What Makes a Thanksgiving Exceptional?
We will soon gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving, the US holiday that commemorates a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621, Plymouth, Massachusetts. A harvest is to reap the bounty of a good crop. What makes my Thanksgiving exceptional is the gratitude I feel to be able to reap the bounty of benefits of living under the freedom of Democracy.
Be thankful for living in a safe place. Be exceptional and open your home, even for a day, to others who do not. Be thankful for having enough food to eat and clean water to drink. Be exceptional and donate food to others who are in need. Be thankful and appreciate your good health. Be exceptional and volunteer to help others at a local hospital. Be thankful for the opportunity to have an education.
Be exceptional and tutor a child or donate a book to a literacy program. Be thankful for the friendships in your life. Be exceptional and reach out to include others who may be lonely in the loss of a loved one, especially during the holidays. There is always room for one more at your table. There is always time to bring a basket of treats to one who is home bound. Be thankful you are loved. Be exceptional and say. ‘ I love you’, out loud, every day to those who matter to you the most. I am thankful to all who give me the gift of friendship and take the time to read my column.
A traditional treat, Marron Glace is often given by Royalty as gifts. Mel Torme may have written ‘Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire’ but yours can be store bought to incorporate into delicious recipes this holiday season. Chestnuts have a rich history dating back millions of years. To learn more about this versatile treat of nature see chestnuthilloutdoors.com. and try a few of my easy to make recipes to serve at home or share with others.
Marron Glacé Tartlets
INGREDIENTS: 2 cups of roasted, peeled Chestnuts (or store bought precooked, roasted and peeled chestnuts in packages); 1 ½ cup Water; 1/3 cup Dark Brown Sugar firmly packed; 1 ½ Tablespoons unsalted, sweet Butter; ½ to 1 teaspoon of ground Cinnamon- Saigon if available; ¼ teaspoon Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract. Mini Philo or Tart Shells
PREPARATION: Glacé Syrup~ Place water, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon into an open double boiler. Over a low to medium heat stir all together until blended. Bring to a boil stirring until reduced into a thick syrup. Lower heat. Gently add the whole chestnuts as to not break them apart and toss in the mixture until coated.
Alternate Quick Version: Buy premade Marron Crème in a jar or tube. Place 4 OZ. into a saucepan or open double boiler over a low heat. As the crème is already prepared add smaller mounts to taste of 1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. No butter is needed. No need to boil. Stir together until blended and warm. Gently add whole roasted chestnuts and toss until coated. Remove covered nuts onto parchment or wax paper to cool. Reserve some whole nuts for toppings.
Once cool place coated nuts into a food processor to purée into a crème.
Place a dallop of the cooled puréed crème into a tart shell cream puff or éclair shell. Place a whole glacéd nut on top. Yield 12 Tartlets.
NOTES: for this recipe I used Nielsen Massey Extract, Domino Dark Brown Sugar, Angelina Chestnut Cream.
Roasted Chestnut, Mushroom, Golden Raisin, Sage Herb Stuffing
INGREDIENTS: All finely chopped~ 6 Celery Heart Stalks diced; 6-8 medium White Mushrooms diced; ½ cup Golden Raisins; 1 medium Sweet Onion diced; 5 ounces Roasted Chestnuts diced(store bought packages OK); 3- 4 TBS. unsalted, sweet Butter; 8-10 slices Sage toasted bread cubed for stuffing, Olive oil for brushing bread on toast; Ground Sage, to taste
Melt small pats of butter to cover the bottom of a large frying pan. Add in each ingredient and braise one at a time, folding in as you add each ingredient. Add small pats of butter as needed. Use a soft bread or bread of your choice, brush with olive oil , sprinkle ground sage . Lay flat on a foil lined cookie sheet and toast in a 350-degree F oven. Remove and cool. Break into breadcrumbs. Or buy packaged stuffing breadcrumbs and season with ground sage. In a separate pan melt butter and prepare your breadcrumbs seasoned to taste for stuffing. Then fold into the other ingredients and mix together in the frying pan. Once heated and blended together remove from the stovetop.
Stuffing is ready to use. May be held in an airtight container overnight. If so, remove the next day and allow stuffing to come to room temperature before using..To reheat add a small pat of butter to a saucepan and mixed together. Or use to stuff the bird.
More Holiday Links:
https://www.thethreetomatoes.com/thanksgiving-celebration-pumpkin-butterscotch-and-caramel
https://www.thethreetomatoes.com/autumn-luncheon-menu
https://www.thethreetomatoes.com/holiday-cakes-great-gadgets-and-vintage-recipes
© 2023 Ellen Easton ~All Rights Reserved
Ellen Easton, author of Afternoon Tea~Tips, Terms and Traditions(RED WAGON PRESS), an afternoon tea authority, lifestyle and etiquette industry leader, keynote speaker and product spokesperson, is a hospitality, design, and retail consultant whose clients have included the Waldorf=Astoria, the Plaza and Bergdorf Goodman. Easton’s family traces their tea roots to the early 1800s, when ancestors first introduced tea plants from India and China to the Colony of Ceylon, thus building one of the largest and best cultivated teas estates on the island.
Chestnuts in all their glory and form. So delicious healthy and rich can accompany just about anything. Salty or sweet bring out the best of them. Thanksgiving is my favorite meal. All traditional dishes or modernly fusionned or made lighter healthier. All this Ellen facilitates with her recipies and holiday spirit!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👏👏💖💐🥂