my thanksgiving menu

My Thanksgiving menu is all set!  

My family enjoys the same traditional foods

from year to year,

so this is the menu we came up with

 to make everyone happy.  

Everything is made from scratch,

including the chicken stock which

 I will make tomorrow and that will be

incorporated into the stuffing and gravy.  

Side dishes include maple infused sweet potatoes

and fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes

which both go through a potato ricer for the best consistency.  

Never use an electric mixer,

because the potatoes will end up gummy

and not fluffy!  

My secret to moist turkey is to buy a fresh organic bird,

 not previously frozen.  

For years I would spend hours trying to

thaw out my turkey

and they would always end up being a little dry.  

I simply slather on some butter, salt and pepper.  

Inside, I include a fennel bulb, onion

and maybe an apple or orange.  

I lay the turkey on rows of celery stalks in the pan,

instead of a rack.  

That way, all that yumminess from the pan,

the drippings and veggies,

go into my turkey soup for the weekend.  

All these recipes are in my head.  

I don’t follow recipes,

except for the pies,

but timing is so important in cooking the turkey. 

Figure out how many pounds your turkey is

and time it correctly.  

For the cranberry relish,

fresh cranberries are cooked in freshly grated ginger,

a little brown sugar and the juice and zest of one orange.  

The addition of ginger is so good for digestion!  

I also use freshly grated ginger (and nutmeg) in the pies.   

Fresh ciabatta bread, mushrooms, apples, onions, celery, fresh herbs (lots of sage) and more go into the stuffing.  

This year I am going to bake it in

a bundt pan,

as seen on pinterest!

The corn and brussel sprouts are cooked simply

with butter (for the corn)

and olive oil (for the sprouts) and salt and pepper.  

 

The pies are also made from scratch.  

Sweet potato chiffon, recipe by Emeril

 and good old pumpkin pie, of course!  

Bon appetit!

 ciao! fabiana