How We "DO" Thanksgiving

With the holiday season comes longer grocery store lines. This gives me the chance to peruse magazines while waiting. Last week, I got to flip through the November issue of The Food Network Magazine. There was this really cool article where some of their Chefs answered questions about how they do Thanksgiving. I thought it would be fun to share a little about our "trends" in the last seven Thanksgiving meals together.

Question #1: What time is “mealtime” on Thanksgiving Day for you? Most of my Thanksgiving celebrations have always been a late afternoon meal. As a kid, we always got together at someone's house around 11am nibbled on finger foods and appetizers and just spent the time preparing food and laughing together. The same is mostly true now, we just don't always get together so early but there is always appetizers and food prep.

Question #2: What’s your Worst Thanksgiving Disaster? I haven't had too many cooking disasters during holiday meals. That is Berkeley's department. Our first Thanksgiving, he dropped a pie and our second or third Thanksgiving he nearly lost the whole bird.

Questions #3: Do you Brine your Turkey or No Brine? Yes! The last four years Berkeley has used a brine on our turkey before smoking it.

Question #4: Do you have an “oddball dish” that you serve at Thanksgiving Dinner? Occasionally, we make an Apple Salad with a tangy yogurt dressing. Also, a Carrot Raisin salad makes an appearance every now and then as well. That is about as "oddball" as it gets though.

Question #5: Stuffing… do you put it in the bird or out of the bird? Outside! Always. The End. Haha! The more specific answer is that smoking stuffing doesn't turn out well.

Question #6: What is your pie of choice? Oh pie! I love pie! Since I am only going off of our last seven years I guess I am going to say my Nantucket Cranberry Pie. My old standby was my mom's mincemeat pie. I don't think many people make them anymore but that was my favorite as a kid.

Question #7: What are you most thankful for? This year I am particularly filled with all kinds of  emotions and feeling immensely blessed. Right now, I am so incredibly thankful for our family, our friends, and for all the love and excitement for this little one. Of course, my Thanksgivings (or my life) would not be what they have been if it weren't for Berkeley.

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday this week. Enjoy your food. Enjoy your family! And if you want to share any of your Thanksgiving traditions or answer any of the questions. I'd love to read your responses!

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato and Yam Medley

This year we embarked on a Gluten Free Thanksgiving. That meant no stuffing, no green bean casserole, and no sweet potatoes. Well at least not in the traditional sense. Instead of completely obliterating Thanksgiving, I strived to embrace traditional Thanksgiving flavors but with a twist on their preparation.

Instead of a sweet potato or candied yam casserole like we are accustomed to, I went for spicy roasted sweet potatoes and yams. This was by far the easiest holiday recipe ever! Simply chop, season, and then roast.

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes
ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 medium yam
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• 2 tsp chile powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin 
• 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt 
• 12 tsp white sugar
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

directions

1. Preheat oven to 400*F. Line a large baking sheet with foil. 
2. Wash and chop potatoes and yam into cubes. Add to a large mixing bowl and toss with butter and oil. 
3. Combine spices and sprinkle potatoes and yams. Then toss to thoroughly coat. Spread mixture out on prepared baking sheet. 
4. Bake about 25-35 minutes, until tender or to your liking. 

Thanksgiving 2013

I hope you all had a fabulous holiday with your friends, family and loved ones! It ended up being just us three all day. We socialized with the neighbors and had low key holiday. While the turkey was smoking and the cranberries were slow cooking we enjoyed some meats and cheeses for lunch and played a few rounds of Apples to Apples. Once the turkey was closer to being finished on the grill, I started cranking out the rest of the sides. We went gluten free this year and for the rest of the week I'll be sharing our recipes so be sure to check back for those starting tomorrow!

Berkeley's Turkey Brine

Hey all, Berkeley again here. Long time no see! This is my second post here and it is well overdue as I promised Ashley this post years ago. Oops! Thursday will be the 4th Thanksgiving I have been in charge of smoking our turkey. I have done it in the snow, the rain, and in the desert. Every time it has been a hit and it all starts with the Turkey Brine and my recipe is an easy one!

