The, “I’ll Bring the Dessert,” Tradition.

POSTED BY prbythebook ON November 22, 2011

A Thanksgiving Tradition Baked

by Emily Southard-Bond

I’m terrible baker.  Really, just awful.  I’ve actually made a Vegan Pumpkin cupcake, that sank.  On rare occasions I’ve made a handful of edible desserts and am fairly competent with Spicy Banana Bread, however my baking endowments end there. This shouldn’t be a problem, I know my way around Whole Food’s bakery, I know which dessert I can pass off as my own, which are reasonably priced, and that my femininity isn’t tied to a kitchen. I know all of this, but I still wish I knew how to bake. I want to be able to whip up something that’s whipped in a matter of seconds, without looking haggard and confused. And from this desire to become Julia Child every year for Thanksgiving I have my own tradition of saying, “I’ll make the dessert.” No one asks me to bring the dessert. There’s not an uttering from my family for a particular pie, cookie or something drizzled in chocolate. The reaction to my yearly tradition is mostly lukewarm. Sometimes my mother will pass right over my announcement, or my dad will refrain from chuckling allowing a snort or two, while he says, “That’s nice.”

And I do bring a dessert, every year and every one I’ve ever brought has a tag that must be removed. I start off baking and I end up buying.

This year, though I’ll have some help. A delightful book that will not only guide me through my baking incompetence (I hope), but show me how to transport a delicacy in style, Dinah Corley’s, Gourmet Gifts (The Harvard Common Press).  What will make this cookbook any different from the scores of others I’ve spilt ingredients upon? I’ll break it down into a recipe for you.

2 cups Of Good Writing: Dinah’s book is user-friendly, from the cookie savant to well, me- this is a book I can easily decipher. With a baker’s language within my grasp, clear explanations of ingredients and where best to find them. And I love her annotated list of what to find in “A Gourmet Gifts Pantry,” providing descriptions of various utensils and must haves, like Almond Paste.

1 cup Style: It’s a good thing (nod to Martha) that I don’t own a stitch of Tupperware (which I find horrendously ugly anyways) because Dinah’s book not only provides inventive, yet attainable desserts, but also stylish DIY packaging that you’re likely to already have in your kitchen or home.

1 tablespoon Optimism: I’m going cold turkey. Once all necessary ingredients are purchased, I won’t even look at the pre-made pumpkin pies. This year, I will bring the dessert, not Kroger. I’m even slightly altering the recipe to add cranberries and white chocolate, how’s that for confidence?

½ teaspoon of Realism: I’m starting with something small. Cookies. Attempting one of Dinah’s more elaborate and downright delicious sounding concoctions, like her Four-Plus Pounds of Truffles with Dutch pressed-cocoa powder, isn’t going to happen. I’ll be making Dinah’s Oatmeal Cookies. Dinah adds blonde raisins into her Oatmeal Cookies, soaking them in warm water and a bit of vanilla before adding them in, for an extra plump factor. And from her suggestion, using the tin from the oats as a clever tote to transport the finished goods in.

A pinch of Christmas music: I’ll be listening to Sufjan Stevens and Nat King Cole duke it out on my stereo. In order to keep this positive spirit alive I’ll need a reminder that “all is calm.”

So this year, while you’re rounding up the dogs, kids and dishes to bring to your loved ones, or just sitting around in a pile of flour, I highly recommend indulging in Dinah Corley’s Gourmet Gifts with me, and who knows maybe this year for Christmas I’ll make the entrée!

Tags: Dinah Corley, Gourmet Gifts, Thanksgiving Cookies, Thanksgiving Traditions

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