Thanksgiving -

Thanksgiving is synonymous with serving turkey- so who decided this ? Like everyone else here in America, Thanksgiving dinners have become a tradition with my family however I gave the turkey a pass this year. Firstly there weren't enough people to justify cooking up a giant bird and secondly we are not turkey fans-no matter how you cook it the end results are invariably dry. Instead I opted to cook two roast chickens, stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, carrots and parsnips roasted in brown sugar, a green bean and mushroom casserole, corn bread and gravy.

I prepared one chicken the traditional way- slathered with butter and stuffed with cloves of garlic, lemon, rosemary, salt and pepper. The second was marinated with a paste made with a Ancho chile( soaked in hot chicken broth), garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. It was a twist on a recipe from a Mexican cooking show that appealed to me greatly. Both the chickens were plump and juicy but couldn't have been more different.

I stuck the root vegetables under the roast chicken until they were cooked through and sauteed them with a teaspoon of butter and caramelized them in brown sugar sprinkled over with fresh chopped parsley. The drippings from the roast made a delicious gravy with a cup of broth and thickened with a roux. Button mushrooms, sliced onions and green beans were sauteed in olive oil, sprinkled over with a little flour and thickened with cream.

It was more than enough for us and everything tasted good so I am thankful for another happy thanksgiving celebrated with my family.