My Thanksgiving

I decided to give my grandmother a break and fix the entire Thanksgiving meal. It was fun and a bit stressful, but when my family sat down to eat, it was all worth it. I really want to thank all of the great food blogs out there because without them, we would have relied upon the usual boxed, canned, and jarred fixings.

Instead of turkey, we decided on cornish hens, and to give it an extra kick, I used the recipe for Peruvian Garlic-Lime Chicken from the March 2011 issue of Cook’s Illustrated. Since I live in California, I was able to find a jar of huacatay paste in a local Asian grocery store, but the Cook’s Illustrated recipe helps you approximate the taste of Peruvian black mint if a) you cannot find the actual paste or b) you’d rather follow a recipe as it is. Needless to say, the cornish hens were superb–crispy, flaky skin, tender and flavorful meat…just yum!

Appetizers:

Hasselback Garlic Cheesy Bread (homemade bread is not yet my strong suit, but this turned out really tasty)

Spinach Artichoke Dip (Applebee’s has nothing on this!)

Cheesy Garlic and Onion Stuffed Mushrooms (a surprise hit with my family)

For side dishes:


Cheesy Skillet Scalloped Corn
(a great twist on corn)

Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese (Gouda is amazing)

Sourdough Boudin Sausage Dressing (cheated a bit by substituting Andouille)

Creamy Mashed Red Potatoes (sooooo incredibly easy to make, and sooo delicious)

Sweet and Sour Bacon and Green Beans (I’ll never eat green beans out of a can again!)

Trader Joe’s Gravy

Trader Joe’s Fresh Cranberry Sauce

Desserts:

Apple Galette (I am officially the queen of flaky, buttery pie crust)

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe in the World

Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes (My family ate these before I had a chance to taste!)

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Cheesecake

Needless to say, I made, I ate, I conquered. I’d like to thank all of you who visit Edwardian Promenade; your growing interest inspires me to not only blog, but to complete this book!

Check out my photos of the spread.

[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157628152038691″]

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3 replies on “My Thanksgiving”
  1. I’m always thrilled when someone tackles the challenge of preparing Real Food. Kudos on your marvelous Thanksgiving meal. I hope you have many more happy adventures in cooking!

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