Holidays in the Mill House – Thanksgiving Recipes

Here are some of the traditional recipes Nancy Prescott made in our Thanksgiving video. These have been adapted to your modern kitchen but you could try making them over an open hearth!

If you haven’t seen the Thanksgiving episode of Holidays in the Mill House, watch it HERE.

Marlborough Pudding

The most popular Thanksgiving pie in the 19^th century.

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Juice of 1 lemon

¾ cup stewed, pureed apples

¾ cup sherry

½ cup heavy cream

¾ cup sugar

4 eggs, beaten

Puff Pastry (use 1/2 the recipe below or your favorite pie crust)

2 teaspoons grated nutmeg

• Stew apples by cooking peeled and cored apples in a saucepan with a small amount of water until soft. Puree with an insertion blender.
• Mix butter, lemon juice, apples, sherry, cream, sugar, and eggs together.
• Line a deep pie pan with pastry.
• Season pastry with grated nutmeg and spoon mixture into pie pan.
• Bake 1 hour in hot oven. (Done when knife inserted in center comes out clean.) Cool.
• For modern oven, bake 15 min. at 400° and then reduce heat to 350° for last 45 min.

Puff Pastry

2 cups butter

3 ½ cups sifted flour

½ cup cold water

• Blend 2/3 cup butter and 2 cups of flour.
• Gradually stir in ½ cup cold water.
• Roll out on a floured board. Dot with half of the remaining butter, sprinkle with ¾ cup of remaining flour, dusting some on rolling pin, and roll up like a jelly roll.
• Roll this out again and repeat to use up the flour and butter.

Apple and Gourd Soup

This easy and tasty soup makes a great first course or perfect lunch when served with some hearty bread.

3 tablespoons butter

2 onions, chopped

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped

3 firm apples, peeled, cored and diced

4-5 cups water or your favorite stock

1/2 cup cream

1 tablespoon curry powder

Salt and pepper to taste

• Melt butter in skillet and add onions and squash. Saute until slightly browned. Add curry and cook another minute.
• Place onions, squash, apples and water or stock in pot and cook until tender.
• Puree soup.
• Add cream. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pumpkin Pie

This traditional New England pumpkin pie is so easy to make and not super-sweet. Adjust the sugar and spices to suit your family’s taste.

2 cups cooked pumpkin or 1 15 oz. can of pumpkin (do not use canned pumpkin pie filling– there is a difference!)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 pinch ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar

1 ½ cups milk

1/8 cup molasses

2 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 9-inch pie shell (see Puff Pastry recipe above)

• Sift dry ingredients together and set aside.
• In large bowl, combined pumpkin, milk, eggs, butter, and molasses until well blended. Add dry ingredients and blend to incorporate.
• Fill 9-inch pie shell and bake at 450° for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350° and bake for an additional 50 minutes.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.

From all of us at the Monadnock Center,

we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!