Different Turkey Day dessert ideas

These are all such wonderful ideas! I had been kicking around the idea of a bread pudding....and I've always wanted to try a sticky date pudding. In the past I've made the trifle. It's lovely. I think I'm going to do the parsnip cake. I'm keeping it a surprise from the family though. I can't wait! That being said, I'll have to tuck away these recipes for other gatherings!

How about Dorie Greenspan's Thanksgiving Twofer Pie (combination pumpkin & pecan): .. http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/2010/11/must-make-recipe-dorie-greenspans.html .. I'm also dying to try LiztheChef's Wet Bottom Shoofly Pie: .. http://www.food52.com/recipes/4151_wet_bottom_shoofly_pie/1

I LOVE Deborah Madison's Sticy Date Pudding. It's like a little taste of Heaven. Also, Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread from Claudia Fleming with Lemon Ice Cream (Jeni's Genius recipe would be great! or with whipped cream. You can easily find either one online...I think Culinate.com has the Deborah Madison one or epicurious has the gingerbead.

Two more suggestions:
AntoniaJames' prune clafoutis is delicious and to my mind a wonderful dessert for Thanksgiving: http://staging.food52.com/recipes/14664_winesoaked_prune_clafoutis

Also, if you love ice cream, you can buy a Cuisinart ice cream maker (Costco - $29.00) and the book Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home, you will find all sorts of wonderful ice creams and sorbets that are great for a Thanksgiving meal. I'm having a great time testing different recipes from Jeni's book and trying to figure out which ice creams I plan to make.

When I was an editor at REDBOOK, the food editor there made this pumpkin bread pudding that was to die for. The recipe is here: http://www.redbookmag.com/recipefinder/pumpkin-bread-pudding-vanilla-custard-recipe

Graeters has really wonderful pumpkin ice cream--good pumpkin flavor and not very sweet. Make a pumpkin ice cream sundae with bittersweet hot fudge sauce, sprinkle on some toasted pecans and top with whipped cream.
If you want to work ahead you could make ice cream balls (size of an orange) and roll them in the chopped toasted pecans and store in freezer, then add bittersweet sauce and whipped cream before serving.

Now we're talking!

NO!Yet again:

This is an adaptation from a family recipe.Make any chocolate pudding you're used to,and make a layer on a bowl not too deep.On top of that goes a layer of any kind of soft cookies soaked on Port(in Brazil we use a kind of biscuit,very light called "palito francês ou biscoito champagne:french stiks or champagne biscuit"but I have no idea if you have something similar near you.Google it for images-maybe!).Then a layer of a custard made from condensed milk,cream and milk(equal parts)egg yolks,sugar,and some corn starch to give it some thickness.On the pot.Low heat.Stirring.Don't let it cool too much or it won't pour easily over the cookies.Finish it with another layer of drunk cookies and then some meringue...looots of sugar on it.Add a pinch of salt -and- a pinch of baking powder to the egg whites so they stay firmer for longer.(Egg white viagra,I call it.)Oven to give it some colour.We call it Grandma's Wine Dessert.She used to make it every Christmas,and ate half of it herself(quite the sweet tooth),and it's an adaptation cause unfortunately,no one else has the full recipe...only memories.Hope yours (shall you decide to do it) turns out as good as hers!Happy Hollydays!

I did a riff on a gingerbread and pumpkin trifle I saw on the food network - the original called for boxed mixes and such, but I just homemade everything. Super yummy.
I also did a pumpkin spice tiramisu that has traditional pumpkin pie flavors mixed with the coffee flavors of tiramisu: http://www.food52.com/recipes/7562_pumpkin_spice_tiramisu

This was on the FOOD52 news feed, sounds great:

http://passthesushi.com/cinnamon-chai-cream-pie

Try my Nantucket Cranberry Cobbler...I have made it 4 times in the past weeks and everyone loves it. The combo of sour cranberries marries well with the chopped almonds and the sweet almond flavored crust.

Another (very grown up) winter dessert, which is incredibly easy, is from Alice Waters' wonderful cookbook, "Chez Panisse Fruits." Plump up dried figs in red wine and a splash of water to which you've added zest and juice of an orange, honey (1/4 cup for each cup of wine), vanilla bean, one whole clove (my addition) and a cinnamon stick. Simmer to allow the flavors to blend, and the figs to soak up the liquid. The best part: serve over coffee ice cream. Divine!! Plus, you can make these three or four days ahead and they'll actually improve -- but do take the spices out before you put them in the fridge. This year I'm going to play around with some variations . . . adding a bit of port, and perhaps in another batch, playing with the spices to use star anise instead of cloves. ;o)

Some years, I make a Pumpkin Flan instead of a pie, served with a dab of cinnamon whipped cream. It's simple, but rich and sort of elegant with the caramel sauce (like creme caramel.) I make it in a narrow loaf pan (like a terrine for pate), so it's really easy to slice/serve. Unfortunately, the recipe isn't online - it's on a scrap of paper in my mother's handwriting - but I can post it if you like.

Butternut Squash & Granny Smith apple combine for an excellent pie, a change from pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. I have a pie posted and also a tart recipe that was tweaked after that. I use a pie crust, this pie was inspired by a recipe I saw in Savour magazine a few years back...they made this filling with Kobaka squash in a puff pastry crust. Links :

http://www.food52.com/recipes/7264_butternut_meets_granny_smithan_autumn_affair
http://www.food52.com/recipes/10319_butternut_granny_smith_tart

WinnieAb's Spiced Maple Butternut Squash Tart is a terrific dessert that is like a second cousin to pumpkin pie, but much, much better:

http://www.food52.com/recipes/7406_spiced_maple_butternut_squash_tart

For the holidays, I'd grind up some ginger snaps and add some melted butter, and press that into a pie dish to give it a light "crust." So delicious!! Serve with vanilla scented creme fraiche. ;o)

This is a really interesting steamed pudding that uses cranberry and molasses with a delicious sauce:
http://food52.com/recipes/7558_cranberrymolasses_pudding_with_vanilla_hard_sauce

Hardlikearmour has an amazing Spiced Parsnip Cake that I have made and gotten great reviews. It is so good I am taking it to our Seattle Food52 Cookbook Launch dessert party tomorrow! http://www.food52.com/recipes/search?c=1&recipe_search=parsnip%20cake

My girlfriend and Thanksgiving co-host makes Indian Pudding occasionally. It is not a pie, has traditional roots, and is delicious. There are a number of recipes on this site, and I would start by trying Sagegreen's: http://www.food52.com/recipes/7568_annalieses_new_england_indian_pudding?comments=show