A Speical Thanksgiving Recipe & Giveaway

Congrats to lucky winner - Amy!

Earlier this year I'd reviewed a wonderful novel by Erica Bauermeister called The School of Essential Ingredients which follows the lives of eight students who gather in Lillian’s Restaurant every Monday night for cooking class. It soon becomes clear, however, that each one seeks a recipe for something beyond the kitchen. I found this story to be "lyrical, magical and poignant" and it made me hungry for the flavorful dishes concocted through the length of the novel!

That's why I was happy to accept when Erica got in touch with regarding doing a Thanksgiving recipe post and a giveaway of this book exclusively for readers of this book!

But first a little background : Inundated with requests from readers for the recipes mentioned in the book, Erica has spent the last six months putting them up as guest posts on blogs once a month or so, then compiling them on her website (under the tab called "Side Dishes"). She had one in mind for November, featuring the Thanksgiving turkey recipe from Antonia's chapter and chose this blog to feature it in!

Also, to support and promote the concept of Buy Books for the Holidays, Erica has offered 2 books for a Giveaway (that way the winner gets one to keep and has one to give away).

On Thanksgiving and Turkeys

Our second year in Italy, we decided to have a Thanksgiving feast and invite our Italian friends so they could experience an American holiday. We knew it wouldn’t be completely traditional; we’d have to use chutney instead of cranberry sauce and get a turkey from our American friend who had access to the store at the local U.S. military base – but it could be done.

The day of Thanksgiving dawned. In honor of our guests I had decided to polish the wood floors of our apartment. But as the polish spread across the floor and the wood began to glisten I noticed a horrifying smell rising up. Think pink. Think your grandmother’s floral perfume mixed with that thick, gritty pink bathroom soap that used to come out of public dispensers.

My husband ran out to buy scented candles, which we lit, to no avail.

Our friend arrived with our Butterball turkey, which landed plump and steroid-filled on our kitchen counter. We shoved it in our tiny oven and soon the smell of roasting turkey wafted out to the living room, where it was met with a wall of pink scent. You could almost see the battle lines.

But the Italians were sweet, carrying flowers as they arrived, and we sat down at the table, filled from stem to stern with mashed potatoes and turkey and stuffing and chutney and salad and vegetables and…

And suddenly, I saw it all through their eyes. Our table looked like the playing field after the ending whistle of the Super Bowl. Nothing like the five-hour lunches we had experienced at their houses, where one dish followed the next, each given attention and admiration, their flavors finding their way, slowly and luxuriously, into your soul.

But the Italians were polite; they were lovely, in fact. Maurizio especially loved the chutney that he said, with utter delight, reminded him of the sweet and sour sauce at McDonald’s. And at the end of the evening, when the last guest was gone and the last dish was dried, I sat in the lingering pink scent of my living room and realized that perhaps I was the one who had learned about tradition that evening.

Antonia’s chapter in The School of Essential Ingredients, and its different approach to Thanksgiving, grew out of that experience and out of all the interesting things we see and learn when we look at ourselves through the perspective of a different culture.

Stuffed Turkey Breast

• 1 whole turkey breast
• 4 slices of pancetta
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 1-2 T rosemary
• salt and pepper
• handful of dried cranberries
• sherry (enough to cover cranberries)
• olive oil

Soak cranberries in sherry (15 minutes), drain.

Butterfly turkey breast -- lay open.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, garlic, rosemary, and cranberries. Drizzle with olive oil. Add pancetta slices.

Roll up turkey, season outside with rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. Tie with string. Wrap in foil. Cook at 400 degrees for 40-55 minutes (internal temp 140 degrees).

Want to learn more about The School of Essential Ingredients? Check out Erica’s website at www.ericabauermeister.com.

Looks easy and delicious, doesn't it?! And now for the giveaway. I'll running this for only 3 weeks, instead of the usual 4, so the winner can get their copies in time for the Holidays!

GIVEAWAY

The Prize

Two copies of this book will go to one lucky reader!

To Enter

• You can do one or all of these things to enter :
  
  
  1. Describe a Thanksgiving tradition in your family.
  2. A Thanksgiving recipe
  3. Due to the economy, will you be doing something different this Thanksgiving?
  4. Tips to make Thanksgiving easier
     
  
  
• Please list your email address within your comment so that you can be notified should you be chosen as a winner.

For Extra Entries

Please leave a NEW comment for each extra entry you do.

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• UNLIMITED ENTRIES - Comment on any non-giveaway post. Comment here with the title of that post for each you do.

Deadline   Midnight CST of November 30, 2009.

Eligibility  US only.

Please read the Disclaimer. Good luck!

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