Thanksgiving Dinner

It has been an unbelieveable fall: the Giants won the world series and we already have over 80 inches of snow in North Lake Tahoe.  It has also been over two weeks since I have last written a post and I promised myself an entry each week to keep you interested.  Anna suggested that I need to write up shorter posts with only a recipe or two to keep the blog moving instead of creating long posts with six to eight recipes.  I am still working on my November 7th birthday post but  time just seeps through the cracks and it is still not done.  It was a great menu and I promise it soon…..

Last night I hosted dinner for Thanksgiving, my family’s favorite holiday.  Actually, I wrote that sentence two other times in various drafts of this post: once stating it was the  day before Thanksgiving, then writing that it was Thanksgiving, and now saying it is the day after. See how time flies!  Our menu was completely traditional and as much as I would like to update it, my suggestions for new recipes fall on deaf ears.  We had thirteen over for dinner which included our family, David’s mom, sister and brother and their children.  It is truly a family affair and we are blessed to call our family members our friends as we usually have a great time.  I say usually because last year was not my best Thanksgiving: I felt behind the eight ball all night until I finally sat down for dinner.  I have not been so out of my element in the kitchen since my early days of cooking. As my husband and I were doing the last-minute carving, I actually came close to breaking down in tears when he said that his turkey was better than mine. Needless to say, I refused to do two turkeys this year.  I always brag that Thanksgiving dinner is like Sunday supper for me, only with a bigger bird, but I was completely humbled by last year’s event.  This year I completely respected the holiday prep, planned accordingly and set my expectations appropriately, so here we go….

A Special Thanksgiving Menu
For our Family
November 25th, 2009

With Cocktails, Conversation, Ping Pong and Cards

Farmers Market Pickled Vegetables
*
Dolmas and Smoked Salmon Crostini with Caper and Red Onion Cream Cheese
*
Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Boreks and Caramelized Onion Crostini

Thanksgiving Buffet

Roasted Turkey with Cornmeal Chorizo Stuffing
Bourbon Gravy
*
Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes with Peas and Mushrooms
*
David’s Favorite Candied Yams with Marshmallows
*
Carrot Mousseline
*
Arlene’s Strawberry Jell-O with Pineapple and Sour Cream made by Shirley
and David’s Orange Jell-O with Carrots and Pineapple
*
White Wine Poached Pears with Cranberry Chutney and Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

For Dessert

Pumpkin Pie and Gingerbread with Poached Persimmons
*
Pecan and Bourbon Pie with Bourbon Whipped Cream

If you ask my kids what their favorite part of this meal is, they would say the stuffing.  I think it is the combination of the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry chutney and bourbon gravy in one bite.  My husband and I have suggested new stuffing recipes over the years but the kids firmly say no.  It is a traditional cornbread and sausage stuffing made Southwestern style.  The recipe was given to me by Mark Frappier many years ago and I have made it for Thanksgiving ever since.  Originally from the Routh Street Cafe in Dallas, Texas it includes a spicy cornbread made with three types of peppers along with a spicy chorizo sausage.  The cornbread is worth eating on its own but add sauteed onions, carrots, celery, garlic, more serranos, fresh herbs and a splash of bourbon and you have a perfect stuffing that goes with any holiday meal.  I add a few less serrano chilies than is called for, beefed up the portions of vegetables and use Poblano chilies instead of the mild green, but besides that, I follow the recipe as is. Try it the morning after crisped in a pan with a fried egg on top!

To minimize the last minute rush, I made a few items each day.  I brined the turkey and made the stock, cornbread and gingerbread on Tuesday and had my girls along with my niece Monica help me with prep on Wednesday.   On Wednesday we made the poached pears, cranberry chutney, dolmas, filo wrapped boreks, toasts for the salmon canape and poached persimmons for the gingerbread.  I also removed the turkey from my herbed brine to allow the 24-pound bird to dry well for one day.  A brined turkey is a forgiving turkey and to me, brining is the only way to go.  Early Thanksgiving morning, I made the pecan-bourbon pie and pumpkin pie.  Both recipes are from a new cookbook that my girlfriend, Francesca, gave me for my birthday. It’s called Sarabeth’s Bakery by Sarabeth Levine and is my new bedtime companion since my husband has been steelhead fishing with my son for the last few days.  The pecan-bourbon is now my new favorite pie recipe.  After I made that announcement this morning I could see my husband’s brain ticking with the vision of eating bourbon-pecan for the next month and a half. He said, “that dessert is a calorie bomb on sugar steroids.”  He’s right, but it’s oh-so good. I used two different cookbooks for the recipe so need to write it up to remember it.  I would suggest you try it.

I cannot think of a better way to spend the last few days than in the kitchen with my girls.  Anna and Katie also spent Thanksgiving day in the kitchen with me making the chorizo cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrot and parsnip mousseline and all the other last-minute items.  Last-minute prep still humbled me but as we sat down at the dinner table and I began eating my Thanksgiving plate, I was overwhelmed by the flavors and the feeling of gratitude for having such an unbelievable family.

This menu is a perfect holiday menu for Thanksgiving or Christmas and I will ultimately write up all the recipes for my index.  I hope you will try some of them for your next family holiday dinner; I have been perfecting them for the last twenty five years.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.  We all have a lot to be thankful for.