Thanksgiving 2021

I had a lovely Thanksgiving this year. It was low key and relaxing (for the most part; there are always those few minutes before eating when chaos is going on in the kitchen and you’re trying to make sure everything is done, on the table, serving utensils included, that everyone has a water glass and silverware, etc.) I went with a new turkey recipe this year. I posted the recipe as written below although I didn’t really follow it exactly. I didn’t feel like messing with a wet brine, so I dry brined instead. What I DID want to try was the butter jacket - roast the turkey covered in a butter soaked cheese cloth. Um, yes.

My turkey was 15 lbs, so a little smaller than she called for. It cooked for less time than called for, but unfortunately when Lara initially tried to carve it she discovered it wasn’t quite finished… she did a magnificent job of cutting it into pieces, putting everyhing on a few cookie sheets, and popping it back into the oven until done. Still turned out great and no one was any wiser.

I took the idea for the gravy and kind of eye-balled everything. It turned out very sweet due to the cider. I liked it a lot, although more of a “sauce” than a traditional gravy. I’m not a traditional gravy fan so that was okay with me.

Before heading to mom and dad’s Lara and I enjoyed a really nice (and fairly warm!) Thanksgiving run followed by our favorite breakfast and coffee. While we ate I made another batch of 100% whole wheat dinner rolls and then we packed everything up (love all my canvas bags, they are so great for transferring a lot of food prep!) and headed to Jenison to get started cooking for the day!

For dessert I made a pumpkin mousse pie I had seen on instagram. It just looked fun! I don’t love pumpkin pie, but a mousse pie with foleded in whipped cream looked wonderful, and it was! I really loved it and would make again! I used Effie’s biscuits instead of traditional graham crackers for the crust. I ended up doubling the amount of biscuit. I used two full Effies boxes. I initially used one and it looked way too wet. Maybe just because it’s a very different type of graham cracker. Didn’t matter though, the crust turned out deliciously, and EXTRA thick! I’m not sad about that. I still used the 6 Tbs butter, just double the cookie/cracker.

Butter Roasted Turkey with Cider Herb Gravy
From ful-filled
Ingredients

FOR THE CIDER BRINE:

• 3 quarts apple cider, divided

• 1 1/2 cups kosher salt

• 1/4 cup whole allspice

• 8 bay leaves

• 4 quarts cold water

• (1) 16-20 pound turkey (neck and gizzard reserved)

FOR THE GRAVY:

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh sage

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh marjoram

• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter

• 4 cups chicken broth

• 2 cups apple cider

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup whipping cream

• 2 tablespoons Calvados (apple brandy) or other brandy

FOR ROASTING:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter

• 2 yards cheesecloth

• 2 large Granny Smith apples, quartered

• 2 large onions, quartered

• 1 cup chicken broth

• 1 cup apple cider

Instructions
FOR THE BRINE:
Line extra-large pot with two 13-gallon plastic bags, 1 inside the other (or use a brining bag). Simmer 1 quart apple cider, salt, allspice, and bay leaves in 20-quart pot for 5 minutes, stirring until salt dissolves. Remove from heat, add remaining 2 quarts cider and 4 quarts water. Pour brine into plastic bag. Wrap turkey neck and refrigerate. Submerge turkey in brine to cover completely, gathering bags tightly to eliminate any air; tie bags closed. Refrigerate turkey in brine in pot for at least 18 hours and up to 20 hours.

Next day: Line a large roasting pan with 4 layers of paper towels. Remove turkey from brine and drain well; discard brine. Place turkey in prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

FOR THE GRAVY:
Combine broth and apple cider in heavy large saucepan. Boil until reduced to 3 cups, about 20 minutes. Pour broth reduction into bowl. Melt 1/4 cup butter in same saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour; stir 1 minute. Whisk in broth reduction, then cream, Calvados, and remaining herb mixture. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until gravy base is thickened and reduced to 2 3/4 cups, whisking often, about 20 minutes. Cool gravy base, cover & chill. (Gravy base can be made 2 days ahead.)

