We’re always looking for new and unusual treats for Thanksgiving dinner. Indian pudding is an American dish that is so old that it’s “new and unusual” for many people. Indian Pudding definitely deserves to make a comeback—it’s an easy to make, delicious, comfort food dessert  that’s rich with sweet spices and molasses, that makes for a nice change of pace from the inevitable Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. Plus, when you’re baking it, it really makes the house smell fantastic.

Despite its name, Indian Pudding isn’t a Native American dish. The name “Indian” used to be applied by early American colonists to dishes that involved cornmeal. Was it something the Pilgrims would have eaten at the first Thanksgiving? Probably not, but it does date back to at least the early 1700s. In the 18^th century Indian Pudding was commonly know as Hasty Pudding, and it even shows up in the lyrics to the Revolutionary War song Yankee Doodle.

Our kids love the story behind Indian Pudding, and like to pretend they’re back in colonial times as they make this recipe.

Kids can:

• Measure milk, cornmeal, sugar, molasses, and other ingredients
• Mix and stir pudding batter
• Scoop batter into prepared baking dish
• Garnish pudding servings with ice cream or whipped cream

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk

1 cup course-ground cornmeal (we used Italian style polenta)

¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed

¾ cup molasses

1 egg, beaten

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (plus more for greasing the baking dish)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream for serving

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease a 9-inch baking dish with butter.

Put 3 cups of milk in a large saucepan and heat to near boiling over medium high heat. (Be careful not to burn the milk.) In a small bowl, whisk together milk and cornmeal. Slowly whisk this mixture into the hot milk.

Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 12–15 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat and add molasses, sugar, butter, spices, and salt.

Beat the egg in a small bowl and temper it by adding a small amount of the warm batter to it, then add it to the batter and mix thoroughly.

Pour batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for at least 1 hour or until the pudding no longer jiggles in the dish. When done, remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes on a wire rack.

Put on plates or scoop into bowls and serve warm topped with some good vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Hi! I’m Andrew Fox and I’ll be contributing to the Shop Talk Blog as an occasional guest blogger, where I’ll be writing about parenting and family tips and advice from a dad’s point of view. For my first post, I show how dads can help out on Thanksgiving by cooking the turkey on the charcoal grill outdoors.

Ever thought about cooking the Thanksgiving turkey on a charcoal grill? If you haven’t, you should—it’s easy, the results are spectacular, and it frees up the oven for other important things like pie. Plus, it allows dads to indulge in the need to cook a bird over an open fire. Who are we, after all, if not keepers of the flame and masters of the grill? (Of course it helps if you live somewhere where you can fire up the grill in late November.)

I’ve been cooking our Thanksgiving turkey this way for years, and it’s really pretty foolproof. You just need to follow a few simple directions, which I am about to share. My technique is optimized for a Weber kettle grill. Other charcoal grills should work similarly, but those of you with gas grills are on your own.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

• A turkey, preferably 20 pounds or less (any bigger and you might not be able to fit the lid on your grill!)
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh herbs and aromatics like onions, lemons, and garlic
• Charcoal
• Wood smoking chips—apple, hickory, alder, mesquite, or whatever you like
• A medium-sized foil pan
• One bottle of white wine (I used sauvignon blanc; something cheap like “Two-buck Chuck” is fine)

Rinse off your turkey and dry it thoroughly inside and out. Make sure you remove the giblets in their bag (I forgot to do this once… yuck). Rub it all over with olive oil, and liberally season with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the herbs, onion, and lemon.

Soak a cup of wood chips in water for 30 minutes. Build a medium sized charcoal fire, and when the coals are ready, divide them evenly into two piles on opposite sides of the grill. Scatter the wood chips over the coals. This will create the smoke that will give the turkey some great flavor.

Between the piles of coals place your foil pan, and pour in your bottle of wine. The wine will add flavor and moisture; you can substitute water or chicken broth if you want.

