juice (from 1?2 lemons)

½ cup heavy cream

Calvados Ice Cream (page 148) or Seven-Bean Vanilla Ice Cream (see recipes below)

1. MAKE THE CRUMBLE TOPPING: Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all of the topping ingredients and pulse or beat until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle onto the parchment-lined baking sheet in an even layer.

3. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back, stir the crumble topping, and bake for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is nicely browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. (You can keep this in an airtight container in the freezer for several weeks. Warm briefly in a 350°F oven before topping the apple filling.)

4. MAKE THE FILLING: Melt the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook until the milk solids separate out and you begin to see them browning and the butter is a golden brown. Add the vanilla seeds. Stir in the sugar, brown sugar, and molasses. Stir until the sugar melts, then add the apples. Cook, stirring, until the apples have caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the Calvados, and stir together. Add the apple juice and lemon juice, return to the heat, and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes and add the heavy cream. Cook for 1 minute and remove from the heat.

5. Place the warm filling in bowls and cover with the topping. Serve with the ice cream.

Calvados Ice Cream

Serves Six

I've put some apple into vanilla ice cream by fortifying the ice cream with Calvados, the apple brandy made in Normandy. What better accompaniment for an apple dessert, especially apple pie à la mode?

2 cups heavy cream

¾ cup milk

2 vanilla beans, split, seeds scraped out; seeds and beans reserved

6 large egg yolks

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons Calvados (apple brandy)

1. Place a 1-quart freezer container in the freezer.

2. In a medium nonreactive saucepan, combine the cream, 6 tablespoons of the milk, and the vanilla seeds and beans. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and allow the cream mixture to infuse for 30 minutes.

3. Prepare an ice bath: fill a large bowl halfway with ice, add a small amount of water, and nestle a medium bowl in it. Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk them together.

4. Remove the plastic wrap from the infused cream mixture, return to the heat, and bring back to a simmer. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk 1/2 cup into the eggs. Once the cream is incorporated into the eggs, whisk the eggs back into the cream. Be sure to scrape all the eggs into the pan with a rubber spatula.

5. Place the pan over low heat and immediately begin to stir the custard with a heat-resistant spatula. Stir in figure eights, around the edge of the pan and into the center. After about 2 minutes, the custard will begin to thicken. Keep stirring until the consistency is like thick cream. The custard is done when the temperature reaches 180°F on an instant-read thermometer. Test for readiness with your spatula: Dip it into the custard, pull it out, and run your finger across the back of the spatula. Your finger should leave a clear trail, and the rest of the spatula should remain coated with custard. If the custard does not run into the finger trail, it is thick enough and can be taken off the heat. If it does run, cook it for another minute, or until the consistency is right.

6. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the medium bowl in the ice bath. Stir in the remaining 6 tablespoons milk and stir the mixture occasionally until the mixture is cold. Stir in the Calvados. If possible, chill for an hour or two in the refrigerator before freezing.

7. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer the ice cream to the freezer container and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours to firm.

Seven-Bean Vanilla Ice Cream

Makes One Quart

2 cups milk

2 cups heavy cream

7 vanilla beans, preferably Tahitian, split, seeds scraped out; seeds and beans reserved

¾ cup Vanilla Sugar or regular sugar

6 large egg yolks

Pinch of salt

1. Place a 1-quart freezer container in the freezer. Prepare an ice bath: fill a large bowl with ice and a little water and nestle a medium bowl in the ice.

2. In a medium nonreactive saucepan, combine the milk, cream, vanilla seeds and beans, and half the sugar. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and allow the milk and cream to infuse for 20 minutes.

3. While the milk and cream are infusing, combine the egg yolks and the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl and whisk them together until lemony yellow.

4. After infusing the cream mixture, remove the plastic wrap and return the mixture to the heat. When the milk and cream come to a simmer, remove from the heat and slowly whisk 1/2 cup into the egg yolks. Once the cream is incorporated into the yolks, whisk the yolks back into the cream. Be sure to scrape all the yolks into the pan with a rubber spatula.

5. Place the pan over low heat and immediately begin to stir the custard. After about 2 minutes, the custard will begin to thicken. Keep stirring until the consistency is like thick cream. The custard is done when the temperature reaches 180°F. Test for readiness with your spatula: dip it into the custard, pull it out, and run your finger across the back of the spatula. Your finger should leave a clear trail and the rest of the spatula should remain coated with custard. If the custard does not run into the finger trail, it is thick enough and can be taken off the heat. If it does run, cook the custard for another minute, or until the consistency is right.

6. Remove the custard from the heat and immediately pour through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl in the ice bath. Stir occasionally for 5 to 10 minutes, until the temperature of the custard drops to room temperature. Stir in the salt. If you have the time, chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Otherwise, continue to stir over the ice bath until the temperature drops to 40°F. Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer to the freezer container and place in the freezer for 2 hours, or until firm.

No-Bake Cheesecakes

Makes 24 Mini Cheesecakes

My mom had some decidedly unusual techniques in the kitchen. Up there with the wackiest of them was warming opened cans of vegetables on a cookie sheet in the oven. She figured, "Why dirty a pot if I don't have to?" I called it Popeye cooking. We would run downstairs to the pantry every night before dinner to collect that evening's canned vegetables. Green beans were a regular (though they were more often brown by the time Mom got through with them), and creamed corn was our favorite. By now you're probably wondering why I'm prefacing a recipe for cheesecake with a story about heating cans of vegetables in the oven. It's because of what happened the time Mom and I were making no-bake cheesecakes for Thanksgiving. Mom told Dad to put the cans of vegetables into the oven, which he dutifully did.

The only problem was, no one had opened the cans. Forty-five minutes later, the oven door burst open and out flew a can of creamed corn, heading straight for the plate-glass sliding door. It flew past Grandma and the crudités, barely missing Mom and me and the cheesecakes. The cheesecakes were unharmed. Mom used whole vanilla wafers for these, but I've refined her recipe by making the little crusts out of vanilla cookie crumbs.

12 vanilla wafer cookies

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

12 ripe strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered (depending on the size), or fraises des bois

1. Pulse the cookies in a food processor until you have crumbs. Line the cups of two mini muffin pans with paper liners and spoon a layer of cookie crumbs into the bottom of each.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. On low speed, beat in the sour cream and lemon juice until well combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Spoon or pipe the filling into the cups. Refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours, until set, or overnight.

4. Before serving, top each cheesecake with a strawberry piece or two.