Monday, November 28, 2011

Thanksgiving

Ok, I've been a bit lazy to get this T-Day post up. Quite frankly, from all the cooking and eating, I just needed a small break from food...Yep, I said it, a break from FOOD. Who would have thought that day would come? Anyhoo, after a couple days of detox, I'm feeling normal again.

I started cooking on Wednesday and continued throughout Thursday. This is was the first Thanksgiving where I had total control of everything and just felt very calm about it. I remember previous years of frantic cooking with the entire kitchen in shambles. This year, I prepped a lot on Wednesday and really didn't have that much to do on Thursday. The most challenging aspect was timing the turkey to be done and rested while also having everything else hot and ready to go. I had a few mishaps, but nothing I couldn't fix. All in all, best Thanksgiving meal yet.

Apricot glazed turkey, sage butter, stuffed with onions, apples, lemon, garlic and herbs galore.

 Honey baked ham, a family staple. Lots of complaints if this enormous hunk of meat is missing.

Oddly enough, these simple dinner rolls with honey butter were a hit! Everyone loves butter here.

Homemade gravy and herbed mashed potatoes. These guys flew under the radar this year.

 Pear cranberry sauce with honey and lemon. I love this recipe. I can hardly believe anyone would prefer something from a can---in can shape. shudder.

Green bean casserole shows up around this time every year. My sister has adopted this dish and seems to make it better and better every time.

Baked macaroni and cheese with cheddar, gruyere and smoked gouda. I made it festive by using fall themed pasta. I <3 mac and cheese. Amazingly, the only leftover still in the fridge.

 
I thought we need some veggies--maple glazed carrots with bacon, chives and shallots. 

My sister made bourban glazed sweet potatoes. A tad to sweet for my taste. I added chives for color.

What's Thanksgiving without stuffing? My sister made this as well. Cornbread stuffing with spicy sausage. This was a hit. Thanks Emeril!

Persimmon pumpkin pie with mascarpone shortbread crust. My first attempt at making my own crust since culinary school. It turned out okay, except I burned it! The pie tasted pretty good--except everyone was too full to eat it!

What a yummy Thanksgiving. Until next year!

2 comments: