The closest thing to being home...

Tonight, we had Thanksgiving dinner!!

Juan Jose made us turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce, traditional stuffing, sweet potatoes with marshmallows (oh, the silly American tradition), cornbread with jalapenos, and pumpkin pie.

I.

Cannot.

Wait.

For.

Thanksgiving.

It's going to be so delicious.

I'm looking at recipes like these...

Two-Way Chanterelle and Pear Bread Stuffing

Cranberry Relish with Grapefruit and Mint

Chestnut, Leek, and Apple Stuffing

I traditionally make the cranberry sauce and some sort of dessert... I always help my parents with everything else (mainly taste testing haha).

When the time gets closer, I'll post the menu of what we'll be eating. My mom already told me that she's got a list going that she wants my opinion on (I also contribute to that :)). It sounds like we're going to have a good mix of classic Wood family treats and some new additions... Naturally, I'll also post pictures!

Oh, I wanted to say something on the topic of the sweet potatoes/marshmallows.

Bad idea. Marshmallows are yum. As are sweet potatoes (/yams). But together?? You add fake sweetness to the real sweetness of the tubers. No.

Anyway, the subject of this post pertains to how I taste test at home, my major contribution to the Thanksgiving meal. Don't get me wrong, I definitely cook and bake and clean during the meal, but I definitely LOVE the taste testing...

Today, when I went down to the kitchen to get some hot water for my tea, I saw 6 beautiful roast turkeys sitting on the island in the kitchen. Of course, when I see the luscious, golden brown, crackled skin of turkey, I think... yum. Turkey skin (and chicken skin) are my guilty pleasures (when they're done right--my mom always does it perfectly). Since these had just come out of the oven, I had to have some. JJ (Juan Jose) was carving one of the birds, and I asked if I could just have a little nibble. Of course, he let me indulge myself... so I tore off a piece. It couldn't be more perfect. Not only I tore off more than I had intended to (that's always a pleasant surprise), but it included both the fattier, oily part AND the crispier, golden part. It was also so deliciously salty and herby. Sooo bad for my health, but soo delicious and SO worth it.

Anyway, happy 50th post, Blog!! It's been a great 50 posts.