THANKSGIVING MENU 2018!

I want to share my Thanksgiving menu with you, but first a quick word about Jerry's birthday last week. It was a huge success and very fun. We rented a sweet, little bungalow in Tucson, built in 1944; the year of his birth. We feasted out at some of Tucson's finest restaurants, took in a show, and slowed life way down. I made him a special birthday meal of Rack of Lamb, Herbed Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus. I will talk about the lamb in a future blog as it was really delicious. For dessert I made...

SALTED CARAMEL ICE CREAM

Do you see a face in the scoop
on the left or am I imagining things?!

White and Black Chocolate Chip
Cookies were a perfect complement.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup sugar, divided
2 1/4 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 (fat) tsp. flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, more salt for serving
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs
You will need an ice cream maker to churn this.

This is the salt I used. It is wonderful!

Preparation:
Heat 1 cup sugar in dry 10" heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt. Stop stirring and continue cooking, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber. This process always makes me sweat! It is easy to go too far and burn the sugar so it makes me nervous. It needs to be dark to become caramel, but you do not want a burned flavor. The worst that happens is you start over. Fortunately my sugar cooperated this time and was just fine!

Add 1 1/4 cups cream (mixture will seriously splatter) and cook, stirring, until all of the caramel has dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temp.

Meanwhile, bring milk, remaining cup of cream, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.

Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl, then slowly add half of the hot milk mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly so eggs do not cook. This is also known as tempering the eggs. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard coats back of spoon. I prefer to take its temperature. When it reaches 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer it is done. Do not let it boil. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel. Straining the custard is an important step to maintain smooth, creamy texture in the event a little egg did cook.

Chill custard, stirring occasionally (True confession: I forgot to stir it and it was fine) until very cold, 3 to 6 hours. You can also make up to this point and freeze the next day. Freeze custard in ice cream maker (it will still be fairly soft), then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.

When serving, finish the ice cream with a little more sea salt sprinkled on top. Sweet, salty deliciousness! I found this recipe on Epicurious. This site never lets me down!

Me and my honey-bunny at the Tucson
Botanical Gardens on the Birthday-Eve.

And now on to one of my favorite holidays: Thanksgiving! For me, it's a time to step back, count my many blessings, and enjoy the love of friends and family. And of course, to cook! I am truly thankful for more things than I can list. For me holidays, but especially Thanksgiving, are also a time of feasting, indulging, and sharing those indulgences with loved ones. Here is our menu for this year.

RABBITT'S THANKSGIVING 2018
Wellfleet Oysters (fresh from Cape Cod!*) on the half-shell
Oysters Rockefeller
Brie with Cranberry-Orange-Ginger Chutney Baked en-croute
Bourbon Infused Chicken Liver Pate with Cranberry Gelee

Traditional Roasted and Stuffed Turkey with Maple Orange Glaze
House-Made Gravy
Turkey Roulade wrapped in Smoky Bacon with Herby Sausage Stuffing
Decadent Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Mushrooms, & Spiced Rum Cream Sauce
Garden Fresh French-Style Green Beans
Creamy Boursin Mashed Potatoes
House-made Jellied Cranberry
Cranberry-Orange-Ginger Chutney
Home Baked Buttery Rolls

Pumpkin Gingersnap Tiramisu
Sour Cream Apple Pie
Home-made Vanilla Ice Cream

*Thank you Justin for bringing another batch of oysters!

You can find several of these recipes on my past food-blogs by putting a word or two in the search-box on the left hand side of my home-page. If you have trouble finding anything, let me know. I am going to blog some of the new items, as I also use my blog as my favorite cookbook!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS!

www.cookwithcindy.com