Six observations about My Thanksgiving 2011:

1.  Turkey  – you have to know your audience and cook accordingly.  Since none of the guests this year were particularly keen on dark meat, wings, or “drumsticks” –  I just made a turkey breast in a bag and it came out great – juicy and savory.  (For more on cooking bags, click here.)

2.  Don’t mess with Grandma’s recipe.  My grandmother’s recipe for stuffing calls for margarine so I only buy margarine when making her stuffing.  I’ve tried it with butter, but it came out “wrong”.  [There is nothing wrong with margarine per se, but I never keep it on hand.  I was born a butter girl.]    ONE time I tried to fancy up the whole dish and completely RUINED it-it tasted weird and no one recognized it!  So, take it from me, if your grandmother bothered to write the recipe down, don’t mess with it- just follow it to the letter.

3.  Never underestimate the power of the signature cocktail.  The cranberry infused vodka was a huge hit so we stuck with this drink all day and through the course of the meal.  I had a white wine at the ready to serve but we all voted to stick with the cocktails instead. Continue reading →