Adam and I were really excited to funkify our own Thanksgiving meal. We started planning about two weeks in advance. Early planning would establish that:
This story has two parts:
- Matt would create a brothy mushroom soup to replace the traditional dressing.
- There would be sausage.
- The mash potatoes would be sweet potatoes.
- There would be brussel sprouts.
This story has two parts:
Part 1In a trial run on the Saturday before, we decided to have a free-style cooking session to learn a few lessons before T-day. So, we were sitting around the kitchen at the Vogel's house and we started throwing out ideas... Asian was an easy first commitment. Then, some one threw out, "Hot dogs?" ...and it was on. Mike and Erika made steam buns from scratch. | 
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Adam worked on pork prep, and I whipped up a mixture of herbs and spices to flavor the dogs.
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| Asian-style hot dog 2 lbs pork 1/2 cup shallots 2-4 chiles 1/2 cup lime juice 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 cup cilantro 1 1/2 tbls ginger | White fungus mushroom salad from Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet was reminiscent of sauerkraut. Delicious. Mike and Erika had made it for lunch that day, and we liked it so much we had it again for dinner. It's a must try. 
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| Test-meal conclusions: We tasted, tested, shifted gears. We even made a delicious Asain style mayonnaise. And the dish wouldn't have been complete without Sirracha. From this awesome trial-and-error meal we learned a few lessons along the way: 1. Add fat. 2. Don't boil the sausage; they burst. 3. We want to do this more often. |
Part 2
Adam tracked down some goose and pheasant to compose a sausage. | T-day We were small, but mighty… Kathy, Matt, Jason, and Adam and I set out to funkify a holiday. Luckily, we would have redemption on the actual Thanksgiving, but on this day it was about marching to the beat of our own drum, it was about reinventing everything, it was about gettin' funky. |
| Arctic sunset 
Do you believe in magic? I do. I do when it comes in the form of this mushroom soup. Matt worked this on the stove the whole day. The alchemy that resulted was a magnificent, earthy, rich yet refreshing soup that was deeply satisfying. I don't know what went into it, and it feels right to leave it a mystery... | 
Goose and Pheasant Sausage 1 cup Lexington Brewing Co. Kentucky Bourbon Ale 4 tbls kosher salt 5 tbls garlic 3 1/2 tbls pepper 4 tsp dried sage (from Uncle Eddie's garden) 1 1/2 tsp ground dried thyme 1 tsp store-bought sage The goose had plenty of fat, but the pheasant was much more lean, so we added olive oil to the pheasant sausage. Sides Instead of potatoes, I thought a sweet potato and cauliflower puree would be a nice twist. I undercooked them at first, and underestimated how long to cook/how small to cut the cauliflower. So Kathy had a hell of a time, but she was MVP for side dishes that night. Roasted brussel sprouts |
| As the sun retreated, we finished the meal. 
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Adam prepared the sausage in a beer and onion sauté.
We have so much to be grateful for. Blessings abound this year, and I am truly truly thankful.
