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With, oh, about four days to spare, I'm finally sitting down to plan my Thanksgiving dinner. This may seem odd because I put way more effort into planning dinner parties, but Thanksgiving? Eh! To me, Thanksgiving is more about delicious but traditional food that is simple by necessity (I don't know about you, but preparing a huge feast with only one oven is a daunting task), whereas when I'm having people over, well, to be honest, I'm generally cooking and plating to impress.
So this year, the first without Adult Supervision, I'll present a menu comprised partially of (eek!) untested recipes, without (gasp!) photos, before the event has actually occurred! Because, really, posting a Thanksgiving menu after the fact has questionable value.
I've decided to include breakfast on this menu because in my family we always overlook it. Me, I think it's important to start the day right and some savory breakfast scones would definitely qualify in that regard. Sometime in between-ish we'll enjoy a simple cheese course. When it comes time for dinner we'll have a turkey version of The Herbed Bird (be on the lookout for an awesome soup made with the leftovers), a bread (undecided between beer rolls, Parmesan whole wheat bread, or a roll version of the delectably light whole wheat buttermilk loaves I made last Sunday), roasted shallots with thyme and butternut squash, roasted pear salad with candied walnuts and blue cheese, mashed potatoes (garlic? Will I use russets, reds, or yukon golds?) and some sort of stuffing or cranberry sauce or relish that Cory will decide upon since I'm not much of a fan of those things. We will finish, of course, with pumpkin pie. The wine will be flowing all day, and it will be a glorious celebration of, well, gluttony.
Enticed? OF COURSE YOU ARE. Let's get cookin'!
The UNTESTED first-ever adult un-supervised, wine-soaked Stacey-and-Cory Thanksgiving menu!
Serves 4-ish (but we'll be scaling most of these recipes down to serve two)
Note: Sorry this isn't up to usual QC/design/recipe standards... I just worked an 84-hour week and haven't had time to sit down and put a huge amount of time into it. I'll come through after the fact and get this spruced up.
A breakfast to be thankful for
Savory bacon and scallion breakfast scones (now with its own entry) with Bailey's cappuccinos
The requisite cheese course
A bottle of Wrongo Dongo
A wedge of Stella Asiago
Two good crisp fall apples (like Jonagold or Golden Delicious) or ripe-but-firm pears (like Bartlett or red Anjou), cored and sliced
The Herbed Big Bird
No, we won't be roasting any beloved childhood muppets. What we will be doing is making a moist, tender, and delightfully aromatic turkey.
Follow the directions for the herbed bird (chicken version) with following modifications:
We'll be drinking V. Sattui Crow Ridge Zinfandel with our dinner. Yes, a red with poultry. Me no likey whites for more than three sips.
The battle of the bread, or the rollicking rolls, if you prefer (untested)
What will I use??? Will I go with Beer Rolls, whole wheat parmesan bread, or whole-wheat buttermilk rolls (recipe not posted yet, but can be found in Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book)? Oh, the choices!!! What I do know is that oven space is going to be at a premium come Thursday. I'll post the winner here after the fact.
Roasted shallots with thyme and butternut squash
In case you didn't already know, it's a sin to exclude shallots from your Thanksgiving menu.
Roasted pear salad with candied walnuts and blue cheese
Mashed potatoes
Does anyone actually use a recipe for this? I've always thought that mashed potatoes were supposed to be an intuitive dish. I haven't decided which type of potato to use yet... it will probably depend on my mood. In my mind, mashers made with russets are classic comfort food that I grew up on and reds are more of an elegant, refined dish made to impress. They both have their place, but I'm betting that russets are the spud that will make it onto my table this Thursday.
Orange-cranberry relish
This is something I've just recently acquired a taste for and I haven't chosen a recipe yet.
The TBD stufffing
I loathe stuffing, so Cory is choosing this recipe. TBD.
Pumpkin pie with vanilla whipped cream and V. Sattui Vintage Port
I'm a big fan of the recipe from The Joy of Cooking (1997 edition). I'll be using it with a slight modification: I bought pie pumpkins this year and I intend to use them! I'm looking forward to trying a pumpkin pie made with real, fresh ingredients. On the port: yes, I like V. Sattui. It's fantastic wine. Plus, we got married at the vineyard. Can you really blame me?
