Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Stuffed

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Kir Royales

Pinot Noir from CA Central Coast


Roast Turkey
Cherry-Shallot Confit
Mashed Potatoes
Cornbread Dressing
Sweet Potato Souffle
Squash Casserole
Sauteed Green Beans
Lima & Butter Beans with Bacon
Rolls

Apple Crostada a la Mode


Yea! Thanksgiving is upon us and I just picked up my fresh, free-range 12-pound bird from Whole Foods which that Tim and I will be roasting on Friday evening. He (the turkey, not Tim) will be massaged thoroughly with a rich shallot and herb butter. And though the recipe doesn't call for it, it seems that the turkey would be much happier stuffed with apples, Vidalias and few dozen cloves of garlic. So that's what we'll do.

I've only roasted a turkey one other time, about four years ago. I didn't have a proper roasting pan or meat thermometer, had to take the bird out a leeetle bit early, and drive him, bundled in tin foil, to my Grandmother's house about 2 hours away. It actually turned out pretty good as I recall, but the whole thing was fairly unromantic, with no glistening fond gravy or beautifully garnished platter. This year, that bird will rest splendidly on a green ceramic plate (whose label says "not safe for food" but I'm gonna take my chances anyway) with sliced figs and Satsumas and maybe a few maple leaves.

And as much as I'm tempted to inject some gourmetness into this meal - something with quince, or maybe leeks, it just feels immoral. As a Southerner, I'm pretty sure I would burn in hell if there was no cornbread dressing or squash casserole on the table. My mashed potatoes will be fully peeled and beaten with half and half and butter....with maybe just a little nutmeg grated in, but none of this smashed garlic/parmesan potatoes business. Not on Thanksgiving anyway. I am breaking from tradition a bit with my cherry-shallot condiment, and hoping no one will miss that ribbed cranberry stuff. Tim is topping it all off with a perfectly flaky, syrupy, cinnamony apple crostada which he tested a few nights ago with fabulous results.

So....the next couple of days will be a flurry of chopping, dishwashing and tired feet as we prepare to entertain our parents and a few friends. I hope I'll remember to take photos this time. But it's more likely I'll be too busy eating, drinking, football watchin' and in general being thankful.

Something tells me that with a greasy roasting pan, four 9x13 casserole dishes, a couple of cookie sheets, and at least two dozen plates, I think what I'll be most thankful for is my dishwasher.

Cheers.

Thursday, November 01, 2007


Just discovered a fantastic gift idea while doing some early browsing for holiday recipes. You can now create your own, hard-bound, beautifully photographed cookbook at www.tastebook.com. In partnership with Epicurious, Tastebook allows you to compile up to 100 favorite recipes from all the publications in the Epicurious family into a customized, tabbed and ring-bound cookbook. You can even post your own recipes to your Tastebook account, and include those in your book. To create a custom look and feel, you are given the choice of about three dozen gorgeous photographs to use for your cover, and you can even add an accent from a nice color palette. I wish the title plate on the cover of the book didn't obscure the photo, but overall this is a really neat idea. Each book is $35 - not bad at all considering you get 100 recipes and a jolly good time putting your book together! Definitely going to put this on the gift list this Christmas.