Turkey Taquitos

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday! I can't wait to tell you about my Willie Bird Turkey that I won from Williams-Sonoma but you'll have to wait just a bit longer for that post.

It's been a few days since the holiday, do you have some turkey around still? Tried to get rid of it and there's still some sitting in the fridge? I've got a fun dish for you that's just different enough that you won't even know it's leftovers. 

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce and Vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise

Well this is going to be my final post in my Thanksgiving prep series and you are in for a treat! I am now working with a great group of food bloggers called "Virtual Potluck". We came together after working together on the Emeril Lagasse book review and we've got some great things in store. Today we are throwing a Thanksgiving Potluck and you're all invited!

Wild Rice Stuffed Peppers

I'll be the first to admit that I don't make the healthiest choices when I'm eating or cooking. I've always simply eaten what I've wanted and never had to deal with any really adverse effects. I love to eat good food and the thought of any kind of diet makes me cringe. Unfortunately though,  if I want to keep my good health I need to start making better choices. I recently had my cholesterol tested and although I knew it was high from tests in years past, it's gotten worse. My doctor has given me some time to see if I can lower it naturally before having to go on medication. So, while I still don't think I can follow any kind of strict diet, I'm going to start consciously trying to make better decisions in the food I eat. And now that I've said it here, you can help keep me accountable.

Spiced Cider Donuts

I'm going to throw these doughnuts in the middle of my Thanksgiving series, well because they're pretty amazing and I wanted to post them before I forgot about them. As most people know, I usually only make yeast based donuts and I make a lot of them. There's just not much that can compare with the light, airy goodness of a yeast donut. These Spiced Cider Donuts will be a close second though.

Jalapeno, Sage and Orange Roasted Turkey

Are you ready for the main course? I'm not done with my Thanksgiving series quite yet but I know that people are starting to research how they want to cook their bird this year so I thought I better get this out there.

Last year, I researched a lot about cooking turkey and I ended up merging three different recipes and methods from some of my favorite people; Alton Brown, Martha Stewart and Bobby Flay. I'm sure if they ever got in a room together they would have come up with this on their own, but I went ahead and did it for them anyway. The end result is a turkey that's brined and then cooked with an herb rub that not only flavors the meat but makes some of the best gravy I have ever had. I've made it three times now and each time it's juicy and flavorful and just different enough to be fun and give people something different to try.

Butternut Squash Galette

This is the third in my series leading up to Thanksgiving, providing some fun and different recipes to make your holiday even more special. We've got our soup and dessert down, so how about an appetizer?

Appetizer's are key if you're throwing a big dinner. If you're cooking all day, you may be grabbing bites here and there but you need to make sure the family has some snacks to keep them from starving before the big meal. Throw out some bowls with nuts and then you can create a few hand held bites that you can put out on plates throughout the day.