FOR ROASTING:
Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Remove turkey from roasting pan; drain any accumulated juices from main cavity. Discard paper towels from roasting pan. Return turkey to prepared pan. Tuck wing tips under; tie legs together loosely to hold shape. Place some apple quarters and onion quarters in main cavity. Scatter remaining apples and onions around turkey in pan. Add reserved turkey neck to pan along with 1 cup of broth.

Fold a 2 yd. piece of cheesecloth to create a 4 layer rectangle. Dampen the cloth with water & wring out. Melt two sticks of butter and then submerge the cloth in the melted butter, making sure it is completely saturated. Drape over the top of the turkey, covering it completely.

Roast turkey for 1 hour. Baste with 1/2 cup apple cider. Roast turkey 30 minutes. Baste with remaining 1/2 cup cider. Roast turkey, basting every 30 minutes with pan juices for anther 1 1/2 hours. Very gently remove the cheesecloth from the turkey, taking care not to tear the skin. Baste turkey one more time, then return the turkey to the oven and roast until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh measures 170 degrees F, about another 30-45 minutes.

When done roasting, transfer turkey to a platter; let stand at least 30 minutes before carving (internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees).

Discard apples, onions, and turkey neck from pan. Pour pan juices into large glass measuring cup; spoon off fat from surface. Pour degreased juices into gravy base and bring to boil over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. Boil until gravy thickens enough to coat spoon and is reduced to 3 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Season gravy to taste with pepper. Serve turkey with gravy.

Pumpkin Mousse Pie
From ful-filled
Ingredients
FOR THE FILLING:

• (1) 15 oz can (425g) pumpkin puree

• 1/2 cup (120g) maple syrup (date syrup works well too or try 1/2 date syrup + 1/2 maple syrup)

• 2 tsp unflavored gelatin

• 1/4 cup (60g) cold water

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ginger

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

• 1/8 tsp clove or allspice

• 1 1/4 cup (10oz/284g) heavy whipping cream

FOR THE CRUST:

• 1 sleeve (155g) graham crackers (approximately 10 whole graham crackers) gingersnaps or biscoff cookies would work well too

• 6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, melted

• 1/4 tsp fine grain salt

FOR THE TOPPING

• 3/4 cup (6oz/170g) heavy whipping cream

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• 1/3 cup (40g) candied pecans, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Start by sprinkling the 2 tsp gelatin over the 1/4 cup of water in a small dish, let gelatin soak into water while you move on to the next step.

In a small pot combine pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and spices. Place on the stovetop over medium low heat, stirring to combine. Once mixture is heated through, add the soaked gelatin to the pot, stirring until dissolved & well combined. Turn off the heat and allow pumpkin mixture to cool to room temperature while you prepare the pie crust.

FOR THE PIE CRUST
Pre-heat oven to 350 F

Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs in your food processor. Add fine grain salt & pulse briefly to combine. Add melted butter and pulse until well combined with the graham cracker crumbs.

Pour crumbs into a 9" pie dish, spreading them evenly into the bottom of the pie dish. Using a measuring cup, press the crumbs evenly across the pie dish & up the sides. Use the measuring cup along with your fingers to gently press the crumbs at the edges to make sure they are nice & packed.

Bake the crust for 12 minutes - remove from the oven & allow to cool to room temperature.

FOR THE FILLING:
Whip the 10oz of heavy cream until soft peaks. Fold the cooled pumpkin mixture into the whipped cream until just combined. Add the pumpkin mousse mixture to your cooled pie crust. Place pie in the refrigerator to chill at least 8 hours.

To serve: whip the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream with 1 tbsp maple syrup until it reaches soft peaks. Top the pumpkin mousse pie with the fresh whipped cream and sprinkle with chopped candied pecans, slice & serve.

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I had a lovely holiday weekend after all of the Thanksgiving festivities! Lara and I first went to Everett’s for a Christmas tree with the dogs. Couldn’t decide on a tree so we got a garland instead. The next day we went to a cut your own Christmas tree farm where I found a little tree that was the perfect size for me! It started snowing as we finished getting the trees and it was just so festive!

