use real butter

When all of the haute cuisine mags in the markets have holiday spreads on the covers, you know some dysfunctional family gathering looms large in your future. Actually, they’re all gearing up for xmas, while I’m still wondering what to do for Thanksgiving. I have mixed feelings about Thanksgiving because unlike my dad, I actually like turkey. I have no problems with making leftover turkey reuben sandwiches, turkey broth, turkey salad, hot open-face turkey sandwiches, brunswick stew (with turkey), turkey quesadillas, etc. I also like ham – both the honey-baked and the [Virginia] country versions (or maybe it’s that I love those special silver dollar biscuits we served with the country ham?). I could just as easily go for Peking duck, bouillabaisse, southern pulled pork, sushi, you name it.

I’m not one for tradition – big surprise! As of this moment, we aren’t planning to spend Thanksgiving with anyone and that’s fine with both of us (much to our parents’ dismay). I don’t really need to spend the entire day cooking either, I do enough of that whenever we entertain. The plan is to ski and then come home and have a nice meal. But what the meal will be is the question. Here are some options:

Oh, I guess I could also do a crusted beef roast or a standing rib roast. Jeremy clearly prefers the seafood menu, with ham as a distant second. I like the idea of having a glass of Chablis.

This evening we heard a loud thumping in the house. Jeremy and I looked at one another wondering what had broken. Then we heard it again and realized it was the front door. Brita, Lars, and one of Brita’s friends came over tonight to yodel for us! They’re all too short to reach the bell, so they knock loudly. It was the funniest thing ever. The kids were in such a goofy mood and the yodeling sounded more like high pitched squealing, but everyone was enjoying it.

way better than christmas carolers

What they didn’t know was that upstairs in the kitchen, I was conducting an experiment… The Brownie Experiment. I typically make one recipe of brownies – cream cheese brownies. But up here they tend to do weird things. I did some research over the weekend on this. They are classified as cakey brownies. Cakes and cookies have the most serious issues at elevation. There are two other types of brownies: fudgy and chewy. I decided to make one of each for comparison and to warm the house a bit.

they don’t look all that different except for the surface

**Jump for more butter**

While Jeremy was volunteering at the observatory on campus tonight, I finally did something with the granny smith apples I had accumulated. My intent was to try a classic apple tart tatin recipe, but I didn’t want to deal with the skillet or making the pâte brisée (the crust) this evening. Maybe later when I have more energy and time.

20 apple quarters

**Jump for more butter**