My absolute favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Any chance to celebrate family and food is my kind of day. When we lived in California we hosted our families and any friends who were not traveling home for the extended weekend. We would have 10-20 around our table and I would begin planning, decorating, shopping, and cooking 15 days ahead. This year was our first New England Thanksgiving and although we moved here to be near my extended family they all have holiday traditions that have been in force for years so my table could have been empty.
Enter my fabulous cousin, Matthew and his partner, Curt who flew in from CA to grace our holiday table. Matthew’s mum, my Aunt Eileen, was also there and the five of us celebrated as if there were 20 of us. The nice thing about a smaller guest list is that you can do everything in just a few days and the really nice thing about a commercial size refrigerator is that you can actually brine a 20lb turkey in it without giving up valuable real estate. Twenty pounds of poultry for 5 people is excessive, but I love the leftovers and have I mentioned that my huge fridge has the space?
With sweet Hamish at my feet (just like the very first night we brought him home!) I covered the turkey with herbed butter, salt pork, and cheesecloth and a few hours later, we had a beautiful bird. The regular sides were on hand, but a non-traditional dessert of caramelized pears over triple crème cheese ended our evening.
Hopefully, next year we will be hosting my favorite holiday inside the barn!
Enter my fabulous cousin, Matthew and his partner, Curt who flew in from CA to grace our holiday table. Matthew’s mum, my Aunt Eileen, was also there and the five of us celebrated as if there were 20 of us. The nice thing about a smaller guest list is that you can do everything in just a few days and the really nice thing about a commercial size refrigerator is that you can actually brine a 20lb turkey in it without giving up valuable real estate. Twenty pounds of poultry for 5 people is excessive, but I love the leftovers and have I mentioned that my huge fridge has the space?
With sweet Hamish at my feet (just like the very first night we brought him home!) I covered the turkey with herbed butter, salt pork, and cheesecloth and a few hours later, we had a beautiful bird. The regular sides were on hand, but a non-traditional dessert of caramelized pears over triple crème cheese ended our evening.
Hopefully, next year we will be hosting my favorite holiday inside the barn!
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