When I arrived at my aunt's house this past Thanksgiving weekend, I was met with the sweet and spicy aroma of a freshly baked pumpkin pie. The house was filled with the scents of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, that made my mouth water and induced me to ask the genius question "Can we eat dessert first?" After laughing at me for a second, my aunt actually agreed that that was a great idea. By having our pie before the main meal, we could mitigate the "I'm too full for dessert" feeling that generally awaits us after a turkey dinner.
Zie pumpkin pie...
But before we could savour our annual slice of pumpkin pie, a bit of work had to be done -getting the bird in the oven. One of my favorite challenges of turkey dinner is finding a new way to dress the turkey each year. This year was no different, as I decided that lemon would be the star of the show. While in NL, my aunt picked up a pkg. of blueberry dressing mix that she wanted to use to stuff the turkey. As blueberry and lemon are a well-known complimentary combo, I decided to top the bird with lemon slices during the last 1/2 hour in the oven so that the sweet citrus might perfume the meat.
But why stop there? In order to ensure that the white meat on top of the turkey didn't get too dry, I mixed up some softened butter with lemon zest and fresh oregano from my uncle's garden. I then proceeded with the somewhat revolting task of separating skin and meat, and slathering the butter mixture in between...
Butter w/ fresh oregano and lemon zest
Adding moisture and flavour with a bita buttah...
Once the turkey was in the oven, we settled in for a hot cup of tea and slice of pie. As the kitchen's lingering aroma of pumpkin and spices was gradually overtaken by that of the roasting bird, we planned the fixin's.
Pumpkin pie w/ cinnamon whipped cream
Preparing the squash...
The bird! Topped w/ lemon slices for the last hour in the oven...
Mashed potatoes w/ butter, garlic, cream and my uncle's fresh chives
Green beans and tomatoes tossed in butter &
fresh basil from my uncle's garden
Kale sauteed w/ onions, garlic and white wine,
finished w/ ricotta cheese
Roasted Kabocha Squash
Blueberry Stuffing
The Spread...
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