Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving is a not a time for healthy meals. It's a time when all the rules go out the window and butter goes on everything. Our house was no different. We had an amazing thanksgiving feast with some really great friends and then got absolutely shit-faced. My husband barfed in the sink. It was awesome.

There were three recipes that I want to write about here so I can remember them in future. The first two were made by me and the last one was made by Sarah, of risotto fame.

Fusion Stuffing!
I have not made American stuffing before, I don't really know what it is. I asked lots of Americans and it appears that there's a lot of variety, but cornbread is a running theme. One friend advised me that "stuffing is really meant to be something no one enjoys. It's usually dry and tastes a bit of chicken stock. It almost always contains celery", but others passionately defended stuffing and advocated using sausage. It seems that stuffing is just another hot topic that polarizes Americans. In the UK there is really only one kind of stuffing, it's sage and onion, and you can make it with or without sausage meat. There are other kinds but they're quite fringe and no one really likes them.  I decided to make a pretty traditional British sage and onion stuffing with sausagemeat, (based in this recipe) but to use cornbread instead of white breadcrumbs to make it a little more american. I also didn't add the egg, as I prefer stuffing to be crunchy than stodgy, but I did pour a little chicken stock into the mix to prevent it from drying out. To finish it off, I made a lattice of bacon over the top, so it looked a little like and american apple pie, but with bacon! :) I would definitely make this again! Delicious! :)

Fusion Stuffing

Green Bean Casserole
It's so hard to make anything that's a thanksgiving classic without it being so unhealthy that its literally trying to kill you. On my first ever thanksgiving in the US, I was invited to a potluck with work. Emails went around the office in which people said what they were making, most people were making meat and potatoes and cheese-based dishes, so I decided to make something green. I did a quick google search of traditional thanksgiving vegetable dishes and "Green Bean Casserole" came up, so, without reading any further, I volunteered to make that. What I didn't realize, was that I'd kind of made a cultural faux pas. Americans feel no need to have something green on the plate. The second thing that I was ignorant of, was that Green Bean Casserole is not green at all! It's covered in cheese! and most recipes online involved canned soup and canned beans! What the fuck is that? It actually took me a long time of searching to find a recipe that didn't involve canned soup. Eventually, I found this one but it needs a lot of adjusting to make it great. I've been dallying with it ever since, and this time, I think I finally nailed it.

I boiled the green beans for about 8 minutes so they were cooked through, then took them off the boil and plunged them in ice water so they stop coking and keep their texture. Then I fried butter in a pan, and caramelized a finely chopped shallot. Then, I added the mushrooms, and when they were looking good, I added the flour. This is where I go off track, at this point, I added a chicken broth, no specific amount, just enough to give it a good texture so the sauce, then I whisked in a generous helping of sour cream. I then added the green beans to the pan so that everything was combined thoroughly. I then topped it with cheese and a layer of butter-fried-cornflakes and a little more cheese. It looked and tasted great, really creamy and delicious and is pretty easy to make.

Green Bean Casserole

Filthy Cauliflower
This dish was made by Sarah. I'm calling it Filthy Cauliflower because this is an extremely sexy dish, and just so decadent that it feels naughty. It was a roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar gratin, with added goats cheese, Parmesan, crimini mushrooms, shitaki mushrooms, caramelized onions and bacon. Sarah loosely followed this recipe. Everyone loved it, it was the clear winner. I'm going to have to give it a try at Christmas. Just look at it, it's outrageous.

Filthy Cauliflower

Our thanksgiving feast was perfect, I wouldn't change a thing. I am very thankful for my family and friends and the food in my belly! I'm a very lucky lady! I'll start worrying about our health again tomorrow, promise.

Turkey Day Feast

My husband's Thanksgiving Dinner