As you are all aware, Thanksgiving is fast approaching. As many of us will be traveling to be with our families, there will be some who must stay behind and act as host: I am one of these people. Yes, my wife and I will be hosting Thanksgiving for the 11th year. I am estimating that around 20 of her family (all of my family is hundreds of miles away) will be descending upon our humble home and for the next 8 hours, chaos will reign supreme.Now, I am not saying that I dislike hosting Thanksgiving, in fact I enjoy it. I look upon it as a challenge in logistics and a test of my cooking skills. The only part I have a problem with is when people start to come into MY kitchen and get in the way. Other than that, I actually have fun. My responsibility is the turkey, whipped potatoes, one side dish (I try to come up with a new side dish to try each year and this year it is going to be a spinach and artichoke casserole), and two pies. I say my responsibility, because I want my wife to be able to spend as much time with her family as possible, so I do all the cooking and baking (except for one pie that my wife bakes).
Why am I telling you all this, besides having the opportunity to post a new article? Well, over the next several days, I will be sharing some of the recipes I will be using and I'll also tell you how I go about preparing the guest of honor...the turkey. Now, to start things off, let me give you my actual Thanksgiving Shopping List (as of this writing) for this year...
Turkey
Potatoes...10 lbs.
Granny Smith Apples...2.5 lbs.
Pumpkin...
Jellied Cranberries...2 cans
Olives...2 cans
Stuffing Mix...3 boxes
Vegetable Broth...3 boxes
Cream Cheese
Heavy Cream
Buttermilk
Smoked Gouda...1 lb
Fresh Parsley
Grated Parmesan
Brie...1 lb.
day-old French bread...1 loaf
Chicken Stock
Lemon Juice
Artichoke Hearts...3 (8 1/2-ounce) cans
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Spinach...2 1/2 pounds
Yellow Onions
Garlic...1 bulb
Dry White Wine...1/4 cup (optional)
Oranges...2-3
Celery
Carrots
Lime Juice
Brandy
