Who forgot the cranberries?

OK, I forgot the cranberry sauce. I know, I know. Pathetic. I even told people I had made it from scratch and then just completely forgot! I blame the pomegranate martinis.

Yes, Thanksgiving was a smashing success. I cooked a fruit-themed seasonal winter meal for 11 and they pretty much licked the plates.

Le Menu

Pomegranate Martinis made from freshly crushed pomegranate juice from Iranian pomegranates bought in west London. The colour was spectacular. Far better than the Turkish ones on sale and huge.

Stewed quince and dolcelatte salad from the new Ottolenghi cookbook, Plenty. It's a superb salad and I highly recommend it if you want to impress guests. So simple and tasty - an totally in season.

Italian Christmas Turkey from a recipe that my family uses every year. It's out of the excellent cookbook, Italian Cooking in the Grand Tradition. The stuffing features chestnuts, walnuts, fruit and sausage.

Brussels sprouts with pomegranate and basil. This is a recipe from an Ottolenghi holiday special in the Saturday Guardian magazine about two years ago. One of my guests proclaimed that brussels sprouts had never tasted so good - and she's a picky eater. It's got a maple syrup, pomegranate molasses and lemon rind dressing. The key is to cook the brussels sprouts at very high heat - braised. The only aspect of these that is out of season is the fresh basil.

Roasted mixed root vegetables including carrots, sweet potato, purple potato, normal potato, and parsnips with garlic, olive oil and rosemary.

Cranberry sauce (but I forgot to serve it)

Torta di noci, a flourless Italian walnut cake.

Butternut squash 'pumpkin' pie, made from scratch and so delicious.

Hot, spiced apple cider with ginger, cinnamon and cloves.

Delicious!

Songs for Stuffing: A Thanksgiving Mix

If you're cooking Thanksgiving or just want to get shakin' to some foodie tunes, you must listen to the Songs for Stuffing playlist from National Public Radio.

http://www.npr.org/2009/11/24/120711823/songs-for-stuffing-a-thanksgiving-mix

Do it now. You won't regret it!

Enjoy hits like 'Pass the peas', 'Quiche Lorraine', and 'Country Pie'.

The truth about the First Thanksgiving... Uh oh...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It's the best holiday ever invented. Hip hip hurray!

So let's shatter some myths today and have a look back at what might have really gone on at the first Thanksgiving....

Who brought the turkey? The Truth about the First Thanksgiving - Krulwich Wonders - An NPR Society Blog - from National Public Radio

No turkey? No cranberries? No pie?

Oh my!

I've got my menu decided and will be cooking a feast for 11 on Sunday. Stay tuned folks!

Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all (all five of you reading the blog...)! I hope it's a wonderful long weekend full of family, friends, and of course lots of glorious food. Plans here in London are shaping up nicely. The turkey will be ready to be picked up on Saturday morning from the butcher and I've got my menu planned and the shopping list drawn up. Besides the traditional Italian Christmas turkey, we're having an Ottolenghi salad and their delectable broccoli recipe in addition to some cute croquette canapés and a friend's to-die-for 'pumpkin' butternut squash pie. I'll report back! Enjoy your meals everyone!

Anyone eating something exotic? I have a friend whose mother is steaming crab. Wonderfully inspired and gets my thumbs up.

Turkey

Amusing moment of the day:

I walk into my local butcher shop on Tottenham High Road (a traditional English establishment with wood shavings scattered on the floor, run by three or four men in white coats and pink, plump, smiling, mischievous faces) and the main guy smiles and says, without saying hello, "Isn't it about time to order your turkey for Thanksgiving?" Slightly stunned that he has remembered this for the forth year in a row, I stopped and replied that yes, it was about time. I told him the date of my dinner and he instructed me to come by the week before and it would be fine.

It's nice to know that you can still have these kind of interactions, even in the biggest city in Europe. I know he's just looking for business, but that takes some skill to remember! I guess in my neighborhood of African, Turkish, Eastern European and Roma immigrants, I'm probably the only American in the area. Or at least the only one who wants to buy my turkey unfrozen, free range and from the local butcher. Let's hear it for local shops.

More on my recent trip to the States with some foodie recommendations coming soon.