This post could also be aptly titled "What is Great about Thanksgiving." This year, we celebrated the holiday at my sister in law’s home. Rose and her husband, Mark, are gracious hosts and fantastic cooks. The meal was superb, 22 guests in all and not so much as a hiccup. Rose’s meal is a very smart pot luck. She and Mark have hosted enough Thanksgivings that they have it down to a science and everyone attending brings a dish or two.
This year, all of the menu classics were served: moist turkey, flavorful gravy, buttery mashed potatoes, spiced squash, homemade cranberry jelly, rolls, a favorite family stuffing seasoned with sage, pepita and yellow pea salad, green bean casserole and roasted vegetables. Dessert offerings included: pumpkin pie, Barr’s applesauce cake (Marverick ate two pieces), apple cranberry pie, chocolate chip cookies and chocolate trifle. Yum, yum and some more yum!
The turkey cake above deserves special mention; it was made of spice cake and its plume was entirely edible. I’d link to the Turkey Cake Mold from Williams – Sonoma, but it was bought on clearance last year and it doesn’t seem to be available anymore.
The pepita salad came from 101 Cookbooks. It was a really good, hearty salad for those non-turkey inclined (aka the vegetarians at the table). It consisted of roasted pumpkin seeds, yellow split peas and a delish pesto made of fresh cilantro, pumpkin seeds, lemon, garlic, Parmesan and olive oil. The salad was easy to make and I will definitely make it again; it got good reviews at the table as well.
The apple cranberry pie came from Hogwash. This pie defies all pie crust logic. The crust is an all-butter crust that you freeze before baking. It is filled frozen and it goes into the oven frozen. This pie was divine, sweet and tart with a wonderful crust. I will be freezing more pie crusts in the future. I did add 1/8 tsp. ground ginger to the filling along with the ground cinnamon and cloves.
Thanksgiving is a time for family, reflection, tradition, football and lots of yummy food. Do we really have to wait another 365 days? If it isn’t evident, I really love Thanksgiving.
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