Today I’m feeling tired and sluggish because I’m suffering from a massive food hangover. I don’t hold back when it comes to Thanksgiving and this year was no exception. And now, I’m dealing with the consequences. But nonetheless, the evening was a success and I’d like to share my menu with you:

1. Butternut Squash Chowder: I’ve made this recipe the last several years using Williams-Sonoma’s jar of butternut squash puree. The chowder is thick and creamy and serves as a perfect first course.
2. Turkey: To prepare, we first massaged globs of butter under the skin. Then we rubbed olive oil over the entire bird and sprinkled it heavily with kosher salt, pepper, and thyme. We filled the cavity with 1 onion chopped in fourths, 1 whole garlic chopped in half, kosher salt, pepper, and thyme. After roasting for several hours, the skin turned out crispy just how I like it.
3. Cranberry sauce: We made a very simple cranberry sauce with hints of orange and spice.
4. Buttermilk-Parmesan Mashed Potatoes: I found this recipe in the November Cooking Light and when I saw that it called for Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, I knew I had to include it on the TG menu. The sharp, yet buttery bite of the Parmigiano really added to the potatoes. One of my faves.
5. My Mom’s Famous Sweet Potatoes: Sorry people, no recipe here. It’s my mother’s secret recipe and even I don’t know what it is. All I know is that she uses 10 lbs. of sweet potatoes because if we ever ran out, we would have some very angry Thanksgiving eaters.
6. Dried Apricot and Sausage Stuffing: Sorry, I couldn’t even find this recipe online because it’s from Sunset Magazine’s 1995 November issue. We love adding a vintage recipe into the mix and this one’s an old fave.
7. Brussels Sprouts Gratin with Caramelized Shallots: I blogged about this recipe a few weeks ago and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The brussels sprouts were tender and delicious in the cheesy gratin. I feel like anything covered in cheese would taste good. The recipe calls for 1 jar of caramelized shallots from Williams-Sonoma but they were having a major shortage and we couldn’t find the jar at any location. So I made my own caramelized shallots using red wine vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Holy crap, they were delish.
8. Sauteed Carrots with Sage: Simple, yet elegant and delicious.
9. Turkey Gravy: Purchased from our local butcher, Green Acres.
10. Desserts: Meyer Lemon-Cranberry Bundt Cake, Pumpkin Cheesecake (made by my wonderful aunt), 2 Pumpkin Pies, and Red Velvet Cupcakes (made by my wonderful cousin).

Like I said before, we do it right or we don’t do it at all. And now, it’s time to prepare the leftovers…