Thanksgiving 2009

This Thanksgiving, I had a chance to try a few new things.

After watching Food, Inc., we're glad we decided to go for Trader Joe's organic, free-range turkeys. That film will really make you think about what we choose to eat -- and how fortunate we are to be able to make those choices.

We're also trying to watch the cholesterol, etc., so I made things lighter. Chicken broth in the mashed potatoes, light gravy made with turkey stock and flour, no butter basting on the turkey (just a tiny bit of olive oil) -- which tasted delicious -- as well as lighter side dishes, including some Korean cucumbers, tomatillo sauce, guacamole, and Southern style greens cooked with chicken sausage and broth.

A couple of things stood out. Number one was the cranberries. I've always used canned -- happily. So when R pointed out a recipe in Saveur, I was a little hesitant. Ok, a lot. He had just watched "60 Minutes" and Andy Rooney had a piece on how "nothing should come from a can." I got a little irritated and said, "Well, Andy Rooney can come over and cook those cranberries."

After I calmed down, I decided to try it. And now I don't know if I'll ever go back to the can. This recipe for cranberry sauce is really delicious and can be made ahead of time. The only variation that I made was using Frangelico instead of Gran Marnier, only because that's what I had on hand. It's spicy and tart and not overly sweet. Very delicious.

The best thing though was the Tarte Tatin. It's something I've been wanting to try for awhile now. I've never actually tasted it before, but cooking it in a cast-iron skillet fascinated me.

I used Williams-Sonoma's recipe from one of their free cooking classes (for French bistro cooking). I didn't see the recipe on their site, but you could try one of the others there or the million others that exist. What I liked about the recipe I used was that it called for a prepared puff pastry (thawed), which turned out great. I haven't quite mastered the whole pastry thing. The only deviation was I used only about 1/4 of the butter it called for. And Granny Smith apples were perfect.

It turned out better than expected (despite a little extra color on one side). Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was perfect. All of the flavors meld together, and it tasted so light. We all had seconds and even thirds.

Mmm! We'll be having this again soon. Hope you get a chance to try it.

Even though it's been a difficult year for so many, we're very grateful for so much. Happy Thanksgiving!