Thanksgiving is here, so our minds have turned
To what time has taught us, to what we’ve learned:
We often focus all our thought
On shiny things we’ve shopped and bought;
We take our pleasure in material things
Forgetting the pleasure that friendship brings.
If a lot of our stuff just vanished today,
We’d see the foundation of each happy day
Is special relationships, constant and true,
And that’s when our thoughts go directly to you.
We wish you a Thanksgiving you’ll never forget,
Full of love and joy—your best one yet!

I’ll be traveling for the holidays. Looking forward to playing in the snow! I’ll post some pictures from the road, and I truly hope hope you have the best Thanksgiving ever!

Bella

Caramel Pears

8-10 ripe pears, washed, dried, chilled
372 grams sugar (about 2 cups)
186 grams dark brown sugar (about 1 cup)
150 grams butter (about 2/3 cup)
2/3 cup corn syrup
1 cup cream
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. real vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together (except the fruit) in a deep saucepan. Cook over medium high heat until the butter melts and temperature on a candy or laser thermometer reaches 246 degrees (119 celcius). Stir constantly toward the end of the cooking period to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Dip fruit into caramel mixture and twist until evenly covered. Roll in nuts or sugar. Drain on waxed paper or a silicone baking sheet. Refrigerate. Consume pears within a few hours. Leftover caramel can be refrigerated and defrosted in the microwave for dipping fruit slices or served with the tart.

Apple Tart Crust:

140 g. sugar
400 g. butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
455 g. flour

1. Mix sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla with dough hook just until combined.
2. Add flour and mix until smooth. Do not over mix.
3. Flatten into disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes. (You’ll only use half the dough. The rest can be tightly sealed and frozen)
4. Roll or press tart dough into shells (about 1/4 inch thick)
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (205 celcius)

Apple Filling

6 medium apples, sliced
130 grams sugar
25 grams flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Mix dry ingredients. Add sliced apples and toss with sugar mixture. Arrange apples over tart crust. Bake 45-55 minutes until crust is cooked through.

recipe via http://freshnewengland.com/home.html