Farmhouse Syncopate

Molly, in her Thanksgiving party hat. She doesn't like the flash so closes her eyes.

First of all, when I said I would do Thanksgiving I guess I wasn't thinking that I am simply not set up for it- I have no large pans, no flotilla of serving bowls, and forget serving pieces- I've always just used old wooden spoons when necessary. Well, this was time to clean up my act and get some things that I will need if we are spending more time here. And doing more entertaining. So, I now have a gravy boat, big white bowls and casseroles and a whole bunch of Linens n' Things serving forks and spoons. And best of all, a huge white platter, turkey-sized. Everntually I will bring down more stuff from home that I don't use up there- have to re-think it all, especially if we are building a new house.

I am exhausted. The guests just left from Thanksgiving and it was really nice to have just 6 of us instead of the usual 15 or so but it is the same amount of work no matter what you do. The brined turkey was wonderful- I will be doing that again. TY thought we were being real cheap with the gravy but I ended up with half a gravyboat untouched. The brussel sprouts and tiny onions in brown butter were not much of a hit, and neither was the stuffing- everyone took some but I had enough for the Jupiter police auxilary left over. Seems all they wanted was turkey and I sure had plenty of that leftover 3 even with just my little 12#er. The big hit was my dessert- I was afraid, very afraid, when one of the guests told me she would bring the pies, then told me she would BUY them. oh oh. So I made a pear tart:

Bleu Cheese Pear Tart

1 sheet of thawed puff pastry
1 c. slivered almonds
2 Tbs sugar
1 large pear, cored and sliced
2 Tbs honey
1 egg
2-3 Tbs crumbled bleu cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out the puff pastry into a 7" x 15" rectangle and place on an ungreased baking sheet (I used a silpat)- score a line 1" in all around the edge. Combine the almonds and the sugar in a food processor and pulse until it's finely chopped. Add up to 2 Tbs water to make it into a thick paste, and spread it onto the center section of the puff pastry. Slice the pear into 1/4" slices and arrange to cover the almonds. Drizzle with the honey. Make an egg wash and paint the edges of the pastry and pop it into the oven for 25 minutes. When it's done, remove from oven and sprinkle the cheese over the top of the pears and return it to the oven to melt- about 10 minutes. Cool and serve at room temperature.

This was great- if you leave off the honey it is a great appetizer, if you leave off the cheese it's still a great dessert with some whipped cream.

And now I must get back to the dishes.