The Bitten Word

Thanksgiving 2009: Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Golden Raisins

Bon Appétit (November 2009)

We have seen heaven.  And they sell pork there.

Earlier this fall we traveled to Western Kentucky for a friend's wedding. Clay grew up in Western Kentucky, and the region is known for producing some excellent country ham.

When we booked our travel to go to the wedding, we were already thinking that we might bring back a ham.  And there was one ham in particular that we were after, from famed and award-winning cured meat producer Broadbent's. Heck, Chef David Chang even serves their ham at Momofuku. 

So on the Saturday morning before the wedding, we -- along with friends from New York and Seattle who had flown in for the wedding -- loaded up our rental cars and made the drive up the interstate to buy some pork.  And buy pork we did!  We were like kids in candy store, only with delicious pork products instead of boring ol' candy.  We loaded up on peppered bacon, ham steaks, seasoning pieces, slab bacon, ham hocks and country sausage.

(Side note, in case you were wondering: The TSA totally will allow you to count a bag of ham as one of your carry-ons.)

Which brings us to this Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage, Apples and Golden Raisins.

Thanksgiving 2009: Jellied Cranberry Sauce with Fuji Apple

Food & Wine (November 2009)

Pity the cranberry sauce! Nobody would ever consider it the star of the Thanksgiving show. But can you imagine a Turkey Day dinner without it? 

For lots of folks, cranberry sauce is a complete afterthought. (Many people wouldn't even recognize it without the imprinted ridges left from the can.)

We, however, love cranberry sauce, with its tart, refreshing burst in the middle of all those mashes and dressings and casseroles.

A great cranberry sauce need not be fancy. And it doesn't get any more basic than this Jellied Cranberry Sauce.

Thanksgiving 2009: Sweet Potato and Sage-Butter Casserole

Martha Stewart Living (November 2009)

If forced to choose between white potatoes or sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving, we resoundingly come down on the side of sweet potatoes.

Sure, regular potatoes have their place, but sweet potatoes -- with their orange autumnal hue and sugary flavor -- seem tailor-made for Thanksgiving table. 

For the past two years, we've made the same sweet potato dish for Thanksgiving: Spiced Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar. 

We loved that dish two years ago. We adored it last year.  This year, it's time to try something new.  Can this Sweet Potato and Sage-Butter Casserole hold up to our two-time favorite?

Thanksgiving 2009: Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Hazelnut Butter

Fine Cooking (November 2009)

Reader, we fear we've done you a grave injustice. There's one vegetable we absolutely love, a vegetable we serve at home with great frequency. In fact, if you were to come to our house for dinner during a cold month, chances are this vegetable would be on the menu.

But until now, we've somehow never written about it on The Bitten Word!

We're rectifying that right now: We adore Brussels sprouts, and so should you.

Most of the time, we prepare Brussels sprouts very simply. Cut off the stems and cut each sprout in half. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and -- the real key -- dice a couple slices of bacon and mix them in. Roast the whole thing in the oven for about a half hour.

Seriously, it's great: We've made Brussels sprout converts out of countless dinner guests who arrived with horrible childhood memories of sprouts as limp, mushy and bland.

If you think you don't like Brussels sprouts, it's just because you haven't had them the right way. Trust us!

And if you're looking for a terrific Brussels sprouts recipe (other than our roast version with bacon), look no further than these Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Hazelnut Butter.

Thanksgiving 2009: Real Creamed Corn Pudding

Bon Appétit (November 2009)

We love a creamed corn pudding for Thanksgiving. Soft, rich and buttery, baked in the oven for a great golden crust -- what's not to love?!

Well, there is one thing we don't really love: a sickly sweet corn pudding. It often tastes like you accidentally served dessert one course early.

That's why we loved this Real Creamed Corn Pudding from the November Bon Appétit. It's a delicious, savory take on corn pudding that makes it a terrific Thanksgiving side dish.

Thanksgiving 2009: Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake

Gourmet (November 2009)

Loyal Bitten Word readers are forgiven if they think they've stumbled onto the wrong food blog.

Yes, it's true that we're more likely to serve a Pork Chocolate Cheesecake than a vegan one.

But for some reason we were really drawn to this Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake in the final issue of Gourmet.

It looked simultaneously luscious and light, decadent but not too heavy. In short, it looked like an ideal Thanksgiving dessert.

Thanksgiving 2009: Cream Gravy

Gourmet (November 2009)

We absolutely loved our spatchcocked turkey! The skin was crispy, the meat was moist and flavorful.

But let's be honest. For many people, the Thanksgiving turkey is nothing more than a delivery vehicle for gravy.

We wanted a great, classic gravy to go with our turkey, and we love the one we found, this Cream Gravy from Gourmet.

Thanksgiving 2009: Roast Spatchcocked Turkey

Martha Stewart Living (November 2009)

>>UPDATE: Check out our video demo on how to spatchcock a turkey!

We have a love/hate relationship with Thanksgiving turkey. On the one hand, a golden-skinned roast turkey is the classic centerpiece of the Thanksgiving dinner. Done right, the meat is tender and juicy, the skin perfectly crisp.

But getting the bird on the table can be so much work! Do you brine it ahead of time or not? If you do brine, should you do a wet brine or a dry brine? Should you rub the skin with butter? Should you stuff the bird or cook the stuffing separately? Should you baste it while it's roasting?

And then, on the day of the big dinner, the bird sits there, taking up the majority of your oven space for three hours while the clock ticks closer to dinnertime.

Well, forget all that!

Reader, we'd like to have a word with you. Just one word, actually. This word is your key to a Thanksgiving turkey that takes just 70 minutes (!) from start to finish. No brining, no stuffing, no nothing.

That word is "spatchcocking."

Thanksgiving 2009: Scarlet Carrot Soup

Gourmet (November 2009)

 
Thumbing through the final issue of Gourmet [moment of silence], we were blown away by one of the first photos we saw, which was of this Scarlet Carrot Soup. Deeply red and topped by fried carrot strips, we knew it would make a dramatic start to any Thanksgiving meal.

But why is the soup so red?  Is it a special variety of carrots?  Food coloring?  Code Red Mountain Dew? 

Thanksgiving 2009: Fall Harvest Salad

Food & Wine (November 2009)

So we've begun our Thanksgiving "auditions," trying out recipes for the big day.

We were drawn to this Fall Harvest Salad for a two main reasons. First -- obviously -- it sounded amazing: fresh autumn greens, roasted butternut squash, pumpkin seeds, pecans. What's not to love?

Second, though, this salad was kind of a redux for us. A second chance.