Thanksgiving menu thoughts
Okay….I get stressed out like everybody else about the holidays…BUT….despite that, I love the holidays.
I DO.
I know it’s somewhat de rigueur to bash the holidays (and I do understand all the reasons why so I’m not questioning those that do….) but there’s still enough of the child in me to love the magic of it. Although I think I like the build up more than event. Christmas day is great for the kids but I much prefer all the things leading up to it than the day itself. I do think hosting both Thanksgiving and Christmas in my own home is part of the pleasure---if I had lots of travel I might not feel the same. My sister Debbie will be visiting for the first two weeks of December and it will be the first time she’s been here for the holiday season in well, uh..ever. So I want to get our tree up and decorated early and maybe we’ll have an early Christmas feast. Hopefully we’ll be able to AFFORD the holidays….anybody want to buy a 1909 Plan of Chicago 1st edition? Go bid on my ebay auction…
Anyway…right now I’m focused on Thanksgiving which is arriving frighteningly soon. I haven’t been inspired by any of my cooking magazines. I ordered a turkey at the farmer’s market which I hope to hell I can afford but I’m sure it will be good. I’ll probably just use a salt/spice rub a day ahead and stuff it because damn it, that’s how the stuffing tastes best. I’ve got lots of heels of good bread tucked into the freezer and I’ll do my standard sausage, fennel and apple stuffing….I tweak it a little every year depending on what’s around and sounds good.
Judi’s on a mashed potato kick like you wouldn’t believe so I won’t mess with that tradition. For a vegetable I usually do Brussels sprouts which are sometimes great and sometimes ehhhh. I’m actually thinking of breaking with tradition and making the salad that Ann brought over the other night. Ann is an AMAZING cook. She and Bob and Sophie came over---I supplied several thin crust Papa Murphy’s pizzas…..Ann supplied this amazing salad and homemade pumpkin ice cream. Yeah…I know….but I love her anyway.
Ann’s Election Night Salad
Strips of fresh butter lettuce
Chunks of ripe avocado
Crumbled blue cheese (the blue for election night)
Pomegranate seeds (the red for election night)
Toasted pine nuts
The night we had it she used a bottled strawberry dressing. Every single bit of that salad was gone before we’d even gone through half the pizza.
So this is where I am:
Tentative Thanksgiving Menu
Spiced turkey (still thinking about what spices but I am on a smoked paprika kick)
Gravy with hmmmm, something…..we’ve got a lovely bottle of bourbon that Annette brought to our party so maybe some of that thrown in….
Classic mashed potatoes
Ann’s Election Night Salad
Cranberry Sauce….I usually try something new but I may just go with my basic cinnamon and clove flavored sauce….
I usually do sweet potatoes too….. I don’t like them sweetened…my favorite way is just mashed with hot sauce and lime juice but I don’t want two mashed potatoes….so something else. I’ve got this fantastic recipe for Indian potatoes----maybe I could try that with sweet potatoes…..hmmmmm
Appetizers----mmmm, not too much. Debbie sent Ernie some absolutely mindboggling cheese from Vermont so maybe just some of that with crackers and olives?
Desserts…..well, we all know this is my weak point. Judi did suggest I just have Sasha and Dick deliver another sweet potato pie, Ann deliver her salad and Kathy deliver her apple cake. In fact I mentioned getting the recipe for the apple cake from Kathy and Judi told me she just didn’t trust me to recreate it. How’s that for sisterly love? Anyway….dessert undecided. Any ideas?
Of course the night before (and for breakfast the day of) we’ll have our traditional French-Canadian Meat Pie or tourtière, along with pickled beets and coleslaw. I can’t wait.
I'm going to try to savor these holidays....
and for an extra treat here's a little Ernest Tubb....this used to be one of my favorite well-worn songs on the jukebox at The Lighthouse, our neighborhood bar in Chicago....