Life is uncertain...

Make dessert first.

The pumpkin pie recipe is the one on the back of the Libby's pumpkin can. The other things next to it are mini pecan tarts in phyllo dough. It's a riff on this recipe for pecan pie bites from Southern Living. I made these because I like pecan pie but don't want to have a whole pie to eat all weekend.

Filling:
1 cup chopped pecans
1 egg
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. melted butter
Crust:
6 phyllo sheets
2 tbsp. melted butter

Beat the egg, mix in sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, 2 tsp. melted butter, and pecans. Layer the phyllo dough, brush each sheet with melted butter. Cut the stacked phyllo into 12 pieces and put 8 of the stacks into a standard muffin tin (The filling as I made it only makes enough for 8 tarts - I thought it would make 12 so that's how I cut the phyllo dough. Those squares are the right size to fit into the muffin cups.) Fill the cups with the filling, and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

I said the recipe makes 8, so why are there only 7 on the plate? Well, this is the first time I've tried to make these, so I had to test one just to make sure they came out well.

They're delicious.

Thanksgiving prep: Turkey in the brine

Turning the turkey in the brine, observed by a curious cat.

For my brine I used a gallon of water, a cup of salt, and a cup of maple syrup. We'll see tomorrow how it comes out.

Out to Lunch: Malaya Kitchen

Today's lunch was at Malaya Kitchen in the Arboretum. No pictures because I forgot my camera. (Bad blogger!) I had tofu in garlic sauce with brown rice. This was delicious - savory, sweet and very spicy. It had broccoli and red bell peppers stir-fried with the tofu, and the garlic sauce had lots of red pepper flakes. One thing that sets Malaya Kitchen apart from other strip-mall Asian restaurants is that their lunch special comes with a salad (a small bowl of iceberg lettuce with ginger dressing) and the portions are substantial but not overwhelming. It makes a nice change from the default greasy egg roll and pile of fried rice that many places give you.

Thanksgiving prep: Cranberry sauce

Just a small tweak from the recipe they put on the back of the cranberry bag:

1 12-oz bag cranberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange liqueur

Leftover Lunch: Meatball sub

5 meatballs: 125 calories
1 slice 2% provolone cheese: 60 calories
2 oz. sandwich roll: 170 calories

Another lazy night

Pasta, meatballs, tomato sauce, and salad:

Frozen meatballs, 8 cocktail size: 210 calories
Whole wheat rotini, 1/2 cup: 100 calories

Thanksgiving prep: Turkey stock

I always make turkey stock before Thanksgiving so that I have it for gravy and stuffing.

5 pounds turkey legs
2 carrots
2 celery ribs
1 onion

Into the oven for 1 hour at 400:

Then into the pressure cooker for 30 minutes under pressure:

Strained through a cheesecloth-lined fine mesh strainer and ready for the refrigerator: