Thanksgiving--finally

I've been a bad food blogger. Here, finally, are links to the recipes I used, and brief reviews of the dishes I cooked (the Suitor's sister did the yams and green beans, and my mom contributed the mixed nuts):

Cranberry-maple cornbread: A pleasant twist on regular cranberry bread (or cornbread, for that matter), but I think I still prefer my traditional cranberry-orange bread.

Bibb lettuce with persimmons and candied pecans: Easy to make (especially when the dressing is made ahead of time), and the persimmons were great. It was nice to have something light and fresh-tasting to balance all of the other (rather heavy) dishes.

Potato whole wheat dinner rolls: I was not terribly impressed with this recipe, and I think next time I want a potato bread I'll use a recipe that Katie's mom gave me. These were fine: they got the job done, and people were amazed that I actually. made. bread?!? (honestly, people) but they weren't very special.

Butternut squash, corn, and lemongrass soup: A delicious, very easy soup that Katie's mom happened to be making one evening when I was over there, and I liked it so much that I decided to make some myself. It's very easy, very healthy, and very tasty. I have to say, though, I'd recommend using an immersion blender rather than a countertop blender. If you do use the latter, make sure you keep the lid on tight, or you will end up with soup all over your kitchen. I speak from experience. I know good corn is hard to find at this time of year, but if you can get some, this soup is well worth the effort.

Herb-butter turkey (with gravy): What a delicious bird this was. But as good as the turkey was, it can't compare to the gravy. Holy pure delicious turkey goodness, Batman! Other than turning out a bit thin (more roux next time, I think), it was spectacular. I followed the recipe fairly closely (especially the part about whisking the roux over heat until it turned a nice golden brown), as it was my first time making gravy. Not bad for a first try! The recipe's instruction to use some chicken stock in the gravy base felt like a cheat, but I did it anyway. I might try it without next time, but I'm reluctant to mess with something so delicious. I'm not usually a gravy person, but this was incredible.

Spiced cranberry sauce with zinfandel: This has become something of a tradition for me, inasmuch something can be a tradition after only six years. It's also pretty much the only time I'll do anything with zinfandel. And I love things that involve cloves, allspice, and cinnamon.

Cornbread stuffing with ham and chestnuts: Good, but not spectacular, although some in the party really enjoyed it. Maybe it would be better with a different base cornbread recipe?

Pumpkin mascarpone pie: Yummy. Got rave reviews from the group. I wasn't impressed with the crust, but I was having food processor issues. (I don't usually use a food processor for crusts, but I was pressed for time and making an attempt to follow the recipe.)

Spiced apple cake with eggnog sauce: They aren't kidding when they say in the introduction that "it keeps for days," but they left out the part where it actually gets better after two or three days. If you do serve it with eggnog as a sauce, I recommend Straus Family Creamery's eggnog (if you can get it).