Put the grill grate on, making sure you position the handles over the piles of coals, as shown in the photo. Place your turkey on the grill, cover, and adjust the vents so they’re about half open—we want a fairly slow fire here.

Now go back in the house and watch football or something. You’ll want to get up every half hour or so and check on your bird, adding two or three charcoal briquets to each side if needed.

Cook your turkey until the temperature in the thickest part of the breast reads 161ºF. Our 12-pound free-range bird took about 3 hours. Remove from the grill and let rest, tented with aluminum foil, for 30 minutes. Then bring to the table and get ready for the compliments!

(Diane von Furstenberg dress and clutch; hat from market in Paris; Chanel scarf; Dolce & Gabbana sunnies; Lia Sophia bracelet and ring; Pucci boots; Givenchy red lip)

***

Turkey, yams, and pumpkin pie…I ate too much, I’m gonna die!

Thanksgiving Dinner. Where food and family meet… and fashion is too often left on the {floor of the closet}? Sigh.

Not I, no way! A family get-together, no matter the holiday, calls for a time to break out the real goods: the coveted leather handbag… the heels so uncomfortable you have to crawl in them {after all, if you’re Giving Thanks on a yacht, you’ll need to take them off…} Dreams!

In short: {Bling-It-On!} There may be family at this dinner that you haven’t seen in months. No matter the reach, there will be a scenario closely related to a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills plotline: dad’s bringing the “new” wife, boyfriend is introducing you to the fam, bro invited his entire alumni class on Facebook…. And there you will be…standing, smiling…in a head to toe {lewk} (aka: a jaw droppin’, champagne poppin’, show stoppin’ outfit)!

And you should. {Bling-It-On} from head to toe. From the kitchen, to the runway (cue: long hallway that leads to the dining room table).

Alas, the {seamless} guide to Thanksgiving Dressing… a guide to impress and {decompress}…

* An A-line dress that hits at the small of the waist and then flows out freely will create an illusion of a small waistline, but will also give your lower belly ample breathing room. Pair this style dress with a classic ankle bootie with a front platform. A shoe that closes in at your ankle provides stability in this…utterly caloric evening ahead.

* A wrap dress, a la a Diane von Furstenberg classic, allows you to cinch your waist as freely or loosely as the night progresses. (This is also a great option for weight/portion control: Tie the belt firmly from the start, so you avoid temptation to over-eat and loosen the dress). Pair the wrap dress with a below or above-the-knee stacked heel boot for a chic and polished look that is comfortable and forever classic. Dare to add an exposed knit sock?

* For a more casual dinner party, opt for a pair of jeans that hits above the belly button to breathe freely and keep your caged sausage …well… caged.  Add a button down blouse in a light breezy chiffon, with sleeves rolled to just below the elbow for a feminine, airy touch. A wedge heel would complete the fashion-forward, casual look.

* {Bling-It-On} by punching up the accessories for dinner—a necklace, bracelet, and earrings will give your overall look a “holiday” vibe. Plus, interesting accessories are always conversation-starters.

* A don’t? Laziness in the form of …I-can’t-believe-I-have-to-spell-it-out… cotton leggings and an oversized sweater {help!}. The only way to chic-ify this look is to swap your legging for a {jegging} (jean-legging} in a dark color, and pair them with a jewel-tone soft (angora, cashmere, wool) sweater.  If you dare be this casual, pha-lease {Bling-It-On} with {mah-ja} extra baubles and sparkle! And a wedge. And a sexy lip color.

And what will I be wearing? Leather pants {turkeys shouldn’t be the only animals honored at dinner}, a cropped satin tee, layered over a tailored collared shirt. I’m opting for: wild animal-gone-prep school. Throw in a glass of chardonnay, shot of tequila, game of scrabble and belly dancing competition to round out a night of elshane Thanksgiving fun!

xo, elshane

Thanksgiving is the All-American holiday; we don’t know anyone who doesn’t look forward to indulging in the best life has to offer- food, football, family & friends!  One thing we really look forward to is making this holiday even more unforgettable by mixing unique and traditional touches.