Thanksgiving 2020

Thanksgiving 2020. A different holiday than usual that’s for sure. Our family didn’t really have any big yearly traditions for Thanksgiving when I was growing up, each year was different, so to me a COVID19 Thanksgiving was just one more variation. However, I know there are so many people that had to adjust their plans and traditions significantly.

Thankfully, I was still able to get together with my immediate family and have a nice dinner and conversation which is what I want the most. Food and good company.

Lara and I ordered a turkey from the same place we’ve been getting the turkey for the past 5 or 6 years, and once again it did not disappoint. We got a 16 lb bird, more than we needed, but I had heard that some turkey farmer’s were worried about how things would go this year so I decided to just buy a big bird, cut it into parts, and only roast 1/2 of it. The other 1/2 would go into our freezer for another day. This worked great!

Half of the turkey was the perfect size for our group of 6 adults (several light eaters) and 3 children. It was also super easy to roast. One leg/thigh combo, one wing, and 1/2 the breast. I dry brined it overnight (uncovered) with salt, thyme and lemon zest. On Thanksgiving day, I added butter under the skin and then roasted on a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet that was lined with (3 layers) of foil. I started the turkey at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then decreased the oven to 325 and roasted another 30-50 minutes until everything was done. The wing was done first, followed by the leg and then the breast. I was able to take them out as they were done to ensure nothing overcooked. (breast done at 155-160 degrees, dark meat done at 170 degrees).

I also made a chopped kale salad with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. This was modeled after Joshua McFadden’s recipe, The Kale Salad that Started it All from the cookbook Six Seasons (which I LOVE and highly recommend!). I didn’t follow the recipe exactly this time, but used it as inspiration, and then added a mixture of shredded Brussels sprouts and leeks that I broiled with salt and oil (one of my favorite things to do).

Next was cranberry sauce which I love at Thanksgiving. I do a very simple sauce, typically I use just cranberries, water and sugar, but this year I switched it up slightly and instead of using sugar, I added in my last small jar of homemade orange marmalade from one or two years ago. Lara had made it for our dad for his birthday, but we had a jar leftover. Neither of us is a huge orange marmalade fan, but an orange marmalade/cranberry sauce was great!

Finally, I made dinner rolls. I used the same recipe as last year. A nice rich, butter, and slightly sweet roll. Nice and soft. Lara wanted to try shaping them a little differently, so we rolled them out like a cinnamon roll and brushed melted butter on them before rolling up. Once they baked up they were a little flakier and fun to pull apart. I would try this again for sure, but I’d try switching up how I laid them in the pan. Nothing wrong with how they turned out, but they looked a little silly in the pan after baking. Some had fallen over, and some had stayed upright, and it all looked a little jumbled.

I decided to not make a dessert this year, but did pick up a few packages of Thanksgiving macaroons from my local macaroon shop. They do such an amazing job I figured I’d let them do the work this year! I got 6 flavors; pumpkin, pumpkin creme brulee, cranberry sauce, speculaas, maple walnut and apple pie. My mom made some chocolate chip cookie bars, and then made a homemade angel food cake that she frosted with a caramel whipped cream. It was delicious! I don’t love angel food cake, a cake without any fat seems pointless to me, but when you cover it in whipped cream this completely changes things. Plenty of fat in that case!

I couldn’t resist a little snack board as well, because I need to have cheese at any party! This year I got Cabot Clothbound Cheddar and Comte. I don’t think I’ve tried the cheddar before and I loved it! It was a lot different than I expected, crumbly and dry, carmely and a little sweet with some crystals. Complex and interesting without being funky (at least in my opinion). I will DEFINITELY get this one again. And Comte is always yummy!

The last item that Lara and I brought was one of Lara’s favorite wines, a Beaujolais that she’d enjoyed at a local restaurant a few times. Our family members aren’t huge wine drinkers, but they’ll sip on a glass, so we brought a couple bottles of one we like and everyone enjoyed.

