In this week's issue, we told you where to eat out if you don't feel like cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and we imparted a few hard-won tidbits of advice to make your day easier if you do decide to cook; but James and Julie Petrakis of the Ravenous Pig want you to step it up. No, the restaurant isn't open for Thanksgiving, but they've kindly shared two recipes from their 2013 cookbook, The Ravenous Pig: Seasons of Florida. You have to love these guys – not only are they incredible cooks, they have a sense of humor, too:

"At the Ravenous Pig, we are very thankful for many of the things the Pilgrims accomplished in the autumn of 1621. However, as proud Floridians, we can’t help but think if they had sailed 1,500 miles further south and landed on a certain panhandle-shaped peninsula instead of Plymouth Rock, the celebration of their first successful harvest would have been an even more delicious affair."

Below, find the restaurant's recipe for a wild-mushroom tart – and, be forewarned, this is not a five-ingredient set-it-and-forget-it type recipe. (Hey, we didn't say it was going to be easy. If you want RavPig-level eats, you gotta put in RavPig-level work.) Visit their website for another holiday-worthy recipe: Florida fish stew, pictured above. Well, go on; you better get crack-a-lackin' if you're going to pull this off.

 

WILD MUSHROOM TART, FROM THE RAVENOUS PIG: SEASONS OF FLORIDA

WILD MUSHROOM TART

Makes one 9-inch tart, serves 8

Tart Shell:

2½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons coarse salt

¾ cup unsalted butter

½ cup cold water

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon water

Mushroom Filling:

1 large yellow onions, diced in large pieces

2 tablespoons water, room temperature

5 large eggs

½ cup half-and-half

¼ teaspoon coarse salt

? teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

1½ cups Roasted Mushrooms a la Grecque (Recipe in The Ravenous Pig: Seasons of Florida)

½ cup goat cheese, crumbled

Roasted Apples:

4 Spitzenberg apples (or any heirloom variety), halved

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon coarse salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For Assembly

2 cups lightly packed baby arugula, washed

¼ cup Sherry Vinaigrette (Recipe in The Ravenous Pig: Seasons of Florida)

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted

Make tart shell:

1. Whisk together flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter until it resembles coarse meal. Blend in water until dough comes together. Form dough into a dish; cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 325° Remove dough from refrigerator; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly flour a work surface and roll dough to a ¼-inch think round, 2 inches larger than tart pan. Place dough in tart pan, gently pressing dough along sides.
3. Line tart dough with parchment paper that covers bottom and sides of tart shell. Add enough pie weights to cover bottom and sides of tart. Place tart pan on sheet pan. Place sheet pan in oven.
4. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until dough is set but no browned. Remove pan from oven. Remove pie weights. Whisk egg with water and brush lightly over dough. Return tart to oven. Bake an additional 8 minutes or until set and lightly golden.
5. Remove pan from oven; let stand 10 minutes before filling.

Make roasted apples:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Core and cut apples in half; toss with oil, salt and pepper. Place apples on a small sheet pan and bake 25 minutes or until fork tender.

Make mushroom filling:

1. Puree onion and water in a blender at high speed until smooth, adding more water as needed.
2. Preheat oven to 350° Whick together eggs, half-and-half, ½ cup onion puree, salt, pepper and thyme; set aside.
3. Spread mushrooms in an even layer over the par-baked tart shell; springle with goat cheese. Pour egg mixture over cheese. Place tart pan on a large sheet pan. Place sheet pan in oven.
4. Bake 20 minutes, or until set, rotating pan halfway through baking. Remove sheet pan from oven; let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Assemble:

Slice tart into 8 equal portions. Toss arugula with vinaigrette in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Divide onto the places. Place 1 tart slice and 1 roasted apple half atop arugula on each plate.