Thanksgiving!

An organic table setting.

Holy cow, this weekend has been a whirlwind of eating, drinking and making merry. I barely have the energy to type right now, so I’ll make this post a quick roundup of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner. I didn’t do a good job with the photos because I was too busy zipping around the kitchen like a maniac. Thank goodness I had help!

Appetizers:

Cheesy dip: this is a famous family recipe that you will seriously hate yourself for loving so much. Even the snootiest of people love this mixture of Velveeta, cheddar cheese, garlic, cumin, fire roasted tomatoes, green chilies and cilantro. All melted together, it is a favorite dip for every party.

Turkey puffs: A twist on a Martha Stewart recipe – puff pastry layered with Dijon mustard, Gruyere cheese, Parmesan cheese and then brushed with a paprika butter.

Gobble?

Cut into turkeys and baked until golden.

Next, the veggie plate. I made an easy falafel dip with garbanzo beans, cumin, garlic, parsley, cilantro, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and olive oil. I served it with cut up celery, pepper, carrots and cucumber:

The dinner course isn’t as well photographed. We brined the turkey and rubbed it with butter and herbs, stuffed it with more aromatics and then roasted it for three hours:

Ready for carving!

We had many side dishes: cornbread stuffing, apple-chestnut stuffing, cranberry relish with rosemary and walnuts, parsnip risotto with a balsamic drizzle, green beans with pine nuts and prosciutto, maple-bourbon sweet potatoes, roasted cauliflower with herbs and Parmesan and home-made rolls.

Serving up.

My favorite part was the gravy! Using all the turkey drippings, we made a dark roux and then whisked in chicken stock. That’s it! So rich and delicious – I just finished the last of it off today, over some stuffing.

Dessert:

We had a pumpkin pie from Fresh Market, but the star was undoubtedly Merissa’s bourbon pecan pie, complete with hand-cut leaves on the crust.

We also made a dutch apple pie with a strusel topping, because who can have enough pies?

I hope everybody had a happy and filling Thanksgiving. I am thankful for the friends and family around me (near and far), my job, my health and my cat.

Cheers! xoxo

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