a traditional thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday weekend.  Thanksgiving day was hectic for us as the husband cooked like a mad thing almost the entire time.  The food was amazing and we enjoyed hanging with my inlaws.

The turkey breast was brined ahead of time.   It was seriously moist and not, as I liked to call it, Turkified. (That's when the turkey tastes like someone added extra turkey flavoring. What is up with that?)

While the turkey was resting we had a butternut squash soup.  That's pancetta on the top, along with a sprig of cilantro. Yum!  This is usually a much creamier soup but the husband didn't peel the apples so it didn't quite puree as much as he would have liked.  I hardly tasted the much despised curry that went into this!  A new holiday favorite for sure.

The mil made this stuffing based on a recipe from Ina Garten.  I couldn't get enough of it! Those big chunks which you think would be unwieldy are sourdough. They were actually the perfect size. Had they been any smaller I feel sure they would have dissolved into nothing.

There was an amazing gravy to go over the yummy turkey and stuffing which was a combined effort from me, the husband, and the mil.  Ok, so all I did was stir it.   Here's what it looked like as it was thickening. (the freaky looking white swirls are steam)

Last but not least was the yummy pumpkin pie for dessert.  The mil got some kick ass leaf cookie cutters and went to town making her pie look pretty.  I can't wait to try them out on my next pie.

We also had two non-traditional items on the table.  I'm not picturing them here because they just didn't belong. Both were made by the husband. One was shepherd's pie  and the other was risotto.  (I know! Weird huh? Tasty, but weird.)

Now it's time to decide on a Christmas dinner menu, and then we can relax for another year. :)

Did you have traditional fare at your thanksgiving?