After two full turkey dinners, I don’t even want to look at the pile of leftovers in my fridge. But each meal was delicious.
At my parents’ house Thursday, we had cheese and crackers and amazing shrimp cocktail before heading into the main event of turkey; stuffing made with sausage, apples, onion and celery; sweet squash with brown sugar and butter; luxurious homemade mashed potatoes; my grandfather’s decadent Morton’s Steakhouse creamed spinach recipe and flaky rolls. Oh, and Ocean Spray cranberry log, as we call it, sliced up into manageable pieces. Dessert was our choice of Junior’s caramel apple cheesecake, a Milky Way mousse cake, pumpkin pie and gourmet cupcakes created by my aunt’s friend, a baker in Worcester.
Dinner at the in-laws was decidedly more healthy, but the turkey was perfect. My mother-in-law said she stuffed the turkey’s cavity with fresh oranges and bell peppers. While I couldn’t taste those flavors in the meat, I wonder if it added to its moistness. The white meat was fabulous. Wine selections: Beaujolais for the Griffin meal, Hobnob Pinot Noir at the Zielonkas.
Your turn: what did you eat on Thanksgiving? Did any dish particularly stand out to you? Any turkey techniques you want to share?
Leeanne Griffin is a freelance writer and food enthusiast.
My sister Clare Mangine hosted 36 people for dinner, and it’s amazing how she can feed that many people and have everything taste exquisitely home-cooked. Everything was spectacular, as it is every year. At one point during the meal she got a pan of rolls out of the oven and dumped them, steaming, into a basket. I stabbed one with a fork, split it open, laid on the butter and — oh, heaven.
I ended my meal with my sweet potato pecan pie!