Mince pie is a old holiday tradition that can be traced back to 13th century when European crusaders returned from the Middle East with recipes for meats, fruits and spices. Mincing was a way of preserving meats without salting or smoking. The pie has been served at royal tables and, at one time, was banned by the Puritans since it was a symbol of the Pagan Christmas celebration.

Traditional mincemeat pie contains shredded meat and suet along with fruits and spices and cooks for hours. Mostly made with beef, there is a record of a recipe that used whale meat. Today, most cooks buy mince in a jar, like Cross & Blackwell or None-Such, to make pies and small tarts. I use to do that as well, adding chopped apples, walnuts and extra brandy.

Several years ago, I came across recipe for a meatless mince full of apples, dried fruits and lots of spices. It cooks over low heat for about ninety minutes filling the house and the neighborhood with its spicy aroma. It can also be done in a slow cooker. This recipe calls for pippin apples but MacIntosh, Granny Smith or any pie variety of apple is a fine substitute. I use a combination. It can be made a week or so ahead of time and kept refrigerated in an airtight container. The recipe will make one pie or about a dozen medium tarts. I like the tarts even though it’s more work making the crusts. For the top crust, I make decorative cutouts with small cookie cutters, shaped like leaves and acorns. I’ve also just made a few cutouts in the top crust and surrounded the pie edge with the dough cutouts.
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Oh dear, it’s that time of year again when you invite all the family members and friends whom you haven’t seen since last Thanksgiving to partake in the great American traditional gorge. Only this year is different. Because of the pandemic, the Center for Disease Control and many health department are urging people to keep indoor gathering to under 10 people and discouraging travel. We are zooming our Thanksgiving with our family and friends.

The word for this year’s Thanksgiving feast is “downsize,” everything smaller, including the turkey. A smaller bird means a shorter cooking time but the cooking technique for a juicy bird is the same. So here is the Alton Brown tried and true method for getting the best result with the minimum of effort, i.e. more time to relax.

If you’re an experienced cook or one who looks at the kitchen as a foreign country and are preparing a turkey on Thanksgiving, or any time for that matter, our hero is Alton Brown and his absolutely fool proof method for roasting a turkey is here. No basting required which leaves you time for other tasks or enjoying your company. We repeat this post every year at this time. If you haven’t already purchased your bird, you need to do that today. A frozen bird needs at three days in the refrigerator to defrost. The best bet is a fresh turkey. While it may cost a few cents more, you’re assured that it’s thawed and ready to cook. So, get thee to the grocery store!

Revised from November 20, 2010 for obvious timely reasons.

I never went to cooking school or took home economics in high school, I was too busy blowing up the attic with my chemistry set. I did like to eat and eat stuff that tasted good and looked pretty, plus my mother couldn’t cook to save her life let alone mine and Pop’s, that was her mother’s venue. So I watched learned and innovated. I also read cook books and found that cooking and baking were like chemistry and physics. I know, that was Translator’s territory, but I do have a degree in biochemistry.

For you really geekie cooks here is a great article about the “Turkey Physics” involved in getting it all done to a juicy turn.

Cooking a turkey is not as easy as the directions on the Butterball wrapping looks. My daughter, who is the other cook in the house (makes the greatest breads, soups and stews) is in charge of the Turkey for the big day. Since we are again having a house full of family and friends, one the two 13 to 15 pound gobblers will get cooked outside on the gas grill that doubles as an oven on these occasions. Her guru is Alton Brown, he of Good Eats on the Food Network. This is the method she has used with rave reviews. Alton’s Roast Turkey recipe follows below the fold. You don’t have to brine, the daughter doesn’t and you can vary the herbs, the results are the same, perfection. My daughter rubs very soft butter under the skin and places whole sage leaves under the skin in a decorative pattern, wraps the other herbs in cheese cloth and tucks it in the cavity. If you prefer, or are kosher, canola oil works, too.

Bon Appetite and Happy Thanksgiving.

The recipe is below the fold.

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