in “Amelia Bedelia”, the first volume of the children’s book series by Peggy Parrish, in which the title character begins a new job as a housekeeper. Before tackling her long list of tasks, she bakes a quick pie. The purpose is to “make delicious pies.” Then she literally follows the instructions of her own duties. When she is asked to dust the furniture, she sprinkles powder all over it.
Her boss is furious and plans to fire her, but Amelia’s pie quickly changes his mind. She is so delicious that the woman forgets her anger and vows to change the way she leaves instructions. (“Dust the furniture.”)
I often think about that story as Thanksgiving approaches. As a child (and yes, even as an adult), I truly believed that baking a delicious pie would solve everything.
Food by itself cannot heal wounds or ease past or present tensions, but it can be a small act of kindness, especially in the workplace. Thanksgiving When cooking for the table, especially for people with dietary restrictions.
Accommodating allergies is non-negotiable, but preparing a meal for someone who can’t or doesn’t want to eat gluten or dairy can be an act of grace.These two dishes — delicious. stuffed sticky rice and pumpkin meringue pie — It will make your guests feel like you care. It may be a cliché, but it’s true. It’s so delicious that everyone can enjoy it.
Nothing compares to buttery bread stuffing. So instead of trying to copy it, create a different filling that has the best characteristics of chewiness and richness. Short-grain sticky rice, sometimes called sushi rice, does not contain gluten, but it has a satisfyingly soft chew, quite different from the strict wild rice texture used in North America. stuffed with nuts and dried fruits.
Growing up in my Chinese-American household, the patriarch would stuff turkeys with gingery sticky rice, a twist on traditional Chinese duck and chicken stuffing. In his book, “Mr. Jiuz in ChinatownIn his book with Tianlong Ho, chef Brandon Zhu shares a recipe for no mai gai (quail and sticky rice) and describes it as “the Chinese equivalent of turkey and stuffing.”
For my starchy turkey side dish, I drew inspiration from a dish in which rice is steamed in lotus leaves to hold it together, and from another Cantonese sticky rice specialty, yau mei fern, which leaves grains distinct when stirred on the stove. I got it. One key thing these two have in common is the combination of fatty pork and meaty mushrooms, which makes the rice grains flavorful and even plump. Instead of adding a pinch of ginger, add a handful of finely chopped ginger and sizzle until crispy. That sharp heat melts into warm, fragrant, crispy pieces.
The saltiness of the salted pork and the natural sweetness of the glutinous rice are well balanced, creating a dish that goes well with Thanksgiving spreads. And since it’s all cooked on the stovetop, it doesn’t take up valuable oven space.
As with this Pumpkin Meringue Pie, you can bake it a few days in advance and just top it with meringue before serving. This dessert, made with pecan peels and pumpkin filling with coconut milk, is a blend of his two standards for Thanksgiving, and is also suitable for those who don’t eat gluten or dairy. The fluffy, swirly meringue topping brings the lightness of whipped cream, while the charred ridges provide the delightful bitterness of burnt marshmallow.
The pressed-in crust is a welcome new base for savory, spiced pumpkin custard with ground nuts and oats. This is so different from typical puff pastry that your guests won’t compare it to regular flaky dough, which is difficult to recreate without flour. You can enjoy the unique nutty taste.
Even the most experienced makers of traditional crusts are beginning to respond to this need.co-founder Alan Nugent Stockholm pie and general store Fifteen years ago, she and her husband, Steve Grams, and sister, Janet Garretson, lived in a riverside village in Wisconsin (population: 76). She is famous for her exceptionally flaky puff pastry. Nugent said that while Garretson was serving as a pastor’s wife in western Kansas in the late 1970s, she learned the skill of making crusts from “an older woman on a farm in Germany.”
We are currently considering adding a nut crust option. “We had never thought about gluten-free pies,” Nugent said. “We thought, ‘We’re not going to make gluten-free pie crust because it’s disgusting.'” But four years ago, the shop started receiving requests for gluten-free pies – at this point. After much experimentation, the Stockholm Pie team came up with a “pretty good” replica of the original dough they loved. He already has twice as many gluten-free orders this season as he did last Thanksgiving.
And these requests are part of an order that also includes a regular pie, showing that the host is considering the different dietary preferences of their guests. Whether you buy a pie or bake it yourself, you just might add a little Amelia Bedelia magic to your meal by serving a pie that all your guests can eat.