Martha Stewart | 20something cupcakes

Thanksgiving. It’s kind of a big deal.

Who else could we trust for an event like this other than Martha Stewart?

Martha is a serious role model of mine. I can’t even tell you how many friends and acquaintances have referred to me as the “Martha of our generation” – and I can’t even begin to tell you how flattering that is. With Thanksgiving RIGHT.AROUND.THE.CORNER, I figured the perfect way I could pay homage would be to create a Thanksgiving-inspired dinner party menu all in the name of Martha.

The best part is: Although the recipes are indeed things you could, should, and would make for Thanksgiving Day itself, they’re also things that you could make any other night – for a fabulous fall dinner party, Christmas Eve, or otherwise. Who wants to spend all that time trying to perfect a giant turkey when you won’t be making it again for another year? So, instead I tried to piece together items that won’t limit you to this one {albeit very special} day a year; you won’t find any green bean casseroles or sweet potato pie, but what you will find is a perfect mix of dishes that will work well for any fall or winter occasion.

Got it? Thanksgiving-friendly, but not Thanksgiving-only. I’ve gone ahead and tested all of these recipes for you, and I promise they are all nothing-short-of wonderful. And most importantly, they’re all *totally* doable – no matter what your level of skill in the kitchen may be.

Thanksgiving-Inspired Dinner Party

{all from Martha Stewart}

Pear and Sparkling Cider Cocktails

Baked Brie with Pecans

Fall Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

Cranberry-Stuffed Cornish Game Hens

Maple-Glazed Parsnips and Carrots

Luxurious Mashed Potatoes

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

The Starters:

You’ll die for the Pear and Sparkling Cider Cocktails. I’m not usually a big bourbon drinker, but this is honestly my new favorite specialty cocktail for fall. You can make them totally ahead of time, and I love the garnishing of the glasses with those beautiful, brown Bosc pears. The Baked Brie with Pecans is another go-to favorite appetizer – I love that all you need to buy is the Brie, if you typically have pecans, brown sugar, and maple syrup on hand like I do. This is best served warm, so it’s best to try and have it out when your guests are first arriving. The Fall Salad with Maple Vinaigrette is a no-brainer – it has all of my favorite fall ingredients packed right in, like apples and blue cheese, and the easy dressing ties in the maple flavor which is found in several of the dishes throughout this menu. You can make this ahead of time: Just leave your dressing in the bottom of the serving bowl, and add your salad ingredients on top; give it a toss when you’re ready to eat. Just make sure to douse your apples in lemon juice so they don’t turn brown on you.

The Main Course:

The star of the meal is, of course, the Cranberry-Stuffed Cornish Game Hens. I love anything and everything miniature – so clearly I opted to make these darling little birds over a giant turkey. A turkey can be daunting, and definitely Thanksgiving-only, so these baby birds are the perfect substitute. I must admit, I had never stuffed a bird before. The idea freaked me out a bit, but the end result is so delicious that now I totally get what all the fuss is about. Make sure your hens are dried very well with paper towels to ensure you get a nice, crispy skin. Love the rye bread stuffing, and the dried cranberries add the perfect fall touch. Salt your hens a day in advance if you can, as you always should do with meat to ensure better flavor. You can do the stuffing ahead of time, and stuff your hens before your guests arrive – as the tying of the legs can take a few minutes. They bake for about an hour, so I would probably get them in the oven when your guests start to arrive, depending on how much time you like to have before the main course comes out. You’ll have to do a quick pan gravy when they come out, but it only takes a few minutes.

The Sides:

Sides are always a favorite amongst dinner guests, whether on Thanksgiving or any other night of the year. The Maple-Glazed Parsnips and Carrots are sure to be a hit; just be careful on your timing, as the skinny ends of the veggies can burn pretty quickly. I love how the tops of the carrots are left on – it gives the dish that rustic quality, and looks so beautiful. It’s no secret that I love to roast my vegetables, but these are tossed in maple syrup rather than olive oil, which continues that flavor-theme of maple throughout the menu and feels perfect for fall. Oh, and there’s bacon. Enough said. You can prep your ingredients and put them on the pan in advance, then just toss them in the maple syrup and stick the pan in the oven after your hens have been in about 5 or 10 minutes – unless you’re lucky enough to have two ovens. Just keep an eye on them and take them out when they’re roasted to golden-perfection. It’s okay if they’re not piping hot when they’re served – some dishes are perfectly fine to serve at room temperature, and this is one of them.

And once you taste the Luxurious Mashed Potatoes, you’ll understand the name. There are hands-down the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever made, thanks to one stick of butter and over a cup of heavy cream. The trick here is to pass them mashed potatoes through a fine-mesh sieve or strainer – you’ll end up with the creamiest, smoothest mashed potatoes you’ve ever tried. I added fresh parsley and chives for some color. You can do them ahead of time, and just warm them in a baking dish covered in foil in a 350 degree oven for about 10 to 20 minutes.

The Dessert:

By this time of year, I’ve thoroughly exhausted my obsession with all-things pumpkin, and this Caramel Apple Bread Pudding is just the solution. There’s an out-of-this-world Caramel Bourbon Vanilla Sauce that can be made totally ahead of time, and you’ll want to make the full amount so you can have leftovers for vanilla ice cream later in the week. You can also assemble everything else ahead of time, and pop it in the oven right when you take your hens out. It takes about 40-50 minutes to bake, so that way you can have time to enjoy your dinner and let it get settled before enjoying your grand finale.

*If you double the drink recipe, and scale up the salad a bit, everything here will serve 6.

If you thought yesterday’s chocolately-marshmallowey cupcake madness was too good to be true, just wait until you try these.

I made these for Meg’s 65th birthday over the weekend, after the idea was given to me to do some type of a lemon meringue. Strangely, I had just seen these gorgeous cupcakes over at the Food Librarian, and I was in love with the idea of putting a cupcake spin on it. The original recipe comes from Martha Stewart and has a true meringue topping, but the adaptation I found used a cream cheese frosting instead, so I did the same. Mine aren’t as pretty, but I bet they taste just as good.

Everyone raved over them, and they are such a refreshing change from the typical chocolate, vanilla, or red velvet cupcakes I usually make. There is a layer of lemon curd underneath the frosting that totally makes them, and for some reason I had so much fun making it. Trying something new always gets me excited.

{It’s the small things in life}

Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart, adapted from Food Librarian

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups lemon curd (see below)
Cream cheese frosting (see below)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, and beating until just combined after each. Do not overmix! This is the key to perfectly moist cupcakes.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

{However, I had run out of cupcake liners, so I made 12 cupcakes and a 9-inch cake. This is typical – I am always running out of something and figuring it out last minute. Instead of sending Daniel off to the store, I just improvised}

Lemon Curd

Makes about 2 cups

8 large egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan; whisk to combine. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 8 to 10 minutes, and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.

Remove saucepan from heat. Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

1:1:1 Cream Cheese Frosting

(Doubled to frost 12 cupcakes and 1 9-inch cake)