A Very Halfway Gourmet Thanksgiving

Is there any food holiday better than Thanksgiving? I think not. In fact, I am certain that Thanksgiving was created for the sole purpose of the leftovers that it provides. There is just something about putting turkey and stuffing in between two pieces of bread that makes me happy.

But I am getting ahead of myself here. Before you have leftovers you have to have the meal...and what a meal it was. Now, I must preface this my saying that this Thanksgiving was different than any either Kelly or myself has ever had. Kim, Todd, and Hannah were supposed to drive in from PA to share in the festivities (much like they did last year), but we found out on Tuesday that Hannah had come home sick from school with a fever and a stomach ache that turned into something much worse over the course of the next three days (poor girl). Needless to say, they were unable to make the trip so it was just me and Kel for Thanksgiving. The issue is that we bought enough food to feed all of us not only for Thanksgiving, but also for Friday brunch when my folks and little brothers were coming over. So, we had LOTS and LOTS of food for just the two of us.

Despite her heartache over not seeing her sister, Kelly put her heart and soul into this meal. Seriously, it was astounding. The turkey was the most moist I have ever had (with a nice, crispy skin to boot), the asparagus were cooked to perfection and the mustard and caper sauce that covered them was bright and lovely, the cranberry and apple compote was the perfect combination of sweet and tart.

And then there was the stuffing. Oh the stuffing! The cornbread and Italian sausage stuffing (that I am still smiling about) was, in my opinion, the star of the show. This should surprise none of my family though as I am a notorious stuffing eater, but this was seriously some of the best stuffing I have ever tasted. The only miss on the day was the crockpot sweet potatoes that I was in charge of. Those will never be mentioned again.

I was planning on also telling you about the Black Friday Brunch that Kelly put together, but I've already written way too much. Another post for another day perhaps. Plus, after writing all of this I am STARVING.

Off to the fridge!

Copious indeed.

Yes, that's right. Kinda makes you weak in the knees, doesn't it?


How 'bout now? Glory be, wonderful butter!

This week was all about the flourless chocolate cake. I had not one, but two dessert obligations to fulfill, so I decided as I often do to try something I've never made before but have always been curious about--flourless chocolate cake. Kevin laughs at me quite frequently because I always try new things, rather than making things I'm good at. My argument for that is that I will never know if I'm good a something unless I try, right?

So with copius amounts of bittersweet chocolate, butter, and not much else, I set forth.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

ingredients:
1/2C water
1/4tsp salt
3/4C white sugar
18oz bittersweet chocolate (I used the Toll House 65% Cacao bittersweet bars. My temptation was to skimp due to the price. Please do not skimp. It will be worth it, I promise.)
1C (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
6 eggs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease a 9 or 10" round cake pan with butter. Cut a round of parchment and place in the bottom. You'll be glad you did.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, salt, and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.
3. Break/chop chocolate into pieces and put into a glass bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl so it doesn't burn the chocolate (remember, you didn't skimp) and that no water gets into the chocolate as it melts or it will sieze up which is not fun and no good for this recipe.
4. When the chocolate has melted and you think that a.) you might die from the sight of this bowl of pure chocolate or b.) you might "accidentally" dip your whole hand in the bowl and have to go sit on the couch with Gilmore Girls reruns while you lick it clean, you know it's time to move on.
5. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment if you've got one (not the one that looks like a whisk, and not the dough hook). Cut the butter into pieces and and on med-low, beat the butter into the chocolate one piece at a time. The chocolate is still warm, so hopefully the butter is warm enough that it will melt in.
6. When all the butter has been added, keep the mixer going and beat in the still-hot-but-not-too-hot sugar water until incoporated. Be sure to scrape down sides of the bowl frequently.
7. Beat in eggs one at a time. If you've ever made brownies from scratch, you will think that this looks just like brownie batter before you add the flour. And you'd be right. Fight the urge to add flour please. 8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. This cake doesn't rise, so you can fill it nearly to the top if you so desire. Have a roasting pan or another type of deep pan ready. Put the filled cake pan in the larger pan and fill the big pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cakepan (otherwise known as a water bath)
9. Bake cake in the water bath for about 45 minutes. It will still look wet, but it will be "set" around the edges. Cool on the countertop and then chill in the fridge overnight. The next day, dip the bottom of the pan in warm water for a few seconds and invert onto a plate.

Results: I decided that this cake needed a raspberry sauce, so I bought two packages of raspberries at the local market, threw them in the same sauce pan I used for the sugar/water mixture, added about 1/4C white sugar and the juice of half a lemon and maybe a splash of water and cooked those berries for about 20 minutes or so. Then, I put the sauce through a strainer, and forced every bit of berry goodness that I could through the sieve, being sure to scrape off all the pulpy parts and mix them into the sauce. Thanks to the pectin in the fruit, it thickened quite nicely. I spooned it over top of the slices of cake before serving. The color and the fruity goodness together made this cake even more special. For future reference, I think I would add some Grand Marnier (orange) or other liquer to make this even more decadent. The possibilities are endless.


My kitchen looked like this when I was done...but it was so worth it.