Taking Thanksgiving to a new level

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to enjoy cooking and eating with friends.  We ended up with twenty people joining together that evening bringing a little something to the table, savory, sweet, or refreshing. The day began with lox and bagels, easing ourselves into lunch that included a delicious meat pie that honored family tradition from the east coast, a white bean and elk sausage soup utilizing the Italian sausage we had made. The table continued to grow with an array of french cheeses, elk liver pate, and pork rillette, venison and elk carpaccio with drizzles of truffle oil, seasoned with salt and garnished with pea shoots, Jalapeno filled with a bacon cream cheese breaded in panko then deep fried, and lastly homemade chips and salsa. It was an art to this day of eating, that being to eat slowly and taste a little bit of everything not wanting to miss out on all the unique flavors.

That brings us to the main event: the deep fried Turkey that had been previously brined, patted dry, and trussed. But that wasn't the only meat, we also partook in a slow braised lamb leg, roasted lamb roast, and grilled elk back strap. The accompaniments could stand on there own as they were truly amazing in itself that being; Garlic mashed potatoes, Corn bread and sausage stuffing, wild and foraged Boletus mushroom gravy, an over the top macaroni and cheese of homemade pasta, cheese and green chillies, topped with strips of smoked bacon and green chillies and finished in the oven. We had some roasted carrots and Brussel sprouts, a creamy corn and green chilli to balance our plate with some healthy vegetables. Ha.

If you made it through that course you didn't want to miss out on the array of desserts featured. I decided to make a traditional apple pie with a bourbon whip cream, pumpkin tiramisu layered with gingersnap cookies, and a chocolate cake for the non-pie eaters. We also had the option of a pecan pie, a buttermilk pie, and a pumpkin pie along with chocolate covered almond butter, chocolate covered peanut butter and banana bites, and some cookies. Please no more food, no more sweets, just a bed. I couldn't believe the amount of food that could be brought together and all contain a wow factor, explosions of continual flavor and even when you think you couldn't take another bite, you do.