Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for this year, a wonderful family and plenty of food and drink to share are not among the least. Sadly, I wasn't able to spend this Thanksgiving holiday with the majority of my family, I was able to share an abundance of food with my loving husband, brother-in-law, and two of his friends, which turned out be a fantastic way to spend the holiday. It didn't hurt that we started off the afternoon with a wonderful cheese plate and sherry. Jeremy brought over blocks of bleu cheese, Manchego, and Roquefort. The Roquefort was absolutely to die for. The only unfortunate part was that we couldn't wait for Frank and Lori--they didn't get to try any of it. Oops.

In addition to our cheese course, we snacked on sweet pickles and olives that had been poached in olive oil, rosemary, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Jeremy added salt to the poaching liquid, which I would advise against. The Kalamata and Garlic Stuffed Green olives were salty enough. Other than that, they were a perfect accompaniment to the cheeses.

Because we were still hungry (yeah right), we had dinner not too long after our second course of cheese (because of course Frank and Lori brought over some Brie). Jeremy and Adam have decided that they are not huge fans of turkey. It always ends up dry. So, we decided to roast a duck with a pesto of parsley, thyme, and olive oil under the skin. It roasted for about 2 hours in a 350 oven in a roasting pan. It came out slightly overcooked, but that was because every guide we read said the duck would take 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Everyone said it was luscious though. It certainly looked it.

For me, the sides are the highlight of Thanksgiving dinner. We had the traditional mashed sweet potatoes with Marshmallow Fluff (no gelatin) scooped on top and browned. The sweet potatoes were steamed in a covered bowl in the microwave for approximately 7 minutes, or until softened. Then, the sweet potatoes were mashed with a hand mixer with 1 Tbs. butter, 1/4 cup milk, and 1 Tbs. (or so) of brown sugar. They were then put in a baking dish and topped with Marshmallow Fluff. They were baked in the 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until heated through and marshmallows browned.

We also had my guilty pleasure of green bean casserole. I'm not quite sure why I love this dish so much. I feel like it goes against my everyday eating in all ways. In general, I hate gloopy, fatty things. But, for some reason, on Thanksgiving green bean casserole is where it's at. I mixed approximately 2 lbs. of green beans with 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 1/4 cup milk. I microwaved the casserole for 5 minutes to softened the green beans, topped it with fried onions, and then baked it at 350 for 30 minutes.

Stuffing is another of my Thanksgiving favorites (I know, I have a lot of them). I tried to recreate my parents' stuffing as best I could, and I think I did a pretty good job. I mixed a bunch of leftover bread I had thawed from out of the freezer, including wheat bread, white bread, and corn bread. I sauteed a a finely chopped white onion, 4 finely chopped stalks of celery, and half a bunch of minced parsley with 1/2 Tbs. butter and 1 Tbs. olive oil until the onion is translucent and tender. After the onion mixture cooled, I combined it with the hand-torn bread. I added 2 eggs, 2 Tbs. poultry seasoning, salt, fresh ground black pepper, and water. The salt, pepper, and water will be to taste, as can the poultry seasoning. Mix everything together with your hands. Add enough water to make the stuffing fairly moist. It should be quite sticky. Taste it to make sure it has the seasonings you like. Stuff into the bird or place in a baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes at 350.

Adam and Jeremy really wanted risotto to serve alongside the duck. We made a mushroom risotto with onions, white wine, and vegetable broth. It paired perfectly with the hearty earthy-ness of the duck.

And because that wasn't quite enough food, Frank and Lori brought over a pot of rich Cream of Celery Root Soup. I'm not sure how they made it, but I do know that it was not a low-fat version of anything!

To top everything off, we had, of course, pecan and apple pies. Frank and Lori brought over a pumpkin pie, so we had every kind covered. Adam made the crust by hand, which truly makes all the difference.

Pastry for Pies and Tarts (Betty Crocker Bridal Edition)

We used butter instead of shortening. And, we used a food processor for all of the cutting of the butter into the flour, which makes the process really easy and fast. For the apple pie, the recipe needs to be doubled to make enough for the top and bottom crusts.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. shortening
2 to 3 Tbs. cold water

1. Measure 2 Tbs. water into liquid measuring cup; set aside. Place shortening, flour and salt in food processor. Cover and process, using quick on-and-off motions, until mixture is crumbly. With food processor running, pour water all at once through feed tube just until dough leaves side of bowl (dough should not form a ball).
2. Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. If desired, wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes to firm up the shortening slightly, which helps makes the baked pastry more flaky and lets the water absorb evenly throughout the dough. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.
3. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down pie plate, 9 x 1 1/4 inches, or 3 inches larger than 10 or 11-inch tart pan. Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie plate; or roll pastry loosely around rolling pin and transfer to pie plate. Unfold or unroll pastry and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry, which will cause it to shrink when baked.


Apple Pie (Betty Crocker Bridal Edition)

We forgot to add the butter on top of the apple concoction, but I don't think it tasted as though anything was missing. Why not drop those few calories from the Thanksgiving feast?

Two pie crusts
1/3 to 2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
dash of salt
8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples
2 Tbs. butter, if desired

1. Heat oven to 425. Make pastry.
2. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Stir in apples. Turn into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over apples. Cover with top pastry that has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.
3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool on wire rack at least 2 hours.


Pecan Pie (Betty Crocker Bridal Edition)

One pie crust
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 cup pecan halves or broken pecans

1. Heat oven to 375. Make pastry for unbaked One-Crust Pie.
2. Beat sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt and eggs in medium bowl with wire whisk or hand beater until well blended. Stir in pecans. Pour into pastry-lined pie plate.
3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until center is set.