By November, and the Thanksgiving preparations have the particular warmth of a holiday that now includes the blog — the community of readers who will cook the recipes I share, who will gather at their own tables, who will bless their own food with their own words. The communal-ness of the blog has changed the cooking: I am no longer cooking for the family alone but for the community, and the community is the larger family, and the larger family is the readers, and the readers are the love extended.
James and Elise will come. Carrie will come — from Emory, the four-hour drive, the senior-year Carrie who is finishing the thing she started six years ago. Joy will visit. The table will hold six. The six is the abundance.
Thanksgiving dinner: the same menu, the covenant menu, the she-crab soup and the turkey and the dressing and the cobbler. I blessed the food with words that now include the blog, the community, the readers: "For this food. For this family. For the strangers who cook these recipes in kitchens we will never see. For Carolyn Simmons, who is the food and the family and the love. We give thanks."
The blessing was the Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving was the blessing. And the table held six people and a community of readers and a woman who died two years ago and a cobbler that is the bridge between them all.
The covenant menu has its anchors—the soup, the turkey, the dressing, the cobbler—but every Thanksgiving table also needs something for the in-between moments, the arrival hours when the house smells like everything good and people are still finding their coats a place to rest. This pumpkin cream cheese spread is what I put out then. It is simple enough that I can make it while the turkey rests, and it is autumn in a bowl, and when I make it now I think of all the kitchens I will never see where someone else is spreading it on a cracker and calling it the start of a good day.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread/Dip
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- Pinch of salt
- Crackers, gingersnaps, apple slices, or crostini for serving
Instructions
- Soften the cream cheese. Allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes so it blends smoothly without lumps.
- Combine the base. In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with a hand mixer or sturdy spatula until smooth and fluffy, about 1—2 minutes.
- Add the pumpkin and flavorings. Add the pumpkin puree, powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. Mix until fully incorporated and the color is uniform throughout.
- Taste and adjust. Taste the spread and adjust sweetness or spice to your preference—an extra pinch of cinnamon, a touch more maple syrup if you like it sweeter.
- Chill briefly. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to let the flavors meld. The spread will firm slightly as it chills.
- Serve. Set out alongside crackers, gingersnaps, apple slices, or toasted crostini. Garnish with a light dusting of cinnamon if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 118 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 6g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 95mg