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Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls
From Sally’s Baking Addiction
Ingredients

• 1 cup (240ml) milk, around room temperature

• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

• 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

• 1 large egg

• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 4 pieces

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour or bread flour

• Optional topping: 2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter mixed with 1 Tablespoon honey

Add flour, salt, sugar and yeast to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together the milk and egg - add to the flour mixture. Beat on low speed for 30-60 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed until all of the flour is moistened. Then increase to medium speed and knead until the the dough is well developed and comes together to form a soft dough. It will be sticky. Add flour as needed to make it manageable but don’t add too much so it becomes too dry.

Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size.

Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or two 9-inch square or round baking pans. Set aside.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball. Arrange in prepared baking pan. (For a 9x13 inch pan, 15 rolls is nice to arrange in 3 rows of 5 rolls each).

Cover shaped rolls with plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until puffy, about 1 hour. Near the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, brush with optional honey butter topping, and allow rolls to cool for a few minutes before serving.

French Apple Tart

I had the opportunity to celebrate my very first friendsgiving this weekend and I had such a good time! Any excuse to get together with friends and celebrate is a good idea in my book. I got together at my friend Lindsay's condo to eat good food, have great conversation, and just enjoy being together before the busyness of the holiday season really picks up steam. We had a lovely meal, the main event being one of my all-time favorites, roasted chicken with clementines and fennel. Of course I had to make a dessert, and I decided to try my hand at a simple and elegant French Apple Tart. seasonal and beautiful in an understated way. It was the perfect way to end such a wonderful meal. 

Of course I had to use local Jonagold apples from my favorite stand at the farmers market and they were perfect. The whole thing came together quite easily, and was fun to arrange. I made a frangipane to place under the apples which I think was a nice touch, but you can certainly make this without. Whatever you decide, apples, butter and sugar are always going to be a winning combination. 

French Apple Tart
Adapted from Alexandra Cooks
Ingredients
Pate Brisee

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled, divided
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 3-4 tablespoons ice water

Tart

• 5 to 7 apples, peeled, cored, and halved (I used jonagold, but really any apple will do)
• 2-4 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter

Frangipane

• 3/4 cup almonds
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
• 1 small egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla, rum, brandy or bourbon

For finishing:

• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Instructions
Making the pastry: Combine flour, sugar, 8 tbsp. butter, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until pea­-size crumbles form, about 10 pulses. Drizzle in 3 tbsp. ice­-cold water and pulse until dough is moistened, about 3 to 4 pulses. (Do not pulse so much that the dough forms a mass — It will clump together when you form it into a disk.) Add more water if needed, but use as little as possible, just until the dough is just coming together. If you add too much water it will be tough and will shrink when baking. Transfer dough to a work surface and form into a flat disk; wrap it in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to three days. When ready to use, transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, flatten dough into a 13″ circle and then transfer to a tart pan with a removable bottom; trim edges; chill for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile make frangipane: add all ingredients to a food processor and process until comes together into a smooth mass. This may take a little time and require some scraping down the sides of the food processor from time to time. Be patient and it will eventually come together. 

When ready to bake; heat oven to 375º. Spread a thin layer (about 2 tablespoons) of frangipane across the bottom surface of your tart shell. Working with one apple half at a time, thinly slice into sections, keeping slices together. Press sliced apple half gently to fan it out; repeat with remaining apple halves. Place 1 fanned apple half on outer edge of the tart dough, pointing inward; repeat with 7 more apple halves (or as many as you are able to fit — with a smaller tart pan, you won't be able to fit as many). Separate remaining apple slices. Starting where the apple halves touch and working your way in, layer apples to create a tight rose pattern. Fill in any gaps with remaining apple.

Sprinkle with sugar and dot with remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Place in the oven (I recommend placing a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil underneath the tart to catch any dripping butter that may otherwise fall to the bottom of the oven and burn) and bake until golden brown, about 70 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from pan and carefully transferring to serving platter. 

