Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving week we are taking a break so that we can prepare for Thursday’s feast.

Food is truly an expression of community spirit and as we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner we will say thank you to all of you who visit our blog.  We have made new friends from readers around the world and from the blogosphere as well.  So as we head to the kitchen with family and friends we would like to share some Thanksgiving favorites from the blog.

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Here’s a main course for you:  Turducken!  What can we say?  Turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken.  Decadent for sure.

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Please don’t open a can of that jellied cranberry sauce.  Try this easy to prepare twist on traditional cranberry sauce:  Cranberry Persimmon Sauce.  By request I will be making several batches of this aromatic cranberry sauce with thanks to my co-worker Loida for the persimmons from her yard.  It’s not too sweet, the cranberries look like cranberries, not jello and there is just a little crunch from fresh persimmons.  Add a little wine, a couple of spices and this couldn’t be easier to make.  No persimmons?  Check out the recipe for alternatives.

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Last but not least we offer you a dessert that is sure to please:  Oli’s Red Wine Poached Pears with Almond Cream and Wine Jelly. Poach some in season pears in red wine and plate them in a pool of almond cream.  Studded with little cubes of wine jelly this is a jewel of a dessert. Definitely an elegant end your Thanksgiving celebration.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Gina and Oli