Thanksgiving cooking

Potato gratins can be enormously satisfying, especially as rich accompaniments to steaks, but they are also rather one-dimensional. In this recipe, the modest investment of adding butternut squash, and suffusing the cream with thyme and marjoram, pays huge dividends as the gratin assumes a more compelling and complex character with virtually no additional work.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Generously butter a 9-by-12-inch gratin dish. Peel the squash and trim the top and bottom. Cut off the seed-filled bottom, halve it, and remove and discard the seeds. Slice the neck of the squash into 1/8-inch-thick rounds and slice the base into 1/8-inch-thick half circles. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/8-inch-thick slices. (A French or Japanese mandoline works very well for this.)

In a small bowl, combine the thyme, marjoram, and sage.

Beginning with the half circles of squash (reserve the more attractive rounds for the top layers), layer about 1/3 of the squash slices in the gratin dish. Sprinkle with some of the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Layer 1/2 the potato slices over the squash layer. Sprinkle with some of the herbs and 1/2 of the minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread another third of the squash slices on the potatoes. Sprinkle with some of the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Spread the remaining potatoes in another layer over the squash and sprinkle some of the herbs and the rest of the garlic. Top with the remaining squash and herbs, and season with salt and pepper.

While firmly pressing down on the squash and potatoes with a large spoon, spatula, or your fingers, slowly pour the cream over the top and down the sides of the dish. Add enough to just barely cover the vegetables when pressed. Too much cream will result in a soupy gratin. Too little cream will make it dry.

Cover the dish with foil and bake the gratin for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle with the Gruyère. Continue to bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, the cream is nearly absorbed, and the top of the gratin is lightly browned.

While pumpkin pie deserves great respect as a Thanksgiving dessert, it’s fun to shake up tradition and impress your friends with this sophisticated variation. The burnt sugar top tastes especially delicious with the sweetly spiced pumpkin cream.

BRULÉE SUGAR: Combine the sugars, mixing well to integrate evenly. Spread on a baking sheet and dry in the oven for about 1 hour. Transfer to a blender and process to a fine powder. Set aside, covered, and store in a cool dry place at room temperature for up to a week.

CUSTARDS: Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a saucepan, combine the milk, cream, sugar, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Remove the cinnamon stick. Whisk in the egg yolks, mixing until smooth. Add the pumpkin purée, whisking until well blended. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.

Pour the custard into eight 4-ounce ramekins. Set the ramekins in a shallow roasting pan or baking pan and put in the oven. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the custards are set around the edges but still a little shaky in the center.

Carefully remove the pan from the oven. Remove ramekins from the water bath and let the custards cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat the broiler, or better yet, use a small propane torch designed for kitchen use.

Remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle each custard with brulée sugar. Broil for 30 to 60 seconds, until the sugar caramelizes, or hold the torch over the sugar to caramelize it.

For me, pumpkins evoke the cornucopia that symbolizes Thanksgiving, so I believe that these versatile custards will make a wonderful addition to your November repertoire. The pumpkin is deeply caramelized to activate its complex flavors while, in contrast, the garlic is slow-roasted to a sweet, fragrant softness. In addition to turkey, this savory combination complements a variety of other meats and fowl at this time of year, including roast pork and roast chicken.

When making this dish be sure you periodically peek under the foil to ensure that the custards don’t “soufflé”; instead, you want a soft, silky, elegant quality. You might also use this recipe as the model for any number of vegetable custards of your own design. (See Variations.)

Put the garlic cloves in a small saucepan. Add enough cold salted water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Drain, discarding the water. Return the garlic cloves to the pan, add more water and salt, and repeat twice more. When the water comes to a boil for the third time, reduce the heat and simmer for about 12 minutes, until the cloves are tender. Drain, and set aside 8 cloves for garnish. Peel the remaining cloves.

Meanwhile, put the pumpkin in a 21/2-quart saucepan. Add enough cold salted water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until tender when pierced with the tip of a small, sharp knife. Drain.

In a 12-inch sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the squash and peeled garlic cloves, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often to avoid scorching, until the excess moisture evaporates. Remove from the heat to cool to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Transfer the squash and garlic to a blender or a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until smooth. Add the eggs, cream, marjoram, and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper, and pulse to combine. Ladle the custard into eight 4-ounce ramekins.

Set the ramekins in a shallow roasting pan or baking pan, cover loosely with a sheet of foil, and put the pan in the oven. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set around the edges but still a little shaky in the center. Check the custards after about 15 minutes in the oven. If they are puffing up and resembling soufflés, reduce the oven temperature to 325F.

Carefully remove the pan from the oven. If not serving right away, let the heat escape from the oven and, at the same time, reduce the temperature to its lowest setting (between 180 and 200F). Let the custards cool slightly in the water bath, then lift the ramekins from the water and serve immediately or return them to the oven to keep warm. Serve the custards in the ramekins or unmolded, inverted onto a plate.