Thanksgiving 2016

Thanksgiving is over once again. It's now December and as I sit and type this the snow is falling outside, beautiful yet I'm not ready. I don't want to have to think about scraping my ice off of my windshield in the early morning, or trudging through piles of snow. But today I'm going to look back, not ahead. Back to last week Thursday. Thanksgiving 2016. This year I was even more thankful to be able to celebrate the day with my family because of my crazy work schedule. I was in the middle of an (almost) 28 day stretch of work, so when I found out that I actually did get Thanksgiving day off I was incredibly excited! That one day was very much needed. 

It was a pretty quiet holiday this year; just my immediate family went over to my Grandparents place for the big meal, only 9 of us. Since I didn't know in advance exactly how many people would be there, I went big an ordered a large turkey just in case. Well, it was quite a bit bigger than we needed, but that was okay. Plenty of leftovers is not a bad problem. 

I brought a wine from my favorite wine shop to Thanksgiving this year. It was recommended by one of the store employees and I enjoyed it quite a bit! A Spanish wine, Bodegas Juan Gil 2013 100th anniversary bottle. A commemorative  bottle blended and bottled to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Juan Gil winery. A blend of 50% Mourvedre, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Syrah. Grandpa approved! 

The week following Thanksgiving brought my family and me something, or should I say someone, else to be thankful for. My sister-in-law gave birth to her and my brother's second child, a little girl they names Piper. She's beautiful and perfect. I'm already in love. I can't wait to get to know her in the months and years to come! 

Thanksgiving 2015

It's done and over, Thanksgiving 2015 is now nothing but another wonderful memory. This is one of my favorite holidays and so I've been looking forward to it for weeks. This year certainly did not disappoint. In fact, the entire weekend was simply wonderful. Thursday morning consisted of Lara and I in the kitchen, steaming up the windows as we roasted up the turkey for the family and put together a handful of other dishes to bring to my grandparent's place for the midday meal. We tried out a new turkey recipe this year which turned out awesome and received rave review from the family. Since we roasted the turkey at my place, it was quite the adventure getting it over to my grandparent's condo in time for dinner. But we made it, turkey, turkey gravy and all, without any misadventures!

Other menu items included my favorite soft dinner rolls which have pretty much become tradition for winter holiday parties now. They are always met with great celebration. In order to accommodate a few food sensitivities I made them dairy free by just using water in place of the milk and choosing the vegetable oil instead of the butter for the fat. They turned out great, there were none left over by the end of the day. 

We also whipped together a pan of stuffing that was full of my favorite fall vegetables, caramelized onions, butternut squash and kale, all mixed together with cubes of my absolute favorite sourdough bread from the best local bakery. A fantastic combination in my book. (Adapted from this recipe, we just couldn't resist adding some butternut squash).

Finally, we brought a big bowl of a delicious Brussel sprout and brown rice salad with dried cherries, blue cheese, cinnamon almonds and cocoa nibs. This was a new recipe that I wanted to try and I ended up really loving it a lot, especially the blue cheese!! (Adapted from this recipe)

There were a lot of other delicious salads on the menu from various family members, a really yummy caramel apple sangria, and my mom's famous mashed potatoes with butter AND cream. A meal to remember for sure. 

For dessert Lara made a beautiful apple cake that was stuffed full of fresh apples (based on this recipe). I find cake easier than pie, and I love it more anyway, win-win!

 A few of the many farmer's market purchases 

 My nephew Tyce was able to help my mom pick up the turkey from the farmer's market on Wednesday, fun times with grandma

 Going for a little drive!

 Turkey carving time; now that's what I call a leg

 Turkey for all, with some stuffing on the side

The whole gang, this is what I give thanks for the most, my wonderful family

 Leftover sandwiches at night, perhaps my favorite part of the whole day And a few pictures from the rest of the weekend: 

 Dad loves to "help" with Christmas decorations

 Topping the tree is always exciting

♥ Family! ♥

Went to the beach on Saturday, it was an absolutely gorgeous day to walk along the water 

 Peek-a-boo

 Heading to the end of the pier

 Sisters!

