Liz Curtis /

My exquisite friend Keylee Sanders, the much sought-after celebrity stylist and former Miss Teen USA, featured my Thanksgiving recipes on Style Studio yesterday.  In case you missed it, or crave more detail, I have reproduced it below for your blogging pleasure.

Thanksgiving is the one time of year where the staid predictability of tradition can be supremely comforting.  We’ve come to rely on the presence of the standards: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie – along with equally delicious family time.  Ever devoted to the pursuit of the unexpected, however, I compiled a few additions to your Thanksgiving table that will enliven the holiday and impress your loved ones. 

Rather than boring biscuits, why not feature savory parmesan popovers with herbed butter?  Instead of lumpy mashed potatoes, serve delectably refined pommes puree.  And swap the expected autumnal bouquet of oranges and yellows for the contemporary – a luxurious arrangement in shades of green complete with curly willow and miniature apples!

Wishing you a festive and filling Thanksgiving!  xx tt

Parmesan Popovers – adapted from Neiman Marcus Taste

·  3 ½ cups whole milk

·  4 cups flour

·  1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

·  1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

·  6 large eggs at ROOM TEMPERATURE

·  1 ½ cups grated parmesan cheese

·  4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 12 pieces

Instructions 

·  Preheat oven to 450 degrees

·  Heat milk in a saucepan until warm – NOT HOT, set aside

·  Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl

·  Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs until foamy and pale in color

·  Stir the warm milk into the beaten eggs

·  Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg-milk mixture at low-speed – then increase to medium speed and mix for three minutes longer

·  Let the batter rest for an hour at room temperature

·  Spray a popover tin (or muffin tin) generously with nonstick spray and set on a baking sheet (if you have bacon or meat fat, put a quarter teaspoon in each tin for extra flavor)

·  Fill twelve cups of the tin almost to the top with batter

·  Sprinkle a tablespoon of parmesan into the center of each tin, and add a piece of butter

·  Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue baking for 20-30 minutes longer until they are deep golden brown

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 Herbed Popover Butter - adapted from Spencer’s Pantry

·  2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

·  2 tablespoons chives

·  2 tablespoons marjoram

·  2 tablespoons thyme

·  1 clove garlic

·  2 teaspoons crunchy fleur de sel

Instructions 

·  Mince the herbs

·  Puree garlic clove using a garlic press

·  Add all ingredients to an electric mixer

·  Whip for three minutes

·  Divide into two ramekins or tiny individual dishes for extra panache

·  Serve with warm parmesan popovers!

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Pommes Purée – adapted from Joël Robuchon of L’Atelier (serves 8-10)

 

·  4 pounds russet potatoes

·  16 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature

·  ¾ cup whole milk

·  Salt to taste 

Instructions 

·  Peel potatoes

·  Fill a large pot with water, and bring to a boil

·  Add potatoes, and continue to boil for 30 minutes (or until you can easily enter a fork into the potatoes)

·  Drain the potatoes in a colander

·  Crank the potatoes through a Food Mill with the finest grinding disk (in batches)

·  NOTE: if you do not have a Food Mill, press the potatoes through a sieve with a spatula.  Food Mills are around $40 from Bed Bath & Beyond, and are useful for making soups and other purées.  You assemble the Food Mill over a bowl, and crank the handle around repeatedly so that the potatoes pass through the grinding disk to become delicately puréed without aggressive whipping

·  Add butter while vigorously stirring the potatoes until incorporated

·  Add milk in a slow stream, while continuing to stir

·  Add salt to desired taste

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Posh Bouquet 

Almost every bouquet in the history of Thanksgiving has been a medley of orange and yellow.  To escape from the norm, while maintaining the bountiful and earthy feel of the holiday, I created a lavish centerpiece in complimentary shades of green. 

·  10 miniature apples

·  20 stem wires

·  3 bunches goldenrods

·  24 green roses

·  1 bunch green berries

·  1 bunch dried curly willow

·  1 large vase

Instructions 

·  Buy your flowers (I went to the San Francisco Flower Mart, and purchased all of the flowers for $40), miniature green apples (from Whole Foods), and stem wire (Fantastico)

·  At home, stick two stem wires into the center of each apple

·  Unwrap and lay your flowers out on the kitchen counter by type

·  Cut each stem so that they will peak out of the vase between 2-3 inches

·  Clean off extra leaves and thorns (they cause bacteria to form in the vase)

·  Assemble in the following order: goldenrods, berries, roses, apples, curly willow

·  Voila!  You have a gorgeous and contemporary centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table