Thanksgiving

As you may have noticed from past years, we are very into Thanksgiving. This year was no exception. In fact we really went above and beyond the usual because we invited our English family for their first Thanksgiving. It was really lovely!

We made the usual turkey with all the trimmings, including mom's incredible stuffing, cranberry sauce (the jelly kind that holds the shape of the can, of course--is there any other?), and gravy. We. Also had two kinds of potatoes: mashed potatoes with a hint of sour cream and sweet potato and yam casserole with mini marshmallows. We also had Brussels sprouts and green beans with lardons and homemade buttermilk biscuits.

For dessert I made, as per usual, a trifle. This year, since my kitchen aid is on the fritz (long story) I decided not to go with my usual pound cake recipe and instead modified the lemon loaf cake we made at the FCI to be a vanilla loaf cake. It wasn't as dense and delicious as a pound cake, but it was pretty darn good (and it was for the inside of a trifle, so it actually may have been better a little lighter.) I layered the cake with my usual chocolate mousse, a vanilla whipped cream/crème fraiche mixture, and sliced strawberries. Delicious!

One of my cousins can't eat gluten, so I also made individual gluten free trifles with gluten free, lemon cornmeal loaf cake, the whipped cream/ crème fraiche mixture, and fresh blueberries. The chocolate mousse was gluten free, but it didn't seem to work with the lemon cornmeal loaf. I didn't taste the whole thing, but the elements were good and it was a hit. By the way, I made the individual portions in martini glasses--a cute trick to make a trifle (gluten free or not) a bit more elegant.

I also made apple tart with a gluten free, walnut shortbread crust and pumpkin seed toffee brittle. The tart came out wonderfully. The toffee came out delicious, but not quite right. I think I mixed it a bit too much so it started to cool and turn opaque before I poured it out. It was absolutely incredible taste wise, so I didn't really mind that it looked slightly wrong.

Overall, all the food was a great success, the night was a ton of fun, and I think we may just have a new family tradition!