A Delectable Thanksgiving and #giveaway
He can cook anything he wants for me!
Thanksgiving happens to be my favorite holiday. I love that it’s not religious and that it involves eating pretty much all day long. I also happen to love autumn dishes, heartier than summer fare, with nuts, dried fruits and berries and root veggies.
Since my family isn’t big on holiday gatherings it’s not worth the hassle of flying down to visit them for Thanksgiving. Instead, I enjoy spending it with friends, where there is no family drama and plenty of good times. Without the family obligation to feed everyone, Thanksgiving isn’t about making everyone else happy, and it turns into an interesting potluck where everyone brings their own holiday traditions to share with others.
This year I’m pressed for time, so I chose a simple recipe. I usually love to make stuffing or a more complicated dish I might not make for our house except for a special occasion. Unfortunately, most of my cookbooks are in storage, so my go-to source of recipes is Epicurious.com, a site I’ve been using for at least fifteen years. The ratings and reviews are helpful and other cooks’ tips and comments on each recipe are invaluable. If you’ve never visited, what are you waiting for?
Here is what I’m making this year:
Thyme-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
It’s simple, just potatoes, thyme, garlic, olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes. That’s the perfect recipe for me this year.
If you are making your own turkey, plan right now to save the carcass to make turkey stock tomorrow. It sounds like a lot of trouble, but it’s simply simmering the carcass (meat removed) with a carrot and some celery. We did it last year and used the stock for the most amazing turkey leftover recipe I’ve ever had:
Turkey-and-Mushroom-Risotto
I cannot recommend it enough. The risotto method of cooking infuses the rice with the stock flavor, so it was concentrated turkey essence, creamy rice, wild mushrooms with some pieces of leftover turkey. Incredible. Worth the time to do it.
The last recipe I’ll share today is my favorite stuffing recipe: Apple and Sausage Stuffing
My stuffing from 2012
I discovered this one a few years ago when spending Thanksgiving with Cat Grant down in Monterey. We liked it so much, we made it again over the weekend, with a different combination of bread. The best we’ve found is to use a rustic artisan bread like one with walnuts or pecans, that holds up to the sausage. It has some eggs in it, so it’s perfect for breakfast the next day. And lunch. It makes a fantastic meal on its own.
I’ve tried it with turkey sausage, but it is definitely best with a good quality pork sausage like the kind in the butcher section of your grocery store. Apple-smoked works great since there are apples in it. You don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving to make this. It would make a fantastic brunch dish.
What are you making this Thanksgiving?
Leave a comment, link to a recipe, share a photo. Every response is entered to win your choice of Books 1-3 of Delectable series e-books (sorry, not including Gingerbread Palace), gay romances featuring men in the food and wine business.
Here’s a taste of what’s coming from the series in December:
Gingerbread Palace
A week before Christmas, Alex Bancroft’s bakery goes up in flames. When he runs back inside after a dog, firefighter Kevin Flint has to rescue Alex—and Quincy—from the smoldering building, endangering them and inflaming Kevin’s resentment.
Now Alex can’t create the elaborate gingerbread house he donates to a foster-kids charity each year. Fire Station 7 again comes to his rescue, offering their kitchen and their manpower.
Everyone but Kevin Flint, that is. A third-generation firefighter, he’s fearful of stepping too far out of the closet. So when his powerful physical attraction for Alex ends in a sizzling secret encounter in the firehouse, Kevin can’t push Alex far enough away, and Alex returns the cold shoulder.
After a change of heart, Kevin risks his life to prove he’s worthy of Alex’s affection, but without a Christmas miracle, their chances at sweet romance might go up in smoke.
PRE-ORDER from Dreamspinner Press. 30% off through Nov 29!
5 Responses to “A Delectable Thanksgiving and #giveaway”
Leave a Reply
Oooh gingerbread palace sounds yummeh! Thanks for the recipes!
We are making a turkey, sausage and apple stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce (not the canned stuff) and mashed potato casserole with a chocolate tart for dessert (don’t like pumpkin pie). I can smell the turkey cooking now!
Thanks for the giveaway and happy Thanksgiving!
We decided to make the pecan pie rugelach recipe that was posted on buzzfeed in their Thanksgivukkah feature. Oh my they were good! I don’t think it was too different from the usual walnut version but we still decided it will need to go on regular rotation!
Here’s a link to the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever tasted. When I make it, I add more spices and a little less sugar.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Downeast-Maine-Pumpkin-Bread/Detail.aspx?evt19=1
We actually got invited to a friend’s house this year, but still brought some food. I made two batches of cranberry sauce (basically the usual recipe on the back of the bag, but with port wine and Grand Marnier taking place of half the water, and the zest of an orange stirred in at the end), and made Rose Levy Beranbaum’s pumpkin cheesecake from ROSE’S HEAVENLY CAKES. I also made a batch of pumpkin ice cream with the pumpkin I had left over…