My Thanksgiving

As I mentioned, my dad used to be a chef. So it should come as no surprise that the holiday that is most focused on the meal is held at my parent's house every year. I've never been disappointed at Thanksgiving, and this year was no exception. The menu is roughly the same every year.

Turkey

Brined as per usual, this year the brine included apple and cranberry juice. The bird is then cooked on a charcoal grill over indirect heat. It came out moist, tender, and seasoned throughout.

Dressing

Or stuffing, if you prefer, is made in the oven. The recipe is the same every year. Crisp water chestnuts, salty pork sausage, sweet apples, cashews, bread and herbs produce a myriad of textures and flavors. This is generally considered to be the best part of the meal by most of my family.

Mashed Potatoes

Traditional, with a twist. This year, a whole wedge of brie was worked into the spuds, providing a depth and richness that made the potatoes so good, I required no gravy.


The rest of the meal was rounded out with oven roasted vegetables, a wonderfully light sweet potato and apple puree, and a cranberry compote with orange zest.

For dessert, we had home made apple pie ice cream, packed with caramelized apples, cinnamon, and crumbled graham crackers. There was also pumpkin chiffon pie which, unfortunately I was just too full to eat.

No matter, I have had meals in high end restaurant that were less memorable than that. Plus, I got a big plate of leftovers sent home with me.


I also had the good fortune of getting try a really good bottle of wine. Acorn is a little boutique winery in Sonoma County, CA, that my parents visited while on their last trip out there. While we were waiting for the guests to arrive, we cracked a bottle of their 2004 Heritage Vines Zinfandel. This, as I read later, is produced from grapes that grow on old vines, some planted as early as 1890. Now, I don't have a refined enough palate to be able to pick out all of the individual flavors, but I got an explosion of oak and berries that I don't get with the usual $10 crap I'm used to. The flavor was so bold and robust compared to what I normally drink that I think it will be hard to go back.

Anyways, this event inspired me to buy a nice bottle to take to a holiday party I regularly attend. I'll be sure to post about it when said party occurs.

Hope you all had a good holiday.