Image via WikipediaIt's the start of the holiday season. What does Thanksgiving mean to you and your family?
I host Thanksgiving Day with my in-laws and the day after with my sister and her family. It's the family holiday I've claimed :D I LOVE to cook, and I'm pretty good at it. Yeah, I know we're supposed to be all humble and stuff, but hey, I'm a darned good cook and I'm proud of it!
I love to try out subtle twists to the holiday standards. This year, I'm doing a marinade for the turkey before hand to get some additional layers of flavor. I also inject my bird with wine and spices (helps to have a sister in the medical field that gets me these great syringes) and make an herb butter that I lay on under the skin on the breast and thighs. Juicy, flavorful turkey... mmm mmm.
I've gotten better at letting family members bring contributions for the official meal, though it's hard for me to relinquish control.
My mashed potatoes will be standard, but I'm making a mushroom gravy from the turkey drippings as well as a mushroom sourdough stuffing and standard sweet potatoes with apples.
Image via WikipediaI love the family stories from Thanksgivings past. Love that my in-laws don't hold back on giving me "the business". When my husband and I first started dating, I went to Thanksgiving at my in-laws. They have a family rule that you have to eat something 3 times before you're allowed to say you don't like it.On the 3rd year, I emphatically proclaimed that I did NOT like brussel sprouts and would not be eating them again. My father-in-law was relentless giving me a hard time all through the dinner meal. At the end, Mike's grandmother moved her glass and we all spied that she had hidden her brussel sprouts in a pile behind her glass and did not eat them either. I couldn't believe she had sat there and let me take all the grief through the meal and didn't say a word! We laugh about that year after year.
I also am a food separatist. I do not like my foods to mingle. Thanksgiving is one of those meals where I often leave lines on my plate where the food items ran together which I won't eat. Another opportunity for my father-in-law to give me endless grief.
Love the laughter of family around a full table. That is what Thanksgiving is for me. A table filled with great food and lots of family and loads of laughter. With copious amounts of wine, of course!!
My sister is coming home for Thanksgiving this year from Denver, CO. As she spends Thanksgiving day with her in-laws, we've adopted a new family tradition of a Friday meal. My parents hosted this meal until they moved to Arizona last year. I'm looking forward to spending the day cooking and eating with my sister and my niece. We'll start with brunch and mimosas, then snacks and munchies and then move to a nice non-turkey holiday meal. My father is an amazing gourmet cook and his meals are out of this world 6 course meals complete with some amazing soup. This year I'm doing a cranberry marinated pork roast, pasta carbonara (a family favorite) and green beans almondine with a Pear Frangipane tart for dessert.
I can't wait to hang out all day with my sister and her family, playing games, cooking, munching and of course, drinking lots of wine ;)
What are your Thanksgiving traditions? Is it just another day to you or do you look forward to it every year like I do?
Do you host or do you bring a dish? Do you travel or do you stay local?
Wishing the warmest of Holiday greetings to all on this Thanksgiving week. May your table overflow with great food, great wine, love and laughter!
Catch my latest newsletter with more holiday tips and recipes!
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