Thanksgiving Post Mortem

So Thanksgiving has come and gone and it was pretty darn good!! We had a lot to be thankful this year, and the food was amazing. Here is a quick re-cap
Turkey- I did a couple of things differently this year, and it was well worth it. First, I ordered a fresh, organic turkey from Whole Foods. It is a quite a bit more expensive, but I think it was worth it. I also brined the turkey. We have all been hearing about brining over the last few years, but I was always afraid of doing it. Let me tell you, brining more than lived up to the hype. It was juicy and glorious, it looked like a turkey out of a magazine!!
Stuffing-I made a ciabatta bacon stuffing that was also very popular. I usually don't even eat stuffing, but this stuff was stinkin good!!
Green Bean Casserole-Homemade green bean casserole (not with condensed soup) with bacon and a yummy creamy cheese sauce. It was fantastic. It had all the joy of a traditional green bean casserole, but with a little kick
Mashed Potatoes-You cannot have Thanksgiving without them!! They were creamy and I added fresh thyme and they were GOOD!
Rolls- I made homemade yeast rolls and they were pretty good. Not the best I have ever had, but my quest continues. We did have some dough left though so I made a pan of cinnamon rolls for the next morning, and they were pretty decadent.

Dessert-We had a snicker cake (which is exactly what it sounds like, a chocolate cake with caramel and nuts..yummo) Pumpkin butter cake, it is a gooey pumpkin cake with LOTS of butter in it, very rich, and delicious. My sister is against pie (she is a little goofy) so we didn't have any, I am a little distressed about this, and I might have to make an apple pie just for myself. I haven't decided yet.

I hope that you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving and that you reveled in all your thankfulness!!

Now, onto the Christmas Baking season, MY FAVORITE Stay tuned for LOTS of recipes

Thanksgiving!!

I LOVE Thanksgiving. I look forward to it every year. I love all the basic Thanksgiving foods, I try not to get too crazy. Turkey (of Course) mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing (for my hubby, I could do without it, but he would reevaluate our relationship if I didn't make it) green bean casserole (for my sister) my grandmother's homemade rolls (I have not perfected these yet, but I will save that for another post) Dessert is always my downfall, I want to make several different ones, and we end up eating pie for the next 2 weeks. I am going to try and limit those this year. This year I am going to make homemade green bean casserole, instead of the one with condensed soup. Here is a link to the recipe, it looks fantastic. I will keep you posted!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/not-your-mamas-green-bean-casserole-recipe/index.html

Gobble Gobble!!

Apple Fritters

This post is a lot about my dad. My dad LOVES doughnuts! When I was a kid he took me and my sister to get donuts almost every Saturday. I remember one time we all thought he was at work and we went to pick up something at the dry cleaners, which happened to be right next door to his favorite doughnut shop. When we pulled his car was outside and he was sitting in there eating his doughnuts and drinking his coffee. There were 2 that he frequented, one by our house, and one by his office. So, if he wasn't around, you could usually find him at one of those.
So, Dad, this is for you!! I made apple fritters and they were awesome! You can dust them with powdered sugar, or make a glaze for them, either way, they are yummy.

Apple Fritters (adapted from the Pioneer Woman)

FRITTERS

• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• ½ cups Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar
• 2-¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1-¼ teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
• 2 whole Large Eggs
• ¾ cups Whole Milk
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• 2 whole Granny Smith Apples, Peeled And Diced
• Powdered Sugar (optional, For Dusting)
• GLAZE (optional)
• 1-½ cup Powdered Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Vanilla
• ¼ cups Milk

Preparation Instructions

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a fork, then add milk, melted butter, and vanilla.

Gently fold dry and wet ingredients together until just combined (do not overmix.) Fold in apples. Add enough apples to make a very chunky batter. You want the apples to shine though!

Heat a couple of inches of canola oil over medium to medium-low heat. When it gets hot, drop a little drop of batter into the oil. If it sizzles immediately and rises to the top, the oil is ready; if it burns quickly, turn down the heat.

Drop teaspoons of batter into the hot oil, six or eight at a time. Sometimes they’ll flip over by themselves; sometimes you have to flip them. Just watch them and make sure they don’t get too brown, but cook them long enough to make sure the batter’s cooked through, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes total.

Remove and drain on a paper towel. Dust very generously with powdered sugar, or dip fritters in a light doughnut glaze (mix all glaze ingredients together, then dunk warm fritters).

Serve warm!

**May be heated up the next day in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes.

Finished Product, dusted with powdered sugar!!