Our Thanksgiving Day

We gathered with three friends who, like us, don't have any family on the island at the home of two of them in the 'nether regions' of Waikea Uka in Hilo... A bit cloudy and slightly coolish...perfect day for a hearty Thanksgiving dinner.

 
I roasted the turkey, made the rice pilaf, the gravy and made the garlic herbed butter to go with Kele's wonderful homemade bread, plus the cranberry relish and gingered ice tea.

 
Lee made a delicious corn meal spoon bread that was very light and airy and contributed the wine and David brought the pies; cherry and pumpkin.

I met and fell in love with Truman, a 14 year old basset hound with the prettiest and most soulful eyes I've ever seen and who instantly became my best friend when I gave him some pieces of roasted turkey skin.

 

The original recipe came from my friend, cookbook author and food columnist Portia
Little's Providence Vegetarian Examiner site -
http://www.examiner.com/x-11222-Providence-Vegetarian-Examiner

I made a few changes and noted them below.

Everyone loved it!

Apple Rice Pilaf with Cranberries & Almonds

1 - 2 Tablespoons olive oil, butter, or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped (*)
Rind of 1 orange, grated
1 cup white or brown rice
1/4 cup parsley, minced, divided
2 cups apple cider or apple juice
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil, butter, or margarine in saucepan. Add onion, celery, and orange rind,
and sauté until vegetables are limp. Add rice and continue cooking just until
rice is golden. Add half the parsley, the cider or juice, and cranberries or
raisins.

Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes for
white rice and almost an hour for brown rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle remaining parsley on top just before serving.

(*) SONIA'S notes - I used butter and one fresh Granny Smith apple instead of the
celery and added 1/4 cup nuts (sliced almonds) to this dish.

The rice I use is a combination of rice and herbs I buy called Jasmine Medley.
Thai Jasmine rice and wild rice with a blend of garden herbs and (dried)
vegetables, but a combination of jazmine and brown rice would work well also.

Instead of grating the orange peel, I used my zester and zested it in very thin
ribbons.

I used cranraisins. I did not sprinkle with parsley on top. I added all of the
parsley to the recipe itself.

YIELD: Serves 6-8
ORIGINAL SOURCE: © 1999 "So Easy, So Delicious" cookbook by Ellie Deaner - shared by Portia Little in the Providence Vegetarian Examiner

Enjoy!

Comments

[Sonia]

Portia, it is you I have to thank for sharing that recipe...It was really delicious and the changes we made was to use what I had on hand....;-) sometimes that is how I come up with 'new' recipes...LOL
Thanks again!

[Portia Little]

Sonia, what a colorful Thanksgiving feast!! It all looks incredible. I'm glad you tried the fruity pilaf -- your additions/changes sound delish. It's a dish you can surely play with.
Onward to Christmas!! Yikes!
Portia

[Sonia]

Hi, Risa....thank you...it doesn't take any time to add a few pieces of herbs and edible flowers and use some fruit on side of the bird...and it always elicits ooooohhhs and ahhhhs, so its worth it!

[RisaG]

Sonia, your Thanksgiving Dinner looked good enough to eat! Wow, so pretty with all the flowers all over the table. I never decorate the turkey, I guess I should. Everyone eats it too fast to make it look pretty.

Thanks for letting us see your Thanksgiving bounty.

[Sonia]

Mahalo, Heather...so glad you found me. I love making Hawaiian wreaths with native material and haven't done it in a while...
Thank you for the comments on the Thanksgiving post... Hope you stay in touch! Mele Kalikimaka.

[Heather]

Hi, I live in Volcano and I happened to run into your blog as I was searching for tutorials on 'how to make a hawaiian wreath using native plants'....I so enjoyed reading you informative post on making wreaths. I also wanted to comment on your Thanksgiving spread and how beautiful everything looks. I'm glad you had a wonderful Thnaksgiving! Aloha

[Sonia]

Thank you, Nancy....I use whatever I have handy...;-)
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

[Nancy Spivey]

It's amazing that you can make Thanksgiving dinner look so tropical!