Smoked Turkey Brine
ingredients

• 2 gallons water 
• 1.5 cups NON-iodized salt 
• 1 bulb garlic, peeled and minced 
• 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper 
• .5 cup Worcestershire 
• .5 cup Brown sugar

directions

1. Boil 1/2 gallon of water. Dissolve sugar and salt, allow to cool. 
2. Transfer with remaining ingredients into brining vessel. 
3.  Stir, add turkey, refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.

This is the first step in an 16-24 hour process of getting a perfectly smoked turkey! After the brining process, depending on the size of your turkey, smoking can take roughly 8 hours. I may just even share those steps with you all next time! I hope y'all have a fantastic, food filled Turkey Day!

Alternatives to Traditional Holiday Meals

I have a huge family! My mom has numerous cousins on both sides of her family, and my dad has tons of friends that might as well be family. Our holiday season always started the week before Thanksgiving, and ended the week after the First of the New Year.

Depending on how the calendar falls, that can result in 8-10 weeks of festivities and several holiday meals, and lots of turkey and ham. To be frank, sometimes the traditional options are the most boring ones. With Thanksgiving a week away, and thus the start of the "Holiday Season" for many, I thought it would be fun to share some of my recipes that are great alternatives to the typical Turkey/Ham entree with traditional sweet potato/green bean/mashed potato sides. These recipes would be great for mid-season get togethers and for breaking up the monotony of plain ole turkey and ham.

source: Dan @ The Food in my Beard

Clam Pumpkin Soup with an Ancho Floater. This amazing soup would be perfect for a low key get together on a cold evening. It's unique flavors make it just fancy enough for it to be more than just soup for dinner. 

source: Marina @ Yummy Mummy Kitchen

Brussels Sprout Mac n Cheese. I love Brussels Sprouts and I love Mac n Cheese. Naturally this is a dish right up my alley. Not only would it make a great side, it can be made in bulk and served as a main dish. 

source: Oui, Chef @ Food52

Gingered Cranberry Fig Chutney. Cranberries are a staple this time of year. Instead of relying on the canned jelly from the supermarket, try something a little more unique!

source: Cat Cora via The New Potato

Cornish Game Hens with Pomegranate Sun Dried Tomato Glaze. Back away from the frozen turkey and pick up some game hens instead, especially if you are entertaining a small group. The glaze also adds flavors that sets this recipe apart from your traditional holiday fare. 

source: Beth @ Budget Bytes

Cranberry Almond Cake. I don't know about you but Apple and Pumpkin pies can get quite boring. This cake seems like a great way to finish off any meal, especially one during the holidays. 

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving was somewhat of an all weekend thing for us this year. If you couldn't tell by the posts last week, we spent Tuesday evening through Monday evening in Southern Arizona with Berkeley's parents and grandparents.

As previously mentioned, Berkeley was in charge of the turkey which meant our prep started on Wednesday. A lot of mise en place took place. We cleaned the bird. The brine got poured in the roasting bag. It was all sealed up and ready to sit in the cooler overnight. Then Berkeley decided he needed to reposition it all. That's when the bag caught on ice and ripped open. Brine and raw turkey juices splashed up all over me and part of the kitchen. It was a magical moment!

No big deal besides raw poultry on my person. More mise en place. More brine. And all was right as rain. Thanksgiving morning was spent milling around the house getting the rest of supper ready. We made pies, casseroles, and baked sweet potatoes while Berkeley smoked the turkey. It was a pretty busy morning.

Once the food was ready, we sat down for our Thanksgiving supper with Berke's parents and grandparents and shared stories. After Berkeley's grandparents made it home safely, we settled in for a few rounds of Marbles and adult beverages. It was a great holiday.

The rest of the weekend was spent touring Historic Homes and eating amazing food. I'll be posting about those things as well as making some posts about our Honeymoon trip to Disneyland!