Last year it was a mild and easy meal, the year before an epic battle, the year before that a show-off feast, and in 2002 and 2001 we helped out in other people’s kitchens. For this, the fourth Thanksgiving in a row we’ve hosted and the sixth since I started blogging in 2001, we’re playing it cautiously. I am getting over a cold and Lisa isn’t moving around too spryly either. So the menu is a little more conservative this year:
- Turkey a la Alton with pan gravy plus random stuff
- Apple and sausage stuffing—this year using a bulk pork sausage that we found at Wilson Farms
- Baby Brussels sprouts with buttered pecans
- Green beans with ginger butter
- Buttermilk biscuits
- Lemon chess pie
- Pumpkin gelato
I stayed up late last night working on prep. I cooked two quarts of chicken stock, pre-boiled the Brussels sprouts and toasted and buttered the pecans, brined the turkey, and Lisa and her mother made the gelato filling and the pie. And this morning we’re not too far off: there’s bread to be cubed and bulk sausage to be thawed for the stuffing, more biscuits to be made, a turkey to be roasted, and the green beans and the final assembly on the Brussels sprouts. I’m not as far ahead of the game as Isis, but we’re not doing too badly.
And I’ve even influenced some others; one of my coworkers is evaluating the pros and cons of duck a la hairdryer. I’m looking forward to hearing that story.