Thanksgiving 2011: An Adventure In Moving

The local slow food chapter near our new house has an annual turkey sale where they partner up with 4H kids who raised the birds. The checks are written directly to the future farmer. Naturally, in spite of the fact that most of my kitchen is still in boxes and we were doing the final move this same week, I went ahead and ordered a bird. How could I resist? This 9 pounder I'm pretty sure was the smallest bird I have ever cooked. I was worried it might be dry so I slathered it both under the skin and on top with a parsley thyme butter that gave a nice flavor to the red wine gravy I served on the side.

The stuffing was chestnut and pear with both country white and wheat breads. Not much room for stuffing in this little guy so I had extra on the side.
You wouldn't believe it from the picture but these biscuits are never fail magic. Based on a recipe by CookWise author Shirley Corriher, a tireless researcher and pursuer of cooking perfection, these biscuits are light and take no rolling. Instead the very wet dough is scooped out, rolled in a bit of flour and baked to fluffy perfection.
Maple glazed brussels sprouts and chestnuts. What could be bad about that? Slightly bitter vegetables with a slight sweet glaze tempered by a dash of cider vinegar. I love chestnuts and having a second excuse to serve them always makes me happy.

Next to the brussels sprouts were leek and thyme mashed potatoes -- a big hit.
Thanksgiving has to have pie. Usually more than one. This year I just wasn't in the mood for pumpkin and I kept looking at the sweet potatoes on the counter and decided on a sweet potato pie with a pecan crust. Not quite as easy as opening that orange can, but flaky sweet and ready for ice cream just the same.

Happy Thanksgiving one and all!

Saturday Night Stuffing

I had a full day of pickling, baking, and candy making and oddly enough none of it was for James. I'm in the throws of prep for our upcoming party. When I finally looked up and realized what time it was I had to get dinner ready in a hurry and went straight to the freezer for a casserole of stuffing I tucked away on Thanksgiving. A nice pork and sausage stuffing and a bright, fresh green and red salad (mixed lettuces, chopped pistachios, pomegranate seeds, goat cheese and a mustard sherry vinaigrette). That's dinner in a hurry around here.

Home At Last

I made the stuffing for Thanksgiving this year, and before baking I tucked away a bit in the freezer for a night like tonight. I opened a pork tenderloin up and spread it thinly across my board (not quite butterflied -- it wasn't that professional -- but that idea). I laid on the cornbread fruit and nut stuffing, rolled the meat around jelly roll style, covered the tip (and the open seam) with a few sliced of back, tied it up like a roast (or a handy porky package) and baked in a 350º for 50 minutes. Each slice had a beautiful mosaic of stuffing and juicy, tender meat. Welcome home Honey.