What was your favorite Thanksgiving dish yesterday?

Our buffet was loaded with good stuff. Everyone brought something to contribute so we had a lot of different tastes and textures.
My favorite from last night was a bit of a "sleeper" hit. Smooth as silk sweet potato "souffle" with a pecan streusel topping. I can't wait to get at it for breakfast.

What was my favorite Thanksgiving dish yesterday? Well, it had to be the pumpkin cheesecake my son made. Or was it the mincemeat pie my daughter-in-law made? Or was it the smoked turkey breast? Naw, it had to be the deviled eggs we had as an appetizer. Then again, there was that oyster dressing my brother-in-law made. And I must admit to second helpings of the sweet potatoes and squash. Decisions, decisions!

It was the something new (which I always include every year -- not always with great success). I made the black eyed pea and mustard green salad from the new cookbook Pure Flavor by Kurt Beecher Dammeier. I added a couple texture and flavor enhancers of my own, but at every layer of flavor, it tasted great. I think it was the zing of the salad dressing. Perfection! However, I thought the cheese addded little and I will probably not use it next time. Several people walked away with the recipe. Good choice. It will be a guest at dinner again soon.

Cornbread sausage fig stuffing. Yum, yum.

The turkey itself.

We ate at our relatives' house. Thankfully, they didn't have have sweet potatoes with marshmallows. But they did have a fruit salad of mandarin oranges, banana slices and pineapple with tiny, colored marshmallows. >ack<

Am I the only one, perhaps aside from Tim Mc, that noticed this tread has been going 3+ hrs and not a single mention of er, you know, Brussels Sprouts.
Wm.

Wait until Stuart logs in. I know he was planning on making them yesterday.

Tough call. Two different flavors of smoked turkey, mashed potatoes with a creamed horseradish topping, and addictive tortilla chips topped with goat cheese, currant jelly, and bacon bits all were great. My favorite, though, was probably sliced roasted yams with a Thai-inspired topping of ginger, jalapeno, and scallion.

[Jenise]

It was the something new (which I always include every year -- not always with great success). I made the black eyed pea and mustard green salad from the new cookbook Pure Flavor by Kurt Beecher Dammeier. I added a couple texture and flavor enhancers of my own, but at every layer of flavor, it tasted great. I think it was the zing of the salad dressing. Perfection! However, I thought the cheese addded little and I will probably not use it next time. Several people walked away with the recipe. Good choice. It will be a guest at dinner again soon.

Jo Ann, please share the recipe?

[Jenise]

As a guest at my own table, my favorite dish was probably the black olive and sage bread pudding that I made in lieu of stuffing the turkey.

But as a cook, my favorite dish has to be the pumpkin pie because of the way I flubbed/rescued the dish. Namely, I forgot to put salt in the custard (made totally from scratch including baked fresh pumpkin and half/half). Fearing (rightly) an unbalanced flavor, I decided to plate each slice of pie with a scatter of finishing salt--the obsidian-black Hawaiian. The resulting pie tasted great and my guests thought this was deliberate high art.

Wait until Stuart logs in. I know he was planning on making them yesterday.

I thought I felt a disturbance in the force.

Yes, the Brussels sprouts latkes. Mmmmmm. I'll be doing them one more time this weekend.

The cornbread and chestnus stuffing, particularly with the turkey, gravy, and Zinfandel.

The Green Beans Remoulade was a big hit, but I think I liked the Dijon Broccoli Gratin more, and it was really the simplest.

The Cranberry Apple gallette with an EVOO and Lavender crust.

rwj

It was the something new (which I always include every year -- not always with great success). I made the black eyed pea and mustard green salad from the new cookbook Pure Flavor by Kurt Beecher Dammeier. I added a couple texture and flavor enhancers of my own, but at every layer of flavor, it tasted great. I think it was the zing of the salad dressing. Perfection! However, I thought the cheese addded little and I will probably not use it next time. Several people walked away with the recipe. Good choice. It will be a guest at dinner again soon.

Jo Ann, please share the recipe?

