Part of the beauty of making a South Indian Thanksgiving is the sides themselves are easily inspired by the vegetarian cuisine of Southern India. If you have a blended group of carnivores and vegetarians coming to dinner, this menu is sure to please both. The vegetables will be full of flavor without any added meat (it really is possible to make vegetables without bacon fat!), and the tandoori turkey will be a perfect complement to the vegetables that will end up stealing the show.

Mashed potatoes are a must at every Thanksgiving, but these get a spicy makeover with ginger, curry leaves, mustard seeds, and tumeric. The result is a flavorful potato that will have your guests asking for seconds, thirds, and possibly fourths! (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Indian, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

Since I decided that I would be having a Riesling-Brined Turkey for Thanksgiving, the rest of the menu had to fall into place around the centerpiece turkey. I like to do a blend of tried-and-true recipes with new recipes I’ve never had before. I decided to make a recipe from Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen, Pear Gravy. As I perused the Epicurious site, I decided try the Winter Fruit stuffing, and my menu began to take shape by including fruits in many of the items. I went with a simple mashed potato to temper the sweetness, and a roasted brussel sprout recipe that included a balsamic reduction. Since one of my vegetarian friends will be joining us, I’ll make a Stuffed Pumpkin with Vegetable Stew for a main course as well. (more…)

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Dinner, Thanksgiving by Courtney

After many years of thinking about how to bring my husband’s traditional foods and mine together for a meal like Thanksgiving, I finally decided to take the plunge and try out the recipes dancing through my head last year. The centerpiece was a tandoori turkey. While I didn’t build a traditional tandoor oven like I had envisioned, this version turned out quite nicely. It had a mild spice and the spatchcocking of the turkey took the cook time down to about an hour and a half. (more…)

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Dinner, Gluten free, Indian, Thanksgiving by Courtney

As I sit down to start planning Thanksgiving, I start to think about Thanksgivings past, and all of the yummy recipes I’ve discovered. Typically, I pick one recipe I really want to make (whether it’s from the past, or something I’ve just seen) and then I begin to plan the menu around that.

This year, I’m going to pick a recipe I did in 2007 to center on – a riesling-brined turkey from Martha Stewart Living. It was one of the best turkeys I have ever had (deep-fried excluded here, of course). (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Gourmet, Thanksgiving by Courtney

Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen was the cookbook I learned to cook from. Don’t get me wrong – I learned how to cook from my family, but this was one of the first cookbooks I ever used, which explains why I don’t think taking two hours to make dinner is a bad thing. The recipes in this book are delicious; I’ve never had a bad meal from Chef Paul. However, the first time I made the Cajun Shepherd’s Pie from this book, it took four hours. That wasn’t because I was in middle school, just honing my knife skills. It still takes me quite a bit of time (it might have been because I had an aversion to vegetables, and I minced the heck out of the ones that went into the meal). But as anyone who has ever had a slice of this pie can attest, it is completely and totally worth it. (more…)

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Cookbook Review by Courtney