A Griffiths Thanksgiving

Well, Ivor and I [sort of] hosted our first Thanksgiving together (even though it was at my brother's house).  We somehow got volunteered to cook the majority of the food, which was no big deal. We thoroughly enjoyed it :)

Here's what was on the menu (well, what Ivor and I made anyway):

Turkey: brined w/the Pioneer Woman's special brine recipe and let me tell you it was AMAZING. If you've never tried brining a turkey before, I beg you, try it. Basically what it does is keeps the meat very very moist. There are other scientific things it does, but all you really need to know is that it will be the most tasty meat you've ever had. In addition to the brine, we added "aromatics" (aka things that make the meat more flavorful and fragrant) into the cavity of the bird, instead of traditional stuffing. The aromatics included: carrots, celery, onion, half an apple, and lots of yummy herbs. Then I covered the outside of the bird with canola oil, to give it a nice golden brown crisp. It all turned out wonderfully. Best smelling and tasting bird I've ever had!

Mashed Potatoes: Garlic, obviously. I used red skinned potatoes, and mashed them with the skin on-- a little chunky, a little creamy, threw in sea salt, coarsely ground pepper and a dash of nutmeg and YUM.  Didn't last long :)

Grilled Asparagus: made with love by my husband. I believe he used garlic (of course), olive oil and probably some other special ingredient no one knows about. They were amazing.

Fresh cranberry sauce made from scratch, with bourbon (yes, that's real whiskey), vanilla beans (actual vanilla beans), cinnamon, nutmeg and a bit of orange zest. This sauce is not for the kiddies, and is to be eaten in moderation....though, it certainly wasn't :) It was a big hit! Way to go Ivor :)

Apple crumb cobbler: Ivor made it. There were no leftovers. That's all I have to say.

Banana Cream Pie: Ivor also made this from scratch especially for our special guest, Drew. Best pie ever. I'm only upset he didn't make a few more.

(have I mentioned how blessed I am to have a gourmet chef for a husband?)

Cranberry and Pomegranate Cosmos. Not sure there's anything else I need to add to that.

Ivor also made some sort of fried eggplant and pasta dish for our vegetarian guest :) I didn't get a chance to try it though I'm sure that was also delicious.

OH, and I forgot to mention the homemade gravy Ivor made from the turkey drippings. I can't even remember how he did it....but it was also the best gravy I've ever had.

This was the year of "best evers"...for sure.

Well...I think that was everything. I'm already planning next year's :)