a week of cooking disappointments

I wish I had something good to share with you, some mouth-watering yummy recipe that begs you to run to the store, something that would carry on the last topic I told you stay posted on. But a week later, and an obvious disregard for giving any helpful hints to a more easy, stress-free holiday, could I at least tell you that all the grand plans, all the recipes I wanted to share came out miserably. Josh would argue that they were edible, but to me, a perfectionist — something I now have had to agree with, after being caught with a ruler as I cut even strips for my (burnt….ughhhh!) lattice pie lid — I say they were more deserving of the garbage. So accept this apology as I give you permission to laugh at me, I know it will be quite deserved.

• Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie — I planned on this being my new favorite pie. Pure pumpkin with a subtly creamy tanginess woven throughout poured into a deep buttery pie shell; I knew I would sing its praise. Instead it gave me quite a headache, being watery and runny. Though we liked the whipped texture of the pie it was overall bland and tasted neither like pumpkin nor like sour cream.
• Joaquin Baca’s Green Bean Casserole — As soon as I found this recipe I knew I hit the jackpot for the always requested green bean casserole. I’ve gotten so tired of the canned beans smothered in murky mushroom soup topped with battered cardboard tasting fried onions. The ingredients almost whispered promises of full flavors and heartiness that the mushy casserole usually lacks. Full of whole mushrooms, red onion, cream and toasted almonds I was sure I could hang my hat on its success. Instead it failed me. It chose to be wet and grainy instead of rich and creamy; muted and tolerable instead of a bragging success.
• Honey Apple Pie — In all honesty, this pie was not so bad once you performed a little lattice-lid removal. I put the beautiful, caramelized honey smelling pie in the oven and promptly forgot about it. After the first whiff of burnt crust I rushed to the oven where black smoke billowed out as if there was a fire. Josh came in and picked it apart to get to the juicy apples beneath insisting that it was in fact, quite delicious.

So, my friends, let us help each other this year. What are some of your do-ahead recipes you like for Thanksgiving?