 Contemplating either life or the mansion on the hill

The three girls

Glazed and Lacquered Turkey
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Ingredients

• 1 15-20-pound turkey, neck and giblets removed, patted dry
• 6 dried bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
• ½ teaspoon allspice berries
• ½ cup kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons dried sage
• ½ cup (packed) brown sugar, divided
• ¼ cup Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions
Remove wishbone from turkey by lifting neck skin to expose meat and cutting along both sides of bone with a small paring knife to separate flesh from bone. Pull firmly on both sides to snap out (if bone does not come out in one piece, grip remaining fragments with a paper towel and pull out). This will make carving the breast much easier later.


Grind bay leaves, peppercorns, and allspice in a spice mill until very fine; toss with salt, sage, and ¼ cup brown sugar in a medium bowl. Generously sprinkle dry brine inside cavity and rub all over skin, packing on until you’ve used entire mixture. Chill turkey on a large rimmed baking sheet uncovered 8–12 hours. 


Thoroughly rinse turkey to remove brine; pat dry. Let sit on baking sheet 3 hours to bring to room temperature. 


Meanwhile, bring vinegar, soy sauce, and remaining ¼ cup brown sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened to the consistency of molasses (it needs to be very thick to adhere to the turkey; if glaze is too thin, keep simmering), 5–8 minutes. Let glaze cool.


Preheat oven to 325°. Starting at neck end of turkey, gently slide your fingers between skin and breast to loosen skin. Drizzle olive oil underneath skin, spacing evenly over breasts. Coat a piece of foil large enough to cover turkey breast with nonstick spray. Cover breast with foil, coated side down, avoiding thighs and tucking end inside cavity (foil will protect skin from tearing during first stage of cooking). Place turkey, breast side down, on a V-shape roasting rack set inside a large roasting pan. Roast until back side of turkey is golden brown, 50–60 minutes.


Remove turkey from oven and transfer to a clean rimmed baking sheet with oven mitts or 2 pairs of tongs. Turn bird breast side up and transfer back to rack in roasting pan; discard foil. Pour any juices collected on baking sheet into pan. Roast turkey until breast is golden brown and skin is crisp, 35–45 minutes. 


Remove turkey from oven and brush all over with glaze. Continue to roast, checking temperature every 5 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast near neck registers 150° and no more (temperature will rise as the bird rests), 15–25 minutes. (I honestly pulled mine at 145° after listening to the Bon Appetit podcast when they talked about this recipe, if you choose to do this, which I recommend, do so at your own risk!) Transfer turkey to a platter and let rest 1 hour. 


Increase oven to 450°. Brush another even layer of glaze over turkey. Roast, watching closely in case glaze starts to burn, until turkey is deep golden brown and skin is shiny and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a clean platter and let rest 30 minutes before carving.


Do Ahead: Turkey can be brined 2 days ahead. Brine on Tuesday, then rinse on Wednesday and chill overnight so you are ready to roast on Thursday.

Thanksgiving 2014

I truly do love all holidays, but there is something special about Thanksgiving. Everyone gets together on the same day every year and stuffs themselves with turkey and all the trimmings. The camaraderie makes me smile, and the fact that the main focus of a lot of people (myself included) is the food makes me love the day even more. For one day I am not the only one doing all of the food talk. 

My sister Lara and I made the Thanksgiving meal for our family again this year. We have such a fun time doing it and have been thinking about it and preparing for weeks. Instead of going full out and roasting an entire turkey we decided to do something a little different this year. One of my biggest pet peeves about Thanksgiving is that the turkey hogs the oven for the entire morning and I can't use it for anything else. (I am jealous of everyone who has more than one oven in their house.) We decided to utilize the grill instead. And for a different spin on the traditional we skipped the whole turkey and decided to grill up a whole bunch of turkey kabobs. 

It turned out great! I loved not cooking an entire turkey, and it was fun to use the grill while standing in a bit of snow. An experience for sure. We tried to keep the sides simple and light as well because that's how we like to eat. Everything went off without a hitch, we were so happy with how it all turned out. I would definitely do it again next year!

