Thanksgiving

Wow, this year's Thanksgiving was amazing. It was my first Thanksgiving stateside in three years so we decided to celebrate full force and go all out.
So Mom and I cooked together... ish. I am very thankful we did not kill each other seeing as we're both so opinionated in the kitchen. We took shifts. She started her prep in the mornings and I prepped the nights before.
Here was our delicous menu. My dishes are in blue and mom's are in red. Joint efforts in purple. 

THE MENU

Appetizers

• Baked Polenta with Pumpkin Hummus
• Stuffed Mushrooms 
• Iceberg lettuce with carrots, tomatoes and avocado with a balsamic viniagrette
• Apple and Sausage Stuffing Muffins 

First Course

• Turkey with Apple Cider Gravy
• Stuffing 
• String Beans with Purple Potatoes with a light drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper
• Biscuits (from a can) 
• Homemade Cranberry Relish (made by my friend Grace) 
• Sweet Potatoes baked with butter and brown sugar 
• Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes 

Dessert

• Apple Pear Compote with a Graham Cracker Crust 
• Marble Cake (made by my friend Andrea)
• Pumpkin Pie (bought by my friend Ang) 
• Pumpkin mousse cheesecake (made by Andrea and Grace) 
• Vanilla Cupcakes (made by our tenant Reina) 
• All served with fresh whipped cream (made by Andrea and Grace)

We had a FEAST! And we were even civilized and ate in courses with little breathers in between. There was so much food that breaks were necessary. We stated eating at around 4 and then finished eating at probably around 10? Maybe 11?  We are totally ridiculously Italian. It was wayyyy too much food for the 8 of us. 

But we had a really great day with food and friends and we were able to really focus on the good things in life. 

This Thanksgiving we had a lot to be thankful for. After Sandy, a week with no power, and a snowstorm I think we were able to appreciate the good in life. I hope that everyone out there managed to have such a good day but I know there are still plenty of people with no power and others who have no home to go home to thanks to the largess of the hurricane.  

This year I can honestly say that I was happy to be home, thankful to be back with friends and family alike. And I'm thankful for all of the friends who I couldn't be with, my friends in Florence and all over Europe. I missed them but am so grateful to have them. 

-Raspberry Truffle

p.s. I'll be adding links for all of my recipes soon

Recipe: Cherry Guinea Fowl with smooth mashed potatoes

1/2 a guinea fowl cut into sections (any gamey bird will do really)
1 piece of garlic (peeled)
1-2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup brandy
2 tbs cherry jam
1/2 cup halved and pitted cherries
Water as necessary

4 medium/large potatoes
1/2 stick butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Cherry Guinea Fowl with Pureed Mashed Potatoes

Place the potatoes and a good pinch of salt into a pot of water. Bring to a boil and let cook until fork tender.

Then coat a large saucepan with oil. On high heat toast the garlic and then sear the outside of each piece of guinea fowl. Remove the garlic when toasted, and put into the pot with the potatoes to finish cooking. When a nice golden color is achieved on the Guinea fowl, lower the heat and add the brandy and cherry jam.  Cover and add water as the alcohol starts to evaporate.

When the Guinea fowl is cooked through and tender remove from the pan to rest. Lower the heat on the pan and add the cherries and more water and brandy if necessary. Slowly cook the liquids down until the sauce thickens. You can add a pinch of cornstarch or flour to speed up the process.

Drain the water from the potatoes (leaving about a tbs or 2 tbs of liquid). Add the butter and smash with a fork. For really smooth mashed potatoes, use a hand mixer. The starch will really break down and will give you a more liquid result. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a side salad. For lovely presentation, serve the Guinea fowl over a bed of the mashed potatoes and ladle the cherry sauce on top.  Beautiful and delicious.

-Raspberry Truffle.