Our Thanksgiving Table

We have a pretty traditional Thanks-giving. Turkey cooked on the Weber; stuffing..we put the meat thermometer in the stuffing rather than the bird to assure that the stuffing is completely cooked. This year we had carmalized shallot-sage mashed potatoes which used 2C of thinly sliced shallots carmalized in 2T of olive oil along with 1t fresh sage and 2t sugar. The mixture is finished with 1T white basalmic vinegar and folded in the mashed potatoes. Gravy is made by making a roux of the drippings from the Weber and flour. Stock prepared from the gibblets, celery, onion and carrots is added to thin the roux to the desired thickness. We also like cabernet-cranberries. They are prepared by mixing fresh cranberries and sugar with 2T orange zest and dry red wine and simmering until the mixture thickens. The yam is baked with rosemary sprigs. We served a chilled Rose wine.

For dessert this year we had a cheese cake which our daughter Karen and Dee prepared. The cheesecake is a pretty traditional recipe but has a gingersnap crust, a caramel topping with toffee crunch supplied by crushed Heathbars......VERY rich.