Here you go...
RCP: Black-Eyed Pea and Mustard Green Salad

1-1/2 C dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and
picked over, or 2 15-oz cans, drained and rinsed
2-3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 Tbsps minced fresh tarragon, or 2 tsp dried
2 teaspoons ground fennel seed
1/4 C sherry wine vinegar
1-1/2 Tbsp whole-grain mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 C plus 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 C chopped fresh tarragon
1 bu mustard greens (leaves only), chopped
1 bu green onions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
12 ozs. semi-hard cheese

If using dried peas, put them in a medium saucepan and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring the peas to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are tender but not too soft. Add 2 teaspoons of the salt, and comtinue to cook for 5 minutes. Drain well. While the peas are cooking, prepare the dressing. Whisk the 2 Tbsps tarragon, fennel, vinegar, mustard, honey, 3/4 teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper and olive oil together in a large bowl. Combine the cooked or canned peas with the dressing. Refirgerate for 30 minutes. Add the 1/4 C tarragon, mustard greens, and green onions to the peas and toss to combine. Top with the cheese. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Make Ahead: You can prepare this salad up to 2 days in advance, but add the greens no more than 1 hour before serving, otherwise the greens will wilt.

Jo's Note: I did not have sherry vinegar, so I used equal parts red wine vinegar and sherry. For a little extra texture, I added about 1 C sliced celery and 1/2 C sliced (about 1 inch) red bell pepper, and reduced the greens to about 1/2 bunch. I thought the balance of flavors was perfect without the addition of the final 1/4 C tarragon, so I omitted it. I cannot think of black eyed peas without a little pork, so I added about 1 C diced ham. Yum!

Am I the only one, perhaps aside from Tim Mc, that noticed this tread has been going 3+ hrs and not a single mention of er, you know, Brussels Sprouts.
Wm.

I roasted Brussels Sprouts with onion and apple, then tossed iwth crumbled bacon, butter and balsamic vinegar. Yum!

What I cooked myself and liked best was my super complicated stuffing, which has about 30 ingredients. What someone else made and brought and I liked best were two things: creamed pearl onions with baby peas and red peppers, and a sweet potato cheesecake with brown sugar whipped cream.
What I flubbed and didn't like at all was the red cabbage, which was too heavy on vinegar. Down the disposal it went.

But as a cook, my favorite dish has to be the pumpkin pie because of the way I flubbed/rescued the dish. Namely, I forgot to put salt in the custard (made totally from scratch including baked fresh pumpkin and half/half). Fearing (rightly) an unbalanced flavor, I decided to plate each slice of pie with a scatter of finishing salt--the obsidian-black Hawaiian. The resulting pie tasted great and my guests thought this was deliberate high art.

I love it. Nice save!

I was a lucky guest at our friend's in Bennett Valley. I think the turkey was probably my favorite dish. And, I never say that. Our host's brother did make this killer pate with venison and chanterelles wrapped with proscuitto. Need to get the recipe from him!

[Jenise]

I was a lucky guest at our friend's in Bennett Valley. I think the turkey was probably my favorite dish. And, I never say that. Our host's brother did make this killer pate with venison and chanterelles wrapped with proscuitto. Need to get the recipe from him!

Never had a venison pate. Could you really tell that it was game meat vs., say, beef or pork?

[Jenise]

Jo Ann, thanks for that recipe. I love love love black eyed peas but know very few ways to prep them--this sounds great. I'll definitely make it on New Years Day if not before.

[Jenise]

What I cooked myself and liked best was my super complicated stuffing, which has about 30 ingredients. What someone else made and brought and I liked best were two things: creamed pearl onions with baby peas and red peppers, and a sweet potato cheesecake with brown sugar whipped cream. What I flubbed and didn't like at all was the red cabbage, which was too heavy on vinegar. Down the disposal it went.

Creamed pearl onions? Little Dick and Stella have that dish every year on Thanksgiving, too. It must be a regional tradition from somewhere. Maybe that was the dish that got replaced by Green Bean Casserole?!

But as a cook, my favorite dish has to be the pumpkin pie because of the way I flubbed/rescued the dish. Namely, I forgot to put salt in the custard (made totally from scratch including baked fresh pumpkin and half/half). Fearing (rightly) an unbalanced flavor, I decided to plate each slice of pie with a scatter of finishing salt--the obsidian-black Hawaiian. The resulting pie tasted great and my guests thought this was deliberate high art.

Good save, Jenise. It's nice to hear that you make your pie with real pumpkin. I do the same. One year I decided to smear the chunks of pumpkin with EVOO and roast them until they caramelized. I then tossed some fresh rosemary into the puree. It was just yummy!

I love the black salt idea. I'll add that to the pie as a dramatic finishing touch. Thanks!

rwj

All of it turned out yummy, but I was really, really, really happy with my turkey gravy and then also with the apple/mild Italian sausage dressing which I had made on a lark. This year, I didn't go nuts or experiment or phone in any funky recipes from left field. It was all pretty standard fare which tasted extraordinarily good.