Post-Thanksgiving

Hi There! No excuses anymore. I'm a horrible blogger. Believe me...my bad blogging is the top cause of any and all guilt I have.

So, with a full on guilt trip...here is the better late than never recap of Thanksgiving 2010!


I made a batch of roasted butternut squash and turnips. I peeled and tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. I was excited, but in the end...it didn't work for me. The turnips were bitter and the squash had no flavor. Just blah.

I made a bunch of compound butter for the turkey. Rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley with salt and pepper. I put this under the skin of the turkey, then used it to baste! Mmm.

For the first time, I wanted to try making a green bean casserole. It seems to be a full on traditional Thanksgiving dish, but I've never made it, nor have I had it. But...I couldn't do things easily. I made a roux based cream sauce with sauted shallots. The beans were blanched and I topped the who thing with crispy Swedish onions. Looked great. Smelled great. I didn't like it. Still not for me.

Here's my turkey. Because it was just four of us this year, I bought a turkey breast, which was brined in my awesome solution of salt, water, apple cider, smashed apples, lemon slices, smashed carrots, onions, fresh herbs and a touch of brown sugar. It was awesome!

Although not a great photo, I love the color of my drunken cranberries. Always tasty, especially with the addition of a little ginger this year!

Here are the finished green beans. Like I said, looked and smelled great, but I still don't like them.

Sliced turkey breast. Super juicy, not overly salty with a crisp skin!

My dressing this year. I do a traditional bread/sage/onion dressing. Since I only had the breast, I couldn't do a stuffing in the bird. I scooped the stuffing into muffin tins that were smeared with butter...drizzled a little extra broth on top, then another dollop of butter. They were crispy on the outside and soft and tasty on the inside! The dressing was the winner at this year's meal!

Sweet potatoes...orange and white varieties. After the spiced brown sugar and butter are put on top, I cover with marshmallows. Bake until golden brown and the marshmallows are starting to get crispy. It's like a pre-dessert!

My plate. But something is missing?

Ahhhh, gravy. Awesome delicious gravy!

Hope everyone had a great holiday...and Christmas is right around the corner...silly season.