Roast Brined Turkey with Cornbread, Rye, Sage, Apple & Sausage Stuffing, Sour Cranberry Sauce & all the trimmings.
I love Thanksgiving. It's my kind of holiday. Coming together with family &/or friends to share a delicious meal is my "raison d'être". The menu & traditions have changed through the years but only by degrees. When I was a small child, I remember getting so excited when I was entrusted with the fancy glass relish dish and given the responsibility of filling it with little gherkins, black & Spanish olives, homemade bread & butter pickles, carrots & celery. As I got a little older, my help in the kitchen evolved to making the green bean casserole, then, to the scalloped oysters, and stuffing for the bird. Before long I could prepare all the family dishes. Then, there was the year my Dad & I decided to try brining the turkey, we've been brining ever since. My three top favorite smells from the oven belong to Thanksgiving, Turkey & sage stuffing roasting, pumpkin pie baking, and freshly baked homemade yeast rolls.
My most memorable Thanksgiving was 18 years ago. Ironically it's the only one I haven't had any part in cooking. I had just given birth to my son minutes before midnight on the night before Thanksgiving. As the evening was drawing to a close that Wednesday, I had been in labor for 3 days, and really didn't want to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital. Need I mention that I hadn't eaten in those three laborious days? This was the longest I'd ever gone without a meal, and I was not looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner in the hospital. Luckily, after all the drama of the 72 hours prior, my son arrived and we were discharged the following morning. Thanksgiving day, we came home with our little bundle of joy. But, of course, there was no turkey roasting in the oven. My husband had been holding my hand for three days straight. So, we weren't prepared in our normal fashion to make Thanksgiving dinner when we returned home. But, soon the feast started to arrive, first a chef friend brought over a roast leg of lamb with rosemary & garlic and mashed potatoes with red chile gravy (Red Chile gravy is just one of many reasons why I love New Mexico). Then, friends started arriving with their leftover roast turkey and all the fixings. My tastebuds were overwhelmed with joy. The homemade food our friends shared with us was intensely delicious! After not eating for three days even the oatmeal at the hospital that morning tasted amazing. In honor of my son's birth and Thanksgiving we decided every year from then on, we would feast for no less than 3 days in honor of my 3 days of labor. Usually the first feast is a birthday party for my son with all his friends, the second feast is a birthday celebration with family & the third is Thanksgiving day.
This year will be a little different with Covid protocols, we won’t be cooking for a houseful of teenagers but we will have a small outdoor celebration around a campfire with just the immediate family. Our son will be turning 18 and his senior year is on line with no in person classes, he had no homecoming dance or soccer season but we are thankful for all that we have. So far, we have our health and have been able to enjoy outdoor time as a family since the school closures started last spring. Even though our celebrations will be just the three of us, we will feast & toast to life. We will get up in the mountains and down to the river and be grateful for everything we have in this beautiful place we get to call home.
Day 3 of feasting is the Thanksgiving line-up.
Roast Brined Turkey with Cornbread, Rye, Apple, Sage & Sausage Stuffing, Sour Cranberry Sauce, Mashers & Gravy, Calabacitas Casserole, Sweet Potatoes with Orange, Red Chile, Ginger Butter, Mixed Greens with a lemon vinaigrette, and of course pie..... There is always pie!
Stay safe & eat well!
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