When it comes to the table, this year we’re breaking out an oldie, but goodie… gold flatware.  The metallic palate melts our thankful hearts!

This setting was given to Lisa by her aunt but you can find a similar set, from Diane von Furstenberg Home, at Saks or Neiman’s.  It doesn’t have to stop there… make your table complete with sparkling pumpkins, candles and scented pine cones.

(Crackle Stemware- Pier 1, Glitter Leaf Foliage- Pier 1, Lustre Ivory Napkin- Crate & Barrel, Gold Shimmer Placemat- Pier 1, Gold Charger- Z Gallerie, Murano Cream Dinner Plate- Crate & Barrel, Avilla Salad Plate- Crate & Barrel, Sparkle Pumpkin- Z Gallerie)

Don’t worry, we didn’t forget about the kids! We always like to do something a little different and fun for their place settings, so this year we’re giving the little tail feathers a feather napkin ring!

(Feather Napkin Ring- Pier 1)

To get everyone in a thankful mood, we suggest incorporating thankful notes into your crescent rolls.  The deets:

• Email your guests beforehand and ask them to send you something they’re thankful for (or have them write it on a piece of paper when they arrive)
• Type and print their responses into strips and roll them into your dinner rolls
• Cook as directed
• It’s fun to guess who wrote each thankful note!

Last, but not least, if you know us you know that we can’t leave our guests empty handed!  The perfect gesture when parting ways with your guests is to give them cinnamon-scented pine cones that will keep their home smelling festive throughout the holiday season (tuck your favorite Thanksgiving recipe inside the bag for them to enjoy for years to come)!

We hope everyone has a wonderful week preparing for this festive holiday!

Kelli & Lisa

We’re hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year, and the kids enjoy involving themselves in every aspect of the holiday. One thing they love to do is to get out their paper and crayons and scissors and create colorful crafts to help decorate the house.

My five-year-old daughter is into all things pumpkin this fall, so we recently created is this adorable turkey centerpiece for our Thanksgiving table. It’s made from a small “sugar pie” pumpkin (available at most grocery stores) and craft supplies that you probably have lying around the house already.

This is a fun autumn project that’s easy to make for children of all ages (with a parent’s help), and looks fanstastic on the dining table.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Heavyweight construction paper in rich fall colors (we used brown, orange, yellow, red, and black)
• Crayons or markers in similar colors
• Scissors
• A “sugar pie” pumpkin
• A glue stick or craft glue
• Foam mounting tape or double stick tape (the foam mounting tape squares available at craft stores do a really nice job)
• Turkey centerpiece template (download here)

Here’s how you make it:

1. Download and print out the template on plain paper and cut out each of the shapes. You’ll use these to create the parts of the turkey to attach to the pumpkin.
2. Trace around the feather template to create nine tail feathers. We made three of each in brown, orange, and yellow. Kids can use their crayons or markers to draw a feather-like pattern on each one.
3. Arrange the tail feathers in alternating colors and fan them out into a semi-circle. Use the double-stick mounting tape to hold the feathers together at the bottom. This tape will also hold the feathers to the pumpkin, so make sure you use enough here. You’ll also want to tape each feather to the one next to it about midway along, which helps keep them in place.
4. Peel the backing from the tape at the bottom of the feathers and adhere it to the back of the pumpkin, with the pumpkin sitting upright.
5. Now trace and cut out the head and the face parts (the beak, wattle, and eyes). Use the glue stick to glue the face parts to the head, using the template as a guide.
6. With the double-stick tape, adhere the head to the pumpkin, with the bottom of the neck about halfway down and the middle of the head resting on the pumpkin stem. Tape it down in both spots.
7. Trace and cut out the wings—you can draw some feathers on them if you like—and tape them to the sides of the pumpkin.

That’s all there is to it. Place your turkey at the center of your Thanksgiving table and get ready for the feast!