Last year, due to job constraints, my husband and I were unable to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. To top that off, most of the people we know in town where either traveling themselves, or had already made plans to have other people over.
I won’t say that we felt shunned per se but we did only have a two person Thanksgiving Dinner. It was quiet and quaint. As well, I pretty much had complete license to do whatever I wanted cooking wise. Needless to say, I took advantage, and whipped up:
- Cornish Game Hen – Rubbed down with butter, lemon pepper, salt, pepper, sage and rosemary, with garlic cloves and lemon wedges stuffed inside the bird
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes – Red potatoes, boiled, mashed up with fat-free sour cream, butter and lots and lots of garlic
- Green Bean Casserole – Nothing you can’t find on the can!
- Hen Drippings Gravy – Basically drained the liquid from the cooked hens, mixed in some cornstarch and whisked till it was the right thickness
- Cherry Pie – Honestly, all I have the recipe for is the crust, the filling came pre-canned
- Stuffing – Walmart brand to the rescue!
- Flax Seed Buns – Literally a general white bread recipe plus about 1 cup of flax seed (this is a great way to add nutritional value and fiber into your white breads!)
All-in-all, I think my husband and I now have a new tradition of cornish game hen for Thanksgiving Dinner. They were much, much more tasty than turkey, easier to prepare and cook and we used the leftovers in many more ways than I would have for turkey meat.
Since a great Thanksgiving feast isn’t complete without pictures…pictures for my audience!
The Kitchen Chemist 