Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday (birthdays come as a very close second)! It is the one holiday where all of my family comes together and we eat all day, drink all day and have an overall amazing time.
This year we have 16 people coming to my parent’s house!
- My mom, Barb, is making 2 turkeys (one of which is obviously for the amazing midnight (or later) Thanksgiving sandwiches that are made by my Uncle Bernie). She also pretty much runs the show with beautiful flowers, tons of food and wonderful decorations
- My sister Kim, our resident wine specialist, is bringing numerous bottles of wine.
- My brother John will be setting up every video game we have to occupy my cousin Aiden and Zach (as well as occupy my uncle and my dad!)
- My dad sets up the most amazing meat, cheese and cracker plate! It takes up majority of our counter.
- My Aunt Christine and Uncle Bernie will be bringing Black & White Cookies from NY as well as a 7 layer cake and a couple dozen NY bagels (growing in Rockaway Beach, Queens, my parents have been spoiled by good bagels and sorry, but MA bagels are no match for the NY ones!)
- Uncle Bernie will also be making his amazing Ceviche from a Stripped Bass that he caught on Monday.
- I will be baking: Apple Pie, Rugelach, Crumb Cake and Baklava and somehow manage to make my way through Penn Station at 3pm on one of the busiest days of the year!
… And that’s just a few of the participants!
I wanted to make this entry a little different from the others by incorporating all aspects of our Thanksgiving.
A little about our cheeses:
This meal (yes, we do consider it a meal!) has become a weekly occurence in our house, but my dad definitely out does himself for Thanksgiving.
Meats:
- Dried salami with herbed de Provence
- Dried salami with garlic & herb
- Prosciutto
- Assortment of other Italian dried meats
Cheeses:
- Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Horseradish Cheddar
- Manchego
- Gruyère
- Le Roulé
- Jarlsberg
- Gouda
- Baby Brie
- Smoked Mozzarella
A little about our drinks:
Thanksgiving wine is something that people have questioned in families for years…. In my opinion, you should drink what you like. Pairing wine on Thanksgiving is a near impossible task due to the copious amounts of side dishes, before dinner appetizers and of course the main event …. the Turkey. Beaujolais pairs best with the actual bird. The jammy strawberry notes produced by the Gamay grape are lovely with the subtle flavors of Turkey (if you have gone with the traditional fashion of baking a turkey). Two other wines that pair particularly well with the thanksgiving feast, if you are really concentrating on pairing the meal, are a Riesling and a Pinot noir, I would choose the 2005 Trimbach Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile, France, Alsace and the 2007 Au Bon Climate Pinot Noir California, Santa Barbara.
This year I chose the wine according to what the family likes:
- Moet & Chandon Imperial Champagne NV Brut
- Veuve Cliquot Rose NV Champagne (Pink Bubbles make everything better)
- 2010 Santa Maragarita Pinot Grigio (Because Mom like it)
- 2010 Livio Pinot Grigio Italy, Friulano
- 2010 MauroSebaste Barbara d’ Alba Italy, Piemonte
- 2009 Patricia Green Cellars Reserve Pinot Noir, Oregon, Willamette Valley
And I cannot forget a little something from my own small collection of wine…. a 1999 Chateau Musar, Lebanon, Bekaa Valley — a Killer wine from Lebanon made of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan, one of my personal favorites…. full of dark fruits balanced with favors of earth balanced acidity and medium tannins.
And Just for fun….. Don Julio 1942.
Baking!
This year for Thanksgiving, as I mentioned above, I made:
Apple Pie Rugelach Crumb Cake Baklava
Baking this year ended up being a bit of an ordeal. I had 2 days to make ALL of this! Sunday was spent recovering from Steve’s Birthday, so there was no way any baking was going to take place then. That left Monday to make the Baklava and Puff Pastry and Tuesday to make the Rugelach, Crumb Cake and Apple Pie. Jeez, it makes me tired just typing it all out! Then I brought everything to work Wednesday morning (including clothes for 4 days, and for anyone that knows me that’s equivalent to clothes for roughly 2 weeks!) and then left around 2pm for Penn Station.
Somehow I made it through the madness, spent the night in Boston, ventured home Thanksgiving morning and had a fabulous time with family and friends.
I have so much to be thankful for this year and I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving as much as I’ve enjoyed mine.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Kristin's Cravings 