a hot-take on a pie, a playlist, a half-a-poem

+++ a Thanksgiving essay from me!

hey-ho,

I love setting the table for Thanksgiving, the calm before the happy chaos, right? I put on a playlist (energetic to begin, winding down to mellow for the turkey coma to come)…

… and then arrange nosegays to run the length of the table, fold bright napkins, anticipate the pleasure on my guests’s faces when they see the energy I’ve put into making them welcome. I am in the moment, filled with happy anticipation (and probably a little worry) but mostly I am awake to what is good!

Wishing you all a lovely & lively holiday with people you love.

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read:

I’m proud of this essay, HAPPY MESSES, out today in Memoirland, about Thanksgiving mishaps and joys, regrets and delights!

I’ll make the turkey,” I said.

The three adults turned to me, my mom allowing a closed smile, my uncle squinting and dropping a hand on my shoulder. My aunt asked, “Are you sure?”

Of course I was sure. No one is more certain than a 15-year-old who’s never done it before. I’d perfected chicken and dumplings from the back of the Bisquick box. How much harder could a turkey be? And so, the mantle was passed.

I hope you love it. Please share wildly and widely… if you do I will have another thing to be thankful for tomorrow.

And also for you, an excerpt from a poem by Joy Harjo, a favorite poet of mine:

Perhaps the World Ends Here ~ by JOY HARJO

The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.

The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, and it will go on.

We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the corners. They scrape their knees under it.

It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human. We make men at it, we make women.

At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers.

Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children. They laugh with us at our poor falling-down selves and as we put ourselves back together once again at the table…

Please keep reading here, or, better still, listen to Harjo read.

…

And, more! A beautiful snippet:

Advice to Myself, #2, by Louise Erdrich:

Resist loss of the miraculous
by lowering your standards
for what constitutes a miracle.
It is all a fucking miracle.

It is… it is all a fucking miracle!

*I would love to post the entire poems, but I think it’s against the rules. So, do follow the links.

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Stanley, loving on the waves!

If you’re loving on my newsletter, go ahead:

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eat:

Aww damn, look at that lonely little can of pumpkin in the back of the shelf, surrounded by the ignored pumpkin-pie-filling in the can! Don’t buy the pre-made pumpkin pie filling, please. Buy the straight-up pumpkin and then: Make. This. Pie.

Maple Pumpkin Pie

I’m not going to even bother with a crust recipe here, you all have one, or you know which is the very best pre-made crust to buy and I love that for you. So go ahead, purchase or prepare. Either way, be certain to prick the dough all over with a fork before you pre-bake in a 350 degree oven for about 18 - 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the crust cool completely. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Filling:

• 1/2 c real maple syrup

• 2 T dark molasses

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

• a couple scrapes of nutmeg

• 1 c heavy cream

• 1 1/2 c pumpkin puree

• 2 lg eggs

• 1 lg egg yolk

• 1/2 t salt

1. In a small pot, bring the maple syrup to a boil over medium heat, and cook until the color goes from pale golden brown with small, furious bubbles to dark brown with larger, slower bubbles, 8–10 minutes. Watch very carefully. Remove from heat.

2. Add the cinnamon (if using), molasses, and the scrapes of nutmeg.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolk. Add the cream. Blend well. Add the pumpkin and salt.

4. If the cooled maple mixture is too thick to pour, too gummy, re-up the heat for moment and put a tiny bit of the pumpkin mixture in the pan to blend. When you’ve got it to a manageable viscosity, and not too hot, add all the maple mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk to blend.

5. Pour the pumpkin/maple mixture into the pre-baked crust. Return the pan to the oven, and bake until the custard is set, no longer jiggling in the center, and has a nice shiny top. Start checking at 45-50 minutes, but could take an extra 10 depending on your oven and the type of pie plate you’ve used.

6. topping suggestions:

   1. sweetened whipped cream

   2. creme fraiche

   3. flaky sea salt

Chef’s kiss!

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Happy Thanksgiving

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Tell your people you love them, and take good care of your skin. 

Prenez soin de vous,

xN

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