My Thanksgiving Menu

I love Thanksgiving!  I love that it ushers in the Christmas season, allowing us the opportunity to reflect on our many blessings, hopefully giving us the perspective we need to more fully rejoice in the true meaning of Christmas.  I love that it is a time for celebrating with family.  I love the family football games and (this year) 5k runs.  I love the post-Thanksgiving "redemption" bike rides.  But I have to admit my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the food!  A few years ago we started a new tradition.  Since we always spend Thanksgiving day with our extended family we never got any leftovers, and in my opinion, Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without Turkey sandwiches and all the other delicious leftovers.  To remedy this situation we decided to have our own Thanksgiving meal on Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. A couple of days ago I went shopping for our Thanksgiving dinner, so I thought I'd share our menu.  Every year I do a Spice-Cured Turkey.  The recipe says to let it cure for 24 hours, but I do it for 72 hours.  It is the best!  They're always moist and very flavorful.   Rather than using the Apple-Chestnut Stuffing in the recipe, I use a Cornbread, Apple, Cranberry, and Sausage Stuffing. (Recipe is at the end of this post.)

It is my husband's favorite.  I like to experiment with new recipes, but he won't let me touch the stuffing!  

For side dishes this year we will be having Butter-Pecan Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts with Vinegar-Glazed Red Onions, and Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes.  For dessert this year I was asked to bring pies to my family's on Thursday, so we will have those leftovers with our dinner on Saturday.  I'm trying two new recipes and one tried and true one.  The two new ones are Pumpkin Maple Pie Supreme, and Pecan Pumpkin Pie.  

The other is one of my favorite fall pie recipes.  It is Autumn Harvest Pie.

The combination of sweet and tart wrapped in a pate brisee crust is divine!  I'm getting excited just typing this!  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We will have two!

Cornbread, Apple, Cranberry and Sausage Stuffing

Cornbread (recipe follows) 1" cubes

1 lb. sweet Italian Sausage

4 red onions, chopped

1 c. dried cranberries

1/2 c. chopped fresh sage

1/2 c. butter

8 celery stalks, chopped

1 1/2 C. half and half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place cornbread cubes on baking sheet.  Bake until dry, about 20 minutes.  Cook sausage in large sauteé pan over medium heat.  Put in small bowl.  Melt butter in same pan.  Add onion and celery, cook over medium until onion is translucent, 10 -15 minutes.  Add apples and cranberries, stir.  Cook until apples are soft.  Add half and half and cook for three minutes.  Place in large bowl and add sage, cornbread and sausage.  Cool completely.  Can be refrigerated 2 days before stuffing in bird. Fills 16-20 lb. bird.

Cornbread

2 T. butter (for pan)

1 1/2 c. cornmeal

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/4 c. milk

1 egg

1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. course salt

1 T. molasses

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter 8x8 pan.  Mix dry ingredients.  Combine remaining ingredients.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients just until combined.  Pour into pan and bake until golden about 25-30 minutes.  (This is a very dry cornbread.  Not one you would want to eat, but perfect for stuffing.)