cooking

Thanks to the Barefoot Contessa, I really was able to assemble a pretty stress-free Thanksgiving dinner. Aside from the desserts I posted and my favorite creamy Brussels spouts, I followed the recipes for:

A mushroom and leek bread pudding.
This is a nice alternative to stuffing, but I might just serve the sauteed leeks and mushrooms with tarragon as a dish by itself. Once it was baked with the bread and eggs, the flavors became a bit muddy. Before, the mushrooms were super good.

Spinach Gratin
A tasty dish and a bit more elegant than creamed spinach. Very very rich. I might add an egg or two next time so that it comes together a little better.

Some friends brought the Mashed and Sweet potatoes, as well as a bunch of steamed vegetables, and a fabulous Cranberry Orange Sauce from Martha Stewart.

As for the Turkey. Its not so easy to get good fresh turkey here. I've occasionally seen organic ones from France, but more often than not, these have been frozen multiple times and don't taste very nice.
I usually just go with a butterball, better cold chain-consistency.  I brined it overnight with allspice, ginger, sage, cloves, garlic, and onions and roasted it at 170 for 20min per pound. It was nice and moist, but definitely left me craving a 'closer to the ground' bird.