Thanksgiving recap

Oh well for being a little tardy on the Thanksgiving recap but here it is anyway!

Although we didn't spend Thanksgiving with family, we had a really nice morning just the two of us, and then a fun afternoon and evening celebrating with two friends and their son. It was a nice relaxing way to spend a Thanksgiving!

Of course I'm going to recap the food for you. We split the duties this year. The husband and I tackled the turkey, dressings (two this year), gravy, and corn pudding, while Jennifer and Brett made a squash casserole, brussels sprouts, yeast rolls, and a pumpkin cheesecake.

The Turkey

We did a combo approach to the turkey and it turned out quite well. It was brined over night in a honey-water concoction and then baked in the oven with vegetables and herbs stuffed inside and surrounding it. The husband also mixed butter and herbs and rubbed that on the outside of the turkey and under the skin.

The Gravy

My family isn't big on gravy so I don't have a ton of experience with it. I looked over a few recipes and was honestly kind of grossed out by giblet gravy. So I went with a Caramelized Onion Balsamic Gravy that turned out quite well.

The Dressings

Last year was the first year we had Thanksgiving with just the two of us so we decided to make one dish from each of our respective family Thanksgivings. The husband's dish was his grandmother's dressing, which is now his mother's dressing. He made it again this year, and as usual, it was quite tasty.

After seeing articles in Real Simple and Bon Appetite featuring tons of types of dressings, I found myself really wanting to try something different. So I decided to make an Andouille Sausage and Cornbread Dressing. I modified this recipe quite a bit, using my own homemade cornbread as the base, and cutting down on the amount of sausage. It turned out really well and I would recommend it for a different approach to a traditional Thanksgiving dressing.

The Corn Pudding

Corn pudding is something I grew up with at Thanksgiving and so is my family's addition to our Thanksgiving. I made it again this year from this recipe, but used fresh corn and less sugar.

All of the other dishes were quite tasty as well! The recipes for those are linked below:

Paul Deen's Squash Casserole
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Garlic & Shallots
Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake

I hope you're Thanksgiving was wonderful!!