Small Thanksgiving

We had a small thanksgiving for the first time at our house. Or the first time I (with a little bit of help) cooked everything. I kept it pretty standard. I made a roasted turkey which was flavored with butter, thyme, garlic, onions, salt and pepper. It came out fairly well. The first time we took it out it was undercooked and after another 1/2 hour if was better. I've had better, but I also realized that I don't love turkey all that much. I'd love to try another main course next year, maybe brisket or some sort of pork or beef roast. I also made roasted vegetables (fennel, potatoes and Brussels sprouts), sourdough stuffing, gravy, blanched green beans with lemon and shallots and homemade dinner rolls. And for dessert we had a French apple tart with cinnamon maple whipped cream. My favorite thing from the meal was the stuffing and the gravy.

The apple tart looked the prettiest :)










Sourdough Stuffing 
(adapted from a recipe by Dave Lieberman)

Ingredients

• 1-pound loaf sourdough bread
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 10 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/2-inch thick in both directions
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 to 4 stalks celery with leaves, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• About 10 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stems
• 10 to 12 fresh sageleaves, chopped 
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.

Cut or tear the bread into 1-inch cubes and spread it evenly on 2 baking sheets. Toast the bread in the oven until completely dry and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and a few pinches of salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add celery, onion, 2 tablespoons butter, and thyme. Once the butter has melted, cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes. Add sage and remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Add chicken broth to skillet and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste
Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl and add the walnuts and cranberries. Pour the chicken broth mixture over the bread cubes and toss to combine until the bread cubes absorb the liquid. Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish, and sprinkle with parsley. Bake in the center of the oven until heated through and the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool about 15 minutes before serving.


Overall we had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving at home with my parents. I cooked all day Wednesday and Thursday. We watched movies, had constant fires in the fireplace and stayed out of the nasty, cold rain. Ben was gone all day Saturday at an agility trial. My parents and I checked out the Seattle Childrens Museum, an Etsy craft show and then went to the YMCA for a swim. And of course Sunday was flyball practice and back to our regular lives.