Stuffed

Yep, I posed with my pie. Yep, I'm a cheeseball.

Boy, oh boy, am I full! I feel like all I did this past weekend was consume mass amounts of calories. With a little shopping thrown in for good measure. Though, I avoided the mall on Black Friday and wasn't very successful in my gift-finding mission Saturday or Sunday, mostly because I was unprepared and didn't know what I wanted to buy anybody. But back to the food...

Like I said, the title of this post would most accurately describe the way I felt this past weekend: stuffed. You know the holidays are here when you see the circumference of your waist rapidly start to expand, right? Well, the overindulgence all started with a Thanksgiving feast on Thursday. Just check out this spread:

Turkey? Check.

Stuffing? Check.

Green bean casserole? Check. (Mixed veggies for my dad. The guy doesn't like green bean casserole. How can that be!?)

Chive mashed potatoes and gravy? Double check.

Buttery cloverleaf rolls? Mmm, check.

Sweet potato casserole with pecans? Oh-how-I-wish-we-still-had-leftovers check.

And don't forget the obligatory cranberry sauce and plate of olives and pickles. Or the wine. Pinot grigio for me, of course.

As you can tell by my plate, there was nothing on the table I didn't like. Though, I'm proud to say that you can actually still see some of my plate. Some years I fill every square inch and run out of room, piling this on top of that! This year I tried to practice restraint.

Just looking at these photos is seriously making me wish we still had leftovers. I would kill for some of that stuffing right about now! So so good.

Anyway, later came pie. Lots and lots of pie. Per usual, my mom went a tad overboard...

My mom baked apple, pumpkin, pecan and mincemeat pies. She is crazy, no? Mind you, we only had four people at our dinner table. Even still, I upped the insanity when I decided I just had to contribute something to Thanksgiving dinner. Given the fact that this was a very last minute decision-- as in 10 o'clock on Thursday morning-- dessert seemed like the easiest route to go.

More specifically, that Nantucket Cranberry Pie that I told you about the other day.

Luckily, it was so easy to make that when I dashed off to the store Thanksgiving Day all I had to grab was a bag of cranberries and some almond extract. Everything else I needed we already had in the pantry!

The teaspoon of almond extract called for in the recipe perfumed the whole batter with a nutty, sweet fragrance that reminded me of my mom’s favorite candy: marzipan. I couldn’t even help myself from using my fingers to help “clean” the bowl, it was that good. When I put my creation in the oven, I had high hopes. And I am happy to say it didn't disappoint!  

Even with all the sugar, the cranberries retained their tartness, making for a kind of sweet and sour dessert. The chopped pecans added a lovely crunch and served as a nice counterpoint to the berries-- most of which burst but some hold outs stayed whole, giving the "pie" a rustic texture. I put "pie" in quotations because it doesn't have a bottom. It's more like a cobbler, I would say, with the fruit on the bottom and crust on top. But, when baked in a circle and cut into wedges, I think it definitely passes as pie. Speaking of crust, the top of the pie--which is made from a thick batter that you pour out in ribbons-- I would liken to a sugar cookie. It was golden and crisp on top but still moist and crumbly in the middle. And again, it tasted of almonds.

All around, I'd say my pie was a winner. My mom and dad thought so, too. My brother seemed less convinced. I pestered him to take a bite, which he said was okay, and then he returned his attention to his favorites: pecan and pumpkin. Personally, I was so stuffed from dinner that I only had half a slice on Thanksgiving. But when I heated up a piece the next day, you can be sure I ate every last bite.

Vanilla ice cream was the perfect complement to this tangy pie!

So, are you still feeling stuffed from Thanksgiving? Did your dinner table look like mine, with all the typical Turkey Day trimmings, or did your family and friends nosh on different dishes? I'd love to hear! (Though I'll make sure I'm not hungry when I read your comments!)

xo,