Thanksgiving Dinner

Might have been the best tasting Thanksgiving yet.  Although I think we say that every year.  This year I stepped out of the box and went with a little Asian twist.  It worked.  In order to make sure that we did not have an uprising I made a few classics too. 

We got two eleven pound turkeys.  We cooked them both rotisserie style.  One classic just rubbed down with salt, pepper and paprika.  The other we went with was peking style.  We marinated the turkey in 1 cup honey, 2 cups coy sauce, 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil and 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger.  Breast side down for 45 minutes and breast side up fro 15 minutes.  Then we rubbed it down with salt, pepper and chinese five-spice powder and stuffed the cavity with another 1/4 cup of sliced ginger.  One on the rotisserie in the oven and the other on the rotisserie on the grill. 

Our stuffing was classic.  Onions, celery, butter, toasted white bread, toasted challah, chicken broth, eggs, salt and pepper.   We did not stuff the turkeys because it doesn't work well with a rotisserie.  Instead we put them in a large pan to roast and at the end dribbled lots of turkey drippings over it and then broiled it to get a little crispy. 

Brussels sprouts were sauteed in a frying pan and then coated with a mixture of 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 3 Tbsp. sugar, 1 Tbsp. fish soy, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce right before serving.  Then I tossed a few handful of toasted pumpkin seeds on top. 

Slices of roasted acorn squash and sweet potatoes.  These always take longer than you think in order to get them super crispy.  After arranging them on the platter we poured a mixture of equal parts tamarind concentrate and dark brown sugar and I squeezed in a few limes and some kosher salt.  A nice seasoning.

Gravy is classic.  We used the drippings from the regular turkey vs the peking turkey. 

I love the chutney.  Make it every year.  Not sure the first year it came into the picture but we would not do Thanksgiving without it.  The key is making sure the cranberries totally pop before mixing the mixture together in the end.  The recipe is here. 

Last and certainly not least to be made during the rest of the winter is the miso-creamed kale.  It is a good substitute for creamed spinach.  I pulled the recipe off of the Food52 website.  I just used 4 shallots and no garlic but pretty much stuck to the recipe.  I did buy the kale already chopped and doubled everything up.  It was a huge hit. 

Might have to just duplicate the whole thing for next year.  More than likely we won't be eating this feast again for another twelve months.