Tricia and I hosted the Thanksgiving holiday for the first time this year, and looking back it was pretty much a complete and total success. I figured I'd use this opportunity to run down the menu and rate the quality of the top five items I slaved over for the better part of yesterday. Please note that this list does not include the chestnut stuffing we made, as it ended up looking a whole lot like dookie.

#5. Brined Turkey

Alright... it's official. I'm finished spreading the gospel of brining your Thanksgiving turkey. Don't get me wrong. I brined our turky this year and it was as juicy and flavorful as ever, but later Thanksgiving night I heard a turkey brining reference on ER. E freakin' R! Did you even know that show was still on? Yeah, that show hasn't been relevant since Clooney introduced the world to the Caesar cut. So, while I'll continue to give my gobbler an overnight dip in a bath of salty goodness, I think I'll just keep it to myself.

#4. Grated Sweet Potato Pudding

Growing up, I always got the sickening mallow-topped goo that looked about as appetizing going in as it did coming back out. Only in my adult life have I begun to warm to this surprisingly versatile un-spud. This time instead of going the mashed route, we took Sirley O.'s ole-timey advice and went with grated (actually food-processed) potatoes. Thinking the appearance to be a bit boring, we upgraded the dish with a quick streusel topping. Though I was pleased with how this dish turned out, I would like to give this one another shot with fresh rather than ground ginger. I dunno, I just think it would benefit clean flava of the fresh stuff.

#3. Green Bean Casserole (From Scratch, Baby!)

Green Bean Casserole was invented by Campbell's Soup back in the mid-'50s, presumably to boost sales of their practically inedible on its own cream of mushroom soup. I fell in love with the french onion topped stuff in the early nineties, at a carry-in dinner of course, and looked forward to digging into it at every subsequent gastro-centric social event. A recent issue of Cook's Illustrated featured a recipe for green bean casserole that did away with all of the processed foods that make up the traditional dish and recreated all of the flavors with fresh ingredients. I knew right then and there that the recipe would be making an appearance on our Thanksgiving table. I totally hated cleaning and cutting the two pounds of fresh green beans, but it was totally worth the effort. The result was ten times better than the casserole you're used to.

#2. Bourbon Pecan Pie

Another Shirley O. recipe, this was one of those things that you just don't think of people making at home. There's a reason for that too. Pecans cost about a zillion dollars a pound. This recipe called for both pecan pieces AND pecan halves. So, the pie ended up costing like $25. Still... it was worth every penny. It's always amazing when you try and replicate a food you love at home and when you get done you're like, "Yup, that's pecan pie, alright." Plus... it had booze in it.

#1. Sweet Cornbread Pudding

I just sorta ganked this one off the web whilst checking out AB's brined turkey recipe. It was the last addition to the menu and oddly enough will probably be the recipe that I revisit the most between now and next Thanksgiving. I nice, light alternative to regular cornbread or corn pudding-type thing... except this one jacks the flavor up to 11.

Labels: holidays, recipes