As for the rest of the meal, it started off with some butternut squash soup with leeks and carrots, finished with a little yogurt for creaminess. Next, the salad was a spin on the Fuji apple chicken salad from Panera; we sliced up a few apples and dried them out for apple chips, toasted some pecans with a hint of cinnamon sugar, thinly sliced red onion, dried cranberries and some feta cheese rounded out the toppings. The mixed greens were dressed with a simple white balsamic, apple cider vinaigrette with honey and dijon. It was a fantastic salad, Panera sure knew what they were doing when they created it!

We also served some homemade bread and my favorite Clementine Brown Rice Salad. A few extras finished the meal off, a simple cranberry sauce as well as a yummy lemony sage yogurt sauce, both for dipping the turkey into if desired (which I did!). 

While we were finishing up the cooking we served our guests a simple platter of cheese and crackers with some grapes and carrots. Just a little something to whet the appetite. I made a simple sangria and had some apple cider for some festive drinks to go along with the meal. And finally, a pumpkin bundt cake added the finishing touch to a fantastic Thanksgiving. I was so glad to be able to share my love of cooking with my family on this festive day. I am so thankful for all my family members who were able to come and celebrate the holiday together, as well as for all the delicious food we were so privileged to eat. I am so blessed, and for that I am extremely grateful, all year long! God is good is an understatement.

 Simple, yet scrumptious appetizer

 A little cold weather grilling never hurt anyone

 Plenty of drink options

 Dried fruit, pecan and feta salad

 Squash soup

And don't forget the turkey!

Turkey kabobs, my take on the traditional 

 This is what I like to see on Thanksgiving

And never, ever forget about dessert

Classic Apple Pie

I haven't always been a big pie fan. In fact, it's only been in the last year that I've really changed my tune and started to really like pies, a lot! (Don't worry cake, you will forever be my first love.) I was never a big fan of soft, warm fruit, and while it is still not on my top 10, when it's encased in a flaky and buttery crust, generously sprinkled with sugar, and baked until golden perfection it's difficult for me not to like. Since I've jumped on the pie band wagon I decided it was time that my Thanksgiving dinner included an apple pie, it just seemed right. No doubts here; this pie was tall and handsome, but more importantly the taste was spot on, the perfect blend of sweet and buttery, tender apples and flaky crust. A wonderful start to my holiday season.

First ever double crusted pie! I was a little nervous, but knew it would work. It baked up beautifully with no worries. I did cover it with foil about halfway through baking because I do not at all like over-baked crusts. I like a light golden brown, not dark and hard. The perfect ending for my delicious Thanksgiving meal.

Classic Apple Pie
Crust adapted from Martha Stewart
Pie Adapted from Williams Sonoma
Ingredients
Crust

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Pie

• 5 pounds apples, or about 14 apples (I used Northern Spy)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions
For the crust: using a cheese grater, grate the butter into a bowl and place in the freezer for a few minutes to freeze. In a large bowl mix together flour, salt and sugar. Add the frozen butter and quickly mix together. Add in the ice water a little bit at a time just until the dough comes together in a ball. Add as little water as needed, it's okay if the dough is a little shaggy. Split the dough into two pieces and shape into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 2 hours.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out half of the dough into a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch deep-dish pie dish and gently press the dough into the bottom and sides of the dish. Trim the edges and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll out the remaining dough disk into a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling: In a large Dutch oven, stir together the apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cornstarch. Set over medium heat, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are just tender but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Uncover and cook until the liquid has thickened and become glossy, 5 to 7 minutes more. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven, place a baking sheet on the rack and preheat the oven to 400°F.

Transfer the apple filling to the pie shell, and gently invert the top over the pie. Trim the edges flush with the rim of the dish and press the top and bottom crusts together to seal. Brush the entire top crust with egg wash and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Cut a couple of slits in the dough to allow steam to escape.

Place the pie dish on the preheated baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until the crust is crisp and golden brown, about 40 minutes more, covering the edges with aluminum foil if they become too dark. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours before serving.