Thanksgiving is almost a week away, and if you're the cook in your house like I am, it's time to start thinking about what's for dinner. I'm probably going to stick with some of the same recipes I did last Thanksgiving, with a few new twists.
- Turkey. This year I'm probably going to grill the turkey like I did last Christmas. I ended up using this recipe from Alton Brown, and it came out great. The wood smoke gave it a great smokey flavor, but the real trick (I think) was the brining. You can't stuff a grilled turkey, so the dressing has to be made separately. I'm debating making two birds and roasting the other, but I don't think I'm going to have enough guests to justify that.
- Dressing. Last Sunday we had "pre-thanksgiving," where I try out the new recipes that I might use this year, and one of the winners was this Southwest Cornbread and Chorizo Dressing I got from Sunset magazine. It was really tasty, with the salty/savory chorizo balancing out nicely with the sweetness of the butternut squash. I used to make a cornbread and andouille stuffing I got from Emeril, but this one is way better.
- Stock. The only other thing I'm going to try this year is to make my own chicken stock. I know, it's a little over the top, but it's something that goes in a lot of recipes and I'm hoping that the real stuff will make everything taste that much better.