Something to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving

My cat! I'm thankful to my friend Ann who had the insight to see that this kitten and I would be a good match, despite my (very!) strong preference for dogs. She was only 4 months old when she joined our household and my 10 y.o. dog didn't really know what to do of her. She was so full of love for him, would follow him everywhere, sometimes clinging to his back legs! Now, I see in her many dog-like behaviors and they always bring a smile to my face. Nita is 7 years old now and I could not imagine how my life would be without her. Definitely empty. Thank you Ann, wherever you may be in your travels. I miss you.

Thanksgiving Turkey

This year, I decided to do a small turkey in the smoker to use my leftover of wood briquette before the winter. Wanting to maximize the space, I added some chorizo and bratwurst sausages and a white fish fillet. The smoker works with moist heat generated from the water basin above the charcoals but below the lower grill. It makes poultry with darker/pinkish meat and very moist. Even the breast is delicious, it just never dries out. The smoked white fish was a first for me; I had a craving for white fish and had dropped by my favorite Jewish deli in Toronto 2 weeks ago but they were closed due to Rosh Hashanah. Luckily, white fish was on sale at Sobey's this week and today was the day for my first experiment. It was quite a success!! Next time, I might put more wood chips earlier to give it a more smokey flavor but it was extremely moist, almost better than at the deli! Tomorrow, I will make some turkey soup, probably a couple kinds and I will use the smoked sausages in them.

Something To Be Thankful for this Thanksgiving

My Dad! Thanks to him, I've been enjoying veggies all summer long! In the spring time, he made 2 raised beds and after cutting down 2 ill trees to make room, filled them with compost and triple mix he went to pickup at the garden centre. I only had to pland and water the radishes, beets, purple, green and yellow beans, snow peas, yellow and red peppers, carrots, coriander, basil and 4 varieties of tomatoes. I'm now eating the last of the crop and I've enjoyed every bite of it.
Thanks Dad ~ I'm very lucky!

Thanksgiving Turkey

This year, I decided to try to roast the turkey on the spit. It was a first for me and I certainly learned a few things. I learned that I have to learn to truss a bird, I should be using a butter-basted turkey, I should collect the drippings to add to the gravy and I should check the cooking carefully not to overcook it!
It seems that everything I do on the rotisserie cooks quicker than by traditional methods. Although it looked beautiful and the dark meat was very tender and juicy, the white meat was a bit in the dry side. The gravy was not as good as usual as I didn't have cooking drippings to use. Oh, and you can't make Yorkshire puddings without egg, they stay flat instead of puffing up.
Next time will be a better success!
In case anybody is wondering why I would cook a whole 10-lbs turkey for my self, the reason is very simple: no restaurant can offer a turkey dinner as good as home-cooked and best of all, it provides bones for a soup to come and lots of lunches!!

I made fingerling potatoes to accompany the turkey and chestnut stuffing. When I saw the fingelings at the grocery store, I had to get them: they're exactly like the ones served at Le Splendid in Lyon and just the sight of them brought back delectable memories! I dedicate these ones to Conal, who was generous enough to share his with me at dinner. Breaking bread with Irish people, I learned that they sure do love their spuds and I know how it must have been difficult for him to see me eat most of them!