Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Meal

It is Thanksgiving evening and the kitchen is tidied, the leftovers put away, and only a few dishes to face tomorrow. Now that's a good holiday.

What made it a better holiday was a lovely home-cooked meal as one of our blessings. Here's what we are thankful for: loving family, good work, a warm, cozy house, and good things coming our way. But possibly just as important, here's what we had for dinner:

- Cacahuates y Pepitas Enchilados - because it's fun to say and a delicious snack.
- Roasted natural turkey that didn't dry out thanks to the Mark Bittman split turkey roasting method (Thanks Mark!) with red chile sauce made with local red chiles.
- Baked acorn squash that was sweet and tender from our Beneficial Farms CSA.
- Cracked wheat topknots because I finally wanted a reason to make rolls from the Gourmet recipe that I'd been saving for at least two years; they turned out great.
- Green salad with vinaigrette because even a modest Thanksgiving meal needs a palate cleanser
- Pecan pie from my husband's family recipe with New Mexico pecans and loads of deliciousness
- Gruet Blanc de Noirs because it is always a treat to drink fine sparkling wine produced closer than you can imagine (take that East Coast newspaper haters)

Hope everyone had a fine Thanksgiving and got to tap in to the bounty of wonderful foods from this state and this region. And if it's your thing, I hope it powers you through Friday's 4 a.m. shopping.

For your cooking pleasure:

Cacahuates y Pepitas Enchilados
http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=140

Forty-Five-Minute Roast Turkey (a 12lb turkey takes an hour in our oven)
http://www.howtocookeverything.tv/recipe.php%3Fnid=184.html

Cracked Wheat Topknots
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cracked-Wheat-Topknots-351420