Sassy Radish

Thanksgiving is yet another way for me to remember how good I have it when it comes to friends. I must’ve done something right in my past life because I am blessed with some amazing people in my life. For that, I will eternally be grateful. And I’m grateful to have the means to feed a large group (not without help) of these friends, all hungry for Thanksgiving meal.

Turkey’s never looked better. Or tasted better. When we carved it, the juices ran clear and flooded the pan. We tasted the breast meat, and our knees went weak. This was turkey to be reckoned with.

Thanksgiving this year went smoothly and without a hitch. There was turkey. There were three cheesecakes. There was the now traditional and requested porcini mushroom soup. The chestnut stuffing. The spicy baked acorn squash. The apple celery salad. Cranberry relish with lemon zest and Cointreau. Apple pear pie. Pumpkin Souffle Bread Pudding so delicious, it disappeared almost instantly with people clamoring for more. And more.

I didn’t have a single meltdown. I was cool and composed and even wore my cooking frock.

And in the end we fed 27 people, all of whom ate a good meal with some good friends. The turkey, dubbed as TheBeast weighed 26 pounds and there wasn’t a scrap of it left by night’s end.

This recipe is adapted from Alton Brown’s method of preparing a turkey. I have three golden rules of making sure that the turkey comes out right each and every time:

I’ve not posted much, I will admit, but those who know me will tell you that I live and die by Thanksgiving holiday. Not only is it my opportunity to flex my cooking skills, but it’s also a way to gather my friends together and feed them. Over the years, I’ve met an amazing number of amazing people. And while people say that your friends reflect who you are, I am truly humbled by the friends I have – generous, kind, sensitive people who are full of life and love.

As of last week, the Radish has found herself unemployed. Downsizing and restructuring have put her in the ranks of those laid off and while the lifestyle of leisure has its appeals, she is not one to sit idly.

With more time on my hands to plan, I was able to finalize our menu for this year. I am going to start composing entries for the recipes to publish them one by one once I have good pictures of the dishes. But for now, consider this an amuse-bouche, an preview of things to come.

2006 Thanksgiving Dinner Menu