After a few weeks of taking culinary classes, I was extremely excited for testing my skill on Thanksgiving. In the November issue of Bon Appetite they featured a complete menu with an Asian twist. It seemed like a perfect fit for my guests. First off, the bird is brined overnight in an apple cider, soy sauce mixture with shiitake mushroom, cinnamon and star anise. To further ensure the white meat came out moist, the turkey was then larded with butter before cooking. As it roasted in the oven the aroma resembled more of a duck than any turkey I've had before. Though I'm not a huge fan of stuffing I felt the need to make it anyways. However nothing is more revolting than the concept of actually sticking it in the turkey so I made and served it separately. The dish contained chestnut and bread with celery, onion and bacon, after all everything is better with bacon.
For sides instead of green bean casserole the green beans were steamed and mixed in a miso mustard sauce. The miso provided a nice savory aspect to the once bland vegetables, while the mustard added a nice spiciness. In addition carrots were candied with cloves and orange juice, garnished with tarragon and lemon zest. Mash potatoes were mixed with cream and butter to provide the silky, fluffy restaurant quality texture. It was by far the best side of the night and the most successful one I've ever made. The gravy that was simmer from giblets and thicken by a roux was perfection on top. Finally to balance the numerous savory dishes, cranberries were cooked down with tangerines, pre-soaked in elderflower liquor. This take on the traditional cranberry sauce reduced the tartness of the cranberries yet at the same time added another dimension to the mere sugary aspect of the syrup. Not only was it great as a palate cleanser but also worked well as we later found out in cocktails. 
To finish off the meal dessert consisted of a pecan bread pudding top with a bourbon butterscotch caramel sauce. The bread pudding was good but the sauce was definitely the show stopper! After six hours of cooking which flew by I can't imagine how those Iron Chefs makes all those dishes in an hours time. At the end instead of being exhausted I took pride in my first fully self cooked Thanksgiving and sat down to a very complete meal.
