Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and there are many things to be thankful for. It was nice being with my Georgia family for this wonderful day of overindulgence, but I was missing something....Doug was stuck in Japan
For the past few years we have been spending Thanksgiving Day with both sides of the family. It is amazing how similar the recipes are between my mother and father's family. It seems that across America there is a different dressing or "stuffing" recipe for every cook. Both sides of my family do a Southern-style cornbread stuffing, never cooked in the bird. Both include buttermilk cornbread, pieces of turkey giblets, celery, Vidalia onion (that has been hidden in the bottom drawer of the fridge since the end of the Georgia onion season and is somehow still good), poultry seasoning, and occasionally oysters or bacon grease. Sugar is NEVER added to the cornbread. This dressing is always made after the turkey is cooked so you can have the best "drippins" available. Who needs that canned broth stuff right?
Thanksgiving will be very different if Doug and I ever host it in our home. I believe he is from the world of "bread stuffing"....but I think he's open to adding oysters to it. :)
Now that the weekend is past, I must return to healthier cooking and enjoying the bounty this countryside has to offer. I am cautiously using fresh green onions from the garden instead of devouring my remaining 5 Vidalia onions hidden in the bottom drawer of the fridge. Doug deserves to eat them himself when he gets home. Only 7 more months until the next Georgia onion season. I'd rather eat green onions than buy sweet onions from Peru!
Tonight's sandwich included:
Homemade whole wheat flatbread (wheat grown and milled in South Carolina!) with melted herbed goat cheese from the Sweetgrass Dairy, roasted pimento and garlic from my garden (they're still going!!!!) and grilled fresh free-range pork sausage from south Georgia. The side consisted of boiled new potatoes I helped my Mother dig up this weekend in her garden, covered in homegrown parsley and green onion. The salt unfortunatley came from France.
I will note to my veterinary friends in food safety that the pork sausage was cooked to WELL DONE...no toxo here!
Mmmmm dessert: Roasted Georgia pecans with local honey "praline-style", butter and roasted Virginia winesap apple rounded out the evening.
It is super easy to make these "local version" praline pecans. Take 2 cups of shelled, halved pecans and place in a large bowl. Toss until coated with 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 2 tablespoons of honey and a dash of cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 10 minutes. mmmm!
More local resources in South Carolina and south Georgia:
Anson Mills. South Carolina heirloom grains. www.ansonmills.com
Thompson Farms Smokehouse. Dixie, Georgia All-natural pork. www.thompsonfarms.com
Savannah Bee Company. Local honey and specialty honey. www.savannahbee.com
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