Dinner Tourist

My mom waiting to serve and dad taking photos

Thanksgiving was special this year because I got to visit my parents in my hometown with Tom. I hadn’t been home since I moved to CT two and a half years ago. I felt like a tourist, researching local breweries in Ashville and Boone and stopping in antique shops to buy Christmas gifts. It made for a memorable holiday; especially when we all sat down to eat.

 

My mother and I take pride in our Thanksgiving meal. We use the best ingredients- everything is homemade. Since Tom is a restaurant owner, I wanted everything to be perfect (which also resulted in a lengthier prep time). We used an apple cider glaze for our turkey and the gravy from the turkey came out a dark wine color as a result. It was perfectly cooked. The white meat was tender and moist and the dark meat was juicy and really flavorful.

While we cooked, we sipped Madeira and snacked on cheese from Caseus. I decided to mix it up a little when it came to our vegetable dish. I found a recipe for jerk spiced Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and chic peas. I first crisped up the veggies in a pan of oil, and then baked them at high heat with honey, butter, salt, and pepper. Then I sprinkled the spice mixture all over to give it that jerk flavor.

 

Our sweet potatoes were really small and skinny from the local farmers market. My mom meticulously peeled and scraped the baked potatoes, then put them in the food processor to make them nice and smooth.

The salad had a pomegranate seed dressed with very thinly sliced red onion over arugula with mandarin orange slices.

I found a recipe for homemade sweet yeast rolls that I had rising in a bowl while we cooked. Just before we started to set the table, I popped them in the oven, first coating them with heavy cream.  

 I made a pecan pie with a chocolate crust and my mom did a traditional pumpkin pie. When it was time for dessert, I made some whipped cream with